The Girl I Met on the Trip (Part One)

It was 10.00 a.m. The driver started to drive the big bus which was going to take me and other passengers to our destination, Yogyakarta. It was the third time for me to go to that ‘Student City’. And I always used the service of this public transportation company because the bus was comfortable and had some facilities, such as air conditioner, toilet, DVD player, blanket, and reclining seat. Due to this comfort, the long distance between Palembang and Yogyakarta didn`t appear to be a big problem.

As always, I sat in the front row, on the left. I like taking the seat number one since I could enjoy the scenery more freely. Besides, by sitting in the front row I could see the horizon. (According to medical experts, looking at the horizon can prevent us from the so-called ‘motion sickness’.)
The bus crept on the busy street of Palembang City. Then it climbed on the Ampera Bridge, the big and tall bridge which becomes the landmark of this ‘Empek-empek City’. After the bus had been away from the downtown, the driver seemed relieved since he could drive this big box faster.

I took off my favorite red hat and put it down on my lap. During the trip I spotted lots of new things that I couldn’t find in my hometown Palembang. The walks of life were frequently different from one place to another. On the left side of the road I saw well-organized rice fields. Some farmers were spraying pesticide and insecticide solution.

Then my eyes went to the girl sitting beside me. She had a beautiful face, straight, long and shining hair, and flawless skin. She was physically perfect! No sooner had I admired her beauty than she looked at me. For a split second I was at a loss and immediately distracted my eyes to the horizon. To disguise my being awkward, I looked back at her and tried to break the ice of silence.

“Are you going to Yogya?” I struck up the conversation. The question actually didn’t have to be answered because everybody in this bus knew that the bus was running to Yogya.

“Yes.” The girl replied curtly.

“Oh yeah, we haven’t introduced ourselves.” I extended my hand to shake her hand. “My name’s Bambang.”

“I’m Lucy.”

“Having vacation?” I asked.

“Not really. I just want to visit my friend.”

“Is it your first time to go to Yogya?” Again I asked the girl whom I thought to be one or two years younger than me.

“No, I’ve been there many times.”

“And you always go alone?”

“Yes.” Her beautiful round eyes stared at me. “What’s wrong with it?”

“No, no. There’s nothing wrong with it. I just think that a young and beautiful girl like you is so brave to take a long trip alone.”

“I’m not alone, as a matter of fact.” This time the girl smiled. The white teeth and thin lips illuminated her nice smile. “Look! There are a lot of people in the bus.”

“Yes, you’re right.” I didn`t want to debate with her.

“How about you?” Lucy asked back. “What do you go to Yogya for?”

“I’m going to spend my vacation. My elder sister happened to live there.”

“So, you’re a student?”

“Yes, I am. I’m a university student and I’m now in the seventh semester.”

“What’s your major?”

“I take up management.”

“Wanna be a director, eh?” Lucy grinned.

“Not really,” I replied calmly. “I just want to be able to manage a business well. Who knows, someday I have a chance to be an entrepreneur. In this crisis time, to land a good job isn’t an easy thing to do. Unemployment has become a serious problem. There are plenty of job hunters who compete with one another for a certain job. As far as I’m concerned, what they should do to overcome the problem is not by hunting the job, but by creating a job field.”

“Hmm… It seems to me that you’re an idealist.”

“No, I’m not a true idealist. But I try to get the hang of the reality.”

“But… creating a job isn’t easy either,” Lucy argued.

“Absolutely!” I was of the same opinion. “That’s what I study for. I know that the knowledge I get from the university isn’t just enough. Knowledge without experience can’t work well. So, I`ll try to learn from people who have enough experience.”

By " tatank,