Vanilla And Cedarwood
One year later ...
One year passed, and the holiday started. Liffi did not return to the South. She doesn't have money to buy an airplane ticket. So she spends her vacation time working as an intern at a construction company.
"So, your name is Liffiana Dewi?" A woman with thick glasses closed the cv that Liffi gave to her.
"Yes." Liffi nodded.
"You are a foreign student, have studied here for one year?"
"That's right, Madam," Liffi answered.
The woman examined Liffi's score, she had perfect scores on almost all tests.
"Are you going to do an internship in your holiday? So you don't back to your home for gathering with your parents?" the woman looked surprised. International students always took the opportunity to return to their hometowns when long holidays start.
"I don't have parents," Liffi looked down, embarrassed. "I'm an orphan."
"Ops ... sorry, Dear."
"It's okay, Madam."
"Okay, dear. You can do an internship in this company. But for your intake, your co-worker will not care about your background. You have to work hard here," She said before moving away from her sitting place.
"Thank you, I'll definitely work hard." Liffi was very happy. Finally, she could work in a construction company like her dream. The first step to reaching her dream.
"You're welcome. Come back here at 9 am tomorrow to start working."
"Yes, Ma'am." Liffi left the building cheerfully.
•
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The Next day, at 9 am.
Liffi is ready to work, today is her first day. Liffi looked beautiful in a white shirt and dark blue skirt. She grabbed the black sling bag which was slightly cracked on the surface and the zipper was broken. Liffi did not replace it, she had to save a lot on her living expenses during college. The scholarship money was only enough to pay for tuition and flat rent. Liffi had to pay for food and living expenses by herself.
"Good morning." Liffi greeted her senior workers at the office.
....
Silence, no answer, all busy with their work. There was no time for formality, because they were being chased by the deadline for today's presentation.
"Hey, Newbie. Don't just stand there, come over here!" called a senior drafter.
"Yes, Miss. How can I help you?" Liffi came closer and put her bag on the table.
"Can you draw building layouts, huh?"
"Yes, Miss."
"Using drawing applications and ACAD?"
"Yup."
"Good! Help me, you draw this owner sketch in exact scale!" The woman gave Liffi a piece of paper with pencil sketches on it.
"Yes, Miss."
Liffi looked at the hand-drawn sketches of the layout for a mall and hotel building. Belonging to WIN.Co, Liffi thought she had read that name before, but somewhere, she didn't remember. Liffi ignored the owner's name and hurried to get to work. This was the first time an intern has been asked to take part in a big project. It looks like they were really being chased by time.
***** THE TWIN'S PET *****
•
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•
After four hours of work, at 13.00 pm.
"Ah, so tired." Liffi sighed. It turned out that being an intern at a big company was more tiring than being a waitress at a fast food restaurant or a mini market cashier.
Liffi had tried all kinds of part-time jobs, from cashier to food delivery. Liffi likes to work, she could forget her homesickness about her family at the orphanage and her curiosity about Ace.
It had been a year since Liffi has been in this country, but she had never heard the news or even knowing where Ace was. Maybe he could be in different cities, maybe he didn't study here anymore, or even returned to the South. Liffi had no idea, her mind was stuck. How could she think about Ace, just thinking about her life made her get a headache.
"Hey, Intern!"
"Yes, Miss, can I help you?" Liffi asked politely. Almost all of the drafter in this company consisted of young people. The most senior one was only Mr. Ken, but he always visited the project site. He was never in the office.
"The A2 printer is broken, can you print this file on digital printing near here?"
"Of course, Miss."
"Here's the flash disk, don't lose it. I haven't copied it yet."
"Yeah."
"Thanks."
Liffi walked sluggishly towards digital printing at the next red light crossroad. Only about two blocks from Liffi's office. The hot sun of this afternoon made Liffi sluggish because she hasn't eaten yet. She should have been waiting for lunchtime, but the senior even told her to go out to print the drawings.
"Here you go, Miss."
"The flash disk?"
"I put it together with the picture roll."
"Thank you so much." Liffi smiled and paid for the printing service. Thirty-five bucks for twenty drawing sheets. Cheap enough for the company but expensive for Liffi.
Liffi carried many rolls of paper in her hands. She walked carefully so that the rolls did not fall or get dirty. If that happened, Liffi might get scolded by her coworker.
[Ugh... So stupid. Why didn't I bring a picture tube case?!] Liffi blamed herself for her carelessness.
BUMP!!!!
Suddenly, Liffi bounced when a man bumped into her. He used a little strength but Liffi looked like have been hit by a big dog.
"It hurts," moaned Liffi. Her legs went limp in shock. The papers flew above her head.
"My drawings??!!" Liffi shrieked, trying with all her strength to get up. The papers were scattered, dirty, and had foot marks on them.
The wind blew past her sense of smell. Liffi was stunned when she smelled sweet vanilla and masculine cedarwood scents. Liffi lifted her head to look at the man. A tall and handsome young man was standing in front of her. His hair was red as an autumn maple leave and became even redder when the sunlight reflected on it.
The man was silent for a moment, then helped Liffi clean up the scattered paper.
Why did he stop and back??
Why did he stop in his tracks just for a girl he didn't even know before??
***** THE TWIN'S PET *****