Liu Xing was dreaming, and initially, it was about a fond memory.

It was a scorching afternoon in Jakarta. William walked with Nui, Joni, and Mamat along a broken sidewalk. To their left, the road was jammed with cars and motor bikes, a cacophony of occasional shouts and non-stop horns. When the red light turned yellow, the sound rose, and when it turned green, the cars and bikes gunned their engines as if they were being chased by the devil himself. It was a normal sight. Jakarta had some of the worst traffic in the world, and this intersection never quieted down.

The temperature was hot, leaving the group of friends sweating and their clothes damp. The sound of traffic was maddening, and the air was polluted, but they were smiling. Mamat and Joni were talking about an anime that was airing on TV that night. Joni was trying to spoil it for Mamat, who desperately covered his ears. William walked with Nui behind them, his blonde hair a stark contrast to Nui's dark hair. They enjoyed their friends' bickering, occasionally commenting here and there. Nui wasn't antisocial, but he was always quiet, as if he were constantly observing, while William enjoyed being dragged around by the two most energetic members of his group.

"You know, it's kind of sad, isn't it?" Joni said, sweeping his eyes around. "Tomorrow is Indonesia's Independence Day. School will be out after the ceremony, and most people in our class plan to hang out at the mall or spend the day with their significant others. But why aren't we, the four most handsome boys in the entire school, spending time with our girlfriends?"

"That's a simple question," Nui said. "It's because none of us have girlfriends."

"That!" Joni pointed at Nui. "That's the problem. Why don't we have any? I'm handsome and rich. Nui is this mysterious guy who always makes girls look at him with dreamy eyes. This guy," he said, slapping Mamat on the shoulder, "is super handsome and smart. You, William, have bright blue eyes and blonde hair, which is rare at our school. Each of us should have at least two girlfriends, hell, maybe even three!"

"Well, for me, it's because I'm poor," Mamat said, rubbing the back of his head. "It would be nice to have a girlfriend, but I can't afford to date. Not to mention the time."

"I have no interest in dating," Nui said. "Too troublesome."

His friends looked at him, who said, "I don't think I'm ready to date yet. My life just got a little better, so I need to focus on myself for now."

"Well, I'm not poor. I'm interested in dating. And I'm mentally and physically well," Joni said, raising his fingers one by one. "Then why the hell don't I have a girlfriend? Isn't that weird?"

"I think it's because you're ugly," Mamat snickered. "You're also disgusting, lazy, and you smell bad. If I were a girl, I would snort in disgust every time you came near me. In fact," he snorted and scrunched his face, "don't walk near me!"

Joni's face turned red as he challenged Mamat to a wrestling match. Mamat refused, of course, but when Joni lunged at him, Mamat threw his backpack to William, lowered his stance, and prepared to judo-throw his friend. William chuckled as they started wrestling in the bushes to their right. They screamed and howled as if they were two monkeys fighting over a banana. Their fight wasn't serious, and after a while, they stopped and entered an alleyway.

"I think you'll have a chance to get a girlfriend tomorrow," William told Joni. "The bazaar is being held in the nearby mall, and I've heard that girls from other classes are coming to watch a band perform. You could strike up a conversation with them there."

"Yes," Nui nodded. "Though, I think we'll be busy at Mamat's stall all day."

"If we rotate our shifts, I can make it work!" Joni shouted as if he were already certain to get a girlfriend tomorrow.

"Thank you for helping me," Mamat said bashfully, smiling widely.

"Don't think about it," Joni said, slapping his back. "We're friends. We'll help you make the most profit from tomorrow's bazaar. With my strategy and Will's flashy chalk art, your meatball soup will sell out in record time!"

They entered a narrow alley where the path could only accommodate two people walking together. When a bike rider came from the opposite direction, the four of them pressed their backs to the wall to let the man pass. Mamat's financial situation had worsened last month. His mother was robbed, and their rent was three months late. If they couldn't get enough money by next month, they would be homeless. In truth, Joni, Nui, and William could have given Mamat enough money to pay the rent, but they knew how stubborn he was. He wouldn't accept that kind of help, so they intended to help him earn as much money as possible. The idea to sell meatball soup at the bazaar came from Nui, and while Mamat had to borrow money from Joni to secure a stall, it was potentially profitable.

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When they arrived at Mamat's small, cramped house, they got to work immediately. Mamat, his mother, and Nui were in charge of making the meatballs. William lined up four small blackboards and began drawing on them, while Joni started promoting the stall on social media.

The four chalkboard signs Mamat had managed to get were not uniform. One was tall, one was wide, and the other two were either too big or too small. When the four stood side-by-side, they looked a little chaotic, but William intended to use their uneven sizes to create a flashy, eye-catching piece of art. Joni's idea was to draw a fully detailed anime cat-girl using colorful chalks, but William refused. While an anime cat-girl was certainly flashy, he wanted something more fitting for what Mamat was selling. He decided to create a drawing where a crowd of people was worshiping a bowl of meatball soup. The signs would be set up like a manga page with different panels. It was eye-catching, funny, and in line with what Mamat was selling. Hopefully, it will grab a lot of attention.

William traced the colorful chalks with his utmost focus, his tongue sticking out in concentration. He had three dozen colored chalks and intended to maximize their effect. He wanted the little art piece to look as if it were made from a rainbow, contrasting sharply with the black chalkboards.

At one point, Joni complained that he was bored and decided to bother William. When Joni changed the eyes of a drawing of a praying man into anime eyes, William shouted in annoyance. As Joni laughed childishly, he turned and began to bother the others. The work was hard. The harsh temperature made him sweat profusely, and since Mamat couldn't afford air conditioning, their only salvation came from two small fans pushing air as hard as they could. William made a mistake and filled the chalkboards completely. When Joni complained that they needed space for the stall's name, William had to erase and adjust the drawing.

As the afternoon passed and the day grew cooler—though still hot—he finally finished. After securing the chalkboard signs, William helped the others in the small, cramping kitchen. At one point, Mamat's mom said that she had forgotten several key ingredients and that they didn't have enough meat. William grabbed a small bike that belonged to Mamat and hurried to a little market. The market was still open, though the meat wasn't high quality and the quantity wasn't enough. So, William decided to go to a supermarket and get several packs of frozen meat. He didn't know anything about meat, so he bought the most expensive one. Mamat's mother would notice the difference, and Mamat would probably insist on paying him back later—since the money his mom had given him wasn't enough—but William would insist on giving it to them, as long as he got one special bowl.

When he returned, it played out as he had imagined. But Joni, that guy, insisted on butting in. "What about me? I worked hard too! Can I get one special bowl?"

At that, Mamat's mother laughed and said she would give one to all of them. In fact, she said that since there were more than enough ingredients, she could make four special bowls for tonight and tomorrow, which made William, Joni, Mamat, and even Nui cheer. After all, her special bowls were really, really tasty.

Around nine p.m., the four of them—after Mamat's mother insisted on giving some of the extra food to the neighbors—circled a small table with four steaming bowls on top of it. The aroma wafting around Mamat's little house was heavenly. The steaming soup and the hot air made them sweaty just sitting there, but the aroma and anticipation made them ready to dig in.

After a short prayer—Mamat was Muslim, Joni a Christian—they began to eat. It was as good as he remembered, and as he ate, he couldn't help but smile. A meal after a hard day's work was always good. Joni couldn't help but praise the food to the heavens, but he decided it wasn't spicy enough, so he poured an ungodly amount of chili sauce into his soup. All of them looked at him with concerned eyes, but Joni just smiled, then poured a lot of chili sauce into Mamat's bowl and even William's. Nui was fast enough to grab his bowl, so the chili sauce landed on the table.

Mamat was furious, and they began to shout and fight with each other. Nui looked for a cloth to wipe the sauce from the table but accidentally slipped on the wet floor. Though he remained on his feet, his pose was so weird that the rest of them howled with laughter.

As they ate together, William felt that today was a really good day. He had spent time doing what he loved with the precious friends he had. Tomorrow would be busy, too, but he was sure that at the end of the day, they would be laughing again.

But then, something strange happened. His vision began to blur. Joni and Mamat's laughter started to muffle, along with Nui's complaints for them to stop. It felt as if he had been suddenly submerged in the deep sea. What was happening? He remembered that it wasn't supposed to be like this. He remembered that after finishing their meal, they would continue to work until midnight, and then the four of them would sleep in Mamat's small, cramped room. But that wasn't what happened. As the sound grew fainter and the world became blurry, William felt his heart beat faster and faster.

Then, the world snapped into focus.

He was no longer in Mamat's house. He was standing on the side of the road. Rain poured from the sky as if it were crying. Joni and Nui stood beside him. In front of them lay Mamat's mangled body on the asphalt. His eyes were empty, his skull was split open, and his body was paste on the pavement. A yellow truck was parked not too far away. Its front bumper was coated in red blood. The driver was a young man wearing a pristine white shirt and a gold Rolex. His face was too nice for a trucker, his cheeks red, and he insisted that it was Mamat's fault for walking too close to the road.

The world stood still.

His heart pounded faster and faster.

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