The Marriage Contract

2 - Broke

"Akshu di, Akshu di, one more song please?! Please?" 10 year old Ria begged as Akshara was about to pack up her guitar and head out.

Akshara glanced at her watch and saw the time ticking by at 3pm. It would take her about 2 hours to get across the city to her other job for a 5pm start. She was cutting it close to her start time as it was, she couldn't afford to sing another song for the orphanage kids even though that's what her heart desired.

Akshara looked up to politely decline Ria's request due to time constraints but saw the other kids has chimed in as well in Ria's support. Akshara glanced at her watch again and gave in to their wishful eyes. Although that meant she was probably going to have to forfeit the cheap transit alternative and instead opt for the costlier Uber to get to her other job. A job that didn't pay her much as it was.

"Okay, one more song and then I have to leave!" She plastered a huge smile on her face and unpacked her guitar.

A round of hoorays and cheers sounded around the community center room, making Akshara's heart flutter. Seeing the happiness and innocence of the kids around her made her happy, made her content and that was her end goal. She wanted to open a music corner for kids —kids who didn't have much resources —and connect them with music to help then become the best version of themselves.

As Akshara began to sing, her eyes kept shifting to the clock at the back of the room. She knew she was going to be late. She was already on her last warning from the manager. She knew she couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.

~*~

"You're late. Again." Ananjay, the manager at Panache, a high-end, illustrious luxury restaurant taunted, pointing toward his watch which clocked in at 5;30pm as Akshara walked into the back kitchen carrying a notepad and pen.

"Sorry. It won't happen again."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. How many more times will you say sorry? If I remember correctly, you said the exact same thing to me last week."

"I promise, Ananjay, this is the last time. I won't be late. Again. Please don't fire me. I really need this job." I folded my hands in front of him in plea.

Akshara hated Ananjay with every fiber of her being. He had once been a colleague of hers, waiting tables just like her. But to her bad luck or his good luck, he was promoted to manager and now the power had gotten to his head.

And now instead of helping his fellow colleagues, the man was on some weird power trip. But she also needed this job to get by until she came across something better. So she just had to suck it up and apologize.

Ananjay gave her a devious smile, "Make sure it never happens again. Or else don't bother to even show your face around this establishment." And with those last words, he turned around to exit the kitchen.

"Asshole." Akshara whispered, involuntarily. She hadn't meant to say it, especially not now when she was already on his radar, but old habits die hard and Akshara was never the one for take an insult lying down.

And she guessed he wasn't either. Ananjay stopped in his steps and turned around to face her.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing." She avoided eye contact with him.

He had heard what Akshara had said clearly, but he didn't want to make a scene in front of his entire staff. But that didn't mean he could let them think it was okay to call him an asshole either.

Ananjay walked up to Akshara and grabbed her notepad and pen out of her hands.

"What..."

"You're on washroom duty."