It was the summer vacation. Alex used this time to take jobs after jobs. He handed out flyers, sold balloons in the amusement park and worked as temporary replacement in one of the cafes. He wanted to save as much money as possible in this summer.
'If I save enough,I can quit the restaurant job and focus on studies during the end of academic year.' Alex goal was to take the top spot to get the scholarship from the college and the 10k prize from the school. Alex was a bit pressured by Brendan who seemed to improve tremendously.
'If I can't secure my ranking in school, how can I hope to get the top rank in the country.' Alex started off his day by delivering newspapers then he would tutor Shelly until lunch. He would take part time jobs and return to his apartment by 3:00PM. He would then study until it was time for him to go to the restaurant. He expected Shelly to stop the tutoring during summer but that didn't happen and he still have his job.
He bought a white bracelet for her and wanted to gift it to her on her birthday which was tomorrow.
'It's very hot today.' Alex thought while handing out flyers in a busy street.
He goes back to his apartment to study, he feels his head aching.
'I should take a quick nap before the job.' The power nap didn't help much but was enough for him to pull through his shift.
When Alex was done serving the costumers, uncle Mike came to talk to him.
"Alex you look a bit tired then usual. Are you okay?" Mike was concerned about Alex's health. He knew about Alex taking a variety of jobs to earn money.
"I am fine uncle. Just a small headache." Alex didn't Mike to worry about him.
"You should not take so many jobs. Prioritise your health. Don't come tomorrow." Mike insisted.
"But-"
"No buts. Rest for a day."
"Sigh...Alright uncle." Alex said and left.
'Uncle Mike is a good person. I owe him a lot. I wonder if I could help him in someway.' Alex felt happy that he kept meeting nice people throughout his life.
Alex bought few health supplements on the way back.
'It's better to be safe than sorry. I cannot lose my savings to the hospital like what happened last year.' He skipped doing chores at night and directly fell asleep.
Alex woke up next morning with damp shirt. The room did not have good ventilation and he couldn't get good sleep.
'This headache is killing me.'
He then called Shelly.
"Hello" Alex heard Shelly's voice from the other side. She tone indicates that she is happy.
"Happy birthday Shelly."
"Thanks. I didn't think that you remember my birthday." She seemed more happy with that. They talked for a bit before Alex ended the conversation.
"You must be busy. I won't hold you for long. Enjoy your day." Alex headache was still bothering him so he didn't want to keep the conversation going. He initially wanted to visit her to give her the bracelet but decided otherwise.
He took another tablet and went to bed.
'I am unable to fall asleep but my body is too tired to do anything else.' Alex starts thinking of random things to distract himself from this uncomfortable situation and gradually falls asleep.
Knock-knock
Alex wakes up to hear a knock his door.
"Coming" he says. Alex struggles to get out of the head and groggily walks towards the door. He looks in the mirror to make sure that he is presentable before opening the door. He was surprised by the visitor.
"Why are you here?" Alex asks in our surprise.
"Why can't I be here?" Shelly questions back.
"Well, today is your birthday so I thought that you would be busy." Alex said while inviting her into his apartment.
Shelly frowns as she looks at Alex. Alex complexion is pale and one can see fatigue in his eyes. She reaches out her hand and places it on his forehead.
"Just as I thought, you have a fever." Alex was startled by her sudden actions.
"It's not a big deal. I can recover by tomorrow and what do you mean by that?"
"You appeared a bit tired yesterday but I didn't think too much about it but you didn't visit me today and your voice over phone was lighter than usual. Anyway, you should not overwork yourself like this. You are lucky that you are not in a hospital right now. I brought lunch for you." Shelly scolded him and she went into the kitchen.
"You don't need to worry about me." Alex mumbled feeling embarrassed by her lashing. He isn't used to being taken care of. Alex started thinking how to entertain a guest as this was his first time receiving one.
'I should serve some snacks and drinks right?' Alex thought that doing so was the best choice.
"Shelly, I need to go outside for something. I will be back soon." Alex told her and went into his room to get money.
"Didn't you hear me? I said to take care of yourself and here you are, ready to head outside in the scorching heat. Tell me, what important work do you have? I can do it for you." Shelly said with hands on her waist.
"No-nothing. It can wait." Alex said and sat on the couch.
Shelly nodded in approval seeing this but was also worried inwardly.
'Will he think that I am too nosy?' She shook her head to brush those thoughts away.
'I can't worry about my image in his mind right now. His health comes first.' She notices the bracelet on the table when Alex was having lunch. Alex who noticed her gaze took the opportunity to gift it to her.
"Here, this is the gift I bought for your birthday. I don't much about women's accessories so you might not like it." Alex thought about the gift for a long time before deciding on a bracelet.
"I love it. It looks good." Shelly put it on to prove her point.
'He didn't spend much money on this right?' Shelly wondered as she knew that the bracelet would not be cheap for the current Alex.
After eating, Shelly asked Alex to sleep.
"I will lock the front door and throw the keys into the apartment from the window when I leave." Shelly said with a serious expression leaving no room for refusal. Alex complies with her.
After Alex falls asleep Shelly looks at his face while deep in thought.
'Should I do it?'