The Costume Mixup

Kai gets a text from Freya on Friday: "party tomorrow, costumes optional, but encouraged lol." He reads it twice, decides "optional" means he can skip the costume, and moves on with his evening.

Kai menerima pesan dari Freya pada hari Jumat: "pesta besok, kostum opsional tapi dianjurkan haha." Ia membacanya dua kali, memutuskan bahwa "opsional" berarti ia boleh tidak berkostum, lalu melanjutkan malamnya.

He only reads the first half of messages lately, so he misses what comes next. Freya's second text arrives ten minutes later. It says: "actually nvm, everyone's definitely dressing up, it's kind of the whole point."

Belakangan ini ia hanya membaca separuh awal pesan, jadi ia melewatkan lanjutannya. Pesan kedua Freya tiba sepuluh menit kemudian. Isinya: "eh lupakan, semua orang pasti pakai kostum, itu inti pestanya."

By Saturday afternoon, Kai has completely forgotten about the second message. He shows up at Freya's house in jeans and a plain t-shirt. He's holding a bag of chips, his only contribution to the evening.

Pada Sabtu sore, Kai sudah benar-benar lupa soal pesan kedua itu. Ia muncul di rumah Freya dengan jin dan kaus polos. Ia menenteng sekantong keripik, satu-satunya sumbangannya untuk malam itu.

Freya opens the door dressed as a very convincing pirate. She's wearing an eye patch and carrying a plastic sword. Behind her, Kai can see at least six other costumes. There's a dinosaur, two superheroes, and someone dressed as a very large slice of pizza.

Freya membuka pintu dengan berdandan sebagai bajak laut yang sangat meyakinkan. Ia memakai penutup mata dan membawa pedang plastik. Di belakangnya, Kai bisa melihat setidaknya enam kostum lain. Ada dinosaurus, dua pahlawan super, dan seseorang yang berdandan sebagai sepotong pizza raksasa.

"You didn't get my second text," Freya says, more amused than annoyed.

"Kamu tidak menerima pesan keduaku," kata Freya, lebih geli daripada kesal.

"There was a second text?"

"Ada pesan kedua?"

"I said everyone's definitely dressing up. It's basically a costume party, not an optional-costume party."

"Aku bilang semua orang pasti berkostum. Ini pada dasarnya pesta kostum, bukan pesta dengan kostum opsional."

Kai looks down at his plain outfit and back up at the room full of costumes behind her. "I have chips," he offers, holding up the bag like it might somehow fix the situation.

Kai menunduk melihat pakaian polosnya, lalu menengadah ke ruangan penuh kostum di belakang Freya. "Aku bawa keripik," tawarnya sambil mengangkat kantong itu seolah itu bisa memperbaiki keadaan.

Freya laughs and pulls him inside anyway. "We'll figure something out. My little brother has an entire box of old Halloween stuff in his closet."

Freya tertawa dan tetap menariknya masuk. "Kita cari akal. Adikku punya sekotak penuh barang Halloween lama di lemarinya."

Twenty minutes later, Kai reappears from the bathroom wearing a bedsheet with two eye holes cut into it. It's the same outfit his little brother wore three years earlier. It isn't elegant, and it definitely isn't a pirate costume, but it's something.

Dua puluh menit kemudian, Kai muncul lagi dari kamar mandi mengenakan seprai dengan dua lubang mata yang digunting. Itu kostum yang sama dengan yang dipakai adiknya tiga tahun lalu. Tidak elegan, dan jelas bukan kostum bajak laut, tetapi lumayan.

"A ghost. Simple, but effective," Freya says, handing him a plastic cup. "Ten out of ten for commitment, considering you had twenty minutes and a bedsheet."

"Hantu. Sederhana, tapi efektif," kata Freya sambil menyerahkan gelas plastik. "Sepuluh dari sepuluh untuk komitmen, mengingat kamu cuma punya dua puluh menit dan sehelai seprai."

By the end of the night, Kai has been asked five separate times what happened to his face. He decides the wrong outfit might be more memorable than the right one would have been.

Menjelang akhir malam, Kai sudah lima kali ditanya apa yang terjadi dengan wajahnya. Ia memutuskan bahwa kostum yang salah mungkin lebih mudah diingat daripada kostum yang tepat.