"Thank you ma'am." She greeted with a wide smile, handing over the baby to her mother as she took her pay.
"No dear. I should be the one thanking. Do have a nice day."
With a polite nod while hanging her back over her shoulder, she walked out, safely tucking in her money. She threw a quick glance at her wristwatch, taking her lips in; eighteen minutes past seven in the evening -few minutes to reach school. She took to her heels, only stopping when she reached the school's gate. She took out her gate pass and was let in.
Dragging her wearied body through the quiet hallway, she managed to get to her room. She unlocked her door and flung her bag on her bed, kicking her shoes off her feet.
"Ouch, Arlene! That was my nose." Greg muttered, rubbing his nose. He pulled the duvet off his face and sat up, concern replacing the pout on seeing her. "I made your bath some minutes ago, bet it's still warm. Now hurry, go freshen up. Your food's on your reading desk." He spoke softly, watching her pull off her hoodie.
She muttered a thank you and walked into the shower.
In few minutes she came out, already on some long baggy pants and an oversized T-shirt; technically, Arlene loved baggy clothes.
She looked better now.
She rushed her food and finally got on the bed. She grabbed her bag, emptying its content.
Greg took out a mini notebook and a pen, flipping it open.
She arranged the money and counted them. "Ten thousand dollars." She muttered with a sigh.
Greg scribbled on the book, doing some calculations. "We still have like, four hundred thousand plus remaining."
Arlene breathed out.
She definitely wasn't getting the money before the week runs out. "Today was pretty bad. We had fewer customers at the Café."
Greg was silent. It was just a day left and they hadn't even gotten quarter the money. It was really cruel to ask someone to get such amount of of money in a week.
He took his gaze to her. He had some money in his account and he could get some from his parents too. That would total one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, roughly. They still had a long way to go.
Arlene was too immersed in her thoughts to notice Greg's stare. She needed an extra job again, she thought. The seven she did for the past days wasn't enough.
Arlene was strong, but the stress was evident on her. She was leaner, and her eyes had dark circles on them. Left for the food Greg brought her during lunch and her breakfast, Arlene was almost starved.
She'd taken a week permit from Mr. Howell with an excuse that her mom was seriously ill and needed her attention. Greg had helped with the process too. She knew sitting and wailing wasn't going to help matters.
Although she got the access she wanted, she was timed. She would leave by some minutes to six in the morning and return before seven-thirty in the evening. Luckily, she was able to get part-time jobs easily and had managed to handle seven, but now she needed more.
"Do you think there's any other place I could..."
"You're not doing another job, Arlene." Greg's voice interrupted immediately, firmness laced in it. He wasn't going to watch her kill herself to some individual.
Arlene gave a dry chuckle. "Like I have a choice. Delaney's not been answering her calls nor replying my messages and I can't count the number of times I've seen her around. I could've borrowed some money from her. It's just a day left and I haven't even gotten a hundred thousand. No one knows what that breathing sculpture has in stock for me. He could even kill me! I should've known he wasn't just a normal person. What happens after tomorrow? I really need to do something and..."
"I have some money in my account," Greg started, cutting in. "I could ask my mom for some too. It should be up to a hundred thousand, I hope. I could help with that." He spoke softly.
Arlene stared mute at him, a tear escaping her eyes. This was all too much for her to carry. He offered to help even if it meant using every penny in his account.
Greg smiled. "Cry baby. Come here." He cooed, parting his arms open.
Arlene went into his embrace, finally letting the tears fall. She wasn't known to cry, she'd rather bottle up her feelings but they were just too much for her.
Greg was more than a friend. He was her Saviour. She didn't mind crying in front of him or him holding her, this time; she was simply overwhelmed. "Thank you." She found her words.
Greg rubbed her back soothingly. "I'll kill you if you thank me again. Now C'mon, quit crying and go to bed already. We'll figure something out later." He assured, patting her hair.
She released him with a sniff, her face wet from the tears and pink from crying.
A smile graced his face. "You look pretty when you cry, but prettier with smiles. Now go to bed and leave the crying for later." He nudged, climbing off her bed.
She nodded meekly and slipped into her covers.
"Goodnight." He waved, turning off her lights before leaving.
She watched quietly as he locked the door behind him. She'd given him a spare to her room. Her gaze lingered on the door for a while before she inhaled deeply, shutting her eyes.
She had to sleep.
She shut her eyes tighter and tried to get used to the darkness and slowly, slowly drifted to sleep.
🕳️🕳️🕳️
The room was quiet, left for the quickened breathings from the two occupants. It'd been that way for the past three minutes and both had their gazes on Arlene's phone.
No, this was wrong.
A mistake. Probably sent to the wrong recipient.
She refused to believe it was meant for her. Eventually, Greg lifted his gaze slowly to Arlene. "This...is this right?" He asked, unsure of his choice of words. She said nothing, her mouth just hanging open.
Arlene had woken up tiredly that morning, rubbing her eyes while trying to focus her blurry vision on her alarm clock. It was obvious she woke before it. "Five-eighteen." She muttered incoherently, a yawn escaping her lips. Finally forcing her sleepy eyes open, she threw the duvet off her body and got to her feet.
Today was the last day. She'll do her possible best and await whatever comes. A buzz from her phone startled her a bit, getting her attention. She reached for it and stared at the screen, Delaney's message popping on the screen.
[Second Me: Sorry, Arlene. I've been pretty busy. And about the money, maybe next time. I don't really have anything on me at the moment. Anyways, I'll gist you when I return.]
Arlene sighed, dropping her phone back on the stool. Delaney's character have been off lately, or maybe she was the one over thinking everything. But then the message was since Saturday and she only got to open it after four days. She shook her head slightly, as if trying to shake off the thoughts. She's been thinking of late and it was really ruining her.
She made for her bathroom but was stopped by another buzz. Picking her phone up yet again in utter weakness, she glared at the screen this time, but then, her brows slowly creased in confusion. She stared longer at the debit alert on her phone, trying to decipher if her eyes were deceiving her. 'Greg had said the money wouldn't be more than a hundred thousand dollars, what then... '
Not thinking anymore, she quickly put a call across Greg and he came in few minutes. "It's definitely not me. I haven't even transferred my mom's to my account." Greg spoke again. This was confusing.
"Who then could have sent such freaking amount to my account? How did the person even get my account details?! This is probably a mistake. Why would..." A ring from her phone paused her rantings. An unknown caller ID popped on her screen. She answered the call, slightly uncertain. "Uh. ..hullo."
"Hey, Arlene." She could tell the person was practically grinning from the other end. Perhaps the caller knew her? Obviously! Her name was called. "I'm sorry but who is this?" She asked, glancing at Greg with a shrug.
"You don't know me? Ouch! Even from my voice?" Arlene frowned. "Okay. Maybe you should quit playing mind games and tell me who you are already." The voice did sound familiar, but not too familiar to decipher who.
There was a hearty chuckle at the other end like he enjoyed every bit of the convo. It was a he...she could tell from the voice. "Fine. It's Jove. Did you see my little present?" And her heart skipped a beat. No, multiple beats. It was him?! Arlene was dumbstruck. "Why...why did you do that?" She stuttered. "Let's just say I'm buying some of your time. Can we meet, please?"
"Absolutely not." It was a firm response coming from Greg. The phone was on speakers, so he could clearly hear the conversation. That earned a chortle from Jove. "Easy there, Fella. I'll just borrow her for some time. What do you say, Arlisa?"
"It's Arlene." She muttered with an eye roll, looking up at Greg. Greg looked away, not wanting to meet hers. "I'll just try. If it's unproductive you don't expect me staying there, right?" He said nothing still. "Okay." Came her awaited response, a squeal following thereafter from Jove.
He cleared his throat almost immediately. "I'll text you the address. When would you be free?" She needed to tackle this right away. I mean, there was more to just sitting home and wondering how six hundred thousand dollars flew into her account. "This morning seems more convenient."
"Sure thing then. See you soon." He said, ending the call. Arlene breathed out, getting to her feet and walking to her wardrobe.
"You're seriously going to meet him?" Greg's voice came, slightly hoarse. Arlene turned with an amused expression. "I have to. Don't worry, I remember he's a total jerk. I need reasons as to why he did that." She said, her gaze turning serious on the last statement.
"Isn't it obvious?" Greg muttered lowly. "Huh?" "Nothing." He got off her bed. "I'll be leaving. Call me when you're done. Hope you're not running low on battery?"
"My battery's full."
"We'll that's better. See you soon. Don't stay too long." "Yes Sire." Arlene replied with a laugh. He was being too strict. He rolled his eyes and exited her room. There was another buzz on her phone and she glanced at the screen. "Let's meet at the Coffee Palace around Dove Street. Is eight a good time for you?" She thought for a moment then picked her phone up to reply. "Yup."
Text bubbles appeared for a moment and disappeared, a message coming in. "Eight it is then. See ya."