Chapter 8: 8
“But she has some skill in organizing everything to my taste, we could definitely benefit each other.” I added to my head.
I took a look at how she works and even her workstation is in perfect order. All the lists are stacked neatly, her uniform has no creases whatsoever, her desktop computer is in order and I noticed she’s doing a job for two people effortlessly. As I try to form my sentences in my head, she finished writing things down and she looked at me.
“Excuse me sir, I could have everything ready in 30-40 minutes depending on how fast the people carrying the items are. Is that acceptable?” she said to me confidently. Her hair is perfectly combed in the middle as she adjusts her glasses.
“That’s good, you work really efficiently.” I said to her.
“Thank you very much sir, do you need anything else?” she said as she adjusts her glasses again with a prideful smile.
“What’s your name?” I looked at her directly in the eye. Lois saw what I was doing and I know what he’s thinking right now, “Oh boy, someone’s gonna get kidnapped, well, with money.”
“Umm, m-my name is Rin. Is there a problem sir?” she’s clearly taken aback by my question.
“Rin, how much do they pay you here? Considering in what you do here I think at the supervisor level?” I said to probe.
“Umm, not at all I get paid here at the minimum…” she said embarrassingly.
“What the fu- well Rin, I got a proposal for you. I want you to work for me. Right now.” I went straightforward.
“Ah- Umm, are you serious? I just started here yesterday. It might look bad on my record If I quit immediately!” she said.
“So, you are thinking of quitting?” I quickly said.
“That’s not what I meant, I just met you and this is my first job going to Manila and I don’t even know where I’ll work If I come with you, I even paid an advance of three months to the apartment I’m renting at Dalandanan.” She explained to me in a concise manner her situation.
“That’s not gonna be a problem, I’m Sky Ishiyama, I’m a private business owner and I sell a variety of goods for consumers at four shops located here and at Pulo, nice to meet you. I can talk to your employer here about your record, but I doubt you’d need to worry about that. I can even refund you from my own pocket the advance that you paid for your landlord.” I reassured her.
“That sounds too good to be true.” she shrugs and she now has a suspicious look.
“Still hesitating? Wait here yeah?” I said.
I went to their administrator’s office and I spoke to her employer for a good 5 minutes. After that, the door opened and I was walking with her employer behind me.
“Rin, you’re free to go, you never mentioned that Mr. Ishiyama took an interest in you. Don’t worry about your records, I’ll take care of it. Good luck!”
If her jaw could drop any lower, it would drop on the floor. “Let’s shop for a bit first inside, your employer gave you a parting gift, here.” I handed her a pushcart as I walked inside the shopping area.
“What do you mean gift? This pushcart?” she gave me a confused look.
I gave her a smile and said, “What that means is that you could fill it up with anything you want and that is yours.” She turned her head around to look at her employer which is still smiling and gave her an ‘OK’ sign.
She turned to me again and she gave me a bow. I’m not sure whether she’s in a hurry or the idea of having everything in a pushcart for free flicked a switch in her because she immediately disappeared going from aisle to aisle. I asked Lois to accompany her to tell her that it’s not time constrained as I paid for the items I originally ordered. Lois also grabbed a pushcart for himself and tried to pack as many items that he could.
“Mr. Ishiyama your mom and I go way back, my name is Thelma. I used to work for her when you were still in her belly and she taught me a lot of things. I almost didn’t recognize you, but those eyes of yours tells it all. I’ll excuse myself, and sorry for your loss.” she said as she walks back to her office.
“Sorry for your loss huh?” I remembered what she said. I remembered something very dark, something very unpleasant, the scars on my arm throbs as I remember. I shook my head and tried to forget that for now. I followed her to her office and handed her a piece of paper. She gave me a confused look and just before she flipped it over, I went outside.
After exactly 30 minutes Rin and Lois came back.
“Thank you for waiting for me sir, I’ll check the crew if they have packed your items in the truck.” she said before I stopped her.
“What did you bring here?” I asked her since the items she brought are now neatly packed on boxes while a single plastic bag is hanging upon the handlebar.
“Oh, very well, I’ve brought a stack of notebooks, a few rims of paper and other miscellaneous office supplies. They are in these two boxes. The other three includes clothes, hygiene products, a cleaning kit for my glasses, food and this heavy blanket.” she said.
“Heavy blanket?” I asked curiously.
“I remember seeing this online and it said it could help with sleeping.” she said shyly.
“Oh? Can you grab me one of those then? Lois, grab a few more supplies like batteries, duct tape and some WD-40 etc.” I asked.
“Of course, sir.” she grabbed another one then she proceeded to check on the truck while Lois went for another round in the aisles. After a while, she came back and said that everything is ready. I grabbed the bags from the car and placed it on the truck along with Rin’s items. I asked Lois to ride the truck, so the driver knows where to go and I asked Rin to go where she’s staying currently.
We rode for roughly 10 minutes before we reach the destination, she’s very quiet on the car ride and we just listened to the radio while I’m driving. I stopped the car and locked it as we started to walk in a tight alley. A few turns along the way and what welcomed me is a very small apartment that she was renting. A small room has four beds in it and the window does not provide much air inside.
She took her big duffel bag which appears to contain all her stuff and a few knick-knacks and she said her goodbyes to the landlord. She raised her hand towards me, motioning me to pay her now of her advance. I give a sigh but I understood her situation judging from her living condition.
“Well how much is it?” I asked.
“Php. 4,500 (roughly $90)” she replied.
“Here, kindly keep the change. Consider it as a welcome gift.” I gave her five Php. 1,000 bills.
She gave me a nod, then she placed it neatly on her wallet. We walked down and drove the car back, passing some more ambulances and police cars.
“Still no military action? This is going to be ugly if they don’t do anything earlier.” I said to myself.
“What’s happening outside? Is a riot happening?” she said.
It just hit me that she has no access to the news while working there, I handed her my phone and showed her the news. I even showed her old files that I’m planning to show the group later. Her eyes never left the screen and she said, “H-hold on, is this real?”
“What do you think?” I replied.