Midnights with Sin

ISINUBSOB ko ang aking sarili sa maliit na kama sa loob ng murang apartment na kinaya ng ipon ko. Unti-unti na akong nasasanay sa sikip ng paligid sa ikatlong araw ng aking pagsasarili at hindi na masama ang aking simula. Never have I ever felt so free, calm, and at peace. I am financially struggling and I cannot even use my credit cards so I could avoid my abusive father’s attempts to track me but I do not care at all. I could get used to eating biscuits and noodles for years and I will never even bother coming back to that hellhole. Today was the day I received my acceptance letter from my dream university. My dad had no idea about it. He insists that I should not go to college and work instead anyway thus; there was no way he would think that I have the guts to apply to one. Bumangon muli ako at saka kaagad na nagbihis upang bumili ng ulam sa labas. Matao ang gawing ito ng lungsod at karamihan ay mga estudyanteng may kanya-kanyang lakad pagsapit ng gabi. Nagsuot ako ng maluwang na pants at medium white shirt bago ko itali ang aking mahabang kayumangging buhok. Siya nga pala, kailangan ko nang baguhin ang itsura ng buhok ko kung ayaw kong mahanap ng mga tao ng aking ama. Naglakad ako sa kahabaan ng commercial street at kaagad na nakita ang karinderya ung saan ako bumibili ng pagkain noong una pa lamang akong lumipat dito hanggan sa wala pa akong lutuan. Ngayong naisip ko iyon, napagtanto kong walang-wala na talaga ako. Kailangan ko ng trabaho kung gusto kong mabuhay o kahit na makaraos man lamang sa gutom. “Muntik ka nang maubusan. Sa susunod, i-text mo na lang ako kung balak mong bumili ng ulam para naman mapagtabihan na kita,” abiso sa akin ng babae sa karinderya. “Nako, baka po makaabala lang ako sa inyo. Nakakahiya po.” Ngumiti ang babae sa akin at saka inilahad ang kanyang de-pindot na cellphone. “Sige na, anak. Marami akong mga estudyanteng suki na gaya mo. Alam kong wala kayong oras para magluto.” Panandalian akong napahinto at saka ngumiti nang manipis sa kanya. Itinipa ko na ang aking numero sa kanyang cellphone at saka nagpasalamat. “Anong itatawag ko sa iyo, anak?” Nanlambot ang aking puso sa palagi niyang itinatawag sa mga bumibili sa kanyang pwesto. Nagtagal ito sa aking tainga at hindi ko mapigilang mapangiti nang kusa. “Berlin na lang po,” pakilala ko at bago ako naglakad pabalik ng dorm ay nagpakilala siya bilang si Mommy Mel. Habang ako ay naglalakad, may nadaanan akong isang malaking billboard na katabi ng isang bagong-bukas na hotel. Napukaw ng modelo ang aking paningin habang ine-endorso niya ang isang brand ng sapatos. Hindi ko mawari ngunit parang nakita ko na siya noon sa kung saan. Matangkad at matipuno siya mula sa aking pagwawangis, makinis ang hindi-gaanong kayumangging balat, mapungay ang abuhing mata, malago ang itim na buhok, at mapula ang mala-Koryanong labi. “Hi.” Tinignan ko ang lalaking biglang tumabi sa akin sa gilid ng kalye. Nakangiti siya at tila may gusto siyang sabihin sa akin. “Bakit?” Nanlawak ang mata niya at kaagad na nagpakilala. Siya raw si Evo. “Sorry if I seem to creep you out. Nakasabay kita kanina sa reception ng university acceptance letter. Congrats.” I awkwardly smiled and congratulated him as well. Hindi nagtagal ang aming pag-uusap na umikot lamang sa kung anong kolehiyo siya nag-enrol at kung saan siya nakatira. Sa totoo lamang ay hindi ko gustong makipagkilala sa maraming tao. The more people I associate myself with, the more risks I am going to be in and sooner, my demon of a father will be hunting for my head, dump me back to that place and laugh at my misfortunes as he clink wine glasses with his second wife and her three entitled daughters. Sinigurado ko namang naka-lock na ang pinto pagpasok ko ng apartment bago ko ilapag sa lumang mesa ang pinamili ko. Nagpabalot na rin ako ng kanin kanina at mainit pa ito hanggang ngayon. Mabilis akong kumain at wala akong itinitira upang hindi magkaroon ng ipis o kung anuman sa sink. Masikip ang tinitirhan ko ngunit hindi ako mabubuhay sa marumi. I went to wash my body before settling down my bed. I glanced at the empty bed across the small bedroom and sighed. Do I still have to look for a flatmate? I should be fine alone, right? I plugged my laptop in and re-scanned my acceptance letter. I entered my assigned codes to the online portal and when I successfully logged myself in, a message immediately popped. This is to notify Miss Saegan, Berlin Diamant that the university has duly approved and validated her full scholarship grant being an academic excellence holder for her past academic records… I went down the terms which require me to at least maintain a reasonable GPA and a good character that I could confidently work well for. I smiled to myself until an email popped on my screen.   Easy job offers near your area            INBOX x NearJobsPH to me   We see that you have recently visited our newly-established website and left us your contact details so that we could tip you off with easy jobs near your area. We are glad to tell you that a lot of clients actually want services around you! You are one step away from earning your money easily! Just click the link below or download the app in your smartphone so you could get started!   I was dumb and desperate. And I need to eat. It wouldn’t hurt to try earning some extra income by doing running some errands, right? I didn’t waste my time. I clicked the link and signed up for their website. They required a username which should consist of a colour and anything under the sun. It was quite relieving that giving out real names was only optional but for their own company’s assurance, they need a present selfie for you to send and a capture of your valid ID which will not be shown to others but only to verify that you are a person. They also asked me to put all the languages I can fluently speak for more chances of being picked to serve. The website is called MasterCall. I had no idea why or maybe it just sounds dominant so it would stand up when anyone reads it. It’s like an advertising hack. When I was done with the registration, I was led to my dashboard and a default avatar of a yellow chick with a cracked eggshell over its head was assigned on my display photo. Cute. Right when I refreshed my dashboard, my notification pinged and it was from the MasterCall Team. Welcome to MasterCall Services, White Flame. We guarantee that our clients are extremely verified from their capability to pay up to their latest criminal records. We value your security as much as how we value the continuous service we provide. In accordance to your location, these are clients who might need your services anytime. We also give bonuses to top five highest-rated agents each month which means more income! You may now start earning after reading the terms. It never occurred to me that at the first day of school, I met the most annoying and most arrogant client that I have served on my very first task. Dammit!