Chapter 5: My Name is Alicia

2 year ago…

A girl wore her apron that was a part of her uniform as a cashier at a convenience store. A waitress in the morning, a cashier at night and a cleaner on the weekends. She’s juggling three minimum waged jobs for her mother’s hospital bill. She often thinks of how her life would have been right now if she continued college. If her mother’s health had not decline eight years ago, she would have been busy studying for the bar exam or perhaps she already passed the exam, but all that thought probably will only ever be a reality in an alternative universe. Even though she often daydreams about that thought, she never blame her mother. She was raised by a single mother and loved her very much because she witnessed the sacrifices and love her mother gave for raising her. She’s willing to sacrifice herself as much as her mother would do for her.

“Alicia, are you done?” A co-worker asked. The girl then, went to the counter to take over. Her co-worker thanked her and wished her well before leaving.

It’s only 8 PM and her shift ends at 2 AM. By then, she’ll have to force herself to only sleep for 5 hours cause her next job will start at 8 AM as a waitress in a local eatery. That’s another 8 hours of work. She can never take her breaks for granted cause it’s the only time she gets to eat, that is usually fast foods and junk foods like pizza and cup noodles, sometimes if she was permitted more time, she can order a cheap but decent meal at a small diner nearby.

The sound of the automatic sliding door at the entrance of the convenience store was heard and a young man entered, he was swaying as he walks, probably drunk, Alicia guessed. He doesn’t seem hostile thus Alicia just silently watched the man through the CCTV cameras. Although struggling, he walked to the beverage station and he had a hard time choosing drinks. After a minute, he finally settled on a litre of mineral water. Its possibly the most expensive brand the store has. As he was swaying his way to the counter, so does his mumbling voice.

“She’s teasing me, there’s no expensive water in a convenience store! At least not expensive enough for her.” the man mumbled in complaint. As he reached the counter, he lifted his head to see Alicia, the cashier, eye to eye. Upon seeing her, he seem to have sober up from his drunkenness. Alicia gave no mind and just took the water from the man’s hands to scan for purchase.

“That will be 24, we accept cash, card and e-wallets. How would you like to pay?” Alicia asked but the man was stunned and she just stared back at him in silence.

“Are you pranking me?” the man decided to break the silence but despite his question, Alicia never entertains a costumer more than what she is required to so she just repeated her previous line and this brought the man to rub his eyes making sure that he was not hallucinating. “Bianca, what is going on?” the man asked but once again, Alicia did not entertain the question. When the man was about the ask once more, someone else entered the store.

“Ray? Did you pass out?” the girl who just walked yelled inside the store. The man just became more confused as the woman walked closer to the counter. When the girl’s eyes landed on Alicia, she was also speechless. Alicia, however, never gave a reaction, she was probably too tired to care about anyone else. The girl suddenly ran up to the man excitedly. “Its amazing how you found my lookalike, Ray!” the girl exclaimed.

“You’re not pranking me, Bianca?”

“I may enjoy teasing you but I never pulled an elaborate prank.” the girl, Bianca, answered with a sweet smile on her face. She then turned her attention to Alicia. “Hello, are you my lost twin?” when she asked that, Alicia blinked to snap herself and that when she realized that the girl in front of her named Bianca looked like a copy of her. Although compared to her who looked like a panda and a zombie at the same time, the girl in front has beautiful hair and looked like she never experience stress from how glowing her skin is. From her high class brand of a cocktail dress, it was like she is telling everyone who looks at her that she’s a daughter of a rich man.

“I had seen my birth certificate and I was not recorded as a twin.”

“Is your birthday on September 28?”

“No, it’s April 14, 27 years ago.” Alicia, replied truthfully as her curiosity has been picked. There’s a possibility that they are half sisters because Alicia never met and even asked about who her father is. She has no doubt that her mother is her biological mother and that she was not a stolen baby from a rich family. Yes, her dearest mother is not like Mother Gothel. But she is now curious about her actual connection to her mirror copy of a girl.

“What if you’re my unknown older sister? I wouldn’t really be surprised if that’s the case given how well I know my father. It’s very possible.” Bianca spoke her thoughts.

“I’ve never met my father.”

“Then doesn’t that makes the chances of us being related much more possible?” Bianca hypothesized. “Ah, this doesn’t mean I am degrading my father. It’s because my older siblings and I don’t share the same mother.”

“I’m not thinking that anyway, so don’t worry. I don’t have any opinion about who and what my father might be. I don’t care if he’s a saint or the worse person in the world.”

“You’re a strong person then. You don’t hold grudges and such.”

“I just don’t see the benefits of doing so.”

“Haha, I see. Then, will it be possible for me to ask for your hair for DNA test?”

“You did picked my curiosity about how we look so much alike but I would prefer not to invite such complexity in my life. I’m already working three jobs at the same time, I can’t add more things to stress me out.”

“Oh! If this is about money, I can pay you. How much for a strand of hair?” Bianca offered but this does not entice Alicia one bit. “You can’t really lose anything if it comes back negative you know. It’s possible that we’re just complete strangers that look alike. But if it does come back positive, I will compensate you greatly plus I can help you threat to sue my father for child support or whatever. He doesn’t like bothersome things like that thus I predict that he will just offer you a heck ton of money to not sue him.” Bianca is now offering everything she can think of to convince Alicia. Bianca is not doing this to help Alicia find her father but she would have done so if that was the case but because Alicia already expressed her lack of interest for the identity of her father, Bianca is now only doing this for her own amusement and perhaps she does have an ulterior motive behind this.

Even though Bianca is suspicious, Alicia did think about the benefits she could receive. If she demand five times the amount she makes yearly, then she could possibly quit her current jobs and look for one that pays decently. It would allow her some time to actually take care of her mother.  She could even demand a house so that she no longer have to pay rent and she does not have to apply on mortgage.

“Will you really be able to give me everything I would demand?” Alicia asked and Bianca nodded at her enthusiastically. “Even if I’ll ask for a house and money at the same time?” Bianca nodded again. Alicia extended her arm for a handshake. “My name is Alicia Rose.”

“I’m Bianca Ada.” They girls grab each other’s hands and shook it and with that, they had a deal.