The Billionaire Dream

The class ended sooner than I thought. I grabbed my bags,rushing out. The weather was warm, and I ignored the curious glances from passersby as I rushed along the street. "I can't let Melissa close before I get there," I thought. Melissa's my girlfriend; we've been together since Mom died, and her presence really helped me overcome the loss of Mom's passing. "Hey Jay," a voice hollered behind me. I turned, recognising Lucky; he's a friend I met at the local pizza hut. I stopped. "What's going on? I have somewhere I need to be." I glanced at my watch anxiously. "I'll make this quick, Jay," he said, walking briskly besides me. "So last week Jane called in sick. You know how everyone's been buzzing about movie week. I've been up to my neck in orders, and I'd really need your help balancing the ledgers; they're a mess." "C'mon, Lucky, you know I don't do nights on school days; Melissa would have my head on a platter." I scratched my nose awkwardly, not like Melissa would mind; she's been behaving weirdly of late, and I'm in such a haste to meet her before she signed off and headed to the hospital where she worked nights. "For old times sake, you're good with all those numbers; I don't know how you do it, but the ledgers for last month compared to mine were more comprehensive," Lucky revealed with a big smile. "I didn't even know I spent that much on my light bill." I nodded my head grudgingly,accepting his praise. I've always been good at math, one of the many things I'm good at. I had to learn a lot of things to take on part-time jobs, and Lucky's ledger was one of them. Lucky continued speaking, "And say what? I'll come by tomorrow morning to drop them off, and I'll throw in a movie pizza as a bonus. That pretty girl of yours would swoon over it." Lucky winked at me. "Okay, deal," I nodded. "Thanks a million, man." "You'll soon be owing me a million, man," I teased, increasing my pace. The store Melissa worked part time at was about fifteen minutes walk from school. I glanced at my watch, relieved. There were still a few more minutes until four thirty; she should be there. I saw her immediately. I turned the corner. "Melissa," I called out, and I walked up to her. Her beauty always shook me; her glowy blue eyes scanned me. I noticed a little stiffness in her demeanour; her eyes were shifty. "You didn't come like you said you would," I asked quietly. "Is everything alright?." Melissa avoided my gaze. "I just closed late, and I didn't feel too good." 'She's lying!' I thought, Melissa's a bad liar; her shifty eyes gave her away. "Well, you can come later, okay?" I made my voice light. "Lucky's bringing us pizza." I glanced at Melissa,hoping to see her face light up. She's always loved pizza. I'm disappointed. Melissa forced a smile before she nodded. "Yes, I'll be there." She looked away. "I have to get going; I'm almost late." I nodded reluctantly. "Take care of yourself, okay?" Melissa nodded. She walked away. I stared at her figure till she was lost in the crowd. I was about to leave when I noticed a little squeezed paper on the ground. I bent down and picked it up. I unwrapped it, and slowly, a frown climbed my face. It read, "I saw what you did; don't test my DNA. I'm waiting." 'Was this for Melissa?' I wondered,staring in the direction Melissa was headed. The walk home was longer than I cared to know. I hated to think about it, but my thoughts kept going to the piece of paper tucked in my pocket. I pressed down the urge to call Melissa to ask. 'What if it wasn't hers? I wondered. I folded it and put it in my pocket,deciding I'd ask her when she came around after her shift. I opened my door,stepping in. Sky, my shorthair cat, laid lazily in its cot. Its curious orbs stared up at me. "Well, hey Sky," I bent down,stroking her fur. "How's my champ doing?" Sky was a stray cat until I came across her scratching at my door. When her dark pools stared at me, it was settled. She moved in that very moment. I pondered for a moment before my misgivings got the better of me. I dialled Melissa's number. "Hello,who's there? I promise Melissa didn't mean it, okay?" I heard a voice stuttering at the other end. "Huh,who's on the line, please? Is Melissa there?" I asked, a little bewildered by her words. " ohh!" The voice exclaimed, "My bad, I'm sorry, Miss Melissa isn't available for calls." The professional tone was back in her voice, and I noted, "Why are you picking up her calls then?" I asked, a bit suspicious. It's not like Melissa leaves her cell with anyone; she usually switches it off when at the hospital. My call then was just a random attempt to see if I'd get through to her. "Oh well, she was expecting a call, so I'm just helping her get it." "Alright,thank you. Give her my regards, will you?" "Sure, I will." She promised, ending the call. 'Who's call could she be expecting?' I wondered; it couldn't have been mine, I knew, as I rarely called when she was at the hospital. I pondered it but couldn't make sense of it. ' I'll ask her about it when she comes,' I promised myself. I decided to get something to eat. I'd just finished feeding Sky when I heard a knock. "Jane came round this evening to give me a hand, so I thought I'd just bring the ledger ahead of time," Lucky said,passing me a thick stack of old, musty ledger books. I nodded. "No problem. I'll try to get this done before Mr. Jem's Cockerel starts making a racket tomorrow morning." I kept the books. "How's Jane?" "She's good. She looks good," Lucky added. "The glow is back in her cheek; she said Melissa did a good job with her." "Melissa? You mean Melissa treated her?" "She did a very good job at that." Lucky nodded, smiling. "Apparently the doctor had a little emergency, so she was pulled in; Jane was feeling sorry; she couldn't tell her thanks properly; Melissa couldn't stay with her; apparently this dude came in and was talking about some DNA test results; she left Jane to attend to him." "DNA?" I asked suspiciously, and my mind suddenly recalled something: 'the paper I picked earlier!' "Yeah, probably one of those jerks who've had one too many loose lives, maybe," Lucky said as he nodded his head. He went on talking animatedly about the DNA scandals that made the news. I'd stopped listening long ago; I unfolded the paper I picked earlier,reading the words again. "I saw what you did; don't test my DNA. I'm waiting." My face paled in shock. 'What exactly is going on?'