The Name Badge at the Toll Booth

Wanda arrived at the Long Bridge toll booth at ten to six. She had a coffee in one hand and a name badge in the other. The badge was blue plastic with white letters. It said WANDA, and under that, in smaller print, TRAINEE. She tried to pin it to her jacket, but the pin bent twice and fell on the floor.

Wanda tiba di pos tol Jembatan Panjang pukul enam kurang sepuluh. Ia membawa secangkir kopi di satu tangan dan tanda pengenal di tangan lainnya. Tanda pengenal itu dari plastik biru dengan huruf putih. Bertuliskan WANDA, dan di bawahnya, dengan cetakan lebih kecil, PESERTA MAGANG. Ia mencoba menyematkannya ke jaketnya, tetapi jarumnya bengkok dua kali dan jatuh ke lantai.

"Let me help you," said the woman inside the booth. She was about forty, with short black hair and a mug that said WORLD'S OKAYEST COLLEAGUE. "I'm Dina. I've been here nine years, and I still bend my pins. Use a safety pin."

"Biar kubantu," kata perempuan di dalam pos. Usianya sekitar empat puluh, berambut hitam pendek, dengan cangkir bertuliskan REKAN KERJA LUMAYAN SEDUNIA. "Aku Dina. Sudah sembilan tahun aku di sini, dan jarumku masih saja bengkok. Pakai peniti saja."

"Thank you," said Wanda. She stepped inside and looked around. The booth was smaller than she had expected. There was a cash tray, a screen for the card reader and a big button for the barrier. A little fridge hummed in the corner. Outside the window, the bridge stretched over the dark water like a long grey ribbon.

"Terima kasih," kata Wanda. Ia melangkah masuk dan melihat sekeliling. Pos itu lebih kecil daripada yang ia bayangkan. Ada nampan uang, layar untuk pembaca kartu, dan tombol besar untuk palang. Sebuah kulkas kecil mendengung di sudut. Di luar jendela, jembatan membentang di atas air yang gelap seperti pita abu-abu yang panjang.

Dina showed her the log book and the spare coins. She explained that cars paid at the window and lorries paid double. Nobody ever won an argument with the barrier. Then she stopped in the middle of a sentence. She put a hand on one jacket pocket, and then on the other.

Dina menunjukkan buku catatan dan uang receh cadangan. Ia menjelaskan bahwa mobil membayar di jendela dan truk membayar dua kali lipat. Tak seorang pun pernah menang berdebat dengan palang. Lalu ia berhenti di tengah kalimat. Ia meletakkan satu tangan di saku jaketnya yang satu, lalu di yang lainnya.

"Oh no," she said.

"Oh, tidak," katanya.

"What's wrong?" asked Wanda.

"Ada apa?" tanya Wanda.

"My badge. It's on my kitchen table, next to my keys." Dina sat down heavily on the stool. "And a man from head office is coming at seven to check every booth."

"Tanda pengenalku. Ada di meja dapurku, di sebelah kunciku." Dina duduk berat di bangku. "Dan seorang pria dari kantor pusat akan datang pukul tujuh untuk memeriksa setiap pos."

"Is that a problem?"

"Apakah itu masalah?"

"The rule is simple. Everyone in the booth wears a badge. I forgot mine in March, and again in June. After the third time, they move you to the night shift." Dina looked at the fridge. "I hate the night shift. The bridge is empty and that fridge hums at me."

"Aturannya sederhana. Semua orang di pos harus memakai tanda pengenal. Aku lupa membawanya bulan Maret, dan lagi bulan Juni. Setelah kali ketiga, kamu dipindahkan ke giliran malam." Dina memandang kulkas. "Aku benci giliran malam. Jembatannya kosong dan kulkas itu mendengung padaku."

Wanda thought about it. She had been in the job for ten minutes, and she already wanted to fix something. "Then we should call the office," she said. "They can send a spare badge before seven."

Wanda memikirkannya. Ia baru sepuluh menit di pekerjaan itu, dan ia sudah ingin memperbaiki sesuatu. "Kalau begitu kita harus menelepon kantor," katanya. "Mereka bisa mengirim tanda pengenal cadangan sebelum pukul tujuh."

"A spare takes two hours," said Dina. "And they will ask why I need one."

"Cadangan butuh dua jam," kata Dina. "Dan mereka akan bertanya kenapa aku memerlukannya."

"Then you tell them why. It's only a badge."

"Kalau begitu kamu bilang saja alasannya. Itu cuma tanda pengenal."

"It's never only a badge." Dina shook her head. "I have a better plan. You work the window, and I wait in the supply cupboard. The man stays twelve minutes. He sees one person with one badge, and everybody is happy."

"Tidak pernah cuma tanda pengenal." Dina menggeleng. "Aku punya rencana yang lebih baik. Kamu jaga jendela, dan aku menunggu di lemari persediaan. Pria itu tinggal dua belas menit. Dia melihat satu orang dengan satu tanda pengenal, dan semua orang senang."

"But that's a lie," said Wanda. "He will ask who is training me."

"Tapi itu bohong," kata Wanda. "Dia akan bertanya siapa yang melatihku."

"Then say I'm on my break."

"Kalau begitu bilang saja aku sedang istirahat."

"On the first morning of a new trainee?"

"Di pagi pertama peserta magang baru?"

Dina laughed, but she did not look happy about it.

Dina tertawa, tetapi ia tidak tampak senang karenanya.

They did not finish the argument, because the morning would not wait. At six, the cars began to line up on the bridge. Wanda counted coins, tapped cards and handed out receipts. A cyclist paid with a bag of small change and apologised twice. A lorry driver asked her to repeat the price, and then asked again.

Mereka tidak menyelesaikan perdebatan itu, karena pagi tidak mau menunggu. Pukul enam, mobil-mobil mulai mengantre di jembatan. Wanda menghitung koin, menempelkan kartu, dan menyerahkan struk. Seorang pesepeda membayar dengan sekantong uang receh dan meminta maaf dua kali. Seorang sopir truk memintanya mengulang harganya, lalu bertanya lagi.

Between the cars, the two women talked in low voices, like people at a very polite meeting.

Di sela-sela mobil, kedua perempuan itu berbicara dengan suara rendah, seperti orang dalam rapat yang sangat sopan.

"I don't want you to lose your job," said Dina.

"Aku tidak ingin kamu kehilangan pekerjaanmu," kata Dina.

"I won't lose it. I haven't started it yet," said Wanda. "But I can't hide you in a cupboard. If he asks, I will have to say something, and I am a terrible liar."

"Aku tidak akan kehilangannya. Aku belum memulainya," kata Wanda. "Tapi aku tidak bisa menyembunyikanmu di lemari. Kalau dia bertanya, aku harus mengatakan sesuatu, dan aku pembohong yang buruk."

"I have noticed," said Dina. "You blink when you almost say it."

"Aku sudah memperhatikan," kata Dina. "Kamu berkedip kalau hampir mengatakannya."

Wanda blinked and decided not to answer.

Wanda berkedip dan memutuskan untuk tidak menjawab.

At twenty to seven, a delivery van stopped at the window. The driver counted out his coins one by one and looked from face to face. "You two look serious," he said. "Is this a robbery?"

Pukul tujuh kurang dua puluh, sebuah van pengantar berhenti di jendela. Sopirnya menghitung koinnya satu per satu dan memandang dari wajah ke wajah. "Kalian berdua tampak serius," katanya. "Apakah ini perampokan?"

"We are planning a badge," said Dina.

"Kami sedang merencanakan sebuah tanda pengenal," kata Dina.

"That sounds harder." He glanced at the dashboard. A roll of white sticky labels lay there, next to a fat black marker. "I write on these all day. Take them, if they help."

"Kedengarannya lebih sulit." Ia melirik dasbor. Segulung label perekat putih tergeletak di sana, di sebelah spidol hitam yang tebal. "Saya menulis di benda-benda ini sepanjang hari. Ambil saja, kalau berguna."

He pushed the roll and the marker through the window and drove off before they could thank him.

Ia mendorong gulungan dan spidol itu lewat jendela dan pergi sebelum mereka sempat berterima kasih.

Dina picked up the label roll and turned it over. "Here is my new plan," she said. "I write DINA on one. I stick it on my jacket. The man is in a hurry, and he will never look closely."

Dina mengambil gulungan label itu dan membalikkannya. "Ini rencana baruku," katanya. "Aku tulis DINA di satu label. Kutempel di jaketku. Pria itu sedang terburu-buru, dan dia tidak akan melihat dengan teliti."

"He will look. That is why he's coming," said Wanda.

"Dia akan melihat. Itulah alasan dia datang," kata Wanda.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Kalau begitu apa usulmu?"

Wanda took the marker. She tore off a label and held it flat against the edge of the cash tray. She wrote slowly, in neat capital letters, and then she held it up.

Wanda mengambil spidol itu. Ia merobek satu label dan menahannya rata pada tepi nampan uang. Ia menulis pelan-pelan, dengan huruf kapital yang rapi, lalu mengangkatnya.

It said: DINA. REAL BADGE IS ON MY KITCHEN TABLE.

Bunyinya: DINA. TANDA PENGENAL ASLI ADA DI MEJA DAPURKU.

Dina read it twice. "You want me to wear a sign that says I forgot?"

Dina membacanya dua kali. "Kamu ingin aku memakai tulisan yang mengatakan aku lupa?"

"I want you to wear a sign that says the truth. It is better than a cupboard."

"Aku ingin kamu memakai tulisan yang mengatakan yang sebenarnya. Itu lebih baik daripada lemari."

"A cupboard has a door," said Dina.

"Lemari punya pintu," kata Dina.

"A cupboard also has mops."

"Lemari juga punya pel."

Dina made a noise that was half a laugh and half a groan. She took the label and looked at it for a long moment. Outside, two cars honked, and she pressed the button without looking.

Dina mengeluarkan suara yang separuh tawa dan separuh erangan. Ia mengambil label itu dan memandanginya lama sekali. Di luar, dua mobil membunyikan klakson, dan ia menekan tombol tanpa melihat.

"It's honest," she said at last. "But it makes me sound like a child who lost her gloves. If I wear this, it must say something else too."

"Ini jujur," katanya akhirnya. "Tapi aku jadi terdengar seperti anak kecil yang kehilangan sarung tangannya. Kalau aku memakai ini, harus ada tulisan lain juga."

"Like what?"

"Seperti apa?"

Dina took the marker and wrote a second line, in her own sloping hand. Then she showed it to Wanda. It said: NINE YEARS, NEVER LATE.

Dina mengambil spidol dan menulis baris kedua, dengan tulisan tangannya sendiri yang miring. Lalu ia menunjukkannya kepada Wanda. Bunyinya: SEMBILAN TAHUN, TIDAK PERNAH TERLAMBAT.

Wanda smiled. "That's not a badge. That's a small speech."

Wanda tersenyum. "Itu bukan tanda pengenal. Itu pidato kecil."

"It's a very good speech," said Dina. "Nobody argues with it."

"Itu pidato yang sangat bagus," kata Dina. "Tak seorang pun membantahnya."

Neither of them had expected this. Wanda had come with a plan to follow every rule. Dina had come with a plan to hide. Now they stood side by side with a piece of sticky paper that obeyed no rule at all.

Tak seorang pun dari mereka menduga ini. Wanda datang dengan rencana untuk menaati setiap aturan. Dina datang dengan rencana untuk bersembunyi. Kini mereka berdiri berdampingan dengan selembar kertas perekat yang tidak menaati aturan apa pun.

Dina pressed the label onto her jacket and smoothed it down with her thumb. Wanda straightened her own crooked safety pin.

Dina menempelkan label itu ke jaketnya dan meratakannya dengan ibu jari. Wanda meluruskan peniti miringnya sendiri.

At seven, a small tidy man in a dark coat stopped his car by the booth. He carried a clipboard and had the face of a person who had heard many excuses. He checked Wanda's badge and nodded. Then he looked at Dina's jacket, and his eyes stopped moving.

Pukul tujuh, seorang pria kecil yang rapi dengan mantel gelap menghentikan mobilnya di dekat pos. Ia membawa papan jepit dan berwajah seperti orang yang sudah sering mendengar berbagai alasan. Ia memeriksa tanda pengenal Wanda dan mengangguk. Lalu ia memandang jaket Dina, dan matanya berhenti bergerak.

Dina held her breath. The fridge hummed in the corner.

Dina menahan napas. Kulkas mendengung di sudut.

The man read the label from top to bottom. He read it a second time. Then he took out a pen and made a small tick on his list.

Pria itu membaca label dari atas ke bawah. Ia membacanya sekali lagi. Lalu ia mengeluarkan pulpen dan membuat centang kecil di daftarnya.

"Nine years, never late," he said. "Is that true?"

"Sembilan tahun, tidak pernah terlambat," katanya. "Apakah itu benar?"

"Ask the log book," said Dina.

"Tanyakan saja pada buku catatan," kata Dina.

"I will." He tapped his clipboard. "Bring the proper badge tomorrow, please. And I will say this once, as a favour. Your trainee has beautiful handwriting."

"Akan saya periksa." Ia mengetuk papan jepitnya. "Besok tolong bawa tanda pengenal yang semestinya. Dan akan saya katakan ini sekali saja, sebagai bantuan. Peserta magang Anda tulisan tangannya bagus."

"Thank you," said Wanda. "It was a team effort."

"Terima kasih," kata Wanda. "Ini kerja tim."

When the man had gone, the booth was very quiet. Dina let out a long breath and sat down on the stool. Then she took a safety pin from her pocket and fixed the label firmly to her jacket. She pressed the button for the next car.

Setelah pria itu pergi, pos itu sangat sunyi. Dina menghembuskan napas panjang dan duduk di bangku. Lalu ia mengambil peniti dari sakunya dan menyematkan label itu dengan kuat ke jaketnya. Ia menekan tombol untuk mobil berikutnya.