CHAPTER 2: 16 YEARS LATER

“Ha ha ha!” 

"You are so funny!" 

"I believe you're just making fun of others. How can you all act this way?" 

"OK, okay, today is a fantastic day. What are you guys going to do with this long weekend?" 

"I'm going to my hometown this afternoon. It's been far too long since I've seen my parents!" 

"My boyfriend is taking me out to have some fun. I'm not going home!" 

"I have a part-time job this weekend, so no fun and no adjustment work!" 

"Don't you brag a lot? Is this your way of saying you'll be crunching figures and making money?" 

"This is why I love being an accountant!" 

"You're acting shamelessly as if we're not like you!" 

"All right, all right. Let's go, we've got work to do here!" 

Around ten happy employees were chit-chatting just outside the office where they worked. The office workers, who ranged in complexion tone from dark to light, were laughing as they gathered for the final time before heading out for the long weekend. 

"Give me a lift!" 

"And how about you, Avita? Should I also give you a ride? I believe we're heading in the same direction?" A young man flirtatiously inquired of a young woman clothed in the company's uniform and wearing eyeglasses. 

"You don't have to bother," Avita said firmly, shaking her head at her coworker who was continually trying this ploy on a daily basis, “I'll be taking a kombi. I'm not going there today." 

The young man was a little dissatisfied, and he showed it without hiding anything. 

When another female coworker noticed the familiar situation, she snarled and mocked, "umphh, just forget about her. If she wants to ride in a kombi, let her. Don't let this poor person dirty your car!" 

The other females couldn't help but stifle their laughter when they heard this. It wasn't the first time Avita had been made fun of. It couldn't be helped. Avita was the only one here earning the lowest wage while still working as an Assistant. But that wasn't the only reason why these people would try to knock her down. 

Jealousy and envy are inextricably linked, and some people couldn't stop eating sour lemons. Unfortunately for them, insulting Avita was like hitting soft persimmon; it was entirely ineffective because the other never seemed to notice. Despite the fact that they are bullies, it irritates the majority of them. 

Avita, sensing that her coworkers would not let her off the hook if she stayed any longer, just smiled at her intermediate superior and said, "See you next week. I have some errands to run." 

Everyone watched as this 1.65m tall, olive-skinned girl with those sparkling brown eyes that were always concealed behind those round-shaped glasses left with a swing bag packed with God knows what. 

“Damn! She is always doing this every day and it pisses me off!" Jane, the woman who had earlier mocked Avita, complained as soon as Avita was out of sight. 

"She is unusual. I'm curious why the boss keeps her!" 

"She is very good at her job!" 

"What's the point of being good at her job if she's constantly bringing us down?" 

The young man who had previously been rejected still didn't seem well, but he suddenly began to smile slyly and remarked to his colleagues, who were often fawning over him because of his better background, "Don't worry about this. I'm going to teach her a lesson. She might as well kiss her career goodbye if she doesn't crawl between my crotch!" 

What could these coworkers possibly say? It wasn't their concern what happens to Avita. In this world, everyone battles for his or her own survival, while the powerful prey on the weak. 

"Ha ha, with how poor she is, I'm sure she'll be begging for mercy!" 

As if they weren't already talking about messing with someone who needs to survive in this terrible world where costs are rising exponentially every day, making it harder for low-wage individuals to subsist. Companies were closing, and it wasn't easy for everyone. And these people simply arranged their coworker's demise as if it were nothing. 

Avita, on the other hand, paid no attention to these people. She had a lot on her plate, and she wasn't about to bolster anyone's ego by sacrificing her values. She goes to work in order to earn a living and enhance her future. She wasn't going to kiss anyone's shoes, especially someone like her who gets paid by the same person who pays her. Avita also didn't care for that male coworker. 

He was excessively flirty and believed that every woman should like him and expose her legs to him. She wasn't that kind of person. Despite her lack of wealth, she was a loyal person, and her partner was far superior to that peacock! 

'Umphh!' she exclaimed inwardly as she waited for the kombi at the bus stop. 

"....when you need someone who can love you while he's gone, baby, you've got my number.............." 

Avita, who was waiting for the kombi, heard the familiar ringing tone and wondered who was contacting her. Nonetheless, she took her phone from her swing bag and examined the cracked phone screen, frowning when she saw the caller's I.D. 

'Should I respond or just ignore it?' She was in a pickle, to be honest. 

She was relieved when the call was disconnected while she was thinking about what to do. 

'If I respond, that person will genuinely enrage me to death!' Avita disliked difficulty, and this caller was someone she didn't want to talk to right now. 

Fortunately, the bothersome caller did not call again, and Avita was able to enter the kombi when it arrived. Avita was not wealthy, as she was the lowest earning worker at her workplace apart from the cleaners, earning an income of 2,000 Dryni or OWD 2,000.

The government of Oshua, the country in which she lives, announced and codified a minimum wage of OWD 1,000, with domestic employees being the lowest paid. 

Life wasn't simple for anyone, but Avita wasn't complaining. If she complains while getting paid and without bothering to pay PAYE because her wage band was not taxed at all, won't this be completely unjust to others who were suffering with nothing to do?