Princess wannabe (English) (UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 1

The setting of the sun is the most engaging scenario in a day. I love the tangerine color of the sky as the moon above showed visibly. 

I prepared my stuff when the bus passed by the road sign saying that we were about only a hundred meters away from the destination point. I was silently watching the bunch of trees we had passed while listening to the noise from my classmates who were busy playing with one another and with their toys.

“Baby!” I turned to the direction where the voice was coming from.

“Mom!” I watched one of my classmates welcomed by her mom as she got off the bus. I secretly envied her.

I sat on a bench as the bus went back to school after all the passengers got off it. Most of them are already fetched by their parents.

Minutes passed, I was on the verge of crying knowing I’m the only one left. Where is my papa or my auntie? Do they still have a plan on coming to pick me up?

Past 6 o’clock in the evening, the darkness began to envelop the night sky. Aside from the light post near my seat, the moon also contributes its brightness.

“Darling.” raising my lips, I instantly looked behind as I heard a voice. My smile faded upon seeing the presence of my auntie’s friend. 

“I’m sorry if your auntie can’t come, I’ll be the one to take you home instead.” She said, her eyes gleamed in with concern.

“How about Papa?” 

He hadn’t been dropping me off and picking me up from school lately. It all started to happen after Mama left for work a few months ago.

He loved my mama so much. He cooked for us, did the household chores, and treated her like a queen. The fact that we could no longer see and hold Mama distressed us, especially Papa.

After a minute of silence, she then answered, "Uh, I’ll let your auntie tell you later when we get home, okay?” Her smile gave a cue that everything will be fine.

I nodded. She took my bag after calling a tricycle to drive us home.

I lived about thirty minutes from the center of downtown Bulacan where rice fields and other vegetation are more dominant than houses and modern infrastructure. 

I glanced in the direction where our home was. Gray dust along the uncemented street flickered visibly from the tricycle's headlight. Between the average-sized houses, is our tiny home. 

When we’re about a few meters away, I saw people flocked in front of the doorway. The noise became audible as we came closer. 

“Alice!” 

My Auntie welcomed me with tears dried on her cheek. She abruptly carried me as we went inside the house. I drifted my eyes to the group of flowers and candles set out around a long narrow box.

There, I saw my father in a Barong Tagalog, beautifully sleeping beneath the glass. I chuckled, did he forget to get dressed before falling asleep? Come on Papa, get up so I can hug you. 

I wanted to embrace him like the way I used to do every time I caught him sleeping in the living room.

“Why is Papa sleeping in here, Auntie?” I asked innocently.

She took a deep breath before gently uttering the words that shook me to the core "Alice, he is dead. Your papa is dead."

Just because was young, they assumed I couldn't comprehend. I fully understood what she said. Papa is dead, Papa is sleeping forever. He will never wake up again.

"That's not true!" I began to cry my heart out.

Auntie tried hard to console me. "When you get older, find the one who became the reason for his death."

"What do you mean, Auntie?" I asked calmly, sniffing.

"When your mother had gone, his loneliness eventually be the reason of his death. "Papa!" 

I quickly got off from my sheet. That dream never let me sleep in peace most of the nights. It saddened me before I got used to it. I whacked off the horrible sound of the alarm clock, raising my two hands to stretch, then yawned.  

I was hoping the landlady won’t rush into my room and tell me to break my alarm clock just because it ruined her sleep again.

I walked to the bathroom to shower off the sleepiness. We sleep because we’re tired, but sleep made me tired, especially after snoozing almost a the whole night. I sometimes thought that we only live just to fool ourselves. 

But yeah, that's how humans’ lives continue: go to work, earn money, pay bills, and go to school. No matter how you work hard if you have weekly bills you cannot sum up your savings. Though it’s inevitable, you can’t freely live unless you marry somebody who could buy the universe.

"Hotdog! Hotdog! Only fifty pesos a stick!" I was wearing a large hot dog shaped costume while  bringing the box containing all my stock of hotdogs. I endured walking along the street next to the market square.

Two weeks have passed since I traveled here from Bulacan. Thanking God for giving me strength and bravery to live and survive alone. 

The first few days were very terrifying knowing I had to survive by myself living in a goddamn place I am not familiar with. My life turned 180 degrees instantly just to achieve my impossible mission--to find my mother who left us a some years ago. 

Well, there’s no turning back. I had no choice but to accept this all.

"Hotdog!" I call at the top of my voice.  But boy, everyone in this area couldn’t care less. Morning is almost over and I still haven’t earned at least a hundred bucks.

"Arfy, Stop!" Minutes have passed, I heard something was being torn behind me. My eyes widened in total shock as I watched the dog assault my costume. I saw its cloth being torn. Crap!

"Oww! Get off! I'm not a hotdog!” I wish I could be one than being human.  “Don't eat me!"  Let me be eaten by the prince charming instead.

I shook my head when my thoughts fled above the clouds. This is not a time to joke, Alice!

I had to scare him away so he would run away. The monster... I mean, my boss will kill me if he finds out about this. 

"Arfy, I told you to Stop!" The dog loosened his bite, then the owner of the dog took his dog away from me.

The moment I raised my gaze to him, the clock stopped ticking, as a Taylor Swift song played in the background. I felt like I was on cloud nine for about a few seconds. My knee weakened when he smiled, showing his complete set of perfect, immaculately white teeth. 

I returned to my senses when he handed me some cash. 

"I apologize for the damage I have caused you, this won’t happen again." he ran away after apologizing, taking his dog with him.

My jaw dropped in surprise upon seeing the bundle of thousand bills in my open palm. I have to give it back to him, but he’s already gone, so I hid some of it in my pocket instead. 

"...for the damage I have caused you." I realized what he meant to say. 

Oh, God! I finally met my doom. My face crumpled upon glancing at my poor costume over my shoulder. I can’t remember wearing an omelet-shaped-like-melted-ice-cream eyesore. 

"What a fresh start. After destroying my stuff, you expect something from me?! Are you dumb?" This old Filipino-Chinese man, who happened to be my boss, was very angry. His tummy is bigger than a woman’s, who is seven months pregnant. He just woke up from a deep sleep when he noticed what happened to my costume. I understand his rage but not the way he insults me.

"Bring all your stuff with you and never come back here! You even don't have a profit and you have the guts to show me that?" he pushed me out of the door before waving his hand, fiercely wanting me to go away.

"You still want to stay here after what you did?" he said, wondering why I went in. I turned to him and raised my eyebrows. 

"You were telling me to go away with just a few pieces of stuff. Excuse me, sir, the rest of my stuff is still upstairs."

"Hurry up and leave!" he said waving his hand again. Of course, I won't come back. He doesn't have an idea of how much I endured living with him and his wife. I rented a part of his place which is owned by his wife, whose attitude is as rotten as his.

It was past eight o'clock in the evening and I still can't find a place to stay in the meantime. I was not familiarized with the whole city. I have been to someplace but I don't remember how I got there. I only have little money which I received from a certain man earlier, and that was all I have.

I was already tired of walking but while looking at the city lights and skyscrapers, somehow, it helped me to avoid thinking of how exhausted I was. The evening scenery in Manila is far from where I grew up—where the view of the mountains at night would fill even the most remote places with tranquility.

Later that evening, I felt my stomach grumbling as a waft of savory aroma drifted in the air from a nearby restaurant. I went inside and caught sight of some girls in revealing clothes, who were dancing gracefully to retro music, boys drinking beer, and a couple kissing and making out. It was a little difficult for me to look at them because of the colorful, blinding lights. Also, due to the loud music blasting from the speakers, I was barely hearing myself when the waitress took my order.

Tonight we will burn up the dance floor.

 I looked at the stage where I saw a group of men preparing their instruments. The songs shifted from retro kind of music to rock. They were playing “Smells Like Teen Spirits” by Nirvana, I know that song since my late father was fond of old foreign bands.

 As I was enjoying them play, I noticed their vocalist. He was so tall and attractive. His shut eyes as he sang signified he was driven by the song. His gestures made him look hotter. I felt like I am going to suffocate soon.

 "Here's your order. Enjoy your meal." I came back from my reverie when the waitress served my order.

"Miss, how much?"

 “Five hundred pesos.”

I almost fell from my seat. That small serving was already 500 pesos? I don't even think that it could reach my stomach! Why did the wind bring me here? I already lost my appetite.

When I was about to exit, a person bumped against me. Because of the strength of that person, my stuff fell on the floor. Several people saw it, I even heard someone laughing.

"Oh s**t!" A woman wearing a short skirt with a glass of wine in her hand stood before me. She looked annoyed with what happened.

"What happened, Babe?" someone behind her spoke up. I lifted my gaze to see who it was and to my surprise, it was the vocalist.

"Look at what she did!" she blurted out angrily. I got up after collecting my stuff. 

"That’s cheap." I turned to the man when I heard him saying something displeasing. He smirked. I liked his voice but not his personality, so it's a no for me. He's exactly my type, my type to hate.

The next morning, I planned to apply for a job. I will take any job suitable for a student like me and with my current educational attainment, rather than begging for something to eat, which I always imagine in the near future. 

"Anything I can do for you, ma'am?" the guard asked when he noticed me with my eyes glued to the tarpaulin beside the entrance door.

I took a deep breath. My journey brought me to the tall constructive building. Fascinated with its incredible architectural designs, especially when the interior, the lavish medieval decorations along the hall impressed me most. The guard invited me to come inside and get on an elevator to reach the 5th floor, where the hiring office was located, then ask for a person to lead me there.

I followed his instructions. As I got there, I saw men wearing formal clothes walking in my direction. I was stunned when I laid my eyes on a man, who was also staring back at me. His eyes were scary.

After inquiring, I went back outside the building. I saw them again, the men in black. I do not know what they are up to, but it seems like they have a parade to attend. They reminded me of Johnny Bravo and friends.

When was about to cross the pedestrian lane, I almost got hit by a car. The driver immediately got out of the car. It seemed that time slowed down especially when he was removing his shades. He came closer until we were only half a meter apart. He gradually inched his face towards me and caught a kiss.

But of course, it was just my imagination. What really happened was that he bent down to reach for my bag which fell on the floor and handed it to me.

"Uhh, thank you," I said shyly.

"Look where you’re going every time you cross the road," he said calmly.

He returned to his vehicle and drove away leaving me stupefied.