Not like Us

Chapter 12

Bella went inside the store inside the mall. It is the store where she brought her phone.

" Good morning, ma'am. What can I do for you? " The attendee said with a smile. Bella looked at her watch. It was still ten o' clock in the morning. They were only few people in the mall that was why the attendee could attend her immediately.

Bella got her phone from her purse. " I need a charger for this model. " She handed her phone to the attendee. The attendee checked out her phone. The attendee smiled and looked at her. " Follow me, ma'am. "

It did not took them a minute to move a place. The store was just small. Enough for ten to fifteen people at the same time. The attendee grabbed a charger from a shelf. She opened the seal to try it out. She plugged it to Bella's phone and it flashed a screen that indicated that the phone was charging. Bella nodded. " I will buy that. "

The attendee returned her phone and sealed it back to its packaging. Bella noticed something on the attendee's back. It was a power bank. She needed it while she stroll around the mall. " I will buy that powerbank as well, " said Bella while she rubbed both of her hands to her arms.

The attendee noticed it. " Are you okay, ma'am? " the attendee asked. Bella nodded. " Yeah I was just cold. I am fine. "

The attendee did not believe her aside from the reason that the aircon was not in a high temperature it was because Bella's face were turning red but the attendee did not want to push Bella if she did not want to say anything. " That would be 1,300 php ( 26$ ), ma'am. " The only words that came out to the attendee's mouth.

Bella handed to the attendee her payment and went out of the store. She connected her phone to the power bank. It was charging. She put it inside her purse to let it charge. She would open her phone once it reached ten or twenty percent.

She looked around to see what she could do around the mall while waiting for the time to pass. Maybe she would eat a lot of food that she missed later on since her grandmother only prepared Filipino dishes while she was in the province. She craved for something foreign.

Bella started walking slowly while she assessed the whole area. Deciding on where should she enter. While she was in the province, she noticed a lot of things. She realized that she need new appropriate clothes. All she had were ripped jeans, short skirts and shorts, and black shirts. There were place that would deem her clothes inappropriate. So, she would need something light in color and normal pants. She also noticed that her boots stood out when they were in the market. Maybe it was best if she would buy some slippers and rubber shoes, too. She went inside a*****e where she could buy all the things she needed.

" Thank you for shopping, ma'am, " the security in the store said.

Bella was bringing three papers bags from a single store. It took her fifteen to twenty minutes before she checked out all that she bought.

She was just walking on every floor to see if she could see anything that she could buy. She stopped for a moment in front of a hardware store. There was a one product that caught her attention. She went inside to look at it.

" That is a bulb that can use the solar as a source of energy, ma'am. "

Bella stared at it. That would be very useful to her grandmother. She would be able to check her produces with great illumination when she would buy this then she would not be disappointed with rotten produces anymore.

" I will buy three of this, " she said. It was not that expensive, too. It was only 1,500 php ( $30 ) for three solar power light bulbs.

" Thank you for coming, ma'am, " the cashier from that hardware said.

She went out of the store and headed to the baggage counter. It was getting heavier so it was best to put it there than carry it around. The man from the baggage counter already gave her a number so she exited the area and went up to the food court. She felt that her stomach was already rumbling. It looked like the soup she ate earlier was not enough. She looked at her watch. She only had forty minutes left until 11:30 and the remaining 30 was her travel time. She need to get back before 12 before Lyn found out that she was not in her room.

She immediately went to the shawarma wrap booth. It was a buy one take one stall. She could give the one to Dustin if she would have the chance but if not, it looked like she would it her on her own. She could eat the one as she ride back home. She bought a bottled of water so it would not be a hassle while she carried all her bags from shopping. She could just put the food and water on her purse since it was big enough to contain it.

She hailed a cab and sat up the backseat. She looked at the time on the taxi and it was already 11: 15. She could be back at her father's house at 11:45.

When she already arrived at the house. She entered quietly so no one would noticed that she went out. Sneaking out and sneaking in was Bella's expertise. She arrived in her room without anyone noticing. She put what she shopped in her closet to hide it. She noticed that she had not unpacked her clothes yet. They would not mind it. She changed her clothes in to a pajama and wiped her ligjt make up. Lyn might realized that it was not the same clothes that she wore earlier but she knew Lyn would not ask. But if she would, she could just use that she was sweating so much as an excuse.

Bella went back to lay on her bed. She looked at the closed closet. She just now realized that what she bought were what she needed to the province. She could use it there if she ever had the chance to visit again. She signed. Was she unconsciously loving the province?

Bella heard a knock on her door. She looked at her wall clock and it was already 12. It was Lyn. " Come in, " Bella said and she sat up and leaned on the headboard.

Lyn showed up with a tray on her hands. It had soup, medicine, and water on top of it. Bella wondered how did she opened the door with her hands full.

" How are you, ma'am? " Lyn asked. She put the tray on Bella's side table. She placed her hands on her forehead. Lyn flipped and flipped her hands to make sure that she was getting her right temperature.

" Ma'am, you are still hot, " Lyn panickly said. " You should eat now ma'am and drink your medicine so that you will cool down. "

Bella placed her hand on her forehead as well. She was still hot? The last time she felt cold was only in the phone store but on the next few minutes on the mall, she did not feel anything.

" Okay, Lyn. You do not need to wait. You could just come back after four hours. I would make sure to eat and drink all that were found on this tray, " Bella suggested.

Lyn nodded. " But there is someone who wants to see you ma'am even just for a couple of minutes, he pleaded using his eyes so I could not turn him down, " Lyn said.

Based on what Lyn said, Bella already had a hunched on who was it.

A little boy hugging a teddy bear went in. There were some streaks of paint on his face. Dustin handed something to Lyn and Lyn handed it to Bella. There were four persons in the drawing. They were outside of a house. Hands holding while words like ' dad ' , ' mom ', ' ate Bella ', and ' me' below on each person.

" Dad, mom, you, and me. " Dustin happily said. Bella sighed. Dustin looked so very Innocent. He did not know what was going on with his surrounding. If only he knew, she would not be part of the drawing he made.

" We are family, " he added taking a seconds break of every word. Bella stared at Dustin. She was caught of guard of what he said. He thought of her as part of his family while she thought of him as part of the reason why she was broken. Bella's tears started to flow down to her cheeks. How could be a child so innocent? It hurts her to hate him.

" I love you, " Dustin said. There was no stuttering and it sound so genuine. Bella continued crying. Her heart felt heavy. A child made her feel it. A child made her feel accepted while adults could not. She wished he would not change his mind when he grow up, she would be very sad if it did.