THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE

Chapter 1

Alex's POV

I am now busy entertaining the customers who come to the coffee shop I work in Ermita. We are two waitresses but Lorna didn't come in today when more people came in for coffee and snacks.

The coffee shop I work at is not that big, but many people come inside because the area where the shop is located is also crowded.

Just like today, many customers have come in so, I feel like I'm dizzy. Call here, call there. Deliver here, deliver there is what I do. The owner of the shop who is also the cashier is also grumpy. I'm just persevering with this job because I don't have any other work to do. Where will someone like me who just graduated from high school work?

"Alex, what are you doing? Don't slow down there and there are many other customers waiting for their orders!" my boss Sonya said grumpily at me.

"Yes, Ma'am," I answered immediately. Why is she not the only one to deliver their order to other customers? She knew I was still busy making coffee that one of the customers ordered.

My job is not only a waitress but also a coffee maker. I did a self-learner that's why I know how to make coffee. Even though I didn't study, I love making coffee, especially the so-called cold coffee latte. Vanilla ice cream melted in hot water and then topped with original black coffee with whipping cream. The person who can drink my cold coffee latte, which is the best seller in our shop, will definitely come back to my boss' coffee shop.

"Alex! Two cold coffee latte!"

I frowned when I saw who called me and ordered. The two people hanging around the corner who used to be rude to me.

"Didn't you hear the customer calling you, Alex? Get to them. Hurry!" my boss ordered me with wide eyes.

With a heavy heart, I approached the two annoying customers. Of all the customers who enter the shop, these two are the only ones who don't line up at the counter to order and pay. They feel like they are inside a restaurant where the waiter is only called when the customer needs something.

Those two are feeling rich, where in fact they are just loitering around the corner. They are just a burden to their parents. It's really annoying because these young people are not just a burden to their parents and is arrogant when they talk to other people. After all, their parents worked hard for what they brag about, but when they bragged, it's like they were the ones who worked hard and sacrificed their blood and sweat.

How annoying!

"What is your order?" I asked with a frown to the two men who were all smiling at me. It's good if I couod hit their faces with the tray I'm holding.

"Let's talk first, Alex. Berto and I will order later. Right, Berto?" Emong said to me with a smile. I felt sick when I saw his yellow teeth. It looks like he hasn't brushed his teeth in a year. His mouth is disgusting.

"Yes, Alex. Let's talk first," added Berto who was also smiling like Emong. If Emong's teeth are yellow, Berto's teeth are brown, which I always think that he just finished eating chocolate. They are really friends because they both have disgusting mouths.

"Alex! If you're going to flirt with your lovers, it's better to do it outside my shop! My shop might be unlucky because of you," my grumpy boss yelled at me.

I couldn't stop rolling my eyeballs. Do I look like I'm flirting with these two cockroach who just need a splash of water to make them look clean? I think my boss is blinded by being so fat that she can't see that I'm not flirting with these two idiots. It was embarrassing for the people inside the coffee shop who were looking at me. They might think that I'm so desperate to get a boyfriend that look like a gecko snarling in the mud. It's good if I could kill them without being imprison.

"Are you going to order or not?" I asked the two monks in front of me while restraining the annoyance not to show in my face.

"I will order after this," said Emong. And before I could guess what he was planning to do, suddenly his rough palm landed on my exposed legs and caressed upwards. I am wearing a short uniform skirt because this is what my boss ordered me to do so he easily touches my bare skin.

"You're so rude!" I yelled at Emong with a red face. I didn't think twice and just hit his disgusting face with the plastic tray I was holding.

"The waitress here has no respect for their customers. We don't want to buy anything from this shop anymore," said Emong angrily. He stood up and asked Berto to come out of my boss' coffee shop while giving me a bad look.

"Don't come back here, you frog-like people who don't bathe! You bastards!" I screamed in anger at the two men coming out of the coffee shop.

"What are you doing, Alex? Why did you insult my customers?" My boss was so angry that she suddenly got close to me.

"They are rude, they deserve it though!" I answered quickly. That Emong should be thankful that I only slapped the tray on his face and didn't threw him a boiling water. His brown teeth would definitely be whiter if I splashed hot water on him for being rude.

"If you didn't flirt with them they won't insult you," my boss scolded me.

When she said that, my head suddenly became hot and my composure was broken. I angrily dropped the tray I was holding on the table.

"I didn't flirt with those monkeys because I don't like animals, Ma'am. Maybe you, because you seems like them!" I angrily replied in a weak but firm tone.

My boss' eyes and nostrils widened when she heard those words from me especially when the other customers also laughed at what I said. "Disrespectful woman! What do you think of me? A pig? You are fired now!" she shouted angrily.

"You're the one who said that Ma'am, and not me." I took the tray that I placed on the table and impulsively stuck it to her stomach that was already overflowing with fat.

"Here's your tray, Ma'am. Put yourself on it when you're already chop-chop into small pieces," after saying that I quickly took my small shoulder bag that was a little old and walked straight out of the coffee shop.

"Alex, come back! What do you think of me, a lechon? Alex!" my boss Sonya yelled. She's not my boss anymore because from now on I'm really going to resign even if she doesn't fire me. Because I can't stand her staring at me almost every day as if she's waiting for me to make a mistakes. Good luck at her coffee shop. My cold coffee latte is still being taken to her coffee shop and Lorna has yet to imitate my blend no matter how she tries to imitate me.

I don't have a job anymore. I badly need money to treat my mom who has liver disease. Mom needs a liver transplant to prolongs her life. But where I am going to find the money for her treatment and liver transplant? I only pay for our daily food, water and electricity from my salary in the coffee shop. What if I don't have a job anymore? Where am I going to get something we can eat everyday? I feel like I want to regret of what I did earlier. I shouldn't have done that. I should have just put up with it and let my grumpy boss yelled at me. I wouldn't have lost my job now, how am I supposed to start and find a new job? I don't know how!

I don't know why I behave like this. I don't want to be insulted and oppressed. Because for me, whether you are poor or rich, we are all the same people. Eating rice and then going out the toilet too. It's just that the rich people eats white rice and they empty their stomach in the toilet, while we who are poor eat white rice, but NFA only and we empty our stomach in the toilet too. It's just we did it in public toilet because anyone can use it.

Instead of stressing about where I will get our daily expenses, I just decided to go home to our small house to check on my mom. Fortunately, we do not rent the house because it was given to us by the kind owner of the house before he died. If we happen to rent a house, we will definitely always have salt and water in our dishes every day.

When I got on the tricycle, I hesitated whether to ride or just walk home. I chose the latter. I have to save now because I don't have a job anymore. The forty pesos tricycle fare is also a waste. I can buy a kilo of white rice in that price.

While I was walking along the side of the road going home, I noticed a white van following me and seemed to be keeping pace. I couldn't help but feel scared when I suddenly thought of what I was watching on the news about the white van that kidnaps people. I thought of running towards some people who were also walking in fear. But before I could run, two men in a white van suddenly got out and quickly approached me. One of the two men covered my mouth with a white handkerchief so I couldn't scream. Only a few seconds later, I suddenly fell asleep because the handkerchief that the man covered my mouth and nose contained sleeping smells.

My mom!

She was the only one on my mind before I completely passed out. No one will take care of my mother if I disappear from this world. God, please take care of her.