The Lab Partner She Avoided

Junia had spent the first half of the semester making sure she was never paired with Finn in chemistry class. It wasn't personal, exactly. He was quiet, kept to himself, and had a reputation for turning in labs late. She needed a good grade this term more than she needed a friend.

Junia menghabiskan paruh pertama semester dengan memastikan dirinya tak pernah dipasangkan dengan Finn di kelas kimia. Bukan karena urusan pribadi, sebenarnya. Finn pendiam, menyendiri, dan terkenal sering mengumpulkan laporan praktikum terlambat. Semester ini Junia lebih butuh nilai bagus daripada teman.

So it surprised her when their teacher, rearranging seats for the new unit, put them together anyway.

Maka ia terkejut ketika guru mereka, saat mengatur ulang tempat duduk untuk unit baru, tetap menyatukan mereka.

"I'll do the write-up," Junia said, a little too quickly, on their first day as partners. "You can handle the measurements."

"Aku yang mengerjakan laporannya," kata Junia, agak terlalu cepat, pada hari pertama mereka berpasangan. "Kamu urus pengukurannya saja."

Finn didn't argue, which somehow annoyed her more than if he had. For two weeks, they worked in near silence, passing beakers back and forth. Junia started to suspect she had misjudged him completely, since his measurements were always careful and exactly on time.

Finn tidak membantah, dan entah mengapa itu malah lebih menjengkelkan Junia daripada kalau ia membantah. Selama dua minggu, mereka bekerja nyaris tanpa bicara, hanya saling mengoper gelas kimia. Junia mulai curiga bahwa ia telah salah menilai Finn sepenuhnya, karena pengukuran Finn selalu cermat dan tepat waktu.

The truth came out by accident. Junia had been struggling with the homework all semester, without telling anyone, because admitting it felt like admitting she wasn't as capable as everyone assumed. One evening, she was checking an online forum where students posted anonymous chemistry help. She recognized a phrase in one answer that Finn had used in lab the week before.

Kebenarannya terungkap secara tidak sengaja. Sepanjang semester Junia kesulitan mengerjakan pekerjaan rumah tanpa memberi tahu siapa pun, sebab mengakuinya terasa seperti mengakui bahwa ia tak sepintar yang dikira semua orang. Suatu malam, ia membuka forum daring tempat siswa memposting bantuan kimia secara anonim. Ia mengenali sebuah ungkapan dalam salah satu jawaban yang dipakai Finn di laboratorium minggu lalu.

She stared at the screen for a long moment. The account had been answering questions in their class's forum for months, patiently, without ever asking for anything in return.

Ia menatap layar itu lama sekali. Akun tersebut sudah berbulan-bulan menjawab pertanyaan di forum kelas mereka, dengan sabar, tanpa pernah meminta imbalan apa pun.

At school the next day, she finally asked him directly. "Is that you? The one answering everyone's questions?"

Keesokan harinya di sekolah, akhirnya ia bertanya langsung. "Itu kamu, ya? Yang menjawab pertanyaan semua orang?"

Finn went red and didn't deny it. "I don't like getting credit for it," he admitted. "People act differently around you once they know you're the person who's supposed to be good at something."

Wajah Finn memerah dan ia tak menyangkal. "Aku tidak suka dipuji untuk itu," akunya. "Orang-orang bersikap lain padamu begitu mereka tahu kamu orang yang dianggap jago di sesuatu."

Junia understood that better than she expected to. She had spent months protecting her own reputation the same careful way.

Junia memahaminya lebih dalam daripada yang ia duga. Berbulan-bulan ia menjaga reputasinya sendiri dengan cara yang sama hati-hatinya.

"I should have actually talked to you weeks ago," she said, "instead of deciding what you were like before I knew you."

"Seharusnya aku bicara denganmu dari berminggu-minggu lalu," katanya, "bukannya memutuskan kamu orang seperti apa sebelum aku mengenalmu."

Finn shrugged, though he was smiling now. "You're talking to me now."

Finn mengangkat bahu, meski kini ia tersenyum. "Sekarang kamu sudah bicara denganku."

They finished the lab that afternoon in half the usual time, and for the first time all semester, in something other than silence.

Sore itu mereka menyelesaikan praktikum dalam separuh waktu biasanya, dan untuk pertama kalinya sepanjang semester, tidak dalam keheningan.