Youth [MikhAiah] [Book #1]

01

—🐶—

AIAH

I let out a deep sigh of relief after my shift as a barista at a local coffee shop, just a few miles away from my apartment.

"Good work for today, Ms. Arceta!"

I smile at my boss's compliment, and the exhaustion melts away a little.

"Thank you po, there are so many customers today," I say while tidying up my locker.

"Well, thanks to you, most of the customers come just to see you!" she teases, pouting playfully.

"Hala, hindi naman! Baka masarap lang siguro yung pag-gawa ko sa orders nila."

She laughs at my response.

"Salamat, iha. O, sige na, pwede ka nang umuwi, at ako na ang magsasara ng shop."

I nod and say my goodbyes.

"Thank you po ulit, Ma'am." She reminds me to take care as I leave.

When I walk out the backdoor of the shop, I head straight for my motorbike, which is parked just behind the store. As I place my bag under the seat, I receive a message on Discord.

heather.
yo are you g? we're gunna run some dungeons later.

aiahyah
i'm g pero i'll go home muna, kakatapos lang ng shift ko eh.

heather.
sure, get home safe!

aiahyah
thank you!

I place my phone in the holder just above my speedometer and set Google Maps to guide me home. I know the way, but since it's late, I just want to be sure. I put on my helmet and start the engine, already feeling excited at the thought of playing when I get home.

My regular gaming buddy is Heather. I feel like she's a foreigner living here because her accent is different when she speaks in our voice chats on Discord. She's the first friend I made when I start playing this dungeon game, and she's incredibly skilled at video games.

Even though we've been friends for almost five years, we've never met in real life. I doubt she's from here, but she's such a mysterious person—hindi ko pa nga alam yung real name niya.