Chapter 3

After the long jog I had at the park, I went directly to the café to meet Valerie. I pulled the glass door open, as I immediately inhaled the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee. There was jazz music resounding through the entire place along with the chatters of the people inside. The vicinity was lit with yellow-colored lamps that hung on the ceiling just above the wooden tables. It wasn’t too swarmed by a lot of people, leaving the place neat and spacious. It also didn’t take a while before I spotted Valerie, sitting in the corner of the café, just beside the glass pane that had moist from the air condition. Her chestnut-brown hair was tied to a high ponytail, and her lips were plastered with bright-red lipstick. Her gaze was fixated outside the café as if she was waiting for me, and she would casually glance at her gold wristwatch to check the time.  Moving closer to her, I stood in front of the empty seat beside her table as her eyes flitted up to face me. As soon as she saw my presence, she let go of the spoon she was holding and abruptly stood up from her seat. She pulled me into a tight embrace, as I hugged her in return.

“Oh my god, thank you for coming,” she said before pulling away from the embrace.

“I just wanted to hear good news from you.” We both sat on the chairs as she curled her lips to a grin. “So, what’s up with you? You look really happy.”

“I don’t really know where to start, but great things have been happening to me lately and it’s unbelievable,” she said with enthusiasm filling her tone while she gestured her hands. “I just got a promotion.”

My mouth gaped, but it quickly changed to a gleeful smile when I saw the gleam in Valerie’s eyes. She was radiating this good energy that also made me feel good, somehow. It was like I could already feel the delight in her heart and the positivity it brought her.

“Oh my god, you’re beyond great. You deserve that promotion because you’ve worked hard to earn it.” I grasped her hands that were placed on the table and rubbed my thumbs along her palms comfortingly. “I’m so proud of you.”

Though I had been fired from my job yesterday, at least Valerie got a promotion because her success was mine too. She was like a sister to me and whenever someone achieved something great between us, we would both celebrate as if we were together in that accomplishment. 

“Thank you so much for saying that.” She pulled her hand away then placed them atop her chest as if to indicate my heartfelt compliment. “Oh, and I have another great news.” Her brows wiggled as I stared at her in anticipation. “Remember the guy I told you last time that I’m too afraid to drop his name because we’re not official yet? The one I told you that I’m currently dating?”

My mouth formed to an ‘o’ shape as a squeal almost tore out of my throat if I hadn’t covered my mouth with my hand. Lifting my brows in utter shock, a grin crept across my face, and leaned closer to her.

“Did he ask you to be his girl?” I asked and she nodded in response.

“Yes,” she answered which almost sounded like a squeal.

“You’re literally having the best moments of your life,” I remarked and noticed the blush that was slowly appearing on her cheeks. “You’re life’s now full of cakes and ale.”

“Thank you so much for empathizing with me. I really appreciate your always being there,” she said with much sincerity in her tone. “How about you? How’s everything going?”

I halted, pursing my lips together before looking away. Tapping my fingers on the table, I stared back at Valerie and tugged a faint smile. 

If I was being honest, I was embarrassed to tell her what had happened to me lately. I had a rough week, and passing through a day seemed like a struggle. I had been put to disconcerting circumstances lately, maybe too unsettling that I became outwardly lost. I didn’t sulk over it, I was just caught off-guard and perplexed. Since I hadn’t gotten my life together, I just went with the flow.

“Life’s great—um—it’s not that hard,” I stammered and miserably failed to hide the strain in my voice.

I received a stern face from Valerie, as she lightly shook her head, displeased. Her eyes pierced through mine as though she was scolding me for not being transparent. She wasn’t fond of my lying, and since she was constantly informing me about the things that were going on in her life, both good and bad, she expected me to do the same.

“Blurt it out. You’re lying,” she pointed out as I bit my bottom lip awkwardly.

“I got fired from my job yesterday because I got into a fight with a customer, specifically an old lady,” I blurted without hesitation, cursing inside my head at the memory of it.

“You lost your job?” she reiterated in disbelief. “That’s messed up, what are you going to do now? Do you need a job, I can help you get one.”

“I’m fine,” I assured her, pulling the crumpled paper out of my pocket. “I found something that can be the solution to my problems.” I smoothed the wrinkles of the poster and handed it to her. When she took it, I folded my arms and placed them on the table, and gave her a convincing look. “Half a million bucks aren’t too much for finding a werewolf.”

When she studied the text on the paper, her expression became unreadable. She looked rather perplexed and her lips parted as if she couldn’t believe what she just saw.