Money or Him?

If I had to pick anything that was the most important for me, except Grandma Gigi of course, that would be money. Oh, just thinking of the texture and the smell of money could make me spring a little higher when I walked. In fact, my favorite days were not weekend or holidays, it was the pay day.             “Bless my lady boss! Several dollars higher than my usual pay, Grandma!”             Grandma Gigi flashed a smile full of gums at my way. Her sparkly eyes, not muddled with age, crinkled in amusement.             “My, you must have worked extra hard this week. Now sit down and eat your dinner. And stop jumping please.”             And the day I hated the most was not Monday but paying the bills day.             “Fraud! Why did the bills go this high? I’m sure we did not use any electricals longer than usual!”             “My, you did, dear. You used your thin box a lot this month to study. Remember?”             Grandma Gigi’s thin and bent back trembled as she laughed.             “Ah…” Curse the examination week. “By the way, it’s called laptop, Grandma..” Something else that made me shocked and traumatized was the price of a cup of coffee in a coffee shop. I was always frugal since childhood so I’ve never really stepped a foot into any coffee shop. Coffee could be brewed at home. Thinking of that unforgettable day made my heart pained.             “…Are you kidding me? A cup of coffee costs this much?”             “Just take it as a lesson to try enjoy spending money for yourself.”             My soon to be ex-best friend rolled her eyes at the dramatic expression on my face.             “No, you bad bad woman. I can’t hand you my possession.”             “It’s only once in a blue moon, you stingy woman. Hand it over or I’m gonna use the television in your house.”             I cried in my heart. Not the television.           Many people might think I’m too much, saving even for just a cup of coffee. But I liked living this way and I’ve never been someone that bent to someone else’s words. That’s probably why I didn’t have a lot of friends. Only that stupid bad woman stayed and put up with me. She had her merits when I thought about it again.             “You need to get laid.”             I sputtered.             “What?”             “You have been single for 21 years of your life, which is exactly since you were born.”             I slapped my best friend in the back of her head and continue writing my essay on the laptop. Did she have to say it in the middle of the library? I could see some heads turning at her words.             “No, you pig. I’ve been on a relationship before.”             “Relationship in elementary school did not mean anything, you dork.”             “Don’t make light of my only relationship! It was beautiful,” even though I didn’t remember anything anymore, except the fact that I did date before.               “You probably don’t even remember anything about that relationship.”             Bullseye.             My cheeks burnt at the sound of someone’s chuckling. It’s not that I didn’t want to be in a relationship. It’s just difficult to find someone to my taste.             He had to be just moderately handsome.             He had to be working.             He should be able to buy a house and a car, in near future.             His family shouldn’t be complicated.             And he should be loyal to me.             But it was not that easy to find someone like that. Maybe it was easier to look for a rich second-generation rather than my ideal type.  After all I’ve spent 21 years to look for someone like that. Now that I thought about it, Grandma Gigi also had started to talk about the beauty of having boyfriend this past month. It might be the work of this woman beside me.             “…Shut up.”             She snorted. Anyway, that was the reason why I’m still single until now. My bad personality, my best friend’s bad personality, and my high ideals. Well, before someone actually confessed to me.             “Please be my girlfriend.”             I stared at the man stopping me in the middle of my walk to the campus gate.             “I’m sorry… Do I know you?”             “Ah yes, let me repeat that. I’ve taken a liking to you. My name is…”             Welp, that was the start of everything.