This was my first day of being jobless. I opened the curtains and looked at the rising sun outside my window.
I didn't have anything to do, and I didn't have any plans yet. My gaze shifted to the shelf where my books were neatly arranged. I still hadn't finished reading all the books I had bought before. At least now I had plenty of time to finish them.
I left my room and headed straight to the kitchen. I planned to make a banana smoothie and avocado toast on wheat bread. It only took me ten minutes to prepare everything.
Once I was done, I went to the living room and turned on the television. This was the slow morning I had always wanted. I was feeling a mix of emotions—happy, excited, sad, worried, afraid, and anxious.
So many things had happened in such a short period of time that I still couldn't fully process them. I was pulled back to reality when my phone started ringing. I went to my room to get it and checked the caller ID.
The moment I saw it was Mira, I immediately answered. "Hi!" she greeted enthusiastically.
"Ah, hi?" I replied hesitantly as I walked back to the living room.
I glanced at the wall clock. It was only seven in the morning. "Aren't you supposed to be working?" I asked.
Mira chuckled, making me curious. "Do you think you're the only one who can resign?" she asked.
I gasped. "You did?"
"Yes. What's the point of working when you're not even there?" she said casually.
Now we were both jobless. The only difference was that she could afford to quit whenever she wanted because she was rich, while I needed to find another job soon to support myself.
"What should we do now? I'm already bored in my condo," she said dramatically.
I laughed at her tone. "Then you can go back to work anytime," I replied.
"I don't want to. Dominic already knows about it too. He told me you resigned."
That reminded me of the conversation Dominic and I had the previous night.
I was still curious about who had talked to my mother and scared her enough to return the money.
"Let's meet at the coffee shop near your condo. My treat," I said.
It was the least I could do for Mira after everything she had done for me. "
But you don't even like coffee shops since you don't drink coffee," she pointed out.
"People change," I answered with a smile. I had a lot of things to tell Mira about what happened last night.
I told her I would be there in thirty minutes since I still needed to take a bath. After getting ready, I put on my usual outfit—square pants and a tucked-in white printed shirt paired with white sneakers. I also wore a white hat and placed my AirPods in my ears.
I stepped outside, locked the gate, and was about to leave when someone called my name.
Luckily, my music wasn't too loud.
"Seraphina..." I turned around and saw my elderly neighbor.
I bowed my head politely.
"Good morning, Grandma," I greeted.
"Where's your boyfriend? Isn't he picking you up?" she asked.
I smiled and didn't bother correcting her. "Don't you have work today?" she asked again.
"I'm on leave, Grandma. I have to go now," I said politely before bowing once more.
She let me leave without stopping me.
Luckily, when I arrived at the bus station, a bus arrived shortly after. It only took me fifteen minutes to reach the place where Mira and I had agreed to meet.
As soon as I entered the coffee shop, I spotted Mira.
We went to the counter together and placed our orders.
Mira ordered an iced Americano and a ham croissant, while I only ordered a strawberry milkshake since I had already eaten breakfast and wasn't hungry yet.
I handed over a one-thousand-peso bill to pay for our orders since I had promised it would be my treat.
Afterward, we chose a table in the corner of the café.
"What made you come to a coffee shop?" Mira asked with a teasing smile.
"People really do change, huh?"
"I just wanted to try the things you like," I answered.
Mira's smile widened, clearly flattered by what I said.
"I like the new Seraphina," she commented.
I looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Can't you see it? You're more open to the people you're close to now. You're no longer a woman of few words, and you're even willing to try things you've never tried before. I've seen a lot of improvements in you, Sera," she said warmly.
I didn't respond immediately. Instead, I reflected on how I used to be. Mira was right. I had been aloof before, but now I was slowly opening up. I was becoming more comfortable sharing my thoughts and feelings with her.
"My mother came to my house yesterday," I began.
Mira's expression instantly turned serious. "What? Did she cause trouble again?"
"She gave me ten million pesos, the same amount she got from selling the house."
"She did? Knowing her, she wouldn't do something like that." I nodded in agreement. That woman wasn't the type to give money away, especially not to her firstborn daughter.
She had never even supported me when I was younger, so it was hard to believe she would hand over that much money willingly.
"She only did it because someone threatened her," I explained.
"Dominic?" Mira guessed.
"I talked to Dominic last night. He said it wasn't him."
She gasped. "Don't tell me it was Lucca."
I shook my head. "Impossible."
"It's definitely not Damian," she added.
"I know." And that was exactly why I was still confused. I wanted to know who did it. Not only because they had helped me, but because I wanted to thank them properly.
"I really think it was Lucca."
"He helped me financially before, but he's not the type of person who would meddle in someone else's family affairs."
"But who knows?" she said before taking a bite of her ham croissant.
"Aren't you curious about who did it? We already know it wasn't Dominic."
I sipped my strawberry milkshake while thinking about it. Should I ask Lucca?
Wouldn't that be awkward? We weren't even close.
"By the way, why did Dominic go to your house yesterday?" she asked, completely forgetting about Lucca.
"I tried to give him the money, but he refused to take it," I answered honestly.
She laughed. "Of course he refused. To people like Dominic, ten million pesos is practically nothing. It's like pocket change to them."
"I know he's a billionaire, but I just don't want to owe him that much."
"You should accept the fact that you're surrounded by people who were born with golden spoons in their mouths."
"Just like you," I said bluntly.
She smiled. "Since we're both jobless now, do you want to visit my hometown? I'm sure you'll love it, and it's about time you met my family."
Since it sounded like a vacation, I nodded. Maybe it was finally time for me to meet her family.
"Let's go tomorrow," she said excitedly.
"So soon?"
"Yeah. I'll book our plane tickets later."
"Wait, Mira. I thought your hometown was only a few hours away. We're taking a plane?"
If that was the case, it would be my first time flying. Suddenly, I felt a mixture of emotions. I was excited, but I was also nervous. What would it feel like? Would I enjoy it?
"Can you please stop overthinking for once?" Mira said. "How are you supposed to recover if you're always worrying? Just go with the flow. You'll love my hometown, I promise."
She reassured me that everything would be fine. She even insisted on paying for our plane tickets. I refused at first, but she was so persistent that I eventually gave in.
Maybe it was time to accept my situation. I was surrounded by people who had grown up with privileges I never had.
After leaving the coffee shop, we immediately went to the mall to buy things for our vacation. Mira told me we would be staying there for two weeks because there were so many places to visit and things to do.
Coincidentally, I didn't own a proper suitcase yet, so I bought one. I also purchased a pair of shoes, socks, slippers, clothes, and personal hygiene products.
I used some of the money from the ten million pesos my mother had given me.
"We still have so many things to prepare!" Mira exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement.
After shopping, we decided to have dinner at the mall since it was already five in the afternoon.
We ate at Jollibee because neither of us had been there for a while. After dinner, Mira drove me home and helped me carry my shopping bags inside.
That night, I spent hours packing. I didn't even feel tired or sleepy because, deep inside, I was genuinely excited about what awaited me in Mira's hometown.
Do rich people always make plans this suddenly? Do they really not care how much they spend on plane tickets? Because judging by Mira's reaction, it seemed like nothing to her.
I finally went to sleep at three in the morning after finishing all my preparations.
I made sure I hadn't forgotten anything because I didn't want to inconvenience Mira.
At six in the morning, my phone rang. Still half-asleep, I answered it without checking the caller ID.
"I'll pick you up at seven," Mira said after greeting me. I slowly opened my eyes and sat up in bed.
"Are you driving?" I asked.
"Where will you leave your car if we're going to be away for two weeks?"
"I booked a taxi," she replied.
"Okay." After ending the call, I immediately went to the bathroom and took a shower.
Once I was done, I got dressed. I wore skinny jeans, a white-collared polo shirt, and white sneakers.
I also put on my favorite white hat to complete the outfit.
I checked my black sling bag to make sure I had my wallet and everything else I needed.
Once I was satisfied that everything was ready, I sat on the sofa and waited for Mira.
A few minutes later, she arrived at my house, and the taxi driver helped me carry my luggage.
"Good morning, Mira," I greeted her.
She smiled widely. "Good morning too," she responded.
"What's with that smile? Are you that excited?" I asked.
She was still smiling. "You'll know when we arrive at the airport," she said meaningfully, but since I didn't understand her, I let it slide.
After 30 minutes of traveling, we arrived at the airport, and the taxi driver helped us put our luggage on the ground.
Then we went inside, and Mira kept looking around as if she was searching for something.
"What are you looking at?" I asked.
"You'll see later. Have you eaten your breakfast?" she asked.
"No. I wasn't able to eat because I slept at 3 a.m. packing my things, and you called that you would be fetching me at 7," I explained.
"Let's grab something," she said.
She chose Starbucks for us to eat at. This was actually my first time going inside Starbucks and having a meal there.
Before, I was too hesitant because I couldn't afford it, and sometimes I thought that spending money there meant sacrificing two meals for the day.
But trying new restaurants and coffee shops wasn't bad, right?
In fact, I should try exploring things on my own without worrying that someone might judge me.
I let Mira order for me because I didn't know what was good or not. I only heard her order a hot vanilla chocolate drink for me and tell the cashier that it shouldn't be too sweet since I wasn't a fan of sugary drinks.
She also ordered bread, but I didn't bother listening to its name. I was sitting at the corner of the restaurant while Mira was at the counter paying for our orders.
After a while, she came back holding the tray and handed mine to me. "Is it good?" she asked, waiting for my answer. I nodded and took another sip.
She sighed deeply after seeing my reaction. "Don't overreact. I can eat sweets sometimes," I said.
"But I know you don't like sweets."
"I'm not craving them, but I can eat them," I answered.
I picked up the bread, looked at it, and asked Mira, "What's this called?"
"Ham and cheese croissant. It's delicious," she answered.
"Yeah, just by its name, I already know it's delicious," I said, then took a bite.
As I chewed, my eyes widened. It was better than I expected. I suddenly wanted to come back just to eat this again.
"You like it?" Mira chuckled.
"I like it," I answered, taking another bite.
"I'm glad you like it. Should we go to Starbucks again next time?" she asked.
"Yes, but not all the time since I don't have a job yet."
"My treat," she said. I frowned.
"I told you I didn't befriend you just so you could treat me now and then. Aren't you tired of spending money on me?" I asked.
"Why would I? It's not like I'm spending a million," she said.
"But you almost spent a million for me, remember?" I reminded her. It was the time when she knew I wasn't comfortable with Lucca paying for my hospital bills and therapy sessions. Mira told me she would cover it so I wouldn't feel awkward about it.
But Lucca refused to accept the money.
"Not a million, though. You're overreacting," Mira chuckled, then sipped her coffee.
As we were enjoying our breakfast, Mira's phone rang. She immediately answered it, as if she had been waiting for the call.
"Hello. You already arrived? Yeah? Yeah, we're coming. See you!" Mira giggled like a teenager talking to her crush.
Wait—was that Damian who called her?
"Who called you?" I asked to confirm my suspicion. She just smiled and stood up.
"Let's go." "
Aren't you going to tell me who called you?"
"You'll just see." As we walked toward the waiting area, since we had already checked in and only had half an hour before departure, I saw familiar faces sitting calmly on the bench.
I stopped walking when I recognized their figures and where Mira was heading.
Don't tell me— "Mira, Seraphina!"
Dominic stood up and shouted our names when he saw us approaching.
Then I saw the two familiar men turn toward us—Damian and Lucca.