The Odd Billionaire

After getting off the motorcycle, Traizle immediately got her phone from her mini bag. Dialing the person who ordered from their snack bar, but it seems like the line isn't available. Traizle tried to text the person, but got no reply at all.

"Don't tell me that this is a freaking prank." Traizle said, trying to shake off the thought that it was a prank.

Looking at the food she brought. both handlebars of her motorcycle, and a full pack on the container with two large plastic bags.

Thinking of the money she might waste if it was a prank, she tried to dial the number again, but it was still not available.

"Deliveries for Mr. Zarsuelo!" She shouted. Thinking that the person is near her and is waiting for the delivery as well, yet still, to no avail.

Ten minutes have passed, and the food is already cold. No Mr. Zarsuelo is present, and no one is returning calls or texts. The line was always busy and it seems like it will stay busy as it is.

Traizle sighed with disappointment. The money she will get turns into a bubble. Her only hope that the person would approach her and get the food, since it was too obvious based on her appearance, is now gone.

"I was tricked," She said that made her laugh a little. "What do they think? We have a lot of money. That is why it is okay to do something like this?" She asked herself.

She put on her helmet, sadly riding the motorcycle.

"Damn that Zarsuelo!" She shouted angrily, which made the passersby look at her.

Some of the people were confused as to why she was mad, and some of them thought that she was not in her right mind.

Now that everybody is looking at her, they are now murmuring that she got tricked.

To avoid the people's sympathy, she started her motorcycle's engine and drove away.

"Oh?" Her co-worker said while looking at the orders she was holding. "What happened?" He asked.

"Got tricked," Traizle answered. "When I got to our meeting place, he was not answering my calls and texts. The line said that it was not available, so I waited for half an hour and here I am." she added with annoyance.

"You got tricked?" The owner of the snack bar asked when she saw Traizle with the foods.

Traizle nodded her head. The owner approached her and got the bags full of food with her.

"I will reheat the food," The owner said. "I will help you sell this. You go and make your deliveries." the owner added, determined to help her sell the food.

Traizle's other co-workers pat her shoulder, saying it is alright.

They can definitely relate to the feeling of being tricked. As a delivery man or a courier, there is a day that you might get tricked by the tricksters.

Seeing how Traizle's facial expression turned sad, it meant she had lost a large amount of cash.

Traizle is known by her co-workers for being a money saver. Losing money even though it is only a peso will make her sad already, thinking that she is wasting money.

She can't afford to lose even a single cent because she has three mouths to feed: her two younger brothers and herself. Her dad and mom separated years ago. Her dad has a new family and he never gives any financial support to them. They assumed that their mother would continue to carry out her responsibilities because she is their mother, but months later, their mother is looking out for herself. Drinking with her amigas, buying things only for her and gambling heavily.

One day, when they woke up, there was no mother around, yelling or whatsoever. She even brought her things with her without saying anything to them. Traizle, as the breadwinner of her family, works her ass off to support her two younger brothers.

Hours have passed. She is now on her way home with her motorcycle, which may die anytime because it is too old already. She got it from her former neighbor that moved to another city, giving it to her since it is old.

"Why are you late?" Lyndon, her eldest younger brother, asked when she came to their house.

"I tried to ask our neighbors if they wanted to buy the food in the snack bar," Traizle shared as she sat while removing her shoes. "I was pranked by someone, ordering food for almost a hundred people. When I got there, no one named Zarsuelo showed up." She added and threw her shoes on the shoe rack.

"Don't you think it was a prank already? For almost a hundred people, order is not really common, isn't it?" Her brother asked.

"We talked formally. He did not sound like it was for a prank." Traizle answered and opened her bag to get the food inside.

Even though the owner of the snack bar helped her to sell the other foods, since it is midnight already, there are only few customers passing by her snack bar.

"Did you guys eat already?" She asked while handing Lyndon a footlong.

"Yes, we did. Layzen tried to wait for you, but he fell asleep right after." Lyndon answered and started to eat the footlong.

"And you?" Traizle asked again.

"And me, what?" Lyndon answered, confused by her sister's question.

"Why are you still awake?" She replied. "You still have classes tomorrow morning, and here you are munching on my food." she added.

Trying not to sound like she was scolding him, but it already looks like one.

"Isn't it too obvious?" Lyndon answered after swallowing the food. "You ar

e too late. I am worried that something bad happened to you while on your way," he added apathetically. "And you handed this food to me, what am I going to do with this? Should I just stare at it?"

"Thanks for your apathetic concern," she replied. "And yeah, you can just stare at it." she added.

"Anyway," Lyndon said. "Based on your story a while ago, I don't want to burden you more, but I really need to buy books this week," Lyndon shared. "I was told by my adviser to buy books, since I am the mighty one in our class who still does not have. Yeah, I do not want to burden you, but I needed to force you." he added, laughing, after drinking some water.

Traizle pulled her bag and got her wallet.

"You have eight subjects, right?" Traizle asked, making Lyndon nod his head. "Tomorrow, buy four books first. Buy the subjects that you will take tomorrow morning. I will text you when it is your break time, to give you another sum of money for the other four books." she explained and handed a sum of money.

"How about our daily expenses? Budget? Everything?" Lyndon asked continuously.

"You don't have to worry about that, I will handle everything. Just study hard and get high grades, your payment for my super hard work." Traizle said.

"Is taking care of Layzen not enough already?" Lyndon asked jokingly.

Lyndon is in charge of taking care of Layzen, their youngest brother, while Traizle is at work.

"It is your responsibility as his older brother." She answered.

"Well, I am kinda responsible for him." Lyndon replied.

"What's with your kinda?" Traizle responded.

"I was not able to play at the computer shop with Layzen. My team lost because of me. Layzen was busy clicking, thinking that he was playing." He shared something that made both of them laugh at their younger brother.

"You should give your phone to Layzen, if you are going to play at the computer shop. Download some games for kids, so that he won't bug your game." Traizle gives him advice.

"I will do that tomorrow," Lyndon answered. "About my school expenses. Don't worry, Sis. I applied for a scholarship last week. We have to wait for confirmation before passing the other requirements." Lyndon shared after drinking water. "Let us just hope that I might be one of the pre-qualified, so that you can stop working on your other sidelines." he added.

"You have to make sure to maintain your grades, Lyndon. That will be a big help to us, I won't quit my sidelines as long as we are not okay," Traizle explained. "Clean those crumbs first before going to sleep." she reminded Lyndon.

She is thankful enough to have an understanding brothers.

Tomorrow morning, Traizle took Layzen and Lyndon to their school. Lyndon's school is a few minutes' walk from Layzen's kindergarten school.

"We are here." Traizle said when they got to Layzen's school.

"Who will fetch me later after school?" Layzen asked.

Traizle matched her brother's height and fixed Layzen's hair.

Traizle answered, "Your brother will fetch you later after school."

"He is fetching me too late. I always told him to fetch me as early as possible." Layzen said, throwing a tantrum.

"You have to understand him. Your class ended a little earlier than his. He had to run as well to get here," she explained. "But don't worry, I will try to tell him to run faster. Is it okay?" She asked.

"Alright." Layzen answered.

"Study hard. See you later." Traizle said then kissed Layzen's forehead.

"Take care of your work. I will be a good boy, so do not worry about me." Layzen said before entering his school's gate.

Traizle watched her younger brother until she could not see him anymore. She looked at her watch that made her run as fast as she could. She is late with her work and she might get scolded by her manager.

Upon entering the restaurant where she is working, her co-workers can not be found inside the kitchen. She immediately fixed herself and put on the things she needed to wear before going out to the dining area.

She could hear some noises from the outside, so she quickly went out to see what was happening.

"Traizle!" Linda, one of her co-workers, exclaimed.

"Why?" She asked confused. "Is something happening?" She added.

"There really is! Help our manager over there!" Linda answered, frightened at the mess happening.

"What happened first?" Traizle asked. "Calm down and tell me everything quickly." she added.

"Do you remember the man who is hitting on Kim recently?" Linda started sharing. "He went here again today to eat his breakfast. He even said that he wanted Kim to deliver his order, and that is what we did a while ago." she added.

"So what is the problem about that?" Traizle asked because she can not see the problem with her story.

"While Kim was placing his orders, he kept on asking Kim, and then a girl suddenly walked in furiously. She even hit Kim, saying she was a gold digger and more." Linda continued.

Traizle did not bother listening to Linda, she immediately went to the place where it was happening.

"You poor flirt!"

"Ma'am, can we talk about this thing privately? We are disturbing our other customers." Their manager said, trying to calm down the girl.

"I don't care! That bitch is trying to flirt with my boyfriend in front of my eyes? How dare she is!" She answered, fuming with madness.

"Excuse me," Traizle butted in. "Ma'am, you are crossing the line already." she added.

"Crossing what line? You do not know what happened here and you are implying that I am wrong here?" The girl asked.

"Yes, you are. I am watching you from our CCTV room. You went in furiously and started to attack one of our staff," Traizle answered, arching her right eyebrow. "You are the one who does not know what happened and here you are disturbing our customers." she added.

"Where the hell am I wrong? Why are you siding with your flirty staff when she is the one wrong here? I am a customer! I am always right!" The girl exclaimed.

"Your asshole boyfriend tried to hit on her a few days ago. He even asked Kim for her number, but Kim was not interested in him at all. He has been here a few times already. We also know that he is secretly showing Kim some signs of affection, like asking the waiter to deliver his food," Traizle replied. "We can file a lawsuit for hurting our staff, when she is innocent. You can talk to her in a nice way, but you embarrassed her in front of many people, our other customers. We can show you our CCTV room and watch your boyfriend's action. Remember, you are not here as our customer. You did not order anything, you are only here as our customer's boyfriend. Every customer has the right to complain. If it is right and just, we would not say anything. But this is too much for us already, don't you think?" She added, making the girl behave beside her boyfriend.

A few seconds have passed, and the girl walks out of the restaurant, leaving her boyfriend alone. The man was about to stand up as well, but Traizle stopped him.

"We are still not done here, Sir." Traizle said that made the man sit again in his chair. "You made this mess, so do not go out without saying sorry to Kim. Your GIRLFRIEND hit her." emphasizing the word girlfriend while raising her sleeves and stretching her neck clockwise.

The man gulped, shivering from his seat.

"Do not let me see you outside, you are not my customer outside. Do not waste food. Enjoy your breakfast, Sir," Traizle said, emphasizing again the word Sir. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Ma'am and Sir!" She added, bowing to the other customers they disturbed.

Other staff went back to their work. Traizle and the others went inside the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Traizle asked Kim.

"No problem, it is good that you are fine. I was wondering why the kitchen was too quiet a while ago. Seeing you guys outside, I knew that there was something wrong," Traizle said and faced their manager. "Ma'am, I am sorry I am late." she said, then bowed a little.

"Apology accepted, since you helped me fix the mess outside. If you were not here, maybe we are still there, trying to calm the girl's nerves." Their manager said that makes them laugh.

"Raising your sleeves was the best part." her co-worker added, resulting in a big laugh.

"You are our girl bouncer indeed." Linda added while showing two thumbs up.

They went back to their work after the small talk.

"Traizle," the chef called her. "Table fifteen." the chef added.

"Okay Chef!" Traizle answered before getting the tray with the food.

Traizle went out of the kitchen and walked to table fifteen.

"Excuse me, Sirs. Here is your order: grilled cheese, French toast, and cappuccino. Where can I put these? Should I get another table for your papers?" Traizle said.

"Yes, that is much better. Thank you." a man answered while collecting the papers on the table.

Traizle put their orders on the table after they collected the papers. She got another table for them to put their papers on without getting dirty from their food.

"Enjoy your breakfast, Sirs. Have a blessed day ahead." Traizle said before leaving.

"Should we add desserts? I want some sweets." Traizle heard them talking.

She cannot believe a business-minded person likes sweets. He even said it out loud without getting shy.

"How is your work?" Linda asked questions pertaining to her work and other sidelines.

"They are okay. I can still provide for my brothers' needs." Traizle responded.

Every weekday, in the morning, she is a waitress at the restaurant and a food courier in the evening. She works every weekend, handing out flyers or promoting products and working at a convenience store at night.

Before their break time, she asked their manager to go out for a while. She needs to go to Lyndon's school, handing the money to buy the other four books. She even borrowed the money from her co-workers, just to buy the books.

"Did you buy the first four books already?" Traizle asked after handing him the money.

"Yes, luckily I don't have to write anymore," Lyndon answered. "Are you still in your uniform?" He asked.

"It is our break time. I asked our manager to go out for a while to hand you the money. I have to go back after and work overtime to recuperate the time I spent here." Traizle answered.

Traizle is now entering the snack bar, finished with her third customer's order.

"Ten sets of set A and ten coke. What is your name, Sir?" The owner of the snack bar said while talking with someone on the phone. "Zarsuelo-"

"Boss, can you ask him where he wants to deliver it?" Traizle butted in.

The owner asked what Traizle had said. The owner looked at her while pointing to herself and at her after gesturing to the number one.

"Give me the phone, " Traizle said, and she got the phone from the owner. "Zarsuelo, deliver to Fox Street, right?" She added.

"Yes, you got it right." the man answered back.

"Stop pranking us. Please do not waste our food with your prank." Traizle said before ending the call.

"Does he still have the guts to call us again? He is taking us like a fool." Traizle said after giving back the phone.

"Good thing you heard me. We will get pranked by him again if that happens." the owner said in relief.

After a few minutes, a man went in looking angry.

"I am Zarsuelo, the man who tried to order but got misled by someone." a man named Zarsuelo said when he approached the counter. "And offended too." he added

"I am the someone you are talking to." Traizle replied, looking sharply at the man.

Traizle

"Do we have any orders to deliver?" I asked the owner.

I have three customers already, and I am hoping for more.

"None, Kelvin went to deliver the last order I had." The owner answered.

I was about to say something when my phone rang suddenly. I got my phone to see who was calling and it was Lyndon.

The doorbell chimed as I answered the answer button of my phone.

"I am Zarsuelo, the man who tried to order but got misled by someone," a man named Zarsuelo said when he approached the counter.. "And I am offended too." he added.

I immediately looked at him. He went here because he thought that I misunderstand him?

"I am the someone you are talking to." He looked back at me.

"You-you are the woman in the restaurant this morning," he replied, while pointing his forefinger at me. "But yeah, I tried to order a while ago and you just ended the call by saying, I am just doing some prank?" He asked me, upset by what I did a while ago.

I don't think he has the rights to get mad. I was tricked by him last night and I should be the one who is angry here, not him.

"Yes, you are." I answered, looking directly into his eyes.

"How can you say that I am just doing some pranks?" He asked, folding his arms.

"Do you really not know?" I asked.

"I would not come here acting like this if I knew." he answered quickly.

I looked at the owner. She was also looking at me, confused by the situation we were in.

"Last night," I said."You called and ordered almost a hundred people's food. I went to the place you told me to, but when I got there, I couldn't reach you. I waited for almost an hour, but you did not show up. I wasted a lot of money, A*shole." I continued.

He smiled.

The a*shole smiled at me as he scratched his neck.

"I can say that it was really my fault last night," he said. "I am not an a*shole, it is just that something came up and I had to fix it. After that, I forgot that I ordered something." he added.

So, he forgot about it? What should I do with the money I lost?

Can I just punch him?

My phone started ringing again, and this time it was Lyndon who called, so I answered the phone and walked away without looking at the A*shole.

"Why" I asked.

"What happened? I heard your conversation a while ago. The man last night really went there? Do not punch or do something bad for you, okay?" He asked.

"Of course, I won't," I answered. "Why did you call?" I asked.

"I just wanted to ask, what time are you going home? Layzen kept on asking me, because he wanted to wait for you." he replied.

"Tell him to not wait for me, just sleep without me. Lock the door before going to sleep." I answered.

"Why can't I wait for you? I wanted to experience the feeling of staying late and eating a midnight snack too." Layzen butted in on the other line.

"In short, he is just jealous of us." Lyndon said, mocking Layzen.

"You still have class tomorrow, Layzen. We will do that on Friday, okay?" I explained.

"Why can Lyndon sleep late while I can not?" Layzen complained.

"Because I am an adult already, while you are still a baby." Lyndon answered.

"I am not a baby anymore!" Layzen commented angrily. "I am four already and studying. A baby can not do that." he added, trying to explain his side.

"You are, when it comes to the three of us." Lyndon said that made Layzen throw a tantrum.

"Lyndon, better stop annoying him. If he cries, you are dead later, " I warned. "Just sleep without me. I will end this call now." I added before ending the call.

I was about to go to the counter, but the asshole blocked my way.

"You know how to tell someone when you are going to end a call, yet you ended the call without telling me." He said, still complaining about what I did.

"Were you listening to our conversation?" I asked. "Don't you think you are too nosy?" I added.

"Yes, I am listening and yes, I am nosy. I am curious about you. I told you I saw you this morning at the restaurant and about the issue as well." He responded.

"And so?" I answered.

"Can you be nice for once? It is not fair for me. I am treating you well, but you are not doing the same thing." he complained.

"Am I supposed to entertain you? I am a courier here, not an entertainer." I answered.

"Is it because of what happened last night?" He asked.

"If it is, can you do something about it?" I answered.

"Of course! And I have already done something, " he answered proudly. "Nice timing." he added, looking from the entrance.

A group of people entered the snack bar in seconds. They are all wearing formal suits. They even look at the man beside me while bowing a little.

I looked at him, smiling widely like an idiot.

"Stop staring, I might melt. I know I am handsome and I am not ashamed of it." he boasted.

"Did you ask them to go here?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "The owner told me you lost big money last night and I know it is my fault. Actually, I did try to order again to treat some of them tonight, and nothing important got in my way. I did not forget about it as well, that is why I came here. This is my way of apologizing for what happened. So, are we good now?" He added.

They said money can't buy happiness, but mine can.

"Thank you." I replied, smiling slightly to show my appreciation.

"That is also your expression after fixing the problem this morning. The attitude you showed me a while ago was also your expression with the girl and her boyfriend in the restaurant. You can easily change your expression depending on whom you are facing. When you gave us our order, you were smiling and thoughtful at the same time." he said.

"Were you observing me as well?" I asked, shocked by what I was hearing from him.

"I am not weird. What happened a while ago somewhat made you a star. We are not able to continue our discussion because of the noise. Instead, we watched until it ended. You were so cool a while ago, we kept on nodding to your confutation and I even clapped after that." he explained.

He is weird.

"It is my work." I answered. "I know how to handle things like that."

"By the way, do you really have two jobs?" He asked. "In the restaurant and here?" He added.

"Yes, why?" I answered.

"Nothing, I just found it cool." he complimented.

Usually, people who are asking me about that will show their pity for me. But him? He even smiled, saying it was cool to have two jobs in a day.

I felt somewhat happy. It is the first time I have been complimented by someone I don't really know.

I guess he is not an a*shole after all.