Chapter 2: One Disaster After Another

"ERINA ISABEL TUAZON POV

"I'm just heading in, Faye. I woke up late. My alarm didn’t go off this morning," I spoke into my phone as I unlocked the chain from my bicycle.

I always secure my bike like this because I don’t trust the people in this neighborhood. There are a lot of snatchers here—especially thieves. My apartment has a gate, but I still have to be extra cautious.

[Are you serious, Erina? It’s already noon! Your boss is definitely going to lecture you again. Hurry up! You know he gets to work early, yet you still couldn’t wake up on time.]

I just laughed at what my friend said. She seemed more stressed about it than I was. It wasn’t my fault that my phone alarm didn’t go off—or maybe I was just too exhausted that's why I didn't hear it?

"I'm hurrying, but this bike you gave me isn’t cooperating," I joked, and I heard Faye sigh deeply on the other end of the line.

This bike was her gift to me on my birthday last year. It has been my only mode of transportation to work every day, and it has helped me so much. But now that I’m in a rush, it decides to break down.

[Wow, really? Now you’re blaming the bike I gave you? You should be blaming that broken phone of yours instead. Why haven’t you bought a new one yet? You’ve saved up enough money.]

"I have something more important to save for. You know what that is. Besides, my phone still works. It’s old, but I can still use it."

Faye was right—I had already saved up some money. But I was keeping it because I wanted to go back to school. Ever since I left my father’s house, I hadn’t attended classes the next day. That’s why I decided to continue my studies—I wanted to graduate. Maybe if I accomplished something, my father would finally be proud of me.

"Alright, Faye, I’ll talk to you later. I have to get to work, and you take care at school."

After ending the call, I slipped my phone into my pocket. I quickly got on my bike and left the apartment. I pedaled as fast as I could since I was already super late. Luckily, I took the bike lane, so I didn’t have to deal with cars on the road—less risk of any accidents.

"Sh*t! Just my bad luck!"

Out of nowhere, heavy rain started pouring down. The sun was shining brightly when I left my apartment, so why was it suddenly raining?

Goodness! Of all times for a downpour, it had to be when I was already late for work. And to make things worse, there wasn’t a single shed nearby where I could take cover.

"Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!" I cursed repeatedly as my bike wobbled unexpectedly. I hit the brakes hard, barely stopping myself in time before I could get thrown onto the road.

I collapsed onto the pavement, struggling to catch my breath after getting off my bike. Even though I was already drenched, I felt like I was sweating from the sheer panic.

My heart was pounding wildly. Damn, that was close. I really thought I was going to have an accident. Thank God I managed to stop in time.

"Thank you, Lord," I whispered, looking up at the sky.

The clouds darkened even more, thunder rumbled, and the rain intensified. A bad feeling crept up my spine. Was something worse going to happen to me today? I hoped not—but I had barely escaped an accident just now.

"Shucks! Why did you have to break now?" I nearly cried, staring at my bike. The tire was flat, and the chain had snapped. I let out a deep sigh before giving up and lying down on the pavement. I didn’t care what people thought—I was too frustrated to move.

Was this a sign that I should just go home and skip work?

But if I didn’t go to work, I’d be losing a day’s pay.

"Erina Isabel, you got this! Don’t be weak, don’t let negativity win!" I told myself, suddenly sitting up from the pavement. I blew out a deep breath and pushed myself to stand.

"Inhale... exhale... stay away, negativity! Leave me alone!" I said loudly before taking another deep, calming breath.

I probably looked insane right now, but I didn’t care what other people thought anymore.

"Erina, where have you been? The boss has been looking for you." As soon as I stepped into the coffee shop, Lean, one of my coworkers—who was always punctual—immediately approached me.

"And why are you soaking wet? Don’t tell me you went through the heavy rain?" She followed me to the locker area, her voice full of concern.

I nodded before glancing at her. "I didn’t have a choice. My bike broke down, and there was no shed in sight."

I quickly opened my locker to grab a towel. Fortunately, I always left a spare pair of pants and a T-shirt inside for emergencies. And today turned out to be exactly that—a completely unexpected disaster.

"You're going to get sick. You should’ve just stayed home."

"I can’t afford to miss a day’s salary."

Lean leaned against my locker, arms crossed, staring at me.

"It’s better than getting scolded by our boss," she said, making me laugh.

"What’s the trick for handling that?" I asked. She let out a deep sigh, clearly frustrated with me.

"In one ear, out the other," she answered flatly.

"Exactly! So don’t worry about me. Just wait for me outside, I’ll change quickly."

I rushed to the restroom to change before I ended up catching a cold. My immune system was weak, so I always avoided letting sweat dry on me or getting drenched in the rain. But with what happened earlier, I had no choice—I’d just have to face the consequences.

As soon as I stepped out of the locker area, Rome, the shop’s bartender, called out to me.

"Erina, the boss wants to see you."

I barely had a moment to process before heading straight to my boss’s office. Better to go now than have him come after me.

"Boss, you asked for me?" I said as I entered the office.

He immediately looked up, his expression dark and displeased.

Oh, crap. I’m in trouble. Am I about to get fired?