The Skill Roulette King

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Eyes on Me

The stall door swung shut with a metallic groan, leaving Bagas and Rina in a silence so thick it felt electrified. Bagas’s heart was hammering against his ribs, but his body was currently busy executing a fluid, side-stepping shuffle that had nothing to do with his will and everything to do with his involuntary "Street Dancer" update.

"Bagas, you’re twitching again," Rina murmured, her eyes tracing the way his shoulders rolled in a rhythmic, undulating wave.

"It’s not… a choice," Bagas gasped, his voice tight. "I’m literally… being hijacked by a beat."

Rina smirked, leaning back against the cold tile. "Hijacked? That’s a creative excuse for why you just vaulted a desk and pulled me into a dip."

"I have an expulsion hearing at ten," Bagas said, his right foot suddenly launching into a rapid-fire staccato tap. "I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be dancing."

"And yet," Rina stepped closer, her hand sliding down his arm, "your heart rate is spiking, and you’re keeping perfect time. It’s hypnotic."

"Rina, please. My brain is empty. It’s just, boom-bap-boom-bap."

"Stop talking about the beat," she whispered, her voice dropping into a register that made his skin prickle. "Talk to me."

Bagas tried to focus, but his mouth betrayed him, forced into a melodic, rhythmic cadence. "The rhythm… it won’t… let me leave."

Rina laughed, a low, throaty sound. "You’re doing a bit, aren't you? Some kind of elaborate performance art to get out of finals?"

"I wish it were a bit," Bagas groaned, his hips swaying despite his panicked efforts to stand still.

"Let’s put it to the test," Rina said, her eyes burning. "Let’s see if you can keep this 'performance' up in the cafeteria."

*

The cafeteria was a hive of teenage gossip and clattering trays. Bagas walked—or rather, strutted with a rhythmic, hip-popping swagger—into the fray, Rina trailing close behind. Every step Bagas took sounded like a snare drum hitting the linoleum.

"Look, it’s the guy who tried to breakdance his way out of Calculus," someone whispered.

"Is he still doing it?" another voice chimed in.

Bagas felt his face flush. "I just need a sandwich," he muttered, his tongue twisting into a rhythmic, almost poetic delivery that he despised.

He reached the counter, his hands twitching in a complex locking pattern before he could even point at the menu.

"One… turkey… wrap," Bagas forced out, his body throwing his arms into a dramatic, sweeping gesture that knocked a stack of napkins into the air.

The cafeteria worker, a stern woman named Bu Titin, stared at him. "You trying to be funny, boy?"

"No, ma'am," Bagas said, his knees performing a sudden, sharp drop-and-pop. "Just… internal… interference."

"He’s practicing for the talent show," Rina interjected, sliding in beside him. "He’s very dedicated to his craft."

Bu Titin squinted. "Talent show is in three months. And he looks like he’s having a seizure."

"It’s a new style," Rina said, her hand resting firmly on the small of Bagas’s back, her touch electric. "It’s called, uh, 'Academic Kineticism.'"

Bagas winced. "Academic… kineticism?"

"Shut up and lean into it," Rina whispered, her lips near his ear.

"I can't even hold my tray," Bagas whispered back, his hands dancing wildly as he tried to grab a bottle of water.

"Let me," Siska, the school’s unofficial queen bee, appeared from the crowd, her eyes locked onto Bagas’s erratic, fluid movements with a mixture of confusion and intense attraction.

"Bagas? What exactly is this?" Siska asked, her voice cool and composed.

"It’s… a malfunction," Bagas tried to explain, but his body turned it into a series of rhythmic, shoulder-popping punctuations.

Siska stepped into his personal space, her scent of lilies and ambition overwhelming his senses. "A malfunction? It looks like a secret language."

"He’s just shy," Rina said, her grip on Bagas tightening. "He’s been working on this choreography all night."

"All night?" Siska looked at Bagas, her eyes searching. "Is that why you’re sweating? Because you’ve been dancing, or because you’re nervous around us?"

"I’m… losing… control," Bagas managed, his feet doing a rapid-fire shuffle that made him look like a professional floor-dweller.

Siska smiled, a slow, predatory curve of her lips. She reached out, placing a hand on his chest, right over his pounding heart. "You’re fast, Bagas. Your heart. Your pulse. It’s like a drum solo."

"I need… to sit down," Bagas said, his knees popping in a way that forced him into a deep, graceful squat.

Siska dropped down with him, her face inches from his. The cafeteria went deathly quiet.

"You’re really going for it, aren't you?" Siska whispered. "The whole 'mysterious, misunderstood genius' act?"

"I’m not… acting," Bagas stammered, his arms krumping involuntarily.

"You’re good at it," Siska murmured, her thumb brushing his jawline. "Most guys are terrified of me. You’re just… vibrating."

"It’s the… system," Bagas gasped.

"The system?" Siska tilted her head, her eyes flashing with a competitive fire. "Is that what you call your inner drive? Because if you’re trying to impress me, Bagas, you’ve succeeded. I’ve never seen someone so desperate to stay in rhythm."

"Rina, help me," Bagas groaned, though his body was currently busy doing a complex wave that pulled him even closer to Siska.

"I think you’re doing just fine on your own," Rina said, her voice dripping with a mix of jealousy and amusement.

"Bagas," Siska whispered, her hand moving to his collar, pulling him even closer until their foreheads rested against each other. "Tell me the truth. Are you doing this on purpose just to see how I’d react?"

Bagas looked at his own hand, which was currently performing a smooth, suggestive gesture toward Siska’s waist. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. Instead, his mouth opened, and in a perfect, rhythmic cadence, he heard himself say:

"Oh, sweetheart, I’ve only just started the routine."

Siska’s eyes widened, a dark, hungry look replacing her composure. "Then don't stop. I want to see exactly how far this goes."

Bagas felt the blue screen flicker into his vision, flashing a chilling, crimson message.

[WARNING: ROMANTIC SYNCHRONIZATION ACHIEVED. INITIATING 'ALLURE' SUB-ROUTINE. CURRENT TARGETS: TWO.]

"Wait, two?" Bagas whispered, his voice rising in panic.

Suddenly, Rina leaned in from the other side, her breath ghosting his neck. "Two of what, Bagas?"

Before he could answer, his legs locked, and his entire body pivoted, trapping both girls in a sudden, impossible, and extremely intimate embrace.

"Bagas," Siska breathed, her voice a dangerous mix of excitement and warning. "What are you planning?"

Bagas looked up to see Pak Hadi standing at the cafeteria entrance, his face purple with rage, holding the expulsion papers.

"This isn't a dance, Bagas!" the teacher roared. "This is a disaster!"

"Sir, you have no idea," Bagas shouted, his body spinning into a blur of motion that swept both girls along with him. "The music... it’s just getting loud!"