Apart from working in a flower shop, Elena also worked at a convenience store as a shopkeeper. The only reason she got the job here was that she was willing to be paid less than regular workers, so the shop owner accepted her.
As compensation, Elena often asked the owner to let her take the expired bread and other food items. Rather than throwing them in the trash can, she thought it was better if the shop owner gave them to her.
For Elena, the food was still edible and she would not get sick. She had eaten expired food before and it was fine. So she thought it was better to eat the free food and save money rather than let it go to waste.
Maybe she was lucky, or her body had become immune to expired food, Elena never got sick from it. Her body might already get used to it and could tolerate less than ideal food.
Today, Elena arrived at the convenience store with a very hungry stomach. She entered the food counter at the back of the convenience store. Her pair of round eyes had caught the basket of food lying on the floor.
Elena smiled widely at Mrs. Ballerin, the shop owner who could only shake her head when she saw Elena pick up a loaf of bread that had expired one day before.
"I will take one," said Elena politely. "I'm very hungry, Madam.".
"Goodness, Elena!" said Mrs. Ballerin with a frown. "How can you eat such food?"
"Why not? It's not spoiled yet. Do you know that the expiration date stamped on the food wrapping just means it is the last day that a consumable product such as food or medicine will be at its best quality, according to the manufacturer?" Elena smiled again.
Mrs. Ballerin raised a brow. "So?"
Elena continued her words, "That means if it's expired, the food is not at its best quality but that does not mean it's already bad. Just at lower quality. Still edible. I have eaten this so much and I have never gotten sick from it. It's fine to eat it."
With a determined look in her eyes, Elena put all the bread in the bag she brought from home.
"Whatever!" Mrs. Ballerin rolled her eyes. "If you're sick and can't come to work, I will fire you."
"You are the best, boss! You are very kind." Elena put two slices of bread into her mouth and excitedly enjoyed it. She didn't take Mrs. Ballerin's words to heart because she knew the woman was not serious with her words.
"My goodness!" The shop owner shook her head and looked the other way. She couldn't see Elena eat the expired bread.
Actually, Mrs. Ballerin was not a bad person. She only pretended to be angry every time she saw Elena take expired food from her shop because she didn't want the girl to get used to eating expired food like that.
Mrs. Ballerin hoped that once in a while Elena would feel fed up and then rebel against her evil aunt to demand proper food, at least as much as what her cousins enjoyed.
Actually, sometimes Mrs. Ballerin would put some decent bread among the expired ones for Elena to eat, but she pretended not to know this.
"I'm leaving now. Do your job well, okay," said Mrs. Ballerin, taking off her apron and placing it on the counter. She should go home and cook dinner for her family. Ellena would work for four hours until 8 PM. Then she came home after closing the store.
"Okay, Boss," said Elena respectfully.
She changed into a black uniform and put on the apron Mrs. Ballerin had left behind. Elena was going to start her work as a shopkeeper today. Her stomach was no longer rumbling after she ate the bread. Elena drank water and continued her work in the shop.
***
At 8 pm, the temperature was freezing. Elena closed the shop and rushed home. When she had just arrived at their apartment, the smell of food wafted in the living room greeted her.
She swallowed hard because her stomach was rumbling again. Despite stuffing her tummy with bread, nothing beat a hot, freshly cooked dish.
However, Elena had to swallow her disappointment. It seemed that her evil aunt would not let her enjoy the meal after she had been given the opportunity to eat lunch.
Elena couldn't help but sigh dejectedly when she saw the various hot dishes and pasta still steamy against this cold night. Her aunt and two cousins ate in front of the television. They were having dinner and chatting merrily.
"I am home."
No one answered. They were still enjoying their food. Elena walked straight to her room.
"Hey, did you take my dress from the laundry today? I will wear it on my friend's birthday tomorrow. They are throwing a lavish party in a five-star hotel," asked Maria, Elena's older cousin. Maria was 21 years old, while her sister's name was Laura. She was 19 years old this year.
"Oh, I forgot. I'll get it tomorrow. Sorry." Elena bowed her head obediently.
"You lazy cunt!" Maria cursed. "How could you forget such a simple task? Tch!"
Aunt Ursula glared at Elena with a piercing gaze.
"If you forgot to pick up my daughter's clothes again, I will kick you out of our house! Maria will be attending a big party with the upper class, you know! We need to make sure she wears her best dress." Aunt Ursula stroked Maria's cheek proudly. "You have to get a handsome and wealthy prince, Maria. Use your beauty to get us out of this slum!"
"Don't worry, mother," Maria smiled smugly, "My friend said there will be many rich and important people attending tomorrow. She set me up on a blind date with one of them. I can't wait!"
"That's my girl," said Aunt Ursula with a big smile.
Elena could only look down. She had heard this so many times. Ursula wanted her daughters to find rich husbands. That's why she paid for them to get beautiful dresses and tried to get their way into the higher class.
Aunt Ursula then raised an eyebrow and looked at Ellena coldly. "You... you will never amount to anything. So, it's better if you know your place and serve my daughters well."
Elena took a deep breath and then nodded weakly with tears started forming in her eyes. She got into her room and dragged a chair to sit in front of the old desk that used to be her cousin's.
Elena could still hear their laughter from the living room. Aunt Ursula interrogated Maria about her supposedly wealthy date tomorrow, and they were back to gossiping about boys.