Recently, Shamikha has been chatting with me for the past hour. We didn’t chat before, except in the class’s group chat. Now, we talk one-on-one online.
My eyes grew big when I read the reminder she sent me an hour ago.
Shamikha: Are you done with the online exam?
Shamikha: I took mine a while ago and still have 1 last attempt. I want to retake it, but would like to know how yours went.
Shamikha: What are your answers in 16-20?
The time on my phone states I only have 40 minutes left to answer it! My hands came together with approval after our math professor revealed the exam would be taken online and rescheduled a day earlier, avoiding the clash with tomorrow’s retreat. But here’s me, I haven’t even started it.
***
“Hello, dear Ravael.”
I looked at who called my name. “Hi,” It’s that trash again.
“Why are you so grumpy early in the morning?”
“It’s none of your business.”
If only this retreat weren’t a prerequisite for us to graduate, I wouldn’t bother joining. Not with the trash being here on a holy event.
It whistled. “Ooh, scary.”
“Can you stop bothering me?”
“I’ll tell the others about how you cheated in the exams with Shamikha if you won’t do what I was asking of you.”
“You will tell the professors about that involving your best friend?”
“Yes and no. I’ll twist the story and tell them that you cheated by stealing her scratch paper.”
“You’ll tell them both a truth and a lie,” I scoffed.
“Wise, right?”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to do whatever I want.”
“This isn’t the sole trap you have for me. What else do you have against me?”
This trash smirked. “Upon my investigation, your parents abandoned you because you are a freak. Not a simple weird kid, but a strange kid who is far more dangerous than decent adults. You are lethal; you can kill people. You have robbed and murdered when you were 10.”
“Where’d you get that news from?”
“A little research about you isn’t hard. News articles about the crime you committed are posted forever. But don’t worry, it’s been 11 years. People forgot about it because here you are, attending college as a normal student would do.”
“Where’d you read that news? I only murdered someone. I never robbed anyone.”
“Wha-That doesn’t matter! You still robbed your victim of their life. Robber!”
I pulled up the shirt of this trash. “I want to clarify them and edit the news they published. If they will deliver the truth, might as well do it 100% correct. Am I right?”
“Anyway, if you don’t want to spread your foul smell all over the campus, be with me!”
“If you tell everyone about my case, the school has the right to act against bullying and disciplining unruly student behaviors. Do you think the school isn’t aware of what I did?”
“No way…”
I glared at the trash. “If you think of me as someone who robbed someone of their life, then you’re no different than me. You dare to blackmail me to rob me of my life and freedom because you thought you could manipulate me to achieve your fleshly desire?” I scoffed. “You’re begging at the wrong god.”
“I-I’m not begging you!” Shamikha’s best friend walked out.
I glowered at the restroom door after the trash exited. I was about to step out as well when I heard someone’s voice.
“Jesse, I was looking for you. You’re here. You didn’t tell me you’re going to pee.”
“U-Uh, yeah, urgent business. Let’s go to caf!”
They both left and went to the cafeteria. I heard their voices, and footsteps faded as I remained standing near the boys’ comfort room door.
Why is Shamikha friends with that trash? Maybe she’s trash, too. After all, a treasure won’t be hanging out with trash.
A week has passed, and it’s been peaceful. But the trash was not yet done with its urgent business. The trash chatted to me. I was supposed to block that trash, but something in me is stopping me. Not the trash’s blackmails, but I want to see more of its action.
“You’re a part-timer. Hmmm… in a fast food? A delivery guy? A cashier in convenience stores? Or a freelance artist? No, those jobs don’t suit your princely face. Oh, I know! You’re a landlord who rents his body accessible for everyone!”
My pupils constricted.
“How about I book you for an hour?” the trash showed me its bills. “I asked my parents for extra cash for a project I was looking into for months! You want these, don’t you? I can book you for a whole da-”
My right fist clenched. I stared at the trash’s neck. How I wish I could wring it.
“Is that what you want from me?”
“Well, since I couldn’t control you into giving it for free, gotta have to earn it with money. I don’t mind; you needed this more than I do. I have to come up with a second trick on my sleeve because the first one didn’t work.” The trash put some paper bills into my polo’s chest pocket. “Here’s my down payment. I’ll pay you full after the deed. 7:00 PM, Ravenwood Hotel, Room 406.”
The trash left jumping and giggling. I loosened my left hand
And took out the cash from my shirt’s chest pocket. Five thousand pesos. What that trash possessed is also trash. I went to the restroom and flushed the five one-thousand-peso paper bills in the toilet.
I didn’t bother going home and stayed at the school until 6:30 PM and left. I arrived at the hotel, the trash mentioned.
I asked the receptionist for details, took the elevator, and knocked on room 406. The door opened, revealing the face of the trash. It is grinning with the tips of its mouth reaching its ears.
“Welcome, Ravael. Come into my beautiful sanctuary!”
I entered without hesitation. The door closed.
“What do you want? I ordered you a wine and snacks. Got you your favorite viand, too.”
There's liquor, canned sodas, two bowls of light-yellow creamy soup, a big platter of vegetable salad, two slices of chocolate cake with cherries on top, and two stir-fried rice dishes topped with savory stew. If it weren't bought by the trash, the stomach would go all out munching on these. But no appetite, not when facing this trash.
“Sit with me and let’s eat dinner,” it said happily.
I sat, sitting on the opposite side of the trash. The skirt it is wearing is ridiculous. I stared at it scornfully while eating silently and chewed the food it offered.
“You know what? I never really got a chance to join a club this school year. We’re fourth years, so I didn’t give it a try. But d*mn! I regretted it. Focusing on studies is boring as hell. I missed my clubmates so much.”
“You have two kinds of clubmates,” I murmured, drinking half a goblet of the red wine.
“Hm?” It sounded confused at first. “Ah, yeah!” It laughed. “You’re right. I missed both my clubmates at school and my clubmates at the club!”
I smirked at the joke.
“You’re so clever. I’ll give you that!” It pinched my left cheek.
I swayed my left hand away from it in a flash. My eyebrows met, my hair on arms and thighs rose. It’s like a slimy, soggy, spoiled fish touched my cheek.
Disgusting.
“Chill,” it grinned, mocking me for my reaction.
I wiped my mouth with a beige polyester table napkin. “If you have nothing else to do with me, I’ll leave.”
“You haven’t even finished your food yet.”
“I’ll eat more at the house. I have to make room for it, or else my leftover food from yesterday will spoil.”
“Aw, poor you.” It made a cringe face, indicating it pities me. “You can take out these. And I can order more for you, so you won’t have to eat your leftovers. What do you want?” offered the menu of the hotel.
“No need. I’d rather eat my spoiled leftovers.”
It laughed loudly. “Snob as ever. You didn’t even thank me with the dinner I prepared for you.”
“If I were a snob, I would not accept your invitation by coming here. Thanks for the dinner. I shall go.”
“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll go straight to the point. Sit here first.”
I sat back. I want this to end quickly. I have no time for games.
“You don’t have any other bookings except this, so what’s the hurry? I paid a huge amount for this moment. Please don’t ruin it, will you?”
I clenched my fist and went back to my seat without saying anything and with a black expression on my face.
Yes, this trash is a customer. I have no right to complain as this is part of my part-time job.
“Do you have an idea that I starved myself for 2 weeks to book you? It sucks, but it was all worth it.” It drank the remaining glass of wine. It poured me some on the goblet I used.
As usual, this trash exaggerates its life stories yet it is here talking with me instead of being dead for starving for two weeks.
“I thought you are rich.”
“Duh? It was my parents who were rich. Without their money, I’m nothing but a migraine to them.”
It’s nice to hear she acknowledges herself as trash to her wealthy family.
“My dad didn’t give me my allowance for a month! He wanted to teach me a lesson for splurging. But instead of a lesson, I became more rebellious! That old man!”
Serves you right.
“You starved, yet you didn’t lose weight.”
“Hey! Do you imply I’m fat?” it pouted. “Tch, I sold one of my luxury bags to live for a month out of my own money.” It frowned at me. “Do you know it was because of you that Dad did that?”
“What did I do?”
“I gave you 175,000 pesos because your loan shark chased you like a lion chasing a mouse. Dad found out. And I have to lie, I stole his money to buy more luxury bags.”
So, it thinks of me as a mouse. Or that’s the pet name it has given me. The mouse and the trash.
“There’s only 25% balance. I’ll complete the payment at the end of this month.”
“I didn’t expect you to pay, but you’re so stubborn you still did.”
“I don’t want to be indebted to you.”
“I don’t need your money, and it doesn’t work vice versa because you need mine.”
“If you keep shoving down my throat that I was the reason your father deprived you of a one-month allowance, then I’d rather pay you back.”
It laughed. “I just venting! And no matter how serious dad gets, he’ll let it slide.”
What a spoiled trash.
It patted my head with its right rough hand like I’m a pet. “Don’t worry, babe. I got you covered. Call me, and I’ll get away with my dad’s money.”
It caressed my left cheek down to my lips. It tapped my bottom lips with its right thumb.
“You’re drop-dead gorgeous, babe.”
Its voice sent shivers down my spine. My hands can’t move an inch to sway it again when it pinched my cheeks.
If I weren’t desperate at that time, I wouldn’t have spent evenings with this trash.
It closed its eyes, brought its head closer to mine. My lips touched the trash’s curved folds of pink skin where the trash had eaten the food during dinner.
I didn’t breathe until its face moved far from mine.
“You still suck at this!” it laughed.
The wine I drank stayed on my lips. I tried breathing, but it’s suffocating.
“Thank you for tonight.” It stood and grabbed its bag. “But tonight’s less entertaining. Do better, okay?”
It dropped paper money in front of my face. “I’ll see you next time, babe!”
It walked away, and the sound of its heels faded. I remained seated as the door of the hotel room closed. I looked at the money that fell on the floor.
Everything has a price, including my dignity.