Moving In

It was a long day traveling to Manila. From Zamboanga, we took a bus a bus going to the city, and another one to get to the airport. I thought the plane ride was going to be scary, but surprisingly, I enjoyed it. I took some shots of the clouds and the airline food and before I knew it, we're a few minutes away from landing.

"Jess, I'm gonna miss you." I hugged her and Marcus tightly as we waited for our ride to the airport.

"You take care of yourself, baby girl." Marcus pinched my cheeks and embraced me again.

I tried hard to hold my emotions and said my goodbyes as my ride arrives. Deep inside, I knew that a big part of me will long for my best friends, but I can't hold them back from taking their relationship to another level. I'll have to get used to living solo as fast as I can.

I've traveled to Manila only as a tourist and never really knew how to get around the big city. I was overwhelmed by the volume of people walking in different directions, so unlike the place I've grown up with. Here there are more vehicles than trees and the blaring sound of traffic adds to my headache.

The taxi driver hustles to get me to my apartment quickly so we drove by narrow streets to avoid the heavy traffic on the main road, along the way, I try to find where the laundry shop and groceries were.

After half an hour we stopped by an old building, I checked the number and confirmed that this was the exact address I was looking for. There were three houses on the compound, mine was the smallest one on the left.

I reached for my bag to get the keys, but before I could turn the key, a male voice startled me from behind.

"You must be Ashley."

"Oh... Yes. Hello!" I tried hard to act casual, reminding myself not to let my insecurities get the best of me. I held my hand to him and he shook it.

"Prince, your new neighbor. Pleased to meet you, I am also the renter so in case you need anything just ring me."

"Sure thing. Well, I need help now to carry these boxes to my room so if I'm gonna take your offer right away." I said.

"Just in time for my morning workout." I was surprised when he took his shirt off and revealed his chiseled body to me. "I hope you don't mind, I don't want to get this shirt all dirty."

"No, not at all!"

Prince carried all the boxes to my room, then we ordered pizza and a huge tub of fries.

"So, what school are you going into? There are lots of good colleges from here because we are in the center of the city." He informed me.

"I was thinking Southern Lake College will be the best choice for me. I hate long commutes and I know it is one of the most reputable schools for Interior design."

He made a small grunt which I brushed off. Maybe he doesn't agree, but who cares? I am set to go to that university since last month and I've already made arrangements where to go for my part-time job.

"What school do you go to?" I returned the question to him making him smirk just a tiny bit.

"I don't, I finished two years in college and that's all the education I need. I work as a chef, though. One of these days I'll invite you to Ramona's."

There is an awkward silence between us after he answered the question. I may have crossed the line when we talked about his education so I made a mental note not to discuss that next time.

"Alright, I'm gonna have to leave now. Don't forget to lock the doors when I go. Will you be alright all by yourself?"

"Don't mind me. I'm used to living alone." I said to him.

"OK then, so goodbye for now?"

"Thank you!" I mouthed before he disappeared on the other side of the door.

I immediately got to work after Prince left. I swept the apartment and felt sore at night for all the wall scrubbing but it was worth it. I love the smell of bleach permeating all around. I did a good job erasing all the stains and grime from the kitchen.

This will be my first time living in a house all by myself. The cupboard is empty and needs all the implements for cooking. I wrote in my journal which things to buy then I gave myself a long hot shower.

Before I could settle myself to bed, I looked at the mirror. This is something I always hate to do especially now after I ate a huge meal and washed it down with Coke.

I surprisingly slept like a baby on my first night. I feel that the gentle breeze from the window and the sound of rustling leaves helped a lot.