Chapter 3

“Will this be enough for my school expenses?”

I asked myself while I was in my room counting the money I saved from my job at the restaurant. At least I have some savings, but I’m worried if it will be enough.

I returned the money to my box and tucked it away in my clothes. I slowly stood up and walked out of my room to clean the house again.

I won’t have breakfast since Lola didn’t cook anything because we’re trying to save money; we have to pay our water and electricity bills soon. But I hope Lola managed to have at least a little breakfast because she’s the only one I worry about.

We have a big electricity bill again. We can’t complain since we’re just borrowing electricity from our neighbor. If we complain, they might cut off our electricity. It would be hard without light, so we have no choice but to endure.

As usual, I did the household chores before leaving the house. Lola had already left early to look for work. Sometimes, she either sells goods in the market or sells vegetables and meat.

“Cath!” called Ate Janet from outside. I knew it was her because today is the day we pay for electricity. Ate Janet is our neighbor from whom we borrow electricity. I wondered how much she would charge this time. I walked to the door and opened it.

“What is it?” I politely asked, even though I knew why she was there.

“Your payment for electricity?” she asked sharply, extending her hand as soon as I opened the door. Ate Janet has always been very harsh, which is probably why she’s still single.

“How much?” I asked innocently.

“Just three thousand.” I wasn’t surprised by her demand; at least it went down a bit. In the past few months, it was over four or five thousand, even though we didn’t have many appliances and we were hardly home during the day. They have many appliances and air conditioning, yet they only pay five thousand.

“Are you going to pay or should I cut you off? You’re just borrowing electricity,” she said sharply. It’s as if she always has a complaint. Her attitude didn’t escape my notice.

“Just a moment, I’ll get the payment,” I said and turned to go back into my room. I took three thousand from my wallet and returned to hand it to Ate Janet. She took it angrily before leaving. That woman really has an attitude.

I closed the door again, feeling defeated as I walked back to my room.

“How much do I have left?” I sighed deeply and hid my wallet in my clothes. Lola will pay the water bill. Fortunately, we only pay about three hundred for water.

It’s really depressing not having money. Life is tough. That’s why I’m determined to finish my studies and become an architect one day, so I can provide a good life for Lola and spare her from the hardships of working just to make ends meet.

I finished the household chores and then headed to work.

“How will you manage during school? How will you come to the restaurant?” asked Ate Fait while we were cleaning the restaurant before opening.

“I’m not sure. Our schedules will probably be different for each subject. Maybe when I don’t have classes, I’ll come here to work, then leave when I have to go to school,” I replied while wiping the tables.

That’s one of the things I’ve been thinking about over the past few days. In college, unlike senior high, high school, or elementary, classes aren’t back-to-back. You have a lot of free time in college, but there’s also a lot to do, especially if there are activities to attend.

I might be able to do some of that here in the restaurant during my free time when there aren’t many customers.

“That’s true,” Ate Fait nodded in agreement.

“Oh, are you done cleaning over there?” asked Kuya Mack, one of the chefs at Kuya Ray’s restaurant. Wait, where is Kuya Ray? I haven’t seen him this morning.

He usually comes here, but he hasn’t been around much lately. He might be busy with a lot of things to take care of.

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