What We See, What We Forget

Part 10

With the identity of the curly-haired girl still a mystery, Husni returned to the faculty to find that girl. Assuming she was also a psychology student like Shasfa, he went directly to the psychology department with only the picture and nothing else. Of course, the department's administration had very few resources regarding facial recognition, as the entire directory belonged to the faculty to which Husni was directed. Once at the faculty's administration, they whipped out the site that contained all of the administrative information of the students. It is pretty helpful to have that for a search, but now Husni had to cycle through the entirety of the student directory with, again, only an image of this girl. Husni was hoping to receive some help finding the girl, but as he wanted to reach out for assistance, the administration staff member who led him to the directory left and closed the door behind him, leaving Husni alone. It is a recurring theme in Husni's investigation so far. The clock was at 1:00 P.M. Sharp when Husni started, an hour in, and he still had not found anything. Then he figured she probably was not a psychology student but rather from another major, and that realization led him to do more searching. Finally, a bright light shines through one of the documents; Husni opens it in disbelief; it is the girl.

Though she wasn't curly-haired, the way the picture was taken may have altered how her hair looked. In reality, her hair is straight. Husni hastily scanned the document for any name and found one;

Alexa Carnelia Aritonang

Husni found her name, but finding the person would be different. The document stated that she was an International Relations student. Husni did what he usually does and went to the major's office to find any information. He seemed lucky as the person he talked to was the head of the International Relations laboratory. He was even more fortunate when he found out that Alexa was an active laboratory member, as she was a lab assistant. The lab head told Husni that she is also an active member of the faculty's band club. Husni thanked the head before making his way to the band club's headquarters, which was empty. However, a poster hung by the headquarters' door showed that a gig was happening at 7:00 P.M., Leaving Husni enough time to grab dinner. The gig was at Omah Roso's, a café that Husni was familiar with as he frequented during his college days; though he wasn't too fond of it, all of his visits there were with his friends, and he never went there alone.

By 6:30 P.M., Husni had already made his way to the café, which was located at Sudimoro Street. The street is well-known for being lined with cafés; the entire three-kilometer stretch was filled with cafés, leaving just enough space for parking. The street was also the prime contributor to the area's noise pollution as each of these cafés has their live music blaring out. Most people living by the street were students who paid no mind to the loud music. They chose to live there due to its proximity to the 'action.' Husni arrived just in time at the café for the gig to begin; her band is the one performing tonight, with herself being the band's vocalist. He got mid-row seats to avoid the inevitable moshing that was to happen in these gigs. After fifteen minutes of sound checking, the band appeared on the stage. The band was an all-female ensemble. They were to perform two original songs, followed by some covers.

The performance ended after an hour and a half worth of music. Husni rushed to the band as they made their way backstage. Once the curtains to the backstage were opened, he could find the complete members of the band club there. The smell of cigarettes was so overpowering that it caused Husni to cough out loud, causing a reflexed reaction from a man sitting and staring down at his phone.

"Husni?"

"Andi?"

They both then shared a handshake. Andi was also a sociology student, the same batch as Husni, but he was still finishing up his final thesis. Andi asked what Husni could be doing here. He guessed nostalgia, but Husni had other intentions. He requested Andi to lead him to Alexa's band; Andi then became curious about the situation and how Husni knew Alexa. It then clicked to him when it clicked in Andi's head about Husni's current occupation.