Dion woke up on the other side and instantly sprang up from his bed. He was surprisingly energetic, not as dull as he usually wakes up. But that's not the issue.
He paced back and forth, his unfocused eyes flitting everywhere. Without anything that could help him solve his current predicament, Dion began cursing anxiously.
"Damn, damn, damn! F**K!"
"I can't believe I fainted defenseless in the middle of the forest. The serpent's blood shouldn't attract any beast towards my location. Letting my guard down any moment when fighting can lead to my downfall. A nagi trying to be the king of deceit is insidious," Dion murmured with a complex look but the loud ringing of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Is it Ivy?" Dion mumbled under his breath before walking towards the phone. Only Ivy mostly calls him.
However, when Dion saw the name of the caller, he was stunned for a moment.
He only has three named contacts on his phone: Ivy, his professor; Darwin, his boss from his part-time work; and Maya, his partner at work.
As for the rest people he came across, they could go f**k themselves. Acquaintances are not qualified to be on his phone.
Dion works part-time in a company that does both baked food production and the brewing of wine. He helps in packaging the baked stuff and doing wine deliveries with Maya.
And right now, Maya is calling. Maya and he became partners three months ago after she almost got r***d during her delivery. She became scared of doing deliveries alone while Dion wasn't satisfied with the money he got from only packaging baked food. The issue is that he detests talking to strangers if he starts working as a delivery boy. So, they were the perfect teammate. That's how it has been going for a while.
He answered the phone and a loud, cute, blabbing voice rapped from the other side. "Dion, you have been away from work for the past week. I did yours and mine. For the past weeks, you have been frequently less at work. I do all the work, now I'm burnt out. Do you want to kill me? I do the packaging and delivery. Even the boss sees my condition and says you must come to work today or you are fired. I also need compensation…"
"Okay, okay, okay!" He had to stop her or she would continue like a chatterbox.
Maya is a chatterbox he would have hated, however he couldn't. She always covers for him anytime he misses work; she does her portion and his without taking a dime from him. That is a plus for her. Besides, she always listens to his instructions. Hating her because she's a chatterbox? Even he couldn't.
"I will come to work now," Dion said calmly.
"Really?" Maya blurted in shock from the other side.
"You don't want me to come?" Dion retorted while walking to his window.
"No, no, no. Hurry, we have a pending delivery to a big house. We might get enough tips," Maya urged anxiously.
"Okay." Dion hung up the phone.
The last reason he couldn't hate her was because of her 'useful' cuteness. Maya always chooses big houses to do delivery. He rides and she delivers. But her natural cuteness made their customers give them extra tips. She shares the tips equally between them. No matter what excuses he has for hating chatterboxes, hating the free-spirited girl is impossible.
When he slid the curtain aside, glaring sun rays barged into the room, making him squint his eyes. However, a part of it tore off.
"It's afternoon. And I can't control my strength."
Quickly, he got dressed in his regular hoodie and sneakers and got ready for work. But when he looked at the stuff he destroyed from inadequately controlling his new strength, his brows furrowed in annoyance. The wardrobe handle, his lamp, his favorite cup... many things got destroyed. Now, he is super careful with the way he walks.
***
Dion was at the front of his work company. Darwin Food stood out on the sign board. A girl with her black hair tied in a ponytail and her large blue eyes gleaming with happiness sprinted towards Dion and jumped into him for a hug.
She was shorter, so he could relatively see overhead. She's Maya Rivera.
"Can you stop attracting all the attention? Besides, why are you clad in this thick junk?" Dion asked as he looked at her small frame covered in a big, thick leather jacket.
"Yo, nigga!" She came down from his body and punched his arm lightly. "You know how much I bought this hoodie? I ain't talking no sh*t."
Dion's mouth remained agape as he stared at her posturing like a dude in the hood.
"What in the world have you learned since I was gone?" Dion blurted.
"Hahahaha! Got you. Okay, let me take these off so that we can go on delivery. I haven't gone on a major delivery since you left. We need to beg those rich customers." She quickly took off the thick jacket.
"Who is begging? I'm not begging with you," Dion snappily denied.
"You always deny but you never let go of the money." Maya smiled with her large eyes winking at Dion.
Dion knocked her forehead lightly. "Go change up. I need to be at home by 7 PM."
"Alright." Maya skipped into the company.
She returned quickly in the same dress code as Dion.
"What's this? Why are you copying my dress?" Dion arched an eyebrow.
"I came to work first, so you are the one who copied," Maya retorted fiercely. Her height made her look like a mouse trying to scare a lion.
Dion shook his head and took two helmets before climbing the bike.
"Won't you see the boss and say hi?" Maya's face scrunched up.
"When I come back, I will see little Darwin. We are behind schedule, so let's go." Dion waved his hand.
"Right." Maya put on her helmet, climbed the bike, and hugged Dion from behind.
Delivery spree begins.
Maya was smiling and talking to the customer.
Dion stood a distance but watched her through the helmet like a bodyguard. However, his mind wanders when he thinks of the other side.
'I'm alive here which means that I'm not dead on the other side. But what if a beast is keeping me alive for breakfast? Maybe the beast already pulled me to its den. 'A sleeping, fat meat the creator delivered to them'. What am I thinking? I can't be pessimistic at this moment.'
"Hohoho!" Maya's voice jolted him from his thoughts.
She returned and flaunted cash in his face while grinning from ear to ear. "Look how much tip I got. This woman is good-hearted. She gave me twenty dollars. Ten is yours. Let's go to the last. It's the biggest."
Dion nodded, ignited the bike, and rode off.
Soon, they arrived in front of a mansion.
Maya exclaimed, "Wooooaaahhh! If I lived in those, I wouldn't come out a day. See the size?"
She took off the helmet and her large blue eyes darted around.
After admiring the mansion for a while, she regained her senses and rang the doorbell.
Dion sat on the bike and continued zoning out. He took off his helmet to receive fresh air.
"Hi, here is your delivery, beautiful sister." Dion heard Maya's voice but he wasn't focusing.
"Thank you." Dion heard another female's voice but it kind of sounded familiar.
He turned his head to see the owner of the voice and his jaw dropped. He regained his senses and sharply turned his head aside while using his hood to cover his head. 'F**k! Why is Karen here? I threw her body to that elf. Damn! She shouldn't see me.'
"Dion, is that you?" But his prayer didn't work as Karen instantly called out.
Dion bent his face and feigned deafness.
"Dion, she is talking to you." Maya ran to him and tapped him.
'Damn! This little one thinks Karen wants to give us tip. All her head is filled with tips,' Dion cursed and realized hiding wouldn't work.
Dion calmly raised his head and turned to them. He asked with a confused look, "Who the hell is Dion?"
Karen walked to his front and scrutinized his face well with her hands on her waist.
Dion kept a straight face and returned the gaze.
"Dion, what's the meaning of this?" Karen asked with fiery eyes.
"And I'm answering. Who the hell is Dion?" Dion asked with fierce eyes.
"What's your name?" Karen asked.
"My name is Zavy Molokov ma'am," Dion replied respectfully.
Maya stood in the middle, her eyes darting to and fro from Dion's face to Karen's face, and back to Dion's face.
Karen brought out her phone and began dialing a number.
"Who are you calling?" Dion asked with wary eyes.
Karen stared at him with eyes that were about to spit fire. "Your company. I want to report a fake worker. Then the police. I bet, 'Zavy Molokov' is an illegal migrant."
Dion was stunned for a moment before he came back to his senses. "Fine, you got me. But I can explain."
Karen hung up the phone and stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
Maya's ear perked up, ready to hear the premium gossip.
When Karen saw Maya, she suddenly remembered.
"Let's talk inside. And your explanation better be reasonable or you're done! I've already gotten all your information. With my family's connection, you are deeply screwed." Karen turned and walked into the gate.
"Dion, why did you break her heart? Are you stupid? That sister looks nice and rich. Let's follow her quickly. If you explain well, you might get a good tip. We need it, so you've to perform well," Maya whispered into Dion's ears.
Dion got down from the bike. "Your head and tip. Do you think we will survive from inside that house? That might be the lion's den."
Maya's jaw dropped. Dion thought she finally got it until she blurted as he was arranging his clothes, "They keep lions inside there?"
"Forget it! Let's go." Dion walked quickly to catch up with Karen while Maya skipped behind him.