CHAPTER 2

It was very early when someone knocked on my door so hard it almost broke. I immediately opened my eyes and looked at the clock hanging above the bookshelf.

“It's only 5 am,” I muttered.

“Who’s that, sis? So noisy!” Adi Complained, so I went to the door and opened it.

Standing there was Jenifer.

“Hey bestie!! I’ve been here since 3 am!” she said angrily.

“You’re too early,” I complained.

“What are you saying? The first trip is early, hurry up because we’re leaving!” she said while pushing me.

I rushed to change clothes, wearing my expensive outfits, high heels, and putting on heavy makeup.

It only took me a few minutes because I needed to look presentable for my first job. I didn’t want my boss to reject me for looking shabby.

“Wow Astrid, are we going to America?” Jenifer said sarcastically.

“What are you saying? You’re even wearing Chanel. Jen, we need to look presentable for our boss. Of course, we’ll be working in an office, what are you thinking?” I replied, leaving first while carrying my suitcase.

I also had three more suitcases brought down from my room, making a total of five.

“Take care, and Astrid, behave yourself there,” said Grandma.

I just rolled my eyes.

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” I said.

Adi came down, we exchanged kisses, and then Jenifer and I left.

This is it!! I’m so excited.

“Do you think our ride will be nice?” I asked Jenifer.

“I don’t know, I hope so. I don’t want my Chanel bag to get dirty. Even if it’s not nice, at least we look good,” Jenifer said with a grin.

“Of course, we’re gorgeous. My clothes are so expensive, I won’t let them get dirty, no way,” I said, crossing my legs while retouching my makeup.

“We’re here, ma’am,” said our driver.

He opened the door and we got out.

When we stepped down, we were greeted by a dusty road and a crowd of people.

“Oh my G!! I don’t want to be here, no-no-no!” Jen said, about to go back to the car, but the driver immediately sped away.

“Heyyy come back!!” we shouted, but he couldn’t hear us anymore.

“Here??” I said with a questioning tone, My eyes explore the place and I just want to go back to my place.

“Yeah, h-here. It looks like a market,” Jen replied.

“You’re right, so many vendors, and look, so many people,” I said, pointing at the long lines.

“Ma’am, where are you headed?” asked a man.

We looked at him from head to toe and both felt disgusted.

“Manila!! Manila!! Who’s going to Manila!” another man shouted.

“Hello, beautiful ladies, where are you going?” asked another man with a creepy grin.

“Manila,” I said in a snooty tone.

“Alright, please go over there,” he said.

Suddenly, two men grabbed our suitcases. Alarmed, Jen and I chased them despite my heels, and when we caught them, we started hitting them.

“Ouch ouch!!” they cried.

“Bring back our suitcases!! You thief!!” I shouted while hitting them.

“Ma’am, ma’am, please stop!” the man from earlier tried to calm us.

“You know, there should be more security here!” I said angrily.

“Right!! What if they escaped, and you stopped us!” Jen added.

The bald man scratched his head.

“Uh, they’re dispatchers. It’s their job so you won’t have a hard time,” he explained.

“D-dispatchers?” I said with raised eyebrows.

“Yes ma’am, we’re dispatchers,” said one of the men we had beaten.

I closed my eyes in embarrassment.

“Pay us double. You brought so many heavy suitcases, and you even beat us up,” they demanded.

“We’re very sorry, it’s our first time here. What do you call this place?” Jen asked.

“This is the bus terminal. The bus to Manila is leaving, so get on already. You’re giving us headaches,” they said.

We paid them 1,000 pesos because of what we did.

“Oh my, how much money do we have left?” I asked Jen.

“Don’t worry, we still have 11,000,” Jen replied, and we sighed in relief.

We sat on the bus seats, which were nice because it was air-conditioned.

The bus started moving, and after a few hours, I suddenly felt sick.

“Oh my, I feel like I’m going to vomit,” I said.

“Me too!!” Jen shouted.

The passengers looked at us.

“Oh my, give us some plastic bags!! My LV will be ruined!!” I screamed.

A man quickly came over with plastic bags and handed them to us.

Jen and I vomited nonstop, like we were dying, for the three-hour trip.

People stared and laughed at us because we had thrown up so much.

“I think I’ll die before I reach Manila,” I said weakly.

“I feel dizzy,” Jen added.

We lay down on our seats, our expensive clothes useless now, looking like drunkards.

“Miss, here’s Efficascent,” said a woman.

I didn’t care anymore, so I took it.

“Just rub a little on your stomach, it will stop the vomiting,” she said.

I followed her advice, but I put too much because I wanted it to stop quickly.

I gave some to Jen, and she rubbed it above her lip, between her nose and mouth.

“Thank you,” I said, and we sat properly again, feeling better because of that strange “perfume.”

A few minutes later, the parts we rubbed started to burn and feel spicy.

“Oh my G!! What kind of perfume is that!!” I exclaimed.

“It’s so spicy!” Jen said.

The woman just laughed at us. Jen and I kept complaining until we finally arrived.

“Get off!!” shouted the conductor, charging us for the fare.

“Here’s our payment, keep the change, buy something nice,” Jen said.

“What are you saying? Your change is only two pesos,” he replied, looking at us like we were crazy.

We looked like we had been assaulted inside the bus, our hair completely messy.

We grabbed our suitcases and staggered out, still dizzy.