"Welcome Alisha" she said as she rushed to open the door after the incessant knocking. Alisha gave her a scornful look, glaring at her angrily though it dissipated like morning dew.
"And when did you start locking the door?"
"I didn't know I locked it" Kaira replied, her face innocent as her fingers fiddled with each other while her gaze stayed fixed on the ground.She couldn't tell if it was fear or just her low self esteem showing itself again.
Alisha shot her another disdainful glance and pushed her out of the way. Kaira stumbled, then quickly got up, still standing in the same spot with her head bowed, fiddling with her fingers with her pitiful face.
"Whatever" Alisha muttered, throwing her bag on the bed before sitting down with a sigh.
"I need your help" Kaira broke the silence. She slowly went down on her knees.
"Before that Alisha, I want you to please forgive me. I miss you" she added, crawling closer and holding her legs.
"You did nothing wrong to me" Alisha said, pulling her leg away as if Kaira's touch were dirt. "What do you want?"
"Can I borrow some of your notes? I really need them. I haven't been going to class that much" Kaira pleaded.
"Get up please"Kaira stayed kneeling.
"I said get up!" Alisha shouted, and she quickly rose, her face drooping.
"Why is it so hard for you to meet your coursemates and ask them questions?" she barked.
"For crying out loud, do it once and you won't stick to me forever" she snapped, then lay on the bed, pressing her phone.
Kaira slowly went to the small space she had given herself on the floor and lay down, facing the wall. Facing the wall always felt like facing herself, empty, innocent, but strong enough to hold a whole building.
Her mind painted the wall bright red, and she shuddered at the memory of the blood she had coughed out.
She had new handkerchiefs ready as the cough kept worsening, but as night fell, her thoughts grew heavy.
Was she really ready to give up on herself? She had dreams. She had visions.
She could have gone to the hospital, but her allowance couldn't cover it.
Maybe, just maybe her savings could be enough to see a doctor.
The next day, she woke up before Alisha. On her way to class, she noticed a vacancy board at a construction site.Kaira's face lit up with a click of hope. Maybe her pain was teaching her something, strength. The strength to move forward.
As she was reading the vacancy board, a young man walked up to her.
"Hey, you want to work here?" the boy asked.
"Yeah," she answered without looking at him, her eyes glued to the pay written on the board.
"Kaira!" the boy called, and she immediately looked up, confused. She didn't expect anyone to know her around the area.
"You don't know me?" he asked.
"You look familiar," Kaira replied.
"Jerome," he said, smiling.
Kaira just stared at him, caught by surprise. Jerome waited for her to say something, but she kept her gaze down, fingers nervously playing with each other.
"Should I take you to my boss?" he asked.
"Sure," she replied softly.
Jerome led the way, and Kaira followed. They met a man in his early fifties, neatly dressed in a crisp shirt and well-polished shoes, sitting comfortably on a chair while some people worked.
"Good morning, sir," Jerome greeted.
"Good morning, J," the man replied, eyes still fixed on his phone, one hand holding another.
"Good morning, sir," Kaira greeted politely. This time, he looked up as if just realizing someone else was there.
"Hello, young lady," he said with a warm smile.
Jerome explained that Kaira wanted to work there and even vouched for her, promising she'd do better than expected.
Kaira couldn't help but laugh as soon as they stepped out of the building.
"This is my first time seeing you laugh," Jerome said, amused.
"I couldn't help it. You don't even know how much work I can do in a day, yet you spoke like you did."
"I know you need the job more than anything. It's written all over your face."
"Anyway, do you work here?" she asked.
"No, just came to see someone. But since you're here, I can stop by often."
Kaira stayed silent, and Jerome understood she was still warming up to him.
She got to class late, but for the first time in a while, she felt a spark of happiness inside her. Determined, she wanted to fight whatever was holding her down and defy all odds.
Then she coughed again and it was blood. The sight dragged her right back into fear. Her mind raced with worry. What if Jerome told Alisha? Everything would shatter.
She coughed again. Blood.
The class ended soon after. She had only managed to attend the last fifteen minutes. Picking up her bag, she clutched her handkerchief tightly. She had washed the others and ironed them around midnight while Alisha slept deeply, making sure she wouldn't find out.
At least, she thought, she wouldn't be a burden to anyone.
That night, even though she was quite happy, she couldn't eat. She had lost her appetite and around midnight, the cough worsened. She was coughing non stop and ran to one corner of the room. She couldn't even stop the blood from coming out. She kept coughing violently until Alisha rose up.
"What's wrong with you?" Her sleepy voice ran through Kaira's head. She froze. She couldn't turn to look at Alisha because her hands were stained with blood. She continued coughing violently.
"Kaira! What's it?"