The Ballad of Citra Sidek and Her Terrible Taste in Men

4

"Huh? Oh. OHHH. Yeah, yeah yeah... I'm good, thanks," Citra shot him a smile, pulling herself together the best she could. She imagined that she must have appeared insane. "I was just... "

"Talking to yourself?" he said, turning away from her. Arjun tapped a finger on his lip as he pondered the coffee selection.

"... yes?" she took another deep breath as she sank in her seat. There was no point in hiding it. "I just needed to hear it out loud." She heard him tear the instant coffee packet with his teeth. Arjun had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. She wondered if he was a swimmer. He certainly had the body for it. Then, she started wondering if he was one of those people who skipped leg day and had a buff upper body balancing on a pair of skinny ass ankles. "I have a lot of work. What the fuck are you doing here anyway?"

"You look stressed. Do you want some coffee?" he asked her over his shoulder. He was a loud stirrer. Tapped once, twice... and then he set the cup down in front of her.

"If I'm stressed, that's the last thing I need. You're such an asshole," Citra rolled her eyes as she laid her head and shoulders on the table, fingertips tracing invisible shapes on the wood. She pushed the coffee towards the empty seat in front of her.

"It's the only thing I've got right now," he shrugged while walking to the fridge. "But you can have this." He handed her a tall slim bottle with the word 'SOSRO' on the plastic label. "Ben ordered Ayam Penyet today and I thought you might want a bottle."

Citra squealed and took it from him. "Oh my God, I love you!" she exclaimed, hugging the drink to her chest and momentarily forgetting about the crap she was facing. The bottle was cold and left a wet mark on her blouse which she chose to ignore.

"Oh? I thought I was an asshole."

"I was in an abusive relationship for over a decade. So you know, I have the capacity to love assholes. They are not mutually exclusive." She rolled her eyes. "I have terrible taste in men."

"You're going to have to tell me about that someday. Or maybe see a therapist."

Citra nodded in the manner of one who would have agreed to anything as long as they got what they wanted. "You have no idea how much I needed this." She unscrewed the top off the bottle and took a large gulp.

Arjun sat across from her with his trademark smirk. "So what happened? Did you have a bad meeting or something?"

"Ugh. Do I have to talk about it? It feels like I'm reliving my trauma," she shook her head. "It's just a lot of work." She took another sip of the bottled tea. It tasted of Indonesia and vacation time. "I just sat down with Marilyn and we were reviewing what's left to be done for the musical."

He nodded at the appropriate moments. "It looks like you have it under control."

"I do," she admitted, "But it also feels like it could get away from me at any moment. And then there's the book check and the daily work I've yet to grade.... Ugh, Arjun. I did the scheduling for five levels of students, Arjun. FIVE. Count that. That's at least eight classes of forty per level. This is crazy. When I signed up for teaching, this was not what I had in mind." Citra rested her palm against her face and pouted before she shook herself out of it and drank half of the tea she had left. Pouting was better than crying. "Anyway, the choir. Is there any way we can boost the volume on performance day? The live singing always sounds okay during rehearsals but when the hall is packed with people, you know you can't hear shit unless you're sitting right in front."

Arjun shook his head. "We're using all the microphones we have. The hall just isn't meant for the vocal performances you're planning."

Citra bit the inside of her cheek and rubbed her palms on her thighs. "So, let's see... we've used all the mics. We're already boosting the speakers to full capacity..."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Citra but if I were to boost the speakers any more, you're not going to hear the choir at all. Just the music." He watched the gears of her mind start to turn, brows furrowed as she retreated into herself. It didn't escape him that she was the sort that had an active inner life.

Citra nodded thoughtfully before breaking to a slow grin as it dawned on her. "Unless...their voices are on the track."

"What?" he yawned. "Sorry. The 3pm slump is the worst."

"No worries. Can we record the choir?" Citra sat up straight, eyes bright with hope. "Once the songs are finalised, instead of getting them together with the cast, I want them recording the songs... maybe over the span of the first two rehearsals. You know, like how professional singers always lip sync during an important event? Only this time, I want the choir singing live as well so it sounds like we got twice the number of choristers." Citra's hands clasped tightly under the table.

"I think we can book the music rooms," Arjun contemplated the solution she proposed. "It hasn't been done before. Do you think it'll work?"

"What have we got to lose? I wonder why no one's done it. We're always complaining about a lack of volume," Citra laughed, slightly relieved that one problem was crossed off her list for now. "Ok, so it's settled then. Can you see to the mics and stuff for the recording? I need to catch Eddie and tell him what I plan to do with his choir. This is going to be awesome!" She pushed herself away from the table and got to her feet, already making her way to the door. Citra held the bottle of tea like it was a baton in a relay.

Arjun shook his head as hechuckled. "Okay. I'll let you know about the tech later." He was about to enjoyhis coffee in the silence of the pantry but he paused when he heard the rush offootsteps and the brisk opening of the door.

"Thanks again for the tea! I'll leave the money on your desk! Bye!"