Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

The students who were eating in the canteen stopped because of the echoing question. I swallowed hard and felt how their attention was fixated on me. At that moment, I felt extreme embarrassment that I never thought I would experience in my life. It was so intense that I would rather disappear like a bubble than stay in my current position.

I released an awkward smile to hide my embarrassment from Madam's expression. I saw her raise an eyebrow because of my smile, as if she wasn't pleased with my action.

Then, she gestured to me, inviting me to approach her. Although I was scared of what she might do to me, I forced myself to step closer, so as not to increase her anger towards me.

I knew she would be more furious if I didn't follow her command. So, even though I was afraid of what she could do, I still approached her with my head bowed to conceal my embarrassment.

I felt the stares following me with every step I took, and I didn't have to lift my head to know who they were from. They were our customers who happened to be my schoolmates. Yes, they were my schoolmates, and we came from the same university. It's not surprising that students eat here since it's right in front of our campus.

I couldn't help but cringe when Madam pinched my ear so hard when I got close to her, which made them gasp. Maybe she realized that the attention of the customers was on us, and she forcibly dragged me into the kitchen of the canteen while still holding my ear, causing it to turn red.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to be late? Because you are badly needed here!" she angrily asked me as soon as we entered the kitchen. As she spoke those words, I felt her grip on my ear tighten, causing me to wince in pain.

"Ouch!"

She must have realized my pain since she immediately let go of my ear.

My eyelids were tingling, and I rubbed my ear gently to relieve the pain. I could feel the heat from the pinch, which was the result of her action.

"So, why were you late?" she asked.

I looked up at her and saw her with a smirk, raising one eyebrow and staring at me.

"I was late because I slept late last night. I was studying for our exam today," I answered her question while bowing my head.

I saw her eyes and shoulders droop because of my answer.

"Is that so?" I could feel the pity in her voice this time.

I stood up as a response to what she said. I heard her let out a sigh and say, "Okay, wash the piled up dishes in the sink so you can study again." Her kindness and helpfulness are some of the reasons why I am still working at her eatery until now, despite having many reasons to leave the job. One of those reasons is her strictness, but I understand her because I know she only thinks about the welfare of her eatery and her employees, which ultimately benefits us all. Plus, she only becomes strict with lazy workers like me.

I hugged her, feeling her stand up straight, probably surprised by my gesture. "Thank you," I said internally, grateful to her and her family for still being understanding and willing to help me despite my mistakes.

I let go of her embrace, hung my bag on the hooks, and put on my apron to avoid getting my uniform dirty or wet. It's difficult since I only have two uniforms, and I just washed one last night. So every time I take it off, I have to wash it again to have something to wear. Also, I need to wear an apron, especially since my uniform is white and it's hard to remove stains and dirt.

I approached the sink and sighed at the sight of the piled up dishes that I had to wash. It's not new to me since washing dishes is my daily task here, but I still get surprised every time I see them. I don't know why, maybe because I never imagined myself washing dishes at home. Even though my grandma is already old, she still does the household chores to help me, which worries me because she might get hurt.

I want to stop her, but I can't, especially since I know I also need her help.

"Hi Ate Elen," I greeted Ate Elen as I saw her enter the kitchen.

She greeted me back before asking if Ma'am did anything bad to me aside from pinching my ear.

"No, Ate Elen," I replied to her question.

"That's good to hear, dear," she said before approaching the stove to start cooking.

Ate Elen is our cook here in the canteen, while I am the one in charge of washing dishes. Actually, there are four of us working here: Ate Elen as the cook, me as the dishwasher, and Mark and Jason as the servers. Meanwhile, Madam is in charge of the cash register.

After I finished washing the dishes, I quickly wiped my wet hands on the apron I was wearing. Then, I took it off and hung it up. Since I still had some time before my first class, I took out my books and started studying for our exam later. I didn't even notice how time flew by. Good thing Madam came up to me and gave me my salary for the day, which I would use for my allowance.

"Thank you, Madam," I smiled gratefully at her as I received my salary for that day.

She smiled and said, "You're welcome. Now, put your notebooks and books in your bag so you can leave. It's not good to be late, especially since you have an exam today." I followed her advice and quickly put my notebooks and books in my bag so I could leave for school.

After I finished packing, I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up from my seat. I bowed my head and said, "Thank you again," while still looking down.

Then, I looked up again and turned around to leave, but I didn't go far when I heard words that I didn't expect would soften my heart. "You're welcome again, dear, and I'm sorry for what I did," she said.

See? I told you that even though she can be tough, she still has a kind side. In this world, there are two types of bad people: one who became bad because of something you did that made them angry, and the other who was just born bad.

And in her case, she become bad because of me.

I smiled as I looked at her and said, "It's okay, it's my fault why you treated me that way." After saying those words, I turned around and opened the door in front of me. I didn't wait for her to say anything else because I knew that if I did, our conversation would just drag on, which could make me late for my exam.

As soon as I stepped out of the kitchen, I noticed the worried looks from the people around me, who were probably the reason why I bowed my head and hurriedly walked out of the cafeteria.

I thought they had already left since they finished eating, so I felt relieved when I walked out thinking they were gone. But maybe only those who had classes left, as some were still there even though they had finished eating, as if they chose to stay there.

I could only breathe properly once I got out of the cafeteria. I released a deep sigh of relief. I didn't expect that it could be so uncomfortable when all the attention was focused on you. It was suffocating, making me hesitate before taking a breath, as they might follow me with their gaze.

I approached the pedestrian lane to cross the street, and when I saw that there were no cars coming from both sides, I began to cross. But little did I know, there was a speeding motorcycle coming towards me, which made me freeze. Before I could say anything, I heard the deafening honk from the motorcycle, accompanied by the grating voice of the owner of the motorcycle.