GIVE ME MONEY

"If you don't want help, that's fine." Quirino answered curtly, he was a bit annoyed with the way Morana turned down his kind offer.

The clock struck 16.00 p.m precisely and the sky seemed to pour out all its anger with the deafening sound of thunder and rain that seemed like it would not stop falling.

At that moment Quirino decided to leave Morana alone, but at the same time Morana decided to answer.

"If you really want to help me, instead of a jacket, I need money," Morana said in her clear and firm voice, as if she was asking for the money that was rightfully hers in the first place.

Quirino's decision to offer his jacket and Morana's unabashedly asking him for money, became the beginning of their story.

Quirino exhaled slowly when he saw Morana casually throw the torn shirt she was wearing before and stood with a black bra covering her chest and changed clothes as if the room was only her.

Morana acted as if the man there was invisible or maybe Morana never thought that Quirino existed? No one could answer that…

Four years ago, when they first met and Morana asked him for money, only one word crossed his mind.

Morana is crazy.

There was no sarcasm in his words, and they weren't that close after all for Morana to joke with him about money.

Didn't she think her words could be interpreted differently? The meaning of Morana's original answer can have a bad connotation to some people with shallow minds.

Quirino at that time only responded with a laugh and replied back. "If I give you money, then what can you give me?"

Morana didn't answer right away, she just stared at Quirino sharply.

At that time Quirino thought that Morana would get angry and slap him, or at least she would curse him, because based on what he heard about the personality of this woman in front of him, Morana had a narrow mind and short emotions.

But, who would have thought that Morana would take it seriously.

"What do you want? You can take anything from me as long as the money you give me is appropriate.” Morana answered him in an even tone, but her eyes said otherwise.

This woman means what she says.

At that moment Quirino realized that Morana was far different from the rumors circulating at school. She doesn't have friends not because she doesn't want to be friends, but because her way of thinking isn't the same as teenagers at her age.

At the time Morana said this, she was only fifteen years old, in the 1st grade of high school, however, Quirino felt that he was talking to someone much older than him.

"You need that much money?" Quirino raised his eyebrows while looking at Morana, a scornful look.

"I need that much money." Morana answered without hesitation, and once again her body shivered with cold as the cold wind blew with raindrops.

Quirino laughed at Morana's answer. "Be careful when you speak, people can misunderstand when they hear the way you talk like that," he warned her.

However, Morana didn't respond, this time she looked away and chose to dry her long black hair.

"Where is your house? Come on, I'll take you home." Quirino just feels sorry for her, after all Morana is a girl and in a situation like this, where the school was almost closed because it was late and heavy rain caused Morana to be stuck at school, he just wanted to help.

Moreover, Quirino will graduate soon and he will not meet her again.

At least that's what Quirino thought at the time, when he gave Morana a lift.

Although there was a hint of curiosity in his heart that caused him to want to make Morana talk to him more.

"I told you, just give me money if you really want to help." Morana didn't even glance at Quirino at all when she said that.

Nobody knew what got into Quirino when he took something from his backpack and took out two hundred notes from his wallet.

"You want money?" Quirino waved the two hundred in his hand with a mocking motion. "Take this."

For him who lives well, two hundred is not worth it in his eyes. Quirino can get more money than that in the blink of an eye.

He thought that this time Morana would be angry with his condescending attitude, but his prediction was wrong again.

Morana walked over to him calmly and took the two hundred from his hand while saying curtly. "Thanks."

For some reason Quirino was annoyed because he did not succeed in making Morana angry. Isn't the rumor in this school saying that she has a problem with her attitude? But, how can she calmly respond to the way he mocked her?

On the contrary, Quirino started to get annoyed because Morana's reaction was far from what he expected.

Maybe this is because of the influence of studying too long and a little stress, so Quirino wants to get something different.

Morana was different, but in a context that didn't suit Quirino at this time.

Honestly, he wanted to see how bad Morana was and how temperamental she was, not a woman who was calm and took his words as if they were just talking about the weather.

"Thanks? You said you would give me something, if I gave you money?” Quirino folded his arms in front of his chest, his face showing a displeased expression.

"Continue? What do you want?" Morana put the two hundred in her blue backpack that looked worn out.

To Quirino, Morana's way of saying this sounded like a challenge and he didn't like anyone challenging him like that.

At that time, Quirino was still too young to be called a mature man with mature emotions.

He even acted a bit childish in response to Morana. "I want you to wash this."

Quirino was half annoyed and half curious about Morana's reaction.