Chapter 8: Andrea the Breadwinner, Part 2

Silence then dominates the entire establishment for a few seconds…

...before the man's and the woman's "huh"s then turn into a chorus of "huh"s, as patrons and fellow employees alike are dumbfounded by this encounter alone.

The two even imitate a meme where two spider-heroes point at each other to determine who's the impostor.

I would whisper to myself, "That's pretty sus", but sarcasm isn't in my dictionary.

No sooner does the owner/manager, Zach, enter the picture.

"Everyone… calm down. Those two people just coincidentally meet at this place, and they are certainly not enemies. So please don't be concerned too much."

Following his word, the patrons and employees return to what they're doing.

We still remain in the bar, and that presents us the best time to ask the bartender if he knows the two.

He answers thus…

"Hmm… the guy's name is John Mark Bertes, and he's one of the more famous bachelors here in Atlanta. As for the girl… she's Andrea Balakrishnan; and aside from the fact that she's a breadwinner supporting her two younger sisters since they're all orphaned, I have no further information on her. Maybe… you can talk to Simone? I hear she's one of Aurora's classmates from high school."

"OK. We'll consult her."

"But please don't get in the way of her work, OK?"

We three just find Simone relaxing in a corner.

"Oh, Fred, Leigh, and Aurora, right? We haven't talked in a while."

Leigh responds, "But now, we will. Because we're gonna ask something important."

"Ah, yes. It's about Andrea, right? Laurent is right; she was indeed my classmate. Though we weren't the closest of friends, her perseverance was her defining characteristic. Here, let me tell you a tale about her. Care to spend some minutes hearing it?"

"Sure, we don't mind."

***

Andrea came from a rich Indian family, and thus she and her sisters were able to live a life of opulence.

But when she was ten, her parents got into a vehicular accident and died on the spot, leaving her and her sisters orphaned.

That was the point where she and her sisters had fallen on hard times.

Sure, they still have their house, which they still own and live in today because their parents took care of all the mortgage beforehand, but they had to manage their day-to-day budgets themselves.

Thankfully, their relatives help them by sending money via electronic wallets monthly, taking pity on them.

Of course, that money wasn't enough for them, so Andrea had to step up and take on the role of the breadwinner and earn further dough.

Good thing there were online clerical jobs she could take on, and some of those jobs even came from Fortune 500 companies. It wasn't even necessary for her to leave her own home.

One time, I encountered her in the school library.

She was always the studious one, as she believed higher grades meant better job opportunities.

But I noticed that the books in her pile all carried various topics – from biology to architecture to web programming to interior design to literature.

Still taking the library's silence policy to heart, I waved at her and called out to her in a whispering way...

"Andrea! Andrea! It's me, Simone!"

When she noticed me, she temporarily halted her reading of Machiavelli's The Prince as she asked me, in the same whispering manner...

"Oh, it's you. What's your business here?"

"I'm… quite concerned at the pile of books you have. They all cover various topics and disciplines. And we both know exams are far away. So what's with that mixture of books?"

"Well… to be honest… I don't have a course I'm deciding on for college yet. My parents were physicians, but I had no plans to follow their footsteps. Good thing they were fine on any course I could pick, as long as I followed my heart. But that… is a curse I have to bear. I admit… I can be indecisive on things."

"Yes. Because you're the breadwinner… and you need to relegate some things to the back-burner, which can be painful."

And even now, her indecisiveness in choosing a job for college is still there.

But I know that should also come to an end.

And I believe… now's the best time.

***

Hearing Simone's story of how Andrea came to be what she is today… a breadwinner sacrificing her own future just so she can give her sisters theirs – reminds me of my own sordid past.

I… was just as indecisive as her.

Every decision I've made… it took me at least one minute to arrive at an answer, even though there are time-sensitive questions in game shows that will net wrong answers if no answers are given within a period of time.

And that indecisiveness… that overthinking between choices… made me lose something dear to me.

"Leigh! Leigh! Come over here!"

That was my mom's voice.

And I had no choice but to come to her and listen to what she said.

"Leigh! I notice you didn't finish that assignment yet! What's that one question that's barring you from completing it?"

"It's… it's…"

"Come on! If you can't answer with words, then at least show me your assignment!"

"Y-Yes, mom."

I then went to my own room and tried to find my assignment.

Specifically, it was a science assignment where I must fill in certain terms.

The question that scratched my head many times was a fill-in-the-blanks one.

"The attraction between the nucleus and the electron, which holds the electron in orbit, is called ___."

But in the process, I misplaced my doll, which I've affectionately named "Jennifer"…

...and it would be lost in the deep, dark corners of my room, possibly forever.

No sooner did I present the science assignment to my mom, who had a relatively good understanding of general science from her time as an assistant to a physics professor.

"Oh, that? The correct answer is… 'Electrostatic force'. Here… I'll spell out all the letters for you. E… L… E… C…"

I followed her instruction and wrote all the letters she voiced out one by one.

"There! All finished! You can now rest easy. Go back to your room, all right? I'll prepare dinner."

I went back to my own room, and my prevailing mood at the time was to talk to Jennifer and narrate everything I've experienced that day.

But Jennifer was nowhere to be found.

W-Where did she go?

Jennifer! Jennifer!

I tried to call her out in my head, since I didn't want to disturb my mom's cooking.

I searched every nook and cranny of my room for any signs of her, but not even a trace of her could be found.

So what really happened to her?

After an hour of frantically searching for Jennifer, I gave up.

My body's stamina was depleting, anyway.

And then… it hit me.

Could it be… that in my haphazard search for my assignment… I "lost" Jennifer in the process?

And after I realized it… I began to cry.

And blamed myself for that indecisiveness that led me to not completing the assignment as soon as possible, which led me to misplacing Jennifer and possibly losing her forever.

I could just look up answers at the library, and that's it. This entire problem would be snipped at the bud.

Five years later, during an extensive spring cleaning… I would later find Jennifer…

...in a dirty and dusty form, a sign of gross ignorance by its owner.

And after washing it, I decided that I would finally part ways with her… and enjoy her new life in the hands of another girl.

I'm sorry, Jennifer…

My indecisiveness has led me to five years of zero communication with you.

I could have told you about my first crush, the time when I won a gold medal at the intramural track and field race, or that memorable field trip to a resort in Rhode Island.

But all I gave to you was silence… for the majority of the six years I spent moments with you.

I think… I regretted buying you at the toy store in the first place… if you would end up like this by my own indecisive hands.

Once again… I'm sorry, Jennifer.

***

"Leigh? I think you're staring at the void."

I tell her once I observe that she's staring at Simone's face longer than usual.

"Oh, sorry. I was daydreaming."

Simone then segues, "Good thing I'm on a temporary rest period, or else Felicia would needlessly shout at me."

So after this backstory narration, I think this is the best time to track down Andrea and John Mark.

And poof. They're gone. In a flash.

We then say to the waitress, "Later!"

The best resource person to ask at this rate is the bouncer himself, Vic.

He's still standing guard at the entrance as always.

"Oh, Fred, Leigh, and Aurora! What do you want from me?"

Aurora doesn't delay it any further.

"Uh… do you have any idea about the whereabouts of… Miss Andrea Balakrishnan and Mister John Mark Bertes?"

"Oh, the two who pointed at each other, which caused quite a stir inside? Well, after the owner placated everyone, they decided to eat together… and left this place after 30 minutes. That's all."

"Aw, that sucks. I wish I could've met them both sooner!"

"Don't worry, missy. Based on whispers from long-time patrons, the two could be coming back here tomorrow."