The Library Book Return

Noah started getting strange messages from the school library. Twice in one week, he received a notice saying a book was overdue. But he had never even checked it out. The first time, he assumed it was a simple computer error and ignored it. When the second notice arrived, with a small fine attached, he decided to act. He went to sort it out in person.

Noah mulai menerima pesan aneh dari perpustakaan sekolah. Dua kali dalam seminggu, ia menerima pemberitahuan bahwa sebuah buku terlambat dikembalikan. Padahal ia bahkan tidak pernah meminjamnya. Pertama kali, ia mengira itu hanya kesalahan komputer biasa dan mengabaikannya. Ketika pemberitahuan kedua datang, disertai denda kecil, ia memutuskan bertindak. Ia pergi menyelesaikannya langsung.

The librarian looked up his student number and frowned. "According to our system, you borrowed a book called Coastal Birds of the Northeast last Tuesday," she said.

Pustakawan memeriksa nomor induk siswanya dan mengernyit. "Menurut sistem kami, kamu meminjam buku berjudul Coastal Birds of the Northeast hari Selasa lalu," katanya.

"I've never even been to the science section," Noah told her. "I don't think I've read a book about birds since I was maybe eight."

"Saya bahkan belum pernah ke bagian sains," kata Noah kepadanya. "Rasanya saya belum membaca buku tentang burung sejak berumur delapan tahun."

The librarian checked the record again and noticed something odd. The student number listed was almost identical to Noah's, except for one digit. "It looks like there might be a mix-up with another student's ID," she said.

Pustakawan memeriksa catatan itu lagi dan melihat sesuatu yang janggal. Nomor siswa yang tercantum hampir sama dengan nomor Noah, kecuali satu angka. "Sepertinya ada kekeliruan dengan nomor siswa lain," katanya.

She searched the system for numbers close to his. She found a match: a girl named Mira, who was two years above him. Mira's ID had the same last four digits, just reversed. When the librarian called her over, Mira looked confused too.

Ia mencari di sistem nomor-nomor yang mirip dengan milik Noah. Ia menemukan satu yang cocok: seorang gadis bernama Mira, dua tingkat di atas Noah. Nomor Mira punya empat angka terakhir yang sama, hanya dibalik. Ketika pustakawan memanggilnya, Mira juga tampak bingung.

Mira admitted, "I did borrow that book, but I returned it on time. I remember because I had to rush to class right after."

Mira mengaku, "Saya memang meminjam buku itu, tapi saya mengembalikannya tepat waktu. Saya ingat karena setelahnya saya harus buru-buru ke kelas."

It turned out that a new part-time staff member had scanned the return. They had accidentally typed Noah's number instead of Mira's. The two IDs were easy to confuse on the small screen. The librarian apologized and cancelled both the notice and the fine.

Ternyata seorang staf paruh waktu baru telah memindai pengembaliannya. Mereka tanpa sengaja mengetik nomor Noah, bukan nomor Mira. Kedua nomor itu mudah tertukar di layar kecil itu. Pustakawan meminta maaf dan membatalkan pemberitahuan sekaligus denda tersebut.

"At least we finally solved it," Noah said, relieved that his record was clean again.

"Setidaknya akhirnya masalahnya terpecahkan," kata Noah, lega catatannya bersih kembali.

Mira laughed. "Next time, maybe I should read your ID more carefully before class."

Mira tertawa. "Lain kali, mungkin aku harus membaca nomor siswamu dengan lebih teliti sebelum masuk kelas."

From then on, the two of them always joked about their nearly matching numbers. It happened whenever they passed each other in the hallway.

Sejak itu, mereka berdua selalu bercanda soal nomor mereka yang nyaris sama. Itu terjadi setiap kali mereka berpapasan di lorong.