Hatori Imas
Hope in difficult times

The morning after I finished my bath, I immediately got ready to go to school. When I finished wearing my uniform, my phone rang. I saw the screen, there was a WhatsApp message from Usep. "Morning, Imas.in 5 minutes I'll be at your house." I smiled and replied immediately. "Yes, Usep."

I rushed out of the house, then I was surprised by the figure standing in front of the house with a smile. "For Imas, I yuk!" Vey volunteered again to go to school together.

"Oh. sorry, Vey. I have an appointment to go to school with Usep." My answer is full of guilt.

Vey frowned, but immediately returned his smile. "Oh, it's okay, Imas. Same with school friends, right? So, we can still go together."

Shortly after I saw Usep coming on his motorcycle. I then say hello first.

"August, Usep!" sapaku while approaching Usep.

"August, Imas!" usep replied with a smile. "Ready to go?"

"I'm ready, but Vey's here too. He wants to come with us" I explained.

Usep glanced at Vey who was standing at the door with a smile. "Of course, no problem. Want chili-cabean?" Usep said a little bit of Vey's insinuation.

"Ohh, I thought you had a car, Sep." Vey said in a cynical tone as well.

"No, at first I thought it was just the two of us, why would we use a car, Vey?" Usep replied back in a cynical tone as well.

I looked at the two of them, a little worried that the atmosphere could become uncomfortable. "Come, don't make a fuss with you two. We're too late" I said, trying to ease the mood.

I left with Usep while Vey followed us from behind in his car.

Upon arrival at school, I tried to comfort Vey by talking to her.

"What's the plan this weekend, Vey?" I asked, trying to distract.

Vey smiled and replied, "I plan on going to the amusement park with the family. It's been a long time since we've been together."

"Are you going on an exciting ride?" ask me enthusiastically.

Vey nodded. "of course! I love the challenge and thrill of thrill rides."

Usep who listened to our conversation, joined in on the talk, "I also like rides that test adrenaline, like looking for eels."

I smiled at Usep's words, for some reason I felt Usep knew exactly how to impress and sympathize with him.

"Going home to school and I'm looking for an eel, Sep?" I was a little enthusiastic.

"Hohoho.so definitely. I'm waiting in front of the class to go home to study." Usep said while saying goodbye and waving his hand.

Vey fell silent and said, "Don't we also ever catch an eel together, Imas?"

"Yes, I remember. It was the first day you officially moved house, me and Ujang invited you to come find eel." Reply relax.

Before Vey answered and when his mouth was mangap, the school bell rang the first lesson began.

We split up and went into each other's classes. During the lesson, I thought back to those wonderful moments with Usep and Vey. Although I felt guilty at first for having to choose between them, I felt lucky to have two friends like them.

After the lesson ended, I went straight to the meeting place with Usep in front of the class. Usep was already waiting with his trademark smile.

"Come, Imas. We go straight to the eel, "please get us some spirit.

We walked towards a rice field not far from my house. The cool afternoon atmosphere and the green scenery of the rice fields made our feelings even more cheerful. We walked slowly while enjoying a light conversation.

"You ready?" ask Usep.

"Ready!" answer Usep with focus.

We started digging in the mud with our hands, looking for the eel hidden inside. Several times we found a small eel that was slippery and cunning. We laughed cheerfully every time we caught one.

When it got dark, we decided to go home. Usep stopped by while carrying a bucket containing eels. In front of the house, Ujang was already sitting waiting for us. I'm a little awkward because we haven't spoken in a long time.

"Ujang, wait for who?" many nervous.

"wait for the Eel hunter." Reply Ujang short and look his face moody.

I felt a little clumsy with Ujang's answer that seemed short and moody. I approached Ujang with great attention.

"What's up, Ujang? You look sad," I asked in a soft tone.

Ujang sighed and looked at me with worried eyes. "Gold, I'm sorry if it looks moody. Actually, I have a problem with my family. My father lost his job and we're having financial difficulties."

"I don't know what to say, Ujang. You know, but later we'll figure out a way to help your family. Don't bear the burden yourself" I said excitedly.

Ujang smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you, Imas. I'm lucky to have friends like you."

We spoke further about Ujang's situation and discussed possible steps we can take to help his family. Usep also offers advice and support.

"My dad has a friend who works at a construction company. I could try to contact them to find a temporary job for your father, "Usep suggested.

Ujang nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you, Usep. I'll try to call them right away."

That night, we spent time together, listening to each other and encouraging each other. We went through the night with laughter, venting, and hope for a better future.

As we were talking, Tony suddenly appeared. He passed right in front of us sitting. Tony is a thug in this village, all citizens are very unhappy with his behavior.

"Weiss.Aa tony's idol girl is dating two boys." Tony said with an angry expression.

"I mean naon tea maneh anyway, Ton?" I tried to take a firm stance first, meaning that Tony does not macem-macem with Usep who happens to not be a villager here.

Seeing Tony coming in with a provocative attitude, I tried to maintain my composure.

Usep, who is usually calm and does not like to confront, also spoke in a soft tone, "We are all friends here. And, bludgeons are forbidden for us to meet or talk."

Tony looked at us with an expression that showed anger. However, he seemed a little surprised by our calm demeanor and did not respond with aggression.

"I don't care about your problems! Girl puja I should not be approached by anyone, including the two of you!" Tony said in a loud voice, trying to intimidate us.

I kept trying to keep my cool and show a wise attitude. "Tony, there's no need to make the situation worse. Let's talk about it maturely and find a mutually beneficial way for everyone."

Usep nodded in agreement with my words. "We don't want conflict with you, Tony. We just want to help Ujang and solve his problem together."

Tony was silent for a moment, looking a little doubtful in his attitude. Then, he let out a snide laughing voice. "All right, this time I'll let you guys. But don't expect me to forget this."

We realized that the situation with Tony was not completely resolved, but we chose to avoid a bigger conflict and focus on the problems we were facing.

After Tony left, we went back to discussing the steps we could take to help the Ujang family.