Entangled Forever

CHAPTER 3

(ALICE'S POV)

I look around the room and sighed, there was still many places to clean. One may think that the hardest part of my job is serving many customers at a time during the day but the hardest part for me is the late night cleaning.

Attending to streams of customers as they come and go is very draining that by the end of the day the only thing you would wish for is to crash on your bed and black out so that is why I would say that the cleaning at the end of the day is the hardest.

I work as a restaurant attendant and in the night I also work as the cleaner so that is how badly I want the money, you are free to think I'm greedy though. I have bills to pay so I won't mind anybody calling me greedy for taking the two jobs.

" Alice, make sure that both the front and back door is well locked before you go ok? See you you guys tomorrow. " Madam Nancy announcement as she leaves.

She is my boss, the owner of the restaurant I work in.

She is a nice woman and a big inspiration to me, I see her as a strong woman. She is above forty years old and still unmarried but yet she is happy. We live in a world where a woman is blamed for being unmarried at a certain age, almost like women are product that has expiring date and any woman that passes the age without a husband will bear the stigma. They were mocked and seen as failures and at some point most of them end up felling into depression.

This has made some women to pay men to marry them just to escape the stigmatization. They will be suffering in their marriages but won't leave it just so that they don't bear the shame of bring unmarried. But madam Nancy is an exception, she cares less about what people says about and focuses only on making herself happy. She lives a happy life transferring positive energy wherever she is, she is someone I'm looking up in life, not to be unmarried like her but to be strong like her.

I plan on living my life to please just me and never mind what people say about me.

An agonizing groan drew me out of my thoughts and I turned just in time to see Hazel running into the bathroom for the millionth time today. I don't know what she ate today that has been making her to purge all day.

Hazel is my best friend or you can say that she is more of my sister. We met in the orphanage and since then we have been like sisters. I don't know anything about my parents but according to sister joy, our rector then I was found lost when I was five. She said that they reported me to every station but yet nobody came to claim me so they had no other option but to keep me.

I grew up in the orphanage and though there were many children to be friends with Hazel and I have been more than close and fortunately none of us was adopted while we were growing up.

We moved out of the orphanage at fifteen after high school and since then we have been fending for ourselves by working from place to place. We rented a small apartment and have been living together.

" Hazel how are you feeling now?" I asked as she came out of the toilet looking pale and weak. This diarrhea has really taken a toll on her in just a day. She nodded her response too tired to talk, I helped her to a sit.

" Hazel I think it's best if you go home first, I will quickly finish and then buy some drugs for you while coming back." I suggested but she shakes her head adamantly.

" How can I leave the whole work for you, they are still a lot." she refused to listen to me. This is one of the few things I hate about Hazel she is too adamant. I know that arguing with her won't change her mind so I just ignored her and quietly packed her bag then grab her by the hand.

" I don't think you staying here makes any difference, you are too weak to work anyways so go home and rest." I dragged her outside as she put up weak struggles but it didn't do me anything. I'm naturally stronger than her adding to her weak state so her struggles were futile.

I stopped a cab, help her inside and paid the cab man before coming back to my work . I know that with Hazel gone the work is going to take longer for me to finish but I also know that Hazel would have done same thing if I was in her shoes.

Getting back into the room I nearly fainted out of freight, Jane jumped out from a corner as soon as I stepped inside scaring the s**t out me. Apart from Hazel and me no other staff stays till this time so I was surprised to see somebody inside, I thought I had seen a ghost. She broke into laughter while I slumped into the nearest seat to catch my breath.

Jane is one of my colleague but she only works as a waiter unlike Hazel and I who works as cleaners at the end of the day so it's unexpected that she is still around.

" Jane you scared me!" I managed to say as I try to steady my breathing. She continued laughing and I couldn't help but laugh with her even though it was not funny, I nearly had a heart attack!

" Sorry dear, I was bored and thought of doing something fun. " she replied amidst laughter.

" How are you still around?" I asked her as I grabbed my rag to continue cleaning. She shrugged.

" I'm waiting for my boyfriend, we are going somewhere from here. "

" Oh, ok," I replied and focused on my work. The day's fatigue has started tolling on me and I can't wait to finish and go home. I continued cleaning while Jane kept me company while waiting for her boy. I cleaned for a while before Jane got some orange juice from the freezer, she poured two cups.

" Here, have some juice." she offered me one cup but I was hesitant to collect it. Don't get me wrong but Jane and I are not close enough to be pouring drinks for each other, if anything she even hates me.

" Do you think I would possibly poison you? Common don't be dramatic. " she scoffed and exchanged the cups taking the one she initially offered me and drank it in my face.

This was so unlike her, she don't even like talking to me not to talk of offering me drink she got. Maybe she is really bored as she she said. I accepted the drink thanking her, I drank it at a go and got back to work.

I continued cleaning but just as I'm about rounding up I started feeling hot. It is unexpected because the whether is calm and the air conditioner was still on, perhaps I'm just sweating because of the work. I removed my jacket and continued cleaning but before the next minute I'm almost hyperventilating. My body feels hot and dizzy.