Allera.

JOB THING - 5

 It was a Monday afternoon, just an hour after school lunchtime. A 14-year-old Allera roams around the mall with her girls, Natalie, Amelia, and Lucy. Allera had asked them to skip school and in return, she'll buy them anything they want in the mall. 

She said, " I have my dad's credit card, it's unlimited", persuading them.

The three of them exchanged looks. Mall? anything they want? unlimited credit card? It's like heaven on earth for teenagers that just stepped on the high school level.  Allera was smiling ear to ear with her girlfriends cling their arms with her in the middle. And a bunch of Sephora, Zara, and a little too much Forever 21 paper bag. 

Allera didn't care how much she spent, she loved seeing her friends happy with the things she bought for them. 

but not Allera's father, Gideon. 

When she was home, Gideon was ready to have a 2-hour lecture about how she just spent 5 Grand in a school day. Allera was grounded but her parent was barely around, so they either forgot or don't even realize if she uses her phone and didn't immediately come home after school. 

This might make you think, the reason why money was worthless for Allera is that her parent's lectures were just ignored and her parents didn't give an effective punishment hard enough to teach her a lesson about managing her money. 

===

After yesterday's event, the whole thing with Jack has shaken things up in my mind. I decided to do some online searching for a job, definitely not a certain branded bag that I had just ordered, and waste the 5 grand my dad just gave to me as a loan and is not on the way to my address. 

I don't even know why am I at school, I hardly listen to the teachers, and even if I don't do the work they gave me a solid B-, just because of my Dad's influence. I rolled my eyes thinking about my dad, I had not called him since he kicked me out. Nor does my mom. 

Thinking about them just makes me feel annoyed. I decided to put my phone down and right away the teacher looked at me, and I immediately opened back my phone. Going straight for a hiring a job website, that looked safe and legal enough to scroll. 

And there it is.

A Job.

----------------------------------------

Hiring for an 18+ year old
Good Looking
Over 5'5

Casting for advertising new local brand. 
SEND CV TO OUR EMAIL.
INTERVIEW ON FRIDAY 17TH 2023.

----------------------------------------

I am almost 18 in like Thursday next week. So this will be easy and everyone wants to hire me, I've been in real advertisement video and bunch of popular magazines. Nothing can stopped me. The bell rang, I stood up and walked out of the class. 

All of the other kids walked out of the same time as me, probably as eager as me to get out of class and go fuckin' eat. I haven't had breakfast yet, looking at the nasty cafeteria foods, I don't think I could do that to my body. 

Sitting on an empty table, then dropping my head onto the table, making my hair covered my face. Then out of nowhere someone sat beside me. 

"When was the last time you cry?", He said. 

I rolled my eyes under my hair, I know this voice, I move my head that was still on the table looking towards where the voice came from.

"never cry", I said coldly.

As i was about to lift my body up, I felt his hand on my wrist. I look back down, and I saw how his eyes was looking down. At a glance it looked like he was feeling, sad? I almost sat back down, but he looked up at me.

"I woke up feeling groggy yesterday, and that's why I wasn't at school. I had another attack."

Just like that I instantly sat back down. He stares at me, and let go of my wrist. Even though I despise him, it was not enough for me to just walked away if he said something like that. I waited for him to open up his mouth, but for the next 30 seconds nothing comes out. 

"Do you really think I want to sit here listen to you breathe?",  I said harshly then standing up without looking back.

I felt his eyes was on me the whole time I strolled out of the canteen. Even though I was a tad bit rude, I was hoping he would run up to me. But I guess he didn't.

===

Laying on my bed, in a starfish position helps me think about my life tragedy. Money, Job, dermatologist appointment, and others. So I thought, If my dad is going to force me to being independent, so be it. I turn my body so I lay on my stomach and took out my laptop. I immediately starts typing and making myself worth something other than just, daddy's money. 

While I type and type, hours has passed without me noticing that it's been 5 hours since I started and I scroll up and down, zooming in and out, looking for any typos, trying to remember any modelling job I ever did my whole life. 

And I think I just did my first step, it happened. 

I just made my CV.

I rushed to open my email account and send in my CV to that local company email, with my shaking hands because how focused I was on making my life work. I was hesitating at first to press the enter button. But I thought again, Fuck It. 

Then I hit send. 

I jumped out of bed and start screaming out of excitement, even my professional modelling career has not made me had this eager feeling on my stomach that made me wants to scream and shout and do a somersault in this 20mx15m apartment, which was way too small. I plopped my self back to bed, and without even realizing that I was too tried and just melt down my eyes, sleeping soundlessly. 

There was glamour, there was music, there was a chandelier on top of my head and women wearing the same huge-blue-sapphire statement necklace around their throat with a man's hand around their waist and a cocktail glass on their fingers that was barely sipped. 

I was thinking on how I would love to wear that necklace around my neck and have his hand around my waist. He would look so dashing, we would be the perfect couple, rich, powerful, and most importantly love each other. Just imagining it makes myself want to cry.

I tried to find a mirror, to see what am I wearing at the moment. Right about the time I found the way to the toilet, someone tapped my shoulders. I froze a little, I didn't know I froze. I tried to look back but I couldn't, and so I let out my voice.

"Who are you?" 

I can feel he hovering behind me but he just won't face me. 

"You look like a queen, Lera", He said my name.

And not just any name, he called me Lera. No one called me Lera but him, It's almost 2 years since he called my name. A sense of weakness start to crept in my stomach, I hadn't feel this way since He broke up with me. I didn't think I ever enjoy feeling vulnerable around everybody else but him. 

"Why won't you show your face?, I said softly, but heard me.

He took a step closer to my side, but I still can't look a him. The exact moment where I thought I have enough strength to look at him, I woke up. It was all a dream, him calling my name again. I sat back up, and looked at the watch I had just installed on the wall near the kitchen.

10:30 pm.

I groan and shrug the sleepiness away.

TO BE CONTINUED