Days turned into months, but nothing out of the ordinary happened to Ayla except for the normal bullying she usually underwent.
As she stood outside the gates of Azure High School after her last paper for the college entrance examinations, she breathed in a sigh of relief.
"Finally out of this hell." She muttered under her breath as she stretched. After taking one last look at the giant gates of the school, she left without turning back to look again. Of course, she wouldn't wish to. She loathed her days in that school. How could she entertain the thought of being reluctant to leave?
Thankfully, on that day, no one bullied her on her way home. She was bright, so after finishing her last paper before the others, she was allowed to leave the premises. At least she evaded the wrath of the bullies the past few days of exams.
Since it was still earlier in the day, she decided to go and rest at home for a bit as she was feeling sleepy and tired . The part-time job and having to walk to and from school, coupled with her wounded body, it was only natural that she would feel tired and sleepy.
She purchased skewers on her way home and munched on it as she was feeling hungry. After she took a cold shower, she got into bed and slept off, shutting her mind off in the process.
As she slept, she had a dream about her mother. The good time she had with her mother before her mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer, how sickly and tired her mother looked on that hospital bed and how she died at home because they couldn't afford the medical bills. It was so heartwrenching. It was only at that time when they were at their worst that Ayla realized that she only had her mother, no one else but her. And just like that, she had attended the funeral alone, oh, and maybe the people who she had hired to help carry her casket.
"Mom.." She was jolted awake by the nightmare, all soaked. She tried sleeping again, to no avail. So she went to the living room and took her mother's picture.
"Mom, I really miss you." Her voice broke as she caressed the woman in the picture. Her mother. At times, she really wished her mother would be there to help her when she was stranded, just like she used to. But that only remained to be a yearning. She had left forever, not to return. And it would always hurt her when she thought about it.
The mysterious man had stopped feeling guilty the moment he made sure the medicine was sent to her. At least he helped heal her wounds, right? He chose not to get involved any further. After all, the last time he tried helping someone, it almost cost him his life. He would never try that again, or so he thought. The only thing he needed at the moment was to look out for himself, as he was all he had.
When the alarm rang, Ayla was still wallowing in pain, jolted, and went to change her clothes. She had specific work clothes that she had been given at the cafeteria. She was very thin, maybe from constant stress or too much work? But she was almost like a pole. People would mistake her for a sickly person if they didn't know her well. However, she still stood upright and did her work as expected, making people confused.
"A cup of capuccino. " The waiter relayed the message and went to carry out the orders.
"Got it." Ayla nodded and typed on the computer.
She was processing the bill as that was her work as the cashier in the cafeteria.
Ayla's was the same boring one, going to work at night and sleeping during the day. She was working hard to save for her university fees. That was why she had extended her work hours. Normally, she would clock off at 11:00 pm, but now that she had extended it, she would clock off at 6:00 am. The only time she had to sleep was during the day.
On this fine day, she had just woken up to make some food for herself as she was feeling hungry. When she left the food to simmer on the cooker, she switched on the old school TV in the house, and what she saw almost made her scream in shock .
The college entrance examination results were going to be announced that day?