The Group Project Mixup

Adam and Rachel had been paired together for their history project on ancient trade routes. They had agreed to split the work over a video call. But the call had been short and a little rushed.

Adam dan Rachel dipasangkan untuk proyek sejarah mereka tentang jalur-jalur perdagangan kuno. Mereka sepakat membagi tugas lewat panggilan video. Namun, panggilan itu singkat dan agak tergesa-gesa.

For a week, each of them worked hard on their own part. Adam spent hours making a detailed map with routes drawn in different colors. He was proud of how clear it looked.

Selama seminggu, masing-masing bekerja keras pada bagiannya sendiri. Adam menghabiskan berjam-jam membuat peta yang detail dengan jalur-jalur yang digambar dalam warna berbeda. Ia bangga dengan betapa jelas hasilnya.

Rachel, meanwhile, had also been drawing maps. She had assumed that Adam was writing the essay, since that was what she remembered from the call. She stayed up late finishing her own map, adding labels for every city she could find.

Rachel, sementara itu, juga menggambar peta. Ia mengira Adam yang menulis esai, karena begitulah yang ia ingat dari panggilan itu. Ia begadang menyelesaikan petanya sendiri, menambahkan label untuk setiap kota yang bisa ia temukan.

The night before the project was due, they met at the library to put everything together. Adam opened his folder and spread out his map. "Here's mine," he said proudly. "I think the colors really help explain the routes."

Pada malam sebelum proyek dikumpulkan, mereka bertemu di perpustakaan untuk menyatukan semuanya. Adam membuka mapnya dan membentangkan petanya. "Ini punyaku," katanya bangga. "Menurutku warna-warnanya sangat membantu menjelaskan jalurnya."

Rachel stared at it, confused. "Wait," she said slowly, "I made a map too. Weren't you supposed to write the essay?"

Rachel menatapnya dengan bingung. "Tunggu," katanya pelan, "aku juga membuat peta. Bukannya kamu yang harus menulis esai?"

Adam's face fell. "I thought you said you'd handle the essay, and I'd do the map."

Wajah Adam langsung muram. "Kukira kamu bilang kamu yang mengurus esai, dan aku yang membuat peta."

"I remember it the opposite way," Rachel said, pulling out her own map to show him.

"Aku ingatnya kebalikannya," kata Rachel sambil mengeluarkan petanya sendiri untuk ditunjukkan.

They looked at each other, and then both looked at the two nearly identical maps on the table. Neither of them had written a single word of the essay. The project was due at nine the next morning.

Mereka saling memandang, lalu keduanya memandang dua peta yang nyaris sama di atas meja. Tak satu pun dari mereka menulis sepatah kata pun untuk esainya. Proyek itu harus dikumpulkan pukul sembilan keesokan paginya.

"Okay, this is bad, but it's fixable," Rachel said, taking a breath. "If we start now, we can still finish it."

"Oke, ini gawat, tapi masih bisa diperbaiki," kata Rachel sambil menarik napas. "Kalau kita mulai sekarang, kita masih bisa menyelesaikannya."

"You're right," Adam said. "Let's use my map, since it has more detail, and write the essay together instead of separately."

"Kamu benar," kata Adam. "Kita pakai petaku, karena lebih detail, dan menulis esainya bersama-sama, bukan terpisah."

They worked side by side for the next three hours. They took turns typing sentences while the other checked facts. By midnight, the essay was finished, and Rachel's extra map became a backup illustration for the last page.

Mereka bekerja berdampingan selama tiga jam berikutnya. Mereka bergantian mengetik kalimat sementara yang lain memeriksa fakta. Menjelang tengah malam, esai itu selesai, dan peta tambahan Rachel menjadi ilustrasi cadangan untuk halaman terakhir.

"Next time," Adam said, closing his laptop, "we're writing everything down after we talk."

"Lain kali," kata Adam sambil menutup laptopnya, "kita tulis semuanya setelah bicara."

Rachel laughed. "Deal. In writing, this time."

Rachel tertawa. "Setuju. Tertulis, kali ini."