Who Never Had Dreams When We Were Young?

Part 9

"I seriously hate you," I muttered as I rinsed the dirty mop in the toilet sink. "I don't even clean my own house this often."

"This is only the second day of work. You got to make a good impression on the manager." Rachel smiled and pointed at the table beside the counter where customers can have their store-bought meals. "Your cup noddles is going to be overcooked."

I washed my hands before sitting at the table. A cloud of hot steam attacked me when I opened the lid. I scooped up a few strands of noodles and blew gently on them.

"Today I shall revise Chemistry." She flipped open her thick textbook and began reading a chapter. "Here's yours. I bought it from the bookstore this morning."

She passed me an equally thick book labelled Mastering Interior Design.

"You bought it?" I raised my eyebrows. "How?"

"Hmm?" She flipped to the next page. "The cashier didn't complain when I paid 10 million dollars. In hell bank notes, of course."

I nearly choked on the mouthful of noodles that I was chewing. Again. God, is there another non-cliche way to express shock? I gulped down some water hastily.

The door chime sounded. I wiped my mouth and stood up. "Welcome!"

A look of recognition flashed across his face. "What are you doing here?"

My smile froze. "Nic?"

Nicholas-or Nic, because I'm lazy-stepped towards me and patted my shoulder gently. "Hard to believe that I'll meet you here, of all places. Coincidence, huh?"

"Maybe." I glanced at his business attire. "How's your job going? I heard that you applied to be an interior designer at a big company after getting your degree."

Nic gave a chuckle. "Turns out that degree is useless after all. I quit just after two months. Now, I'm a sales associate."

"Why?" I breathed. "Wasn't that your dream job?"

"I mean, sure it was. But the salary's too low for my liking." He shrugged his shoulders. "You have to be realistic sometimes."

"You rather have a higher-paying job that you don't like instead of your passion?" I asked, taken aback.

"Look at yourself." He smiled. "Times are tough, huh? A diploma won't get you anywhere nowadays. Are you still driving the taxi part-time?"

I nodded my head quietly. "You know, I'm planning to take the university entrance exams this year."

"Really? You're still the same after all these years, always so stubborn." He grabbed a bottle of Coke off the shelve and tossed a one-dollar coin to me. "Are you sure you still want to pursue interior design? I can introduce you to much better and more flexible jobs, you know."

"Well, it's my dream after all." I kept the one-dollar coin in the cash till. "It was our dream, too."

"Don't come back to me in the future complaining about your job, okay?" He passed me the bottle of Coke before heading out. "My treat."

I uncapped the bottle. The sweet dark-brown beverage exploded out and splashed onto the spotless floor.