A new day arises in Akinabalu, our main protagonist was seen jogging on the streets of her neighbourhood. The birds chirped and some of the cars were commuting to work. Alice checked her smartwatch to see her progress. She took a quick break and caught her breath right after checking her watch.

  “Man I’m beat… I should head home soon.”

  As she was about to resume, she saw a particular someone in the distance. She soon approached and greeted him.

  “Morning Ghazali!”

  Ghazali was on his phone as Alice approached him. He laid down his phone and greeted Alice with a smile.

  “Morning Alice, early jog I assumed?”

  “Yep, I’ve been jogging for a bit now. What about you?”

  “I’ve just finished buying some groceries.”

  There Alice tilts her head.

  “This early in the morning?

  Alice nodded seemingly understanding. But there she was a bit curious why he was in her neighbourhood and asked.

  “Ah I see, so are you from around here? I’ve never really seen you around this area.”

  “Nah, I’m just visiting a friend here.”

  “Oh I see, no wonder.”

  As they were talking, Alice heard a familiar voice..

  “Hey, what are you doin-”

  There, Alice saw one of her best friends, Aini, walk up behind Ghazali. There, Aini froze, seemingly shocked to see her.

  “Alice! What are you doing here?” She said in a slightly shaky voice.

  Alice was surprised to see Aini this early in the morning and decided to interrogate her.

  “I’m on my routine jog, what are you doing?”

  “Oh, I uhm… jogging as well?”

  Alice wasn’t convinced by her answer but didn’t push it.

  “I-I see…”

  As they stood there, Aini looked up to him and suddenly scoffed.

  “Why are you talking to this… thing?”

  Arisu raised her eyebrow, wondering why she had such a feud with Ghazali.

  “What do you mean? Ghazali is my friend.” Alice defended him.

  Ghazali had an annoyed look on his face, and there he looked at her and smirked slightly.

  “So you must be Alice’s friend from before huh?”

  “Yes, yes I am. Isn’t it a bit creepy for a middle-aged man to be alone with someone clearly young?” Aini said.

  A visible pulse on his forehead formed, there he smiled, a bit satirically at her.

  “Why would you assume that?”

  “I’m just saying. You shouldn’t be approaching girls like her.” Aini replied.

  Alice can sense a tense atmosphere in the air as they stared at each other with fury in their eyes. There, Ghazali let out a huff and conceded.

  “Whatever. Well Alice, I’ll be going now.” He waved at her.

  “Ah, sure. Take care!” Alice replied.

  Aini and Alice both watched as Ghazali walked away. There, Alice looked at her with a confused look.

  “Why did you scare him off like that?” Alice asked.

  Aini looked at her with a dark expression. “Don’t trust men like him, Alice. You never know what they’ll do.”

  Alice was a bit confused by her initial reaction but didn’t press further. There Aini checked her watch.

  “Ahh, I have to go, see you tomorrow at school Alice!” Aini said with a cheerful expression.

  “Oh, alright then, take care.” Alice said to her.

  Aini waved goodbye to her and left her all alone. Alice looked at her from a distance and sighed. “What is up with this girl.” She sighed.

  The next day, Alice was laying her head on the table, thinking about what she should eat that day.

  “Man, ayam penyet would go so hard right now.”

  Raani, who was seating in front of Alice, heard murmuring from behind her. She turned around and saw Alice drooling on her table, there she taps her table to get her attention.

  “Alice… wakey wakey.”

  Alice snaps out of her initial daydream. “Huh? What?”

  “You seem pretty distracted Alice, you doing okay?” Raani asked.

  Alice nodded “Yeah I’m okay. I was just craving something.”

  “You’re craving food this early in the morning?” Raani asked.

  Alice nodded again “Yeah, I was on the Tok when I saw this guy eating this ayam penyet and my mouth have been watering ever since.”

  Raani nods, understanding her feelings. “I can feel you, the guy also kept appearing in my For Me Page and I’ve also been craving food…”

  There, their tummies rumbled and they both looked at each other, chuckling slightly right after that.

  Class went on as usual and they finally finished school in the afternoon. While they were packing up, Alice’s tummy rumbled so loud that her friends could hear it. Airi decides to chime in. “Seems like somebody’s hungry, have you eaten breakfast this morning?”

  “Well, I only had a sandwich for breakfast so I guess I’m just a bit hungry.” Alice told her.

  “Ah I see, then how about we go out and get lunch?” Airi offered.

  Alice thought about it for a bit and eventually got on board. “Sure, I could go.”

  They agreed to go have lunch, Raani suggested to Alice.

  “Hey, didn’t you say you were craving for something? Why not check out some restaurants around here.”

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  There, Alice’s eyes widened and she quickly took out her phone and began searching for the restaurant. There, she found a restaurant that served ayam penyet nearby. Her eyes lit up and she showed it to her friends.

  Excitedly, she told them “There’s a restaurant that serves ayam penyet! Let’s go there!”

  They noticed Alice’s unusual high energy and played along with it.

  “I guess everyone’s onboard, let’s go!” Raani shouted.

  As they were about to move, Aini spoke up.

  “Ah sorry, I can’t come with you guys. I’ve got other plans.”

  “Really? You can’t come?” Raani asked her.

  “Yeah, sorry I couldn’t go with you all.” Aini told.

  “Dang it’s okay, we understand.” Airi reassured her.

  “Thanks for understanding, you all have fun alright?” Aini smiled and bowed slightly.

  They all nodded. “Alright, see ya tomorrow.” Raani told as they wave goodbye to her.

  They left the school grounds and used the map app to find the restaurant. Once they arrived, they went in and ordered their food. Once it arrived, Alice’s eyes widen seeing the food perfectly prepared to her expectations.

  “It looks just like the videos!” Alice said whilst excited to indulge in the meal.

  Raani nods. “Welp, let’s eat then!”

  They all nodded and said simultaneously.

  “Bon appetit!” Alice said.

  “Itadakimasu!” Airi said.

  “Kono Makan!” Raani said.

  There they all looked at each other, seemingly flabbergasted by their cultural differences. But despite everything, they were all friends. There, they began eating their food and began sharing memories together.

  After stuffing their faces with Nasi Ayam Penyet. They walked out, a face of satisfaction on Alice's face after finally satisfying her cravings.

  “Seems like someone’s satisfied. Was it up to your expectations?” Raani teased her.

  “Yep. It was just as I expected. The spiciness of the sambal, the tenderness of the chicken, and the hot steaming rice… everything was perfect…” Alice said in an overly dramatic way.

  There, Airi noticed a single piece of rice still stuck on Alice’s chin and she decides to take it out. There Alice was caught off guard and felt slightly embarrassed.

  “Hey! I'm not some little kid okay!” She told Airi.

  “Of course you’re not my little Alice.” Airi chuckled.

  Alice pouted slightly from her friend’s teasing as they walked through the streets. As they arrived at the light stop, Alice noticed someone from a distance, standing under a tree, her bag saddles beside her.

  “Is that Aini?” She asked as she pointed in the direction.

  They both turned slightly and they too saw Aini, who was seemingly standing there, waiting for someone. Raani was about to wave at her until suddenly a man, seemingly in his mid-20s approached him. They talked for a bit before they went inside the mall together.

  “D-Did Aini just followed that man…?” Airi said, seemingly worried.

  “We should follow her, just to be safe.” Raani told them.

  Alice and Airi nodded to each other, on board with Raani’s idea. They made their way to the entrance of the mall and found a pillar to hide behind. They peaked out and saw both of them riding the escalator to the top. Alice tried to look closer but couldn’t tell who it was.

  “Why is Aini hanging out with that guy?” Raani asked them in a worried tone.

  “No idea, does he have something with him? What if he’s a creep?” Airi told.

  In a determined tone, “Whatever it is, this is bad news. We should keep a close eye on them.” Alice told.

  They began making their way up the escalator, still keeping a safe distance. They closely monitor their every move. Suddenly, they noticed that Aini was clinging onto him, which surprised them.

  “Man, she’s really all over that guy.” Raani told.

  As they followed, they ended up entering a bowling alley where the two of them. Once they were a bit closer, Alice could see his face much clearly and it shook him to her core.

  “G-Ghaz!?” She gasped loudly.

  Ghazali turned around at the source of the sound, and saw no one there. Alice managed to hid behind the pillar in time. Her friends looked at her, seemingly surprised she knew who he was.

  “Ghaz? Who’s that?” Airi asked her.

  “You remember the guy Aini hated at the circuit a few weeks ago?” Alice asked them.

  “Yeah, w-wait… Why is he with him? Doesn’t she hate him?” Raani asked, a hint of concerned on her face.

  “They seem pretty close. Are you sure they aren’t strangers? Perhaps they are siblings, or maybe cousins?” Airi told them.

  Alice wasn’t sure if they should assume right away. “We should still follow them, just to be sure.”

  They all nodded.

  There, they sat at a table, a bit farther from their bowling lane. There, they saw Aini and Ghazali going hand to hand, scoring strikes after strikes, which gathered a lot of attention from the crowd. The crowd formed around them, which made them unable to see what they were still up to.

  She tried to get a view but couldn’t tell what was happening. “Damn… I can’t see them anymore!” Alice told.

  After the crowd dispersed, they noticed that Ghazali and Aini had already left, which caught them off guard as they weren't expecting them to disappear into thin air.

  “Shoot, they’re gone!” Raani yelled.

  At the corner of Airi’s eye, she noticed them going somewhere else. She pointed in the direction of where they were going. “There!” She yelled.

  The three of them slowly followed behind and there they entered an arcade. They hid behind a claw machine and spied on them. As they looked from afar, they noticed that they were playing a claw machine together.

  “They actually look lovely dovey.” Airi told then.

  There, without warning, Raani chops her head. There Airi held her head in pain.

  “W-What was that for?” Airi asked, still holding the top of her head.

  “Are you insane!? We might be dealing with a potential predator here!” Raani told her.

  Alice looked at them, as Ghazali pulled out a plushed seal out of the claw machine and handed it over to Aini. She felt conflicted, she knew Ghazali was a good person, but didn't know how to feel about the situation, especially involving her friend.

  “Damn… Ghazali, what are you doing?” She muttered to herself.

  They continued to observe how them, there, she saw Aini going up and hugging him. There her eyes darkened. They all froze, not knowing what to do next. As they were still trying to process what just happened, they exited the arcade and went somewhere. There Raani pulled out her phone.

  “S-Should we call the police?” She asked them.

  Airi nods, agreeing with Raani’s notion. But there, Alice lifts her hand towards Raani. “No” she simply muttered.

  Raani looked a bit surprised that she stopped her. There she asked her.

  “Why not? Our friend is clearly in danger!” She argued.

  Alice didn’t know what to say, but she looked at Raani and muttered.

  “I think we should continue looking over them. It’s too early to tell.” She told them.

  Raani and Airi looked at each other with a concerned look. But they reluctantly nodded.

  “I don’t know why, but I don’t think it’s like that.” Alice told them.

  They soon caught up to them and they spotted them at the clothing shop, the three of them hid behind some mannequins as they watched as Aini tried on clothes while Ghazali sat there and judged her. It didn’t seem well for Alice’s case. After that, they went to a few more locations and finally stopped once they lost track of them.

  “Damn… They disappeared again…” Raani muttered.

  “We have to find them! We can’t let them get away.” Airi told them.

  Alice looked around and tried to find a location. There they went to a bench and sat down. They were tired after spying all day long.

  “Man, I'm so puffed. How did we lose them again…” Airi told as she sat on the bench.

  “They move way too quickly, the crowded mall doesn’t make it any better.” Raani told.

  As they were sitting, Alice noticed an ice cream vendor in the distance, she got up and asked them.

  “Y’all want some ice cream?” She asked them.

  “Yeah, ice cream would be nice.” Raani told.

  “Yeah! I want a Choc-“

  “Vanilla with chocolate sprinkles and Chocolate Mint ice cream.” Alice said, cutting Airi off.

  They looked at Alice with a surprised look.

  “You remembered our favourites huh?” Airi asked in a surprised tone.

  “Yep, you guys always get this every time and it’s repetitive.” Alice told them.

  She made her way to the ice cream vendor and began ordering.

  “One Vanilla with chocolate sprinkles, one chocolate mint, and one strawberry.” She told the vendor.

  The vendor turned around and attended to her. There Alice pulled out her wallet to grab her card and suddenly the vendor spoke to her.

  “Alice?” The vendor asked.

  There, Alice looked up and was shocked to see him.

  “G-Ghaz!?” She yelped.

  There he simply smiled at her as he began preparing her order.

  “W-What are you doing here?” Alice asked him.

  “Ah, I work here for a bit.” He told her.

  “W-Work? You work as an ice cream vendor here?” She asked in a confused tone.

  Ghazali nods. “Yeah, but I only work this as a hobby rather than a business. I gotta do something during the break.” He told her.

  Alice was still flabbergasted by the revelation. There she began realising how odd her co-workers truly are.

  “The manager works at a candy store, Ghazali works at an Ice Cream vendor… Jeez I don’t even know what Senpai even does in his spare time.” She muttered to herself.

  As she was muttering, Ghazali hands her the ice cream she ordered.

  “There you go, three cones on the house.” He told her.

  Alice snapped out of it and quickly grabbed the ice creams from his hand.

  “Thanks Ghaz…” She replied in a small tone.

  There, she began contemplating why she was hanging out with Aini in the first place. As she was about to ask, she suddenly heard someone coming close.

  “Hey, Onii-Chan, once you finish can we go watch a movi-“ Aini said before stopping after realizing Alice was standing in front of her.

  Aini froze, seeing her friend standing in front of her. While for Alice, she dropped the ice cream as she feels everything finally aligns, her mind explodes as if planets collided with each other.

  “Y-You’re Aini’s big brother!?” She screamed at them.

  There, people looked around and heard the commotion. Airi and Raani heard the yelling and began running towards the source.

  “What’s wrong Alice?” Raani asked her.

  Airi and Raani ran towards them and they saw Aini and Ghazali together. They were surprised to see them up close. Suddenly Aini spoke up.

  “W-What? I-Im not! I don’t even know who he is?” Aini tried to play it off.

  “Like hell you don’t know him! We saw you together here the entire afternoon!” Alice told her.

  “W-What…? How did you know?” Aini muttered.

  “We kinda spied on you…” Raani told.

  “Yeah, we thought you were hanging with a predator!” Airi chimed.

  “N-No he’s not…”

  Aini was at a loss of words, seemingly caught by them. Ghazali looked at her and smirked.

  “Seems like the gig is up. Might as well admit it.” Ghazali told her.

  There, they all looked at Aini, waiting for her answer. There, she sighed lightly and finally told them.

  “Yes… Ghazali is my brother…” She told them.

  The three of them suddenly sigh a sigh of relief. Seemingly relieved that it was in fact her relative after all. But something didn’t stick with Alice.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you had a brother? Especially when he’s my principal!” Alice asked her.

  Aini remained quiet for a bit before answering.

  “I was embarrassed…” She told them.

  They all looked at her confusedly, including Ghazali. They didn’t understand why she had to be embarrassed just by being her little sister.

  “Why are you embarrassed? He’s a good guy.” Alice told her.

  There, Aini shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…”

  Aini fell into silence for a bit, they all waited for her to talk again.

  “I don’t know anything about racing okay!” She finally told them.

  They stood there, seemingly flabbergasted to hear that it’s the only reason why she kept it to herself.

  “Eh? That’s all? You don’t have to be embarrassed because of that.” Alice told her.

  Aini clenched her hand, still standing there.

  “I am. My entire family revolves around racing. I’m the only one in the family that doesn’t understand the hype of it. I didn’t want to get in the way of interest.” She told her.

  Alice was surprised to hear that Aini’s family were heavily involved in the Motorsport industry. After hearing her confession, she understood why she didn’t want to associate herself with racing.

  “I-I just didn’t want to disappoint you Alice. If you knew my brother worked for your team, you would be surprised by how little I understand about this sport.” She told her.

  Alice noticed her down and went up to her. There she went and gave her a hug, which brought comfort to Aini.

  “Who says I’m going to be disappointed in you? You are already incredible in your own way.” She told her.

  Aini smiled lightly and embraced her hug. There Alice slowly lets go and places her hand on her shoulder.

  “Hey, if you really want, I can take you for a ride and let you experience it first hand.” She told her.

  Aini nods slightly. “I’d love that.” She muttered.

  Their moment together was short lived as they noticed a flash on Raani’s phone. They slowly let go of each other and chuckled. Ghazali smiled lightly and decided to ask.

  “Now that’s over, yall want to watch the movies with us?” He told them.

  Raani and Airi raised their fists into the air.

  “Let’s do it!” Raani screamed.

  “Let’s watch that new film that just came out!” Airi also cheered.

  As they were being joyous, Raani accidentally slipped on the ice cream Alice spilled, which caused her to accidentally pull Airi down and they both ended up on the floor.

  “Ouch…” they both said.

  There they chuckled after seeing them on the floor. Ghazali went up to them and hands them some tissues.

  “I’ll clean this up. You four go find a ticket and buy some snacks as well.”

  They all agreed and began making their way to the cinemas. They were all excited and began thinking what movies to watch.

  “Let’s watch Bloodless Sisters! I heard it’s a great movie!” Raani told.

  “Eh? But I want to watch The Crafting movie!” Airi argued.

  As they continued to walk ahead, Aini and Alice walked beside each other. There Aini struck up a conversation with her.

  “Hey, sorry for the thing earlier.” She told Alice.

  “Hey, it’s fine. I’m just confused why you kept it a secret.” Alice asked her

  Aini was silent for a bit before answering.

  “Well… As I said, I’m not really interested in cars. I also didn’t want you to know my brother was apart from your team because I was afraid you might be disappointed that I’m not as great as him.” She told her.

  Alice nods slightly, trying to understand her.

  “I see, but siblings have different interests. He might be knowledgeable in mechanical things but you’re way more knowledgeable in the fashion industry! You’re as incredible as yourself Aini!” She told her.

  Aini smiled lightly as they continued to walk. She looked at her and told her.

  “Thanks Alice.” Aini told her.

  Alice’s nods slightly as they soon arrive at the cinemas. There, they spent nearly an hour debating which movie to watch. In the end, Ghazali picked “An AI who can’t sing.” They all seemed to enjoy the movie even after having disagreements about it earlier.