It was the worst day ever, however, Zoe felt satisfied after emerging from the fight victoriously. Although she suffered a few bruises and scratches, her opponent suffered way much. That should be a lesson to others not to make a baseless accusation.
Zoe was riding home on the bus because she couldn't afford a taxi anymore. She was officially broke and the only money left in her hand was so little it would only purchase a snack for her breakfast tomorrow morning. Yes, she was going to fast tonight and in the days to come if she doesn't figure out how to resolve her money problem.
Hence, she didn't have the chance to worry if the fight in the airport was captured on camera and gone viral. She was as poor as a church rat now and worrying about her ruined identity was the least of her problems. People can look at the video and have a good laugh as long as she cares - she hopes her face didn't show too much though. She still had school to attend next week.
Zoe stepped out of the bus when it stopped at her bus stop and she trekked back home. However, upon getting to her neighborhood, she was surprised to see her things outside the house and the warning bells went off in her head.
Oh no.
With lightning speed, Zoe ran into the yard and her fears were confirmed. The landlady was throwing her out. She didn't have a lot of things in the first place since she returned mere months ago and hadn't purchased a lot of properties, hence the landlady was already locking up the door to her room with a new lock when she arrived.
"Landlady!" Zoe ran over to the woman, her heart in her throat, "What are you doing?!"
"What do you think I'm doing? Cleaning up your place?" She retorted with a loud voice, looking down at her.
Zoe immediately grabbed her hand and begged her, "Landlady, please don't do this. This is not a good time for me! Where do I go if you chase me off?"
"How would I know?" The woman jerked her hand out of her grip as if finding her disgusting. She reminded her, "I gave you a weak! A week and if you don't get my money, then you can pack out! So don't waste your time,"
Having said that, the woman turned to leave but Zoe grabbed onto her and pleaded with her,
"Please Landlady, give me a little more time and I promise you all of my debts would be cleared. I told you that my boyfriend would be returning to the country -"
"Don't feed me that lie!" The woman shouted, her spit falling on her face and Zoe froze on that spot. She languidly wiped her face with her palm, short of words.
The landlady continued to say, "If your boyfriend is as powerful as you claim him to be, then ask him to send you money and stop deceiving me with your lies!"
Zoe gulped, her lie was found out.
What was she going to do now?
"Hey, listen to me," The Landlady told her, "You are still young and If I were you, I would begin to work hard and stop thinking of reaping where you did not sow. Why are youths so lazy nowadays," She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, before taking her leave.
Zoe's hands balled into fists as she stood there and received that insult. How dare the woman reduce her to that? Does she know how much she worked since the day her family lost their fortune? How dare the Landlady judge her when she was no better? Zoe couldn't take the insult lying down.
"Stop right there!" She suddenly said, halting the Landlady in her steps. The woman turned around with her brows arched in surprise, did the little girl just speak to her formally?
With an apathetic look, Zoe walked over to the Landlady and stopped right in front of her.
"What now?" The woman sighed, having concluded deep down that this would be nothing but a waste of time.
"You said I shouldn't reap where I didn't sow, right?"
"Of course," The woman snorted, wondering what she had to say next.
"However, aren't you the one that needs that advice the most?"
Her expression shifted, "What are you talking about?"
Zoe smirked haughtily, "I heard that you are nothing but a mistress and this house was given to you as a settlement by your lover."
"What?!" The Landlady shouted, going red in the face. She lifted her hand to slap Zoe but she caught it. What's with people slapping her today, she wondered inwardly.
Holding her hand, Zoe sneered, "Fortunately for me, I'm still young and have plenty of opportunities to succeed unlike you. So if I were you, old auntie, I'll suggest you live an exemplary life before you advise the younger generation," She pushed her hand away, feeling victorious.
Unfortunately, that was how Zoe found herself kicked out of the compound a minute later with no chance of ever returning. The fierce look the Landlady gave her was enough warning that she would tear her apart if she caught her lingering around her property.
Zoe stood outside her neighborhood with her luggage, lost for words. What was she going to do with her smart mouth? If she hadn't opened her mouth to ramble nonsense, perhaps, she would have been able to convince the woman to let her stay a while more. But now…. She became the Landlady's nemesis.
If only the woman hadn't opened her mouth to ramble nonsense, then she wouldn't have responded and this would not have gotten to this level. Zoe sighed, her temper was going to lead her into trouble one day. Well, it has put her into trouble already because she had nowhere to stay.
It was at this point that Zoe realized that she needed help; She had to call her mother for money. She had to swallow her shame and accept the help her mother offered her. Of course, she would surely pay back. Yes, she was sure of it.
So Zoe pulled out her phone from her pocket and when she stared at it, strange enough, it felt brand new and different in her palm. Perhaps, the hunger must be reacting with her brain now. She pushed the thought to the back of her head and tapped the screen to awaken it only to freeze.
What the hell?
Zoe's brows drew together when she saw the different screen saver. When did she change it? A slight panic began inside of her but Zoe calmed herself down.
This was not the first time her phone's screensaver changed by itself, such as when her theme subscription expired and it reverted to the free theme. Or when her skin touched the phone's screen while inside the pocket and it operated on its own. It was a smartphone, after all. Zoe told herself that it must be because of it. - She sincerely hoped so.
But then reality slapped her in the face when she inputted her password and it turned out wrong. It couldn't be! Zoe was sure of her password, and neither does she suffer from memory loss. How could she forget the password that she uses every day? It was impossible! She even used her phone at the airport
"In the airport …" Zoe muttered as a memory hit her. She remembered that she bumped into that handsome stranger and then her phone slipped from her hand. She picked it up in the end and continued chasing after Mr. Jones.
With widened eyes and shaky hands, Zoe began to scrutinize the phone and it was then that she saw the differences. Although both phones were the same model, the other one was newer than her own and looked expensive as well.
Could it be that she switched phones with him?
Oh no, what was she going to do?
Return the phone of course and receive hers back. The stranger should have called her by now to request his phone and it wasn't until Zoe looked down at the lack of network coverage that she discovered why. There was no sim on the phone.
"No!" Zoe faced the dark sky and released an aggrieved wail. Where was she going to spend the night?