The Life of an Eagle Boy

You're Not Alone, Rayendra.

The day passed quickly. Rayendra was going to keep his promise to join the music club today. The practice times for the music club were different from the others. They allowed members to go home first and return in a different outfit. The club also provided a special practice shirt complete with a jacket. Since Rayendra didn’t have a practice shirt yet, he decided to change into a black t-shirt.

The weather in Bandung that day was quite hot, and Rayendra covered his sweaty head with a black cap. After changing, he decided to stop by a café near the school while waiting for practice to start. He still had plenty of time to order a cold drink to quench his thirst.

Rayendra sat at a corner table in the café with a view of the busy street. He could clearly see people bustling around, going about their activities. As he sipped his coffee, Ray spotted Zahra walking by with a lot of groceries for the club’s practice. She seemed overwhelmed with the two large bags she was carrying.

As she was about to cross the street, a motorcyclist brushed against Zahra, causing her to fall and spill the contents of her bags onto the sidewalk. “Hey, jerk! Ride properly!” Zahra yelled angrily, not thinking twice before cursing the motorcyclist.

Rayendra, who was close to the street, immediately ran over and tried to help Zahra, but she pushed him away and forcefully pulled herself closer, grabbing his shirt collar and shoving him against the café wall.

BAM!

“Are you in on this too, jerk?!”

Rayendra was taken aback and confused by Zahra’s harsh reaction. He didn’t respond, only catching his breath. He realized he was still wearing the cap, which seemed to make Zahra even angrier.

“Rayendra! What are you doing here?!” Zahra shouted, her eyes glaring sharply. She released her grip on his shirt and shoved him down roughly.

Rayendra straightened his shirt, which had been crumpled by Zahra’s grasp.

“Sorry, Ra, I saw you fall.”

“What are you doing here? Didn’t class end a few hours ago?”

Rayendra began explaining his plans for the day. He told her about his decision to join the music club, something he had wanted to do for a long time. He had been playing the piano since he was eight years old. His desire to join the club had been there for a while, but his courage to actually join came right after he saw the school orchestra performance led by Eriko, one of his classmates.

“Oh, so you picked Eriko’s club over mine?!” Zahra said, sounding disappointed.

Rayendra fell silent, unsure of how to handle Zahra’s sudden mood change. He was often anxious and uncomfortable with others’ feelings, and now his mind felt cloudy as he watched her pout. His eyes grew dim, and his lips trembled.

After helping Zahra gather her spilled groceries, Rayendra left her and entered the café. Zahra glanced back, shrugged, and continued walking without saying a word. Rayendra, realizing she was heading back to school, quickly followed her with two cold coffees he had just ordered.

“Zahra, wait!” Rayendra called in the second-floor corridor of the extracurricular building.

Zahra turned and stopped, while Rayendra was out of breath from trying to catch up.

“What is it?”

Rayendra raised the two coffees he was holding with a slightly awkward smile. His innocent face made him look like a kid trying to win his sibling over after doing something wrong.

“So, you’re bribing me with coffee?”

Rayendra nodded innocently.

Zahra couldn’t help but laugh at Rayendra, whose behavior was so different from what she was used to seeing in class. His face was lighter, and he radiated a humor that was refreshing to laugh at. Realizing the coffee was a peace offering, Rayendra bit his lower lip and looked at Zahra.

“Okay, I forgive you. Besides, I should be the one apologizing,” Zahra said seriously, sipping her coffee.

Suddenly, a girl waved from the stairs. Zahra enthusiastically waved back. Rayendra stayed silent and turned his gaze away. The girl walked over to them with a warm greeting. Her sweet dimples were clearly visible on her face, and her long hair was dyed in a striking ombre. Her blue eyes sparkled like the sea in the daytime.

Rayendra couldn’t stop sneaking glances at her.

“Been waiting long, Ra? Who’s here?”

“No one yet. If I knew this would happen, I would’ve been late,” the girl replied, turning to Rayendra, who was still silent and listening in on their conversation. She extended her hand to Rayendra, who suddenly felt nervous.

“Hi, I’m Airin,” she said.

“Rayendra,” he responded spontaneously.

“Ray, I’m going in now. Thanks for the coffee!”

Rayendra nodded as he checked his watch. He realized the music club practice would start soon. He quickly went down to the first floor, still holding his coffee.

The noise from the club inside made Rayendra’s heart race. He tried to calm his breathing while pacing back and forth in the corridor. As he turned, he saw Eriko waving at him from the club’s door. Rayendra walked over to him, feeling incredibly nervous.

“Come in!” Eriko called, and Ray entered feeling unsure of himself.

“Attention, please!”

Eriko asked everyone to quiet down for a moment. He then announced that there was a new member joining the music club.

“Hello, I’m Rayendra Febian Wardiana, but you can call me Ray. Hmm… the instrument I’ll be playing is… piano. Nice to meet you all,” he said nervously.

“Welcome, Rayendra!” all the members chimed in.

“Here you go, Ray,” Eriko said, silently cheering him on.

*****

In an apartment, a high school boy stood by the window, glaring at his mother. He didn’t understand why he had to live according to his parents’ will.

“So, what do you want me to be?” he asked.

His mother turned to face him, glaring sharply. She insisted that he follow the path she had planned for him for years. She didn’t want the main character of her plan to be someone who rebelled or became a traitor.

“Eriko has done the best so far. When will you give me freedom?” Eriko replied.

“I want you to be friends with Eagle's child. Get close to him and find out if he knows who he really is.”

Eriko scoffed and left her mother’s room. Since he was young, all his mother ever talked about was Elang’s child. Nothing else. Eriko was tired of it.

“Do I need to take you somewhere, sir?” asked a man in a suit outside the apartment.

“No need.”

Eriko got into the elevator, his face grim. The time was 12:40, and he hurried back to his house to change clothes. He remembered that today was Friday, the day the music club practiced. His personal driver was waiting in the apartment lobby.

“Straight to school, Sir?”

“To my house first.”

Eriko stayed silent during the drive, trying to suppress his anger toward his mother. The driver took him to his other house. Upon arriving, he remembered that Rayendra would be joining the music club starting today.

“I hope he likes it. This is the only thing I can do.”

Eriko always dressed simply to hide his true identity. He didn’t want to be seen as arrogant because his parents were wealthy. That’s why he always acted like an ordinary kid, humble to everyone around him.

The public transport was packed that afternoon. He had to squeeze in with the crowd on the bus.

“I knew it would be like this, I should’ve just asked for a ride,” Eriko muttered.

Arriving at school, Eriko almost arrived late. While running through the ceremony field, he saw Rayendra talking with Zahra and another girl in the upper corridor. Rayendra briefly glanced at him but didn’t acknowledge him, both of them wearing black hats.

The sound of applause echoed in the music club room. It turned out that Rayendra had just played the piano in front of all the members. The piece he played was “River Flows In You” by Yiruma. From now on, the club wouldn’t have trouble finding members, especially when preparing for performances and competitions. Eriko gave a thumbs-up with a proud smile. Rayendra bowed and thanked everyone.

Meanwhile, far in a dark, soundproof base…

“It seems the child of Eagle joined the Lion club. What should we tell the Hyena?”

“It’s better to stay silent for now. This will become gossip in the organization. We can’t just spread this news around,” a man whispered into his earpiece.