The
Golden Boy.
Drew’s rolling up his long sleeve, “I’m a
fighter. I believe in the eye for an eye business. You kill my cat, you better
hide your dog.”
“You know I can’t write that on your
story, don’t you?” Cyrus melenguh capek, sekali lagi.
“Well, lompat kelas dua kali, runner up
olimpiade fisika tahun lalu, dan endingnya mau bikin aliansi charity? I almost
think that you’re a total scientist material.” Drew diam saja.
“You know the fact that our ‘protégé’
pages are made for bright-rising youngster, who most of them are ended up in
high socialite circle. If you are willing to be the one, Andrew, stop talking
like provocative ghetto wannabe and start to talk inspiring words. And oh, stop
striking pose like a porn star. Give me young Einstein, superior look.”
Drew menaikkan rahangnya tinggi. “Don’t
you see what I’ve been doing?”
“From neck down, pretty boy, you’re
questionable.” Rutuknya dalam hati. I’d kill Damon for this. Sabtu sore
terkurung bareng spoiled brat kelakuan anak kucing yang berpura-pura jadi
singa. He should be here by now!
“Hei! Wear this Varvatos’ coat, not that
stimulating trunk! You’d be on Christmas issue, not hot summer issue. The
photographer will direct you in five. You’d better be nice.” Cyrus menyimpulkan
tali jubah Drew dengan kesal.
“Don’t take all day, young man.” Sapa
satu sosok yang masuk dalam ruang.
Nafas Cyrus tertahan. “O, heaven be
thanked! Sigh!”
Drew segera merapat ke sosok barusan.
Bagai anak itik yang akhirnya menemukan induknya. “Outstanding, Joey?”
Joey tersenyum kecil, “The photos will
tell. Now be ready for the cover photo shoot, my dear protégé.”
Cyrus merapatkan kedua telapak tangannya,
bersiap untuk aksi selanjutnya. “I should have known…” senyumnya sinis pada
Joey.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
tambahnya.
“As you can see. I’m busy setting
standard of my sidekick to be heavenly dazzling.” Balasnya santai.
“For your ears only, old pal… Your
so-called-sidekick represents a hell for the interview. For you, Queeny, this
is just another trainee boy. For me, this is LIFE!”
“I’m taking charge from here. You may
leave.” Putus Joey ringan.
The Ugly
Duckling.
“Everybody
knows the story; swan’s egg ended up in duck's nest, then newborn swan hatched
and think he's ugly since he's different from his siblings. Then he was cast
off during winter, got depressed, sad, lonely, then he saw marvelous swans in
spring, wish he could be like them, then Voila! He saw his mirror image in the
water and he's a swan too!” Ketik cepat Joey pada desktop Cyrus.
“Bisa
dicari korelasinya?” Sejam lalu Cyrus buntu soal cover story Andrew, but when
Joey takes part, he got to admit everything gone easier.
“Andrew
was one ugly duckling, frankly. One hell of fat geek with lack of confidence
and greasy hair. One day after he’s turning seventeen, he came to me asking for
guidance. I won’t help at first, but after knowing that he’s a product of
school-bully, I can’t say no.”
Cyrus terhenyak. “Go on...”
“It was Tuesday, when I planned to picked
him up from school. But he never appears. Ternyata hari itu dia jatuh dari
tangga sekolahnya. Detailnya gimana, nobody knows. Bahkan Andrew. All he knows,
he was pushed by a group of people from behind, then he blacked out.”
“Nature can be cruel. Predators are
everywhere.” Cyrus sejenak memandang Andrew ditepi sana, berpose dengan begitu
memukaunya didepan cermin ruang ganti.
“Sebulan dia dirawat inap dirumah sakit.
Losing almost thirty-pounds of his weight. Then I’m starting to polish him.
Choosing S size over M size for all of his clothes, cut his mega-failed
Korean-wannabe bangs off and style him like River Viiperi.”
“Ahh… No wonder he looks like River so
much. Aku kira cuma dikepalaku aja yang bilang begitu.”
“A little touch of Midas’ hand has
transformed a rubbish into gold bars.”
“Let’s not put Andrew’s gloomy past
story, shall we? Just focusing to set him as the rising talented youngster.
Being successful is the best revenge.” Sambung Joey.
Cyrus mengangguk. “I’ll think of
something. Damon will love this story for sure.”
“Speaking of which... Are you into
Damon?” Joey berdiri mengambil briefcase-nya.
“Are we talking about the same Damon? My
Boss-Damon?”
“Damon Thamrin. The ABCDE. Asshole.
Bisexual. Champion. Dangerous. ‘Enormous’. Damon who sips whiskey on rocks
after great sex.”
“So you guys were…having…se…”
“Don’t speculate anything!” Putusnya
kilat sambil meninggalkan ruangan.
--
Damon menyambut pelukan Joey riang.
“Everything’s okay, my Joey?”
“All set. Cuma tinggal nunggu
photographernya aja datang. Can’t thank you enough.”
“Likewise. I’m blissful to help the
former protégé. Like you said, devil gotta do what devil gotta do.”
Mereka duduk berhadapan. “So tell me
Damon, how are things with Cyrus?”
“What things?”
“I don’t have to be a rocket scientist
like Drew to know that you’re into Cyrus.”
Damon tertegun. “You’re not mad aren’t
you?”
“Dari tujuh tahun yang lalu udah
keliatan, kok… You constantly sneak a look from across the house observing
Cyrus at my house, like a Peeping-Tom. So there’s no reason for me to be mad.
I’m happy though.”
“You are full of incorrect assumption,
aren’t you…”
Mata mereka mengamati adegan menarik
barusan, seorang pria menjulang dengan penampilan atraktif barusan masuk
studio. “Sorry for being late, my sister's boyfriend's
sister’s mom’s cat broke her leg.” Sapanya pada Cyrus.
“You only got one hour left.” Sinisnya,
tak menertawakan yang barusan Tobias lontarkan.
“Joey dimana ya? He signed me in for this
job.”
“Di ruangan sebelah, bentar lagi juga
keluar. You better preparing your stuff now, the model is already posing.”
“I thought you are the model.”
Cyrus menyipitkan matanya sinis, lagi.
“First of all, I look all professional, not dressing up like one of those fancy
boy. And second of all, was that your best pick-up line?”
“Easy handsome, I was just being extra
nice to someone who is extra attractive.”
“All I need is stronger painkiller, try
harder next round.”
The
Risky Business
“That’s Tobias, I hired him for this job.
Is that okay?”
Damon melipat tangan, tak berpaling dari
jendela. “Is this one of your plot? It’s not in our scheme.”
Joey menggeleng. “Hard to tell. Coba
fokus ke hal lain. Gak bisa lihat tuh, dia mulai godain Cyrus...”
“Then? Should I fight for Cyrus over him?
Forget it, Joey. I’m not living based on romance book.”
“That’s not for me to decide, Cousin.”
--
“Hahaha. You’re one hell of a clown,
Toby!” Cyrus menepuk bahu Tobias.
“Nah kan, ‘your mama’ jokes never failed
to break the ice.”
“Sorry for being so cynical back then.
You did amazing job, by the way. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks to your model, my camera loves
him.”
Cyrus mengepak tripod, membantu Toby
berkemas. “Oh trust me, he was a total bitch when it was just me in the room.”
“Langsung pulang?”
“Mau laporan ke boss besar duluan. Kamu?”
“Tergantung. If you’re going to say yes,
I’ll stay. If you’re saying no, I’ll leave.”
“Ehh?” dengusnya tak mengerti.
“I was asking you to go to dinner
together, Cyrus.” Tawa Cyrus seketika meledak, baru kali ini dia tak bisa
menerka maksud seseorang. Hectic does kill some senses.
Tak butuh waktu lama untuk memutuskan.
Pemandangan Joey memeluk Damon diujung sana membuat Cyrus kontan menyambar tas
kerjanya. “In the mood for spicy food?” ajaknya sambil meninggalkan ruangan
bersama Toby.
--
“You okay, Damon?” tanyanya dalam lift
menuju bawah.
Damon melonggarkan kerahnya. “Nothing. I
just need some drinks.”
“Never let others see you sweat, that’s
the first rule in our big family. Be like a duck, calm on top but paddling like
hell underneath.”
“Do you see what I see?” konfirmnya pada
Joey, setelah melihat Tobias mencium Cyrus diparkiran bawah.
Joey menaikkan alisnya, menjawabnya
singkat. “Good news : he likes you. Bad news : not only you, cousin.”
By.C
