Hellebores
Money is just like water. You use it to hydrate, take showers, clean, flush the toilet, or wipe your ass cheeks.
"Ah, shit." I cursed under my breath as I walked down the 6th floor's corridor.
My phone dropped dead again as if it needed a damn cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but I'd rather smash it dead for good since it's really testing my patience for keeping this up for almost a year.
It's just old and I'm broke.
I took a deep breath as I head straight towards the washroom and sat in the toilet in one of the stalls.
I slapped and smacked my phone a few times before it was alive again, then opened my messenger app just to check and to see if there was any reply from my best friend, Christine.
Last night, I asked to borrow 126 dollars because my mom went crazy and almost had her blood pressure go over the charts from knowing that there is still 270 dollars needed to be paid for my college tuition.
She seriously thinks that 54 dollars is what's left for her to pay for my tuition. She even accused me of taking half of what she paid and that's why she still has a lot to pay.
Well, I did. Like, just 53 dollars.
It fucking drove me mad.
I went to plan B where I lied and told her that my 'statement of account' was not updated to calm her mad ass.
So I'm not sure if Christine will let me borrow it today. I promised to pay her 18 dollars every week and I plan to return 127 or 128 dollars because of the trouble, but I get the feeling she won't let me borrow it, or she'll say something like 'Helle, I'm sorry. I don't have that much to borrow you.'
Fuck me.
My mom even threatened me that she'd charge straight to my school like an insane bull and complain about why there is still so much to pay. I took a medical course. Of course, it has to be too damn much, and it gets almost 1 million every year.
She still has to travel 3 hours from home, so there's too little time to think or do shit about it. I even have an exam today, so fuck it.
So again, I checked my phone for any new messages, but it was empty. I can't calm my dumb ass down.
I'm getting a little impatient as I wait for Christine to arrive. I even got delusional about hearing voices similar to hers outside the washroom. She always arrives late and never bothers me about it, but today's different. I don't want to text her now because that'll make me an annoying piece of shit who is obviously desperate for money to borrow.
"Tsk." My eyebrows furrowed as I waited for Christine.
I can't bring myself to review for my practical exam today. I have already accepted the fact that I'll be retaking it next semester. I plan to squirm and crawl my way to get a schedule that is free from 2 pm until 8 pm. I don't care even if it's as early as 7 am in classes.
I scrolled group pages to look for a part-time job, but that's not as easy as going to a convenience store and choosing what you want to eat at a cheap price and there is a raffle where you win a prize worth more than enough to buy breakfast, lunch and dinner and pay the rent.
Bullshit.
There are only full-time jobs, so fuck me. I need it.
I'm only available on night shifts since I don't do any productive shit at night. I don't care if it has to be from 6 pm until 11 pm because I can go as far as 1 am.
My phone alarmed as it's now currently 8 am. I got out of the stall and took a good look at my messed up hair from the mirror. Looks like a lion's mane dried up in the middle of the fucking Sahara Desert.
I fixed it and walked out of the washroom. I'm a mess, but I still made sure to look decent. I wore matcha green cargo pants and my uniform shirt, which made me look like a damn player at an Olympic competition with a jacket that was the same color as my pants to match it up.
I let my jacket fall off my shoulders because I'm too occupied to do shit about it, and it's getting a little hot.
I went straight to the physical therapy clinic where my exam is being held to take place in about 2 hours from now. I sat on a bench just outside the clinic and took out some study materials to kill some time studying. After 20 or 30 minutes, Christine finally arrived in a hurry.
"Helle, where is everyone else?" She approached me.
"Right behind you." I answered her in an almost silent voice.
She turned around and saw a table occupied by our classmates. She didn't notice it earlier because of the crowd, and they were on her blind spot. I was expecting her to give me her answer about my request to borrow money, but she just asked me straight where the others were, and I answered her, then she just left.
Just left.
As if we never had that conversion last night. Fuck, so the answer is no.
She ignored me and couldn't even be honest with me. I watch her laugh and show the better version of herself in front of others. It made me take a deep breath and walk out of school. I still have 2 hours to fuck around before my exam starts.
I want to smoke to calm my fucking mad ass.
As I walk down a dark alley to head off towards the place where I regularly buy cigarettes despite being 8 in the morning, maybe it's because of the tall buildings and making it dark around here or the sky is just gray as if it'll start to snow anytime.
Just as I thought of snow, it did start to hail.
Damn.
I found a corner where I could take shelter, but then I could hear something or someone behind and under the dark shade on the edge of the corner.
I can hear it breathing... but not in a normal way. It's irregular... almost unnatural. I'm scared... and confused. Should I leave? Or... what do I do? Should I confront whoever... Or whatever it is?
Is it even a person? Am I going crazy from being stressed about a shit or two? I knew this alley wouldn't be empty, this place is way too shady for that...
...But, the sound of raspy breathing in the darkness? Now that catches me off guard... it's irregular, like someone's trying to get their breath back. I can almost feel the hot breath coming from wherever this person is... Should I turn back? Hell, I don't even know where I am, let alone where the exit is.
Maybe I should just leave.
Fuck it, I've had enough shit or two already this morning. I ain't adding up the numbers of my fucking problems. I want money that adds up and not my wrinkles from being stressed too much.
As I was about to leave, I flinched at an unexpected blast, my heart racing in my chest as I tried to make sense of what just happened. The ringing in my ears is overwhelming, and it takes me several seconds to compose myself.
Was that a gunshot? Who just shot that gun?
I can't make heads or tails of this situation, and it's making me more and more uncomfortable. Especially when a faint smell of blood hits my nose, making me pause for a moment. The scent is light, but the metallic tang is instantly recognizable.
I notice the faint scent of blood in the background, no doubt lingering in the air from wherever it came from. It's not particularly strong, but there's still a hint of metal in the air that I can't ignore. The smell is subtle, but it sends a chill down my spine.
Then I saw a pair of bloody red eyes at the edge of the corner where the sounds of irregular breathing came from. It starts to growl low like a wild animal giving a warning.
Right now, I'm out of my damn mind and have been curious about what it is. Like a character in a horror movie where he approaches danger like a fucking idiot who'll take a swan dive straight right to 'game over'.
I took the risk and grabbed my chances towards my grave.
Slowly, I took steps forward like it's a death march.