Chapter 4 DESPERATE MEASURES

THE NEXT DAY

Ava walks into the cafe, where she works, feeling dejected. Last night's scenario was enough to steal the little happiness she had despite being poor. Now she loathed it so much. She almost blamed her father for bringing her into this cruel world.

But she knew it wasn't his fault. He worked hard all his life but got nothing in return. She was just like him in that aspect. She had no striking resemblance with her father other than her raven-black hair; her mom was a blondie but both kids refused to take after her beautiful hair.

Strange and surprising to the cafe's employees, Ava's colleagues, there wasn't a "Good morning" spree from Ava and it got them talking. It was unlikely for Ava to pass a soul without sharing a polite pleasantry.

"Good morning, Ava. You look gloomy. Are you okay?" Lissa, the secretary, approached Ava and asked, noticing the sudden change of behavior no one was expecting.

"Good morning, Lizz. I didn't see you there. Nothing to worry about, just having a bad morning. You know me, I will be fine when the first customer walks in," Ava replied Lissa, trying hard to sound cheerful but she failed woefully.

"If you say so," Lissa said frantically and walked back to her post.

Ava sighs and leaves for the kitchen. She was quite early at work today, hoping to get a tip from each and every customer that walked into the cafe that day.

Tips were nothing compared to 20 grand but she needed to start from somewhere. Sitting idle wasn't the answer and neither was it going to save her dying brother.

Brent had to stay in the hospital for the night, for the fear of another attack. Ava couldn't risk it. She had gone back to the doctor and told him Brent's fund would be ready in a week.

Not believing her words, which she blurted out, she also wasn't in regret. She had just one week to raise 20 grand. This meant she was ready to do anything, no matter what it was. Her father died while trying to provide for Brent's surgery and she also didn't mind dying too but Brent had to be alright and that was all that mattered.

"Ava!"

Julia called her best friend, who was lost in her own miseries. Like the others who had noticed Ava's sour mood, Julia was no different but she had a hint as to why her best friend looked sad.

"Good morning, Julia. I didn't see you there," Ava said the moment she snapped out of her daze.

"What's wrong?" Julia asked instead. Ava should have known her friend by now; she wasn't someone who loved to beat around the bush.

Ava, who wasn't surprised by Julia's inquisitiveness, sighed, taking deep breaths as she began to work around the kitchen.

She didn't want to feel idle. There wasn't much to do because it was still quite early. All that was left were the dirty dishes, one of the numerous chores Ava hated so much.

But today, she didn't mind the hate. She wore her apron, took out the dish soap from the cabinet and a sponge, she returned to the stacked-up plates aligned by the basin.

"What are you doing?" Julia asked, shocked by Ava's actions.

Everyone knew how much Ava hated doing the dishes, part of the reason why Sandra and Ava were always at loggerheads.

"It's Brent," she replied instead and began doing the dishes.

Julia was bothered about the fact that Ava was doing the dishes but the moment she heard about Brent, it got her alarmed.

"Another attack, right?" Julia asked, studying Ava's face to conclude if she was going to lie again or just tell the truth.

"Y– Yes..."

Ava took a sudden pause on what she was doing. She forced her tears back but they were quite stubborn. She didn't want to cry and look weak but she couldn't help it. Her only brother had just a month to live and she was completely clueless on how to raise money for his surgery. This wasn't something anyone would sulk in yet she tried her best to stay calm.

She wiped off her tears and began to rinse the already washed plates. Julia was less busy, so she placed on her apron and assisted her friend in stacking up the neat plates back into the cabinet.

"What did the doctor say?" Julia asked, scared of Ava's reply. Brent was like a brother to her. Being an orphan, she had no idea how it felt to have siblings but Ava and Brent introduced that feeling to her and she had grown attached ever since.

"He has a month to live," Ava replied. The plate Julia was holding slipped out of her hands and landed on the floor, breaking into pieces. Thankfully, it wasn't loud enough to attract anyone.

"What!!!"

Julia exclaimed, shaking her head in disapproval. She couldn't believe what Ava said. She didn't want to but the look on Ava's face forced her to think otherwise.

"Julia, be careful, will you? What stunt was that? Are you trying to hurt yourself or what?" Ava scolded, recovering from the sudden fear Julia caused her.

She thought the plate had broken on Julia's foot, who wasn't wearing a shoe but rather sandals and could have gotten hurt if the plate had touched her.

"Come with me. That's enough help already," Ava said and walked Julia away from the basin, placing her on a vacant chair.

Ava was so engrossed in checking her friend for any cuts that she didn't realize tears were streaming down Julia's face. The drop on her palm was alarming, and she was surprised to see her friend in tears.

"Ju...." Julia pulled Ava into a tight hug, stopping her from saying another word.

"I am sorry...."

"No, Julia, it wasn't your fault. It's no one's fault. I just have a really bad fate, that's it. What is this, babe? Don't freaking tell me those are tears. Black bitches don't cry. They are one of the strongest ladies out there. I can't believe my best friend is making me rethink all of this," Ava teased Julia, wiping off her tears in the process.

"This black bitch had to, okay. It's my brother we are talking about here, Ava. It felt like my whole world crumbled the moment you said that. Brent can't die. We need to do something fast. I have up to five hundred bucks in my piggy bank. We could add that, right? And my television, I could get a good price for that. Who needs it anyway?" Julia said hastily, recovering from her shock.

"Julia, calm down. Listen to me. There's no need for all of that. I will raise the money. Don't you worry about any of this," Ava assured Julia, who didn't like the idea of Ava raising Brent's fund alone.

"Excuse me? Ava, what are you saying? Don't I have a right to Brent as well? You know you can't stop me from assisting you. Then why are you saying this?" Julia queried, getting up from the chair she sat on earlier to clean up the mess she created.

"I don't want to be a burden to you, Julia. You have yourself to take care of. I can't add to your problems. Please try to understand me on this," Ava explained, but Julia turned a deaf ear.

She cleaned up the broken pieces of the plate and returned to doing the dishes, which they had abandoned after the accident.

"Families are not burdens Ava, and if you think you are a burden to me, then I guess you haven't accepted me as a part of your family," Julia shared her thoughts and Ava felt awful. It wasn't how she expected her words to turn out.

"You are family, Julia...."

"That's it, Ava. Now don't try to stop me from doing what I think is best for our family, okay?" Julia interrupted Ava halfway.

"We have nothing less than a week, Julia. I really don't know how we will raise 20 grand in one week, but we have to do it," Ava said, causing Julia to go mute.

A week was the shortest limit of time to raise 20 grand, especially for two semi-jobless girls like them. So how were they going to come about it?

"I think I have an idea," Julia called out nervously, drying her hands on her apron.

"What is it?" Ava inquired curiously, drawing closer to her best friend.

Julia gulped nervously and leaned closer to Ava to whisper, "A one-night stand."

Ava's shocked expression was one in a million. It was funny but the situation wasn't. Julia was expecting her best friend to spark and rebuke the idea but Ava was as silent as a graveyard.

"A one-night stand?" Ava asked in a whisper, cautious about the words they were both exchanging.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it. I am quite desperate. Don't worry. I have a friend who would lend us some money. Never mind," Julia said, trying to lay down the topic.

Ava nodded and excused herself from the kitchen. Her mind was suddenly clouded with the idea of a one-night stand. But why? It's a really dumb idea, a dumb idea that somehow grew stuck in her mind. It's a shameful and desperate means to get money. All her life, she condemned ladies that went into it, those she knew and those she didn't but all of a sudden, she couldn't point out what exactly was shameful about it. What desperation could do to a poor soul like hers left her in astonishment.

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