Chapter 1

“Guys? Dah set up projector? Mana Azmi? He is supposed to make sure the movie nanti run smoothly and no hiccups….” , aku agak cemas sebab Azmi masih tak muncul-muncul.

“Khairiah, please cari Azmi.....tell him the show must start as schedule, 12 noon sharp!”, aku mengarah Khairiah. Khairiah menganggukkan kepala dan cepat-cepat keluar dari training room.

Lima minit kemudian Khairiah masuk semula tetapi membawa Nanda untuk membantu. “Q, Azmi MC la but I brought Nanda, our IT genius. He can help us.”, said Khairiah.

“Good job Khairiah. Nanda can you help us to set up the projector?”, I asked dan memandangnya. Nanda tersengih.

“Sure no problem Q..”, he replied and started to work on the projector. Nasib baik ada si Nanda. "Thanks so much Nanda, I really appreciate it. Coffee Beans on me tomorrow", I promised him. Feeling indebted. Nanda tersengih lagi dan mengangguk-anggukkan kepalanya....

“Ok I leave it to you. I need to be in the break room....just, to make sure the popcorn and pizzas are ready to be served.....”. I gently gripped Nanda's arm, let go, sambil berlalu pergi.

The moment I stepped into the break room, keadaan kelam kabut seperti berada di pasar. Terlalu ramai sangat yang nak membantu. I had to take charge. “Okay guys, listen. Excuse me....!", aku meninggikan suara. Serta merta aku menjadi perhatian.....

"Alright, thank you all......siapa yang nak tengok movie boleh proceed sekarang ke training room. We will start tepat pukul dua belas nanti. We have to follow the schedule. Movie kena habis before one thirty. Lambat start lambat pulak habis. Takut nanti Tan Sri tak setuju for another movie next month. Susah nak convince dia.” Aku terus membuka kotak popcorn dan memasukkan satu bag ke dalam microwave one after the other. After a few minutes, "Ting!". Pop corn ready to go. This should be enough during the first half of the movie, fikir aku.

“Let Siti and myself settle the popcorn. Maliq please carry the water thermos and be careful. It’s hot coffee. Nana, you carry the pizza boxes. Okay? Semua set?”, aku bertanya.

Semua berkenaan menjawab serentak, “Yes, Q….”. Masing-masing mula meninggalkan break room.....sunyi.

Setelah movie bermula, aku kembali ke break room untuk mengemas dan mengagihkan lebihan popcorn ke dalam individual container. Aku memastikan tidak ada barang yang tertinggal dan bersepah. Nanti takut pulak Kak Sham the cleaner, marah.

Tidak beberapa lama kemudian, Khairiah masuk ke break room, “Q, Q, cepat Tan Sri pun ada dalam training room….dia tanya mana popcorn?”

“Tadi punya dah habis ke? Anyway, nah, ambil ni, ada extra….”, aku menjawab. Sambil menatang beberapa pek popcorn, aku menolak pintu dengan badan. 

Tiba-tiba aku terlanggar sesuatu….habis bertaburan popcorn yang aku pegang jatuh ke lantai. “Shit!”, tiba-tiba terpacul keluar dari mulut aku.....lalu memandang ke arah seseorang yang berdiri seperti tunggul kayu di depan aku.

Jejaka itu memandang aku. Tanpa berkelip. Dia kemudian bersuara, “Please, let me help you…..”, he said.

“It’s okay. You don’t want to get your hands dirty. I apologized. I tak sengaja langgar you….”, aku meminta maaf tapi dalam hati ni.....Tuhan saja yang tahu. Geramnya.......

But he insisted. “No.., no…, it’s my fault. I wasn’t sure where I was going…”, he smiled and helped me pick up the popcorn.

Khairiah yang tercegat memerhatikan kami berdua sambil tersenyum. “Apa tersengih-sengih? Nah, bawak yang ni ke dalam training room. Nanti bising Tan Sri…”, aku mengarah Khairiah sambil menghulur 5 bekas popcorn yang dapat di selamatkan.

“Okay Q….”, Khairiah replied dan berlalu pergi. 

“Star Trek fan?”, tiba-tiba tanya jejaka tadi. Dia memandang aku lagi. Tak berani aku nak mengangkat muka sebab aku boleh merasakan kehangatan bahang pipiku.

“Sorry?” Aku menjawab. Tak pasti apa maksudnya.

“Q? A character from Star Trek…”, he replied.

Aku tersenyum….”Ahhhh…..yes, definitely a fan but I fell in love with Picard. Hmmmm……I wonder how he speaks perfect English accent but has a 100% French name. If there was a story told I must have missed the episode…”, lalu aku tersenyum sendiri. Melayang pulak fikiran aku sekejap. Bila tersedar, I lifted my face and he was already staring at me…..He giggled.

“I am sorry. I just had a moment....... “. Terasa malu, I stood up and he followed next.

I extended my hand and introduced myself. Dia menyambut salamku. His hands felt warm and strong. His grip was not too hard but just nice enough for an air passage in between.

I let go of the grip. “I’m Quxandria with a Q. Got it?”, I said sambil mendepakan kedua lengan aku. He laughed and nodded like he understood.

Then he replied, “Got it!.....and by the way I am a Star Trek fan, too. For me it’s Mr. DATA all the way….”.

“I have to clean up here. Again saya minta maaf banyak-banyak sebab kejadian tadi. Are you a guest or a client? Can I direct you to someone?”, aku bertanya.

“Q?.....sepatutnya awak marah pada saya tetapi this is the opposite. Sejujurnya saya belum pernah  jumpa lagi dengan seorang yang sungguh sopan and berbudi bahasa and yet at the same time can be very entertaining and witty….until I met you. But instead you apologized to me. Please don't apologized. My meeting is over and lost my way out. Could you show me the way?” He said dan aku rasa segan bila di puji  sebegitu. Typical Malay. I remembered my ex-supervisor once told me, always accept a compliment. You deserve it…...

“Thank you for the compliment. Please, follow me this way…”. Aku mula berjalan. He followed me from behind.

A few seconds later we reached the reception desk and pointed him to the elevator. “Are you parked in the basement?”, I asked.

“No, my car will be waiting for me downstairs….”, he replied. His eyes never left my face. Tersipu-sipu aku dibuatnya.

“In that case, just press LG and it’ll take you to the security lounge and the main entrance.” We shook hands again.

“Thank you very much Quxandria….It was a delight to have met you”. He smiled and walked towards the elevator.

“Thank you for helping me to clean up back there…”, balas aku.

He stepped into the elevator and turn, “No the pleasure was all mine….”, he said.

And the elevator door slide closed…..