Chapter 42 - Do not lie

To be honest, I don't want to wake up from my sleep. I still want to stay inside my dream for a little bit longer. It's about the past, when I was in college. I've returned to my younger self, a freshman, and I'm inside a classroom, talking trivial matters and laughing with my few friends, having a good time.

College is indeed the best years of my life.

At that time, when I was just a student, life's easy. Life's a breeze. I have no worries. I have lots of free time. I can play and wander all I want. The only responsibility I need to do is study and pass my exams.

No wonder 80% of all anime have a school setting - It's the most fun time of our years.

Slowly, the dream started to disappear and my eyes started to open because of the irritating ringing of the alarm clock.

I quickly raised my hand and slammed it at the off button.

Now that my dream is dissolved to nothingness, I'm back to present time, real world - The loneliest, unproductive, uneventful, full of worries, full of responsibilities, toughest time of my life.

No wonder I've been dreaming about my school days.

"I wish I can go back, turn back the hands of time, do better than what I did before, and change my past, just like Satoru of Erased. Oh aren't we all, Teslan? Aren't we all?"

I stood up, and got myself ready.

Today... This day, is going to be a new stage in my life!

It's a very difficult stage. It's not even a 'new' stage actually. I've been stuck in this stage for six years since I graduated and I haven't leveled-up since then... Still! It's time to leave the past behind and forget all of my failures and regrets!

With the beautiful Miss Nikita as my inspiration, and with the half permission of my Dad to court her, I will definitely increase my earnings today! WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! OH! What I mean to say is, I WILL HAVE A GREAT DAY TODAY! OH I'M SO PUMPED UP RIGHT NOW WITH MY SELF-MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH!

And I have the perfect plan to make it all possible!

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After 5 hours...

"Mom! Dad! I can't think of any way to increase the earnings of my hot spring, but I still got some good news! I found a good paying part time job in the Public Square! I got hired!"

"Oh! After years of waiting! You've finally found a stable source of income! We can finally retire now!" My mom exclaimed.

"Don't rub it in, beloved. And don't expect too much. So, son, what's your first new part time job?"

"Well, I don't want to brag but, I'm just the new 'Engineer of Sanitation' in Pho Restaurant!"

Silence...

"Uhmm... Tessy, can you please remind me what course you took in college?"

"Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Mom!"

Another long silence...

"That doesn't even make any sense! How the heck did you get hired as an engineer of sanitation when you graduated from an electrical engineering course?!!"

"Well, what can I say? You're son is really good, Mom. :)"

"Beloved, let me take it from here. You go ahead and rest."

And Mom slowly walked away, a little bit confused.

"So... young man, let me get this straight. You got hired as the 'Engineer of Sanitation" in Pho restaurant?"

"Yup!"

"SHINIGAMI CHOPPU!!!"

And Dad quickly gave me a karate chop on the head.

"OWW!!! WHAT GIVES?!! AND WHERE DID THAT CAME FROM?!!"

"FROM SOWL EATAH, TESLAN!"

"EH?!!"

(Teslan's Thoughts: You're watching anime now, Dad?!! That doesn't even make any sense! You just said anime is cartoons for kids last night?! What on earth is happening with you?!)

"You may be able to trick your mother but you can't trick me!"

Oh crud...

"You can sugar-coat the job title all you want but I ain't buying it! I ain't eating it! And I ain't taking it! No Sir not me! Not on my watch! 'Engineer of Sanitation' my foot! Yeah right! You can't hide the truth from me, Teslan! You got hired as a Part-Time Janitor! Didn't you?!"

I guess the cat's out of the bag. Might as well spill the beans.

"Yes Dad..."

"And let me guess, the girl you supposedly 'met' in reality but its actually just in your imagination works at the same place, am I right or am I right?"

The Police Department didn't hire you as their Detective for nothing, Dad.

Lying is of no use to this living lie detector.

Again, I have no choice.

"Yes Dad. You're right..."

Silence...

"SO!!! Are you telling me that I enrolled you to college, paid your studies for four years, graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, then threw that prestigious title and your pride away just to become a janitor in a restaurant, all for the sake of love?!"

"YES DAD!!!"

Absolute silence...

Dad slowly raised his clenched right fist up to his head, it's fingers up front.

This time, I've really blown his fuse.

Silly first love... Brace yourself, Teslan, here comes the pain!

"Solid."

Silence...

"Huh...?"

"That's the Power of Love, son. Solid."

Silence...

I'm... Speechless... I don't know what to say! I really thought I'm going to get it!

"Can't blame you. That traditional Vietnamese dress is dangerously attractive. A deadly combination of being pure and conservative and sexy at the same time. I should have warned you. Oh well, that job is better than nothing, son. You'll get promoted after some time."

(Teslan's thoughts: GAH!!! How did you know that Nikita is wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress?!! Dad... Are you a psychic or something?! No! Stop being paranoid, Teslan! My dad occasionally goes to the Public Square to buy stuff and sell our homegrown chicken and eggs! It's highly possible that he already visited the restaurant in the past! Long before I discovered it!)

Dad gave me a hearty tap on my shoulder and started to walk towards the kitchen.

"All the best to your new work and love life, son!"

Silence...

"Dad!!!"

His head turned.

"Yes?"

I raised my clenched fist up to my head, fingers up front.

"Solid."

In response, Dad also raised his fist.

"The Power of Love."

And he slowly walked away, with his fist still held up high, like a victorious boxer walking on the sunset, just like in the old action movies...

This is one of the most memorable moment in my life...

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Unbeknown to them, Mom is listening to their conversation, shaking her head.

"My husband is trying to be hip and modern when he's already a senior citizen, and my hopeless romantic son is in love for the first time in his life... Crazy guys..."

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And so I started working as the Part-Time Sanitary Engineer of Pho Restaurant immediately. I want to call my job "Sanitary Engineer" instead of Janitor because it's quite a not-so-nice word for me and my current situation. Just to be clear, I have nothing against janitors. I totally respect them. Their work is truly honorable - and tough. So I really appreciate them more than ever.

After the first thirty days on the job, truth to be told, I want to be totally honest with myself, I seriously wanted to quit my job. Darn, it's so hard and tiring! And I confess, I'm a miserable mess. It's the first time I'm doing this kind of work - general cleaning, mopping, washing, wiping, polishing glass walls, and so much more. The worst part is scrubbing toilet bowls.

I'm thoroughly disgusted.

Sigh...

Even if the hourly pay is good, I still feel that they're not paying me enough for this!

But...

You know what? I still do it. I didn't stop. I didn't quit. Why? Because I always see my inspiration, Nikita, everyday. Seeing her happy and smiling gives me the strength to go on.

I didn't dare approach her yet. I didn't even talked to her yet. I'm very afraid she'll just brush me aside if I did. I'm afraid of rejection. Terribly afraid of rejection. I do not handle rejections very well. I'm also very shy and I admit I have an inferiority complex. I do not have enough confidence with myself. But soon enough, when I get promoted, I'll mark my words. I'll do everything I said. I'll introduce myself, I'll talk to her, and I'll walk with her, escorting her to her home, so she would be safe and protected.

As for now, I just secretly look and watch her from afar. I really get jealous when other guys approach her, talk to her, or eat meals with her. It's like; they're getting ahead of me. I just hope they don't have romantic feelings for her like I do.

I hope... even if she doesn't know about it... that she'll wait for me...

So I always get up early in the morning, go to work, never getting late, never absent, never missing a day, and scrub those tiles and toilet bowls with all I got! Before, they were yellow white. But now, they're sparkling North Pole snow white!

If I want to get out of this position and get promoted, If I want to meet her and be close to her as soon as possible, I need to clean the heck out of this place!