Misfortunes

Katherine yawned as she woke up from her sleep, wondering why she didn't hear her alarm clock. Lazily getting out of bed, she walked towards the bathroom to do her morning routine. When she was done, she glanced at the clock and realized that it had stopped moving. She rushed to check her phone and her eyes widened when she saw that she only had thirty minutes left until her shift started.

"Crap! I'm late!!!" She quickly changed clothes, wore shoes, and walked out of her messy apartment without even having any breakfast.

She ran to the bus stop, thankful that she was able to catch a ride. She was already late since it takes thirty minutes to get there but there was nothing that she could do.

It was more or less like a routine for Katherine everyday. Waking up, catching the bus, going to morning job, quickly eating lunch, going to afternoon 'til evening job, and then go home.

After getting discharged from the hospital five years ago, Katherine followed the address that was on her ID card which led her to her current apartment. On the day that she arrived, that's when she met Emma who lived nearby and became her best friend soon after.

Her apartment was small and was just enough for one person yet everything that she found inside felt very foreign to her – like she was not attached to any of those things. She asked Emma back then but the latter told her that it was the first time they met—the day Katherine came to her apartment. The neighbors said that someone moved in around the time of the accident but they didn't get to meet her.

During her adjustment period, Katherine discovered some documents like her biodata, transcript of records, and other things. She found out that she was an orphan and had a degree in Business Management through a scholarship. But after discovering all that, she thought it was useless because she didn't have a recollection of her past. It also did not help that the money she found in her possession only lasted for a couple of months.

From then on, she had decided to study her degree again so that she could find a better job. So she worked day and night to get by.

Because of her situation, she had taken all sorts of jobs left and right but she had been unlucky and was not able to keep and find a stable one. There were a couple of times when her employers would recognize her hard work and planned to give her a better position but even before that happens, she would get fired. She wondered if the gods hated her and wanted her to stay in poverty.

Katherine thought that it was just how life was.

She had saved up some money and was thinking of ways on how to improve her life when one friend whose name was Steven contacted her in the middle of the night to borrow some money for his mother's hospital bills.

She had known Steven for about a year and knew that he was actually someone who was generous to let other people borrow money too. Even Katherine had borrowed from him several times and he did not even ask any questions. And since her friend was in need, she had let him borrow even if it was more than half of her savings and was told that he was going to pay a week after that.

But the bastard ran away and never came back. Katherine then found out that he lied about the family emergency and was actually in trouble from a loan shark. He went AWOL and was never heard from again.

Katherine was so pissed that she trusted the person. She cursed him plenty of times and was still mad about it every time she remembered. 

..

Arriving at her station, Katherine got off the bus, dashed towards the supermarket, and entered the employee's entrance. As soon as she did, she halted when she saw her boss waiting for her with a furious look on his face. "You're late again!"

She stopped just in front of him and repeatedly bowed her head to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Sun, it won't happen again."

"You said that a hundred times already! I can no longer tolerate this behavior of yours. You are fired! Go to HR and collect your pay. Don't come back anymore!" Mr. Sun closed the door on her face.

Katherine flinched but right after, she stuck her tongue out in frustration. However, the corners of her mouth curled downwards immediately. Now what?

After taking her last pay from HR which was not enough to last for the rest of the month, she slumped her shoulders as she turned around and walked towards the nearby bus station. She sat there with a very disinterested look on her face until her phone beeped.

She received a text message saying that she had to pay her rent that was already delayed for two months or else she had to leave and live on the streets.

Katherine wanted to shout in frustration and she actually did. "Aaaaaaaah!!!" The people around her moved away, afraid that she had gone crazy.

Feeling desolate, she went back home.

Later that afternoon, she stayed outside of the convenience store where she and her friends usually hung out and sat lazily with a chocolate drink in her hand. She stared into space. If only she had a better life, she would not have these problems.

"Katherine," a man's voice called from the side, making her look up. "Oh hey, Adam," she greeted.

"What are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be working at this hour?" He asked as he sat beside her.

Adam Lee was also Katherine's friend who lived in the same neighborhood. He had an average height, black hair, and a sharp nose. He was kind of cute, even Emma had a crush on him.

"Yeah… I got fired." She pouted her lips.

Adam thought she looked so adorable acting like that but his brows knitted when he heard her news. "Again? Hmmm… Don't worry, I'll help you look for another job."

Running footsteps sounded from the side and the two of them gazed up to see Emma running towards them. "Kathy!!! Guess what! Guess what!?"

"What? What is it?" Katherine became excited when she saw her friend looking so ecstatic.

Emma took the chocolate drink from Katherine's hand, bending forward as she panted from all the running that she did, and then sipped the drink. Katherine's mouth twitched when she saw her drink taken away from her.

"Hey! I wasn't finished with that!" she complained. Her face scrunched up when her best friend sucked her drink dry. She no longer had extra money to buy another one, making her even sadder. 'Goodbye choco.'

"I'll get you another one, Kath." Adam shook his head at Emma before heading inside the store.

When Emma was finally able to calm down, "Kath! I found you a job! You are not going to believe it! The pay is so huge and you don't have a lot of things to do! You even get to travel!"

Katherine shot up from her seat and her eyes sparkled in excitement, "Really?! You're not playing me, are you?"

"Of course not! But you still need to submit your application and be called for an interview but I'm very sure that with your skills, you will snag that job!!!"

"Why are you so confident about my skills?" Katherine wondered and was feeling doubtful that she could have a decent job.

"You have a degree in Business Management, right? So this is perfect for you!"

"But I don't have any idea what to do with it, Emma. You know I don't remember anything." She went back to being dispirited.

"But you self-studied for years. At least you have some idea!"

Katherine's curiosity and Emma's excitement got the best of her. "How much does it pay?"

"I don't know the details yet but it's probably five times more than how much you're earning right now!"

Katherine gasped, her heart thrummed in her chest. "No way!"

Emma nodded her head dramatically.

Thinking that there was no harm in trying, she convinced herself that if she gets this job, her life would definitely change.

Katherine pursed her lips, a new determination brewing inside of her and she was already feeling excited. Fixing her glasses that were sitting on her nose, she formed her hands into fists and brought them up in front of her. "I can do this!"

And with that, Katherine started to prepare for her job application.