Chapter 29 Chapter 29
Tessa
The next morning, I woke up with a tired body, my eyes on my mum, who was still sleeping peacefully beside me. My gaze shifted to Mr. Carter, whose eyes were still closed.
I clasped my hands together, closing my eyes as I whispered a little prayer. When I opened my eyes, Mum had already woken up, her eyes on me.
"Praying?" she asked, and I nodded happily.
"Good," she whispered.
I stood up from the bed, stretching my body tiredly. The usual morning coffee smell filled the air, and I'd love to buy some, but the fact that I would have to line up for more than 30 minutes made it frustrating.
My phone suddenly rang from the stool where I had put it.
"Your phone is ringing," Mum said, even though I had already heard it.
I walked over to pick it up, and it was Leah calling. I had saved her number since yesterday when she called.
I slid the green button and put it on my left ear.
"What's up? Hope you don't forget about the practical?" she asked, and a gasp escaped my lips. I had totally forgotten, if not for her reminder, I wouldn't have remembered, even if I did, maybe not until much later.
"With your reaction, I'm sure you have forgotten," she scoffed.
"For real, I have," I admitted, not wanting to lie.
"Now that I've reminded you, are you coming or not?" she asked, and I thought about it for a while. After all, I had nothing to do, and Mum was already with Mr. Carter, so nothing would stop me from going.
"I'm coming, what time?" I asked.
"I think it's 10 AM. You shouldn't be late, you know Mr. Daniel, don't you?" she inquired, and I rolled my eyes.
Mr. Daniel can be annoying, if you're one minute late to his class, he'll lock you out.
"Yeah, I won't be late, thank you," I said before hanging up the call.
I turned back, only to find my mum's piercing gaze. It was as if she was trying to listen in on my conversation with Leah.
"Mum," I called, shocked, holding my chest to calm my racing heart.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked with a teasing tone, as if I was talking to a crush.
"It's one of my course mates, she reminded me of the practical we have by 10 AM. I had totally forgotten, if not for her, I wouldn't have known about it," I replied tiredly, walking back to sit on the bed.
"Oh, practical by 10 AM? I guess you should start getting ready to leave, it's already past 8," she said, checking her wristwatch, tempting me to check my phone's clock. A gasp escaped my lips as I checked the time, it was almost 9.
I got up from the bed, took hold of the food box I had brought yesterday, and said to Mum, "I will be on my way now."
I attempted to walk away, but was stopped when the door opened before I even stepped closer. It was Mr. Grumpy standing there. He stared at me from head to toe before walking past me.
I smirked, playing ignorance to his act of disrespect, before marching outside.
I walked outside the hospital and grabbed a taxi. I told the driver the name of my street, and he began driving.
The drive took up to 30 minutes. I finally arrived at my house, stepped out of the car, and checked through my body to retrieve my pouch, but it was nowhere to be found.
Fear gripped me as I wondered what was happening. I opened the food box, thinking maybe the pouch was inside, but it wasn't there. My body began shaking.
How would I pay the cab fare? I opened the car door to check inside, maybe the pouch had fallen down, but it wasn't there.
I swallowed hard as the driver opened the car door with an angry look.
"Lady, you're delaying me. Can you pay now?" he asked, and I frowned.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for my pouch, but it's nowhere to be found," I admitted, hoping he would understand. However, he didn't seem to be the understanding type.
He banged the car door shut and took a step closer to me.
"What do you mean you can't find the pouch? Didn't you check yourself out before entering the cab?" His face wasn't smiling, he looked dangerous.
"No, it wasn't like that. I thought I'd taken the pouch, but it turned out I hadn't," I explained, searching through my body as if the pouch would magically appear in my pocket.
"So, what do you want me to do about that?" he asked, showing no signs of care
"So, what I mean is, can you wait right here while I go inside to get prepared? Then, you can take me back to where you picked me up from. I promise I won't take much time," I said.
I turned to leave, but his hand gripped my shoulder, tossing me back. I nearly fell on my feet, and my eyes widened in shock.
"The heck!" I screamed out of fear.
"The heck!" The driver retorted, his voice now stern and loud. "How dare you say those words, you thief?" He snatched a gasp from me.
"What? Thief?" I recoiled.
He nodded. "Yes, you are a thief. I've seen many cases like this, and I won't be a victim of it. If you don't pay me, you're not going anywhere," he explained.
"What? Stay here? Until you get prepared? You must be joking, right?" He asked, resting his hand on his car.
I knew I was doomed. What was I going to do now? Should I just go back to the hospital?
I checked the time, it was already past 9, and I had to be in school by 10. If I went back to the hospital without getting dressed, there was no assurance I'd make it on time.
Just then, a voice interrupted from behind. "What's happening here?"
I turned my gaze toward the direction of the voice. A guy was coming from the house beside us. The house was vacant yesterday, so what happened? How did he get there?
"Oh," I said, remembering yesterday when I saw a car packed in front of the house, full of luggage. The guy must have just moved in.
"Don't mind this thief, she took a cab without having money," the driver explained, his eyes wide.
"Stop calling me a thief," I replied sharply.
"How much?" the guy asked.
"Just $15," the driver replied.
"$15? It's only $10, you scumbag," I retorted sharply.
"Scumbag? Do you know how much I would have made if I hadn't been delayed here? You're a bitch, a total bitch," he fired back.
"You..."
"This is $20, please stop making noise," the guy said, handing the driver some money. My eyes widened.
"He said it was $15..." My words hung in the air with his cold look.
"Thank you, sir," the driver appreciated and turned to leave, but not before giving me a shut-up sign. He entered his cab and drove away.
"Thank you," I said to the guy who had just paid, but he remained expressionless.
"I only paid because you were making noise. Please maintain perfect silence. You're not mad, are you?" He asked without waiting for my reply and walked away.