A Fateful Chance — Chapter 12: TWO-FACED MOMENT

"Oh my! I am so sorry! I am Deandra Klay." She responded as she accepted her hand for a handshake again. He smiled at her as he nodded. Finally, after Deandra cleared things out, Andrew became comfortable talking to her this time.

"Nice name you got."

"Thank you. You're one of those people who appreciates my name."

"Yeah. I liked how it sounds. By the way Deandra, I have to go. I still have to go to my class. See you around."

Before she could respond to him, he left already.

She looked around and she couldn't see the trace of him already. That was a swift brisk walk she assumed he did. However, she felt happy that she couldn't help but to cover her face. Deandra doesn't want other people to see her blush. She felt like her encounter with Andrew already made her day complete.

"Wow, it's like somebody is really enjoying the work here." Kelly saw her blushing and smiling again as she passed by her table.

"W-Well..."

"Hmm, never deny it, my dear. I can't blame you. That's my exact emotions too during my first week here."

"Really?" Deandra faced her with glistening eyes. She's paying more attention to Kelly now.

"Of course. Who wouldn't be inspired by those pre-med and pre-law students spending almost 75% of their life here? I have longer hours of gazing at those gorgeous faces."

"You do?" Deandra can't help but chuckle as she covers her mouth. They both took a glimpse to the mini-office of Mrs. Seo. When they both noticed what they did at the same time, they did the high-five.

"Shhh...it's my secret you should keep." Kelly giggled. Deandra winked at her as she raised her left thumb.

"Okay! Everyone's secret is safe with me. Anyway, you'll be graduating so don't worry about it."

"Please don't remind me of my graduation. It's really epic you know."

"Why?" Deandra leaned closer to Kelly.

"Of course, everything will never be the same again. I will miss my daily routine here inside the University."

"You have to understand that change is the only constant in this world."

"Yeah, thanks. Of course I have to. But you know what? Sometimes I don't like the feeling of going back to zero again."

"Back to zero?" Deandra asked back. Kelly smiled weakly at her.

"I have to face a huge challenge which is to find a real job in the outside world." Deandra could feel the gloomy atmosphere between the two of them talking.

"Are you not trusting yourself? If you're able to find a job while studying here, how much more if you graduate already? I know there will be a lot of opportunities for you."

"I hope so dear. Thank you for these uplifting words. I guess I need it so much."

"You can count on me. We could still see each other until this Friday, right?"

"Yeah. You're right."

"Don't be shy. You can talk to me while we have our duty here."

"Sure. I will also teach you some of the things you should remember while working here. Remember, the library is too big for you to work on."

"Thank you, Kelly. Thank you for your warm welcome."

----

Deandra finished her duty as a student assistant in the library. Time flies so fast and she still needs to go to the fast-food restaurant she's working at. Because she has some excess money, she decided to buy some burgers for her sisters and mom.

She smiled as she arrived at exactly 9:20 PM at their house.

"Our dear sister Deandra!" She could see Dahlia running towards her feeling really excited. She's the first to see that familiar plastic bag of the food brand Deandra bought for all of them.

Deandra saw her mom washing the dishes in the kitchen as she kept herself busy.

"Wow! Big burgers!" Dina exclaimed happily.

"There's only four, yours, mine, Dahlia's and mom. Okay?" Dee answered that everything got serious all of a sudden.

"Yes. We get one piece each." Dahlia showed Dee a thumbs up.

"Wow. That's really nice, my love. Dee is right. Sharing is loving. We have to give each one their burgers."

"What about you, dear Deandra?" Dahlia asked me in an innocent manner. She's even blinking slowly that made her look more adorable for Deandra.

"I am always eating burgers at work, dear. I even memorized the taste already."

"Oh, I see." Dina nodded.

"After you all eat the burgers, drink a lot of water and rest well because it is getting late."

"Okay dear Deandra. By the way, mother said she will sleep with us." Dina and Dee did a high-five. Deandra looked at her mom and she saw her shook her head as she smiled a bit.

"Really, mom? Thank you." She nodded as she took a bite to her burger.

"Dee, Dina, you both know what to do, okay? Please make the bed and make way for mom."

"Okay!" Because they're already done with their burgers even after Dahlia opened hers, they raced towards their room. Dahlia hugged both of my feet as she closed her eyes.

"You forgot one thing."

"Hmmm..." She responded, looking tired already. Deandra got her in her arms as they went to the kitchen.

"We have to brush our teeth." Deandra let her sit on the sink and handed her toothbrush and a plastic glass half-filled with water.

"Okay." She replied in a soft voice. Deandra put a pea-sized toothpaste on her toothbrush. She brushed her teeth in a lazy manner as she closed her eyes. She chuckled as she poked her youngest sister's arm gently.

Deandra looked at her own reflection as she brushed her teeth, while Dahlia sat on the sink beside where she was standing. Somehow, Deandra is assured that she'll not fall at all.

When they're done, Deandra carries her in her arms because she's too sleepy to walk inside their room. When she opened the door to their room, Dahlia had fallen asleep already.

Deandra lay her head on the pillow gently and tucked her to bed with their soft, white quilt made of cotton sewn by their mom.

Deandra also lay next to her youngest sister because they only share one bed. Today is not the best day yet but she knew deep down, she's happy that this day happened. After today, she felt like she could face any day fearlessly.

She smiled as she closed her eyes.