The Return of Daniel Hovsep

Chapter 1

"You lazy ass, be fast with the cleaning! Hurry, go start cleaning the cafeteria, the students will be out soon for breakfast." A man shouted angrily with contempt noticeable on his face.

"I'll soon be done, sir. Just give me some minutes." A voice answered. This was Daniel Hovsep, a twenty-three-year-old University student, who had been working different part-time jobs just to save up for a special birthday gift for his girlfriend, Karol Kathie, the school's most popular beautiful girl.

Apart from being a delivery and laundry man, Daniel was also a part-time cleaner at Leeds University, where he and his girlfriend were both students.

That morning, he woke up around 5 Am to clean the cafeteria. A rivulet of sweat was plastered on his face, showing how long he had been cleaning the whole place.

It was already 8 a.m. and he wasn't done cleaning. He was currently cleaning the University cafeteria when students started entering to eat.

Placing his face on the ground in shame, Daniel continued to clean the floor. He was ashamed because he also wanted to live like other students but life was so unfair to him.

He suddenly paused and stood straight, trying to ease the fatigue, but then he saw a group of popular jocks eating in a corner inside the university cafeteria. That group of boys was led by Camron Collins. And they had always been bullying him.

Anxious not to get seen by them, Daniel immediately lowered his head to begin the cleaning, but his hand accidentally knocked over his broom, drawing the attention of the jocks.

Camron, on seeing Daniel, smirked as he stared at him. He got up, and the group that he led followed him at his back as they approached Daniel, who began to shiver for fear.

"Hey, it's you," Camron called out to Daniel with a disdainful look on his face. "Oh, I never knew you were one of our cleaners here. Haha. Poor boy." He shook his head with a feigned pity yet maintaining his smirk.

"Look at him. Haha. He's sweating. Poor thing." One of the jocks chipped in, sarcastically.

"He really needs the money for food, look at how he's working." All of them began to laugh at Daniel and they continued to throw mocking words at him. However, Daniel ignored them with a sigh and continued with his cleaning.

He knew that he had to finish the cleaning to enable him to go out for another job since that day was Saturday. He wanted to make some extra money for his girlfriend's birthday and also to have some leftovers for himself.

Being ignored, Camron began furious as he hit Daniel so hard, "Hey, you fool! Aren't you the one we are talking to?" He shouted.

Daniel raised his head, looking at him, he let out an annoying sigh. He wasn't surprised at Camron's action because he had always been after his life right from time.

At that moment, Daniel knew he needed to speak so they would continue with their annoying actions. He opened his mouth and replied, "So, what do you want me to say?" He asked, clenching his face.

"How dare you talk to boss Camron that way!" One of the jocks members stepped forward to hit Daniel but Camron intervened, shaking his head with a malicious smile that exploded on his face.

"He has learned to talk back, right?" Camron asked, feeling surprised. The Daniel he had always bullied has never dared to talk back to him like he just did.

With a hardened expression, Camron walked to the table where he and his group members had been eating; he grabbed his tray of food, which contained white rice and stew, in a separate place.

Daniel watched him as he approached. What's he up to now? Daniel muttered to himself, a pang of fear edged on his face.

As Camron approached, a wicked laugh escaped from his mouth, "When I'm done with this, I believe you will learn how to not talk back to me."

With that, he walked around, spreading the food to where Daniel had just finished sweeping and mopping.

"Please, don't do this to me. Don't ruin where I've finished cleaning, please." Daniel began to beg Camron with his two knees on the ground. Tears began to stream down from his eyes.

His plans that morning were to finish cleaning the cafeteria and then head to one of the hotels where he worked as a cleaner.

However, his pleas fell on deaf ears as Camron didn't stop until he finished ruining the floor with his food.

Camron then glanced down at Daniel whose face was covered with tears, "I have done a great job for you. Look at how beautiful the floor looks now." He ironically said, glancing at what he had done with a satisfied expression.

He then added coldly with an emotionless face, "Get it cleaned up if you want to get paid. Haha." He laughed loudly and threw the plate and tray to the ground causing a loud noise.

Daniel, who was on his knees, began to stare at the place he had cleaned, being messed up; he clenched his fist and face. It took everything in him to attack Camron, but he held back, admitting that he was powerless at that moment because of the group of boys with Camron.

"You love that? Haha." One of them, who was holding a can of soda, asked sarcastically. "I think I'll have to do mine too." He opened the cover of the soda can and instantly poured it on Daniel before he could know it.

Overwhelmed with anger, Daniel pulled himself up and with his clenched fist, he rushed forward, "You! How dare you!" He was about to attack the guy who poured the soda on him, but then, all of the group members surrounded him with clenched fists, ready to beat him up.

They were ten in number, and Daniel knew he wouldn't stand them and felt frustrated immediately.

The guy seeing Daniel's weakness, pressed on, daring Daniel, "Hey, loser. Why did you stop? Come, hit me. Go ahead." He challenged, feeling high.

He had backup so he knew Daniel wouldn't dare try it. He began to laugh, "Haha. He's such a loser. So weak that he can't fight back."

There was a moment of mockery before Camron announced, his voice filled with authority, "Let's not waste our precious time on a loser like him. Let's go."

Soon, they left, and Daniel fell to the ground with his clothes drenched with soda. He looked at the floor, tears streamed down uncontrollably from his eyes.

He sobbed, muttering bitterly to himself, "What am I going to wear today to work at the hotel? Mr. Brown will shout at me, seeing me like this."

At that moment, that was the only cloth he had. He wears it to both lectures and also for his work.

Just as he was deep in thought, a deep angry voice snapped at him, bringing him to reality, "Daniel, what have you been doing? Why is it everywhere like this? Didn't you tell me you were almost done?" The voice yelled.

Chapter 2

Daniel immediately turned as the loud shout pulled him from his thoughts. It was the man who had employed Daniel and had earlier shouted at him. His name was William Jones, and he was in charge of the University's facilities.

Getting up quickly, Daniel wiped his tears in a swift move and pretended as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell have you been doing since the morning?" William asked with an angry voice as he approached Daniel with a disdainful look. "Is this how you want to be doing the job?" He shook his head, "It's evident you can't continue."

Khud! Daniel fell to his knees in front of William, and his face grew pale, "Mr. William, please. It's not what you think, I beg you. I was almost through with everything before...."

"Just shut up, you good-for-nothing excuse of a guy!" William cut him off angrily without hearing him out. "What kind of excuse do you want to give now? Tell me." He asked, his tone sharp.

"You came to my office begging me to give you this job so you could support yourself with it, which out of pity I did, but you're so unserious that you are taking my kindness for a fool."

"No, I...." Daniel stammered as he tried to let William know the cause of why the whole place was messed up like that but William was too furious to hear him out.

"Enough!" William shouted, giving Daniel a stopping hand that caused him to stagger back. "Just keep your stupid and meaningless explanations to yourself. I don't want to hear them."

William paused, letting his eyes glance properly at Daniel. He was looking tattered as a result of the soda that had been poured on him earlier.

William shook his head with a feeling of contempt towards Daniel, "Take a look at how dirty and unkempt you are. I wonder who gave birth to someone like you." He said, his words piercing deeply through Daniel's heart.

He then shifted and added coldly, "Get this mess cleaned up and go look for another job because you can't continue this job."

He turned and took on his heels to leave, but Daniel ran ahead of him and stood in front, his face piled with anguish, "Mr. William, please, don't do this to me. Please, give me a second chance to prove myself. This job has been of help to me to get necessary things done and I can't bear to lose it, please." He said in a low pitiful tone. "I have no one to help me if I lose it, please."

However, William was not moved by the tone of his words, "Never!" He spat with a mean expression.

Daniel, seeing his relentless demeanor, then asked after taking a deep breath, "What about the salary?"

"Salary? Which salary are you talking about?" William pretended like he didn't know what Daniel was asking about.

Daniel swallowed hard. Although he was becoming annoyed by the senseless question, he replied, "Today is half of the month, and the full month payment is supposed to be $50, so since you don't want me to work again, then you will have to pay me $25 as half the payment."

William frowned his face. He hesitated before he answered coldly, knowing that Daniel was in no power to withstand him nor did he have anyone who would even dare question him, "I'm giving you no single penny!" He said, harshly.

Galp! Daniel was shocked to hear that William would say such a thing to him. William was one of the reputable people he respected and honored so much. Despite his rude nature of talking to people, Daniel admired him for being an intelligent old man but it seemed he knew nothing about how cold and greedy William was.

Before Daniel could say a word, William pushed him aside and yelled, "Get your stinky self out of the way."

Daniel almost fell to the ground, but he was man enough to keep himself from falling. He stared at William, a hint of disbelief and annoyance flashed through his eyes.

How can an old man be this wicked and mean? He thought to himself without stopping himself from looking at William.

"Make sure you get that place tidy up! Loser." William cold-heartedly added and slammed the door with a loud bang.

Immediately he left, Daniel buried his face in his palms, and tears began to stream down from his eyes again. "Why am I like this? Why is my life so miserable like this? Look at students like me who are doing better financially and me....."

He felt something that instantly held the last word from coming out. He began to cry like a child.

Just then, something seemed to creep into his mind, 'Kathie's birthday gift.' He really wanted to surprise her so badly on her birthday so he quickly wiped his teary eyes with his clothes.

"Today is a month since I have been working as a cleaner at Royal Garden Hotel, and today's the payday; I need to rush there as soon as possible." He muttered to himself with a determined face.

His eyes glanced down at the mess that Camron Collins and his group had made, accompanied by William's, a hint of anger edged on his face. "Fuck them all! won't clean up anything, I'm a human, not a slave!" With that, he headed outside, flagged down a cab, entered, and went straight to the Royal Garden Hotel with excitement written all over his face.

Chapter 3

After an hour's drive, the cab that Daniel was inside came to a stop in front of a luxurious building with a large black gate. This was the Royal Garden Hotel.

Daniel stepped out of the car and settled the driver who drove off after receiving his payment. Daniel then turned and stared at the gate.

He looked at himself and he didn't mind the wet clothes he was wearing at that moment. With a composed demeanor, even though he was slightly ashamed of what he was putting on, Daniel approached the gate and knocked on it gently before withdrawing his hand, awaiting it to be opened for him.

Almost immediately, the gate was opened, revealing the gate guard, who looked at him with an irritated expression.

"Good morning, Mr. Daniel." He just greeted him casually. If not that he knew Daniel to be a worker there, he would have thrown him out without a second thought because his outfits were so dilapidated to the eyes.

Daniel noticed how the gate guard was looking at him disdainfully but he ignored him and headed inside.

Just as he entered and his co-workers saw him, they began to murmur.

"Hey, look at that! The poor thing had just arrived." Noah said in a mocking tone, characterizing Daniel as a nonliving thing.

Noah had been one of the people who had never loved Daniel even though he wasn't that rich. He hated Daniel so much that made him a laughing stock to others.

"Yuck! He looks disgusting. Doesn't he have good clothes to put on? He stinks the whole atmosphere." Alexander added, covering his nose tightly. He was also one of them who joined Noah to laugh at Daniel.

Daniel didn't even give a damn concern about all the sarcastic words that his colleagues were throwing at him since he was already used to it.

"Hey, Daniel. How are you doing today? Why are you late?" A chubby young-looking man around the age of Daniel approached him and asked, feeling concerned about him.

"I'm fine, thank you, Victor," Daniel replied, his tone low. He was weak at that moment because he hadn't tasted anything like food. It has just been work, work, and work.

Victor was the name of the guy that approached Daniel and he was the only one who had always been supportive and caring towards Daniel. He had never joined Noah and Alexander to laugh at him.

He was also his friend in the same University.

Victor shook Daniel's hand and then said, overlooking his shabby dress yet concerned, "You came so late, Mr. Brown had just finished paying everyone their salaries. He mentioned your name but you were nowhere to be found."

Daniel's face grew pale, his face indicating his frustration, "You should have collected mine from him." He replied.

"I tried but he refused. He said you must be present to get it yourself and there was nothing I could have done." Victor said,

"It's okay. It was never your fault."

"But why are you late? Is everything okay with you?"

Daniel hesitated, then nodded lightly and answered in a weak voice, "Yeah, I was just rounding off with my cleaning in the cafeteria. That's all. Thank you for your concern." He appreciated, his face filled with gratitude.

Victor placed his hand on his shoulder and said, emotionally, "It's well, man. Just, go to Mr. Brown's office to get your pay. I believe he must be in his office." He removed his hand from his shoulder.

"Alright, thank you." Daniel exchanged a handshake with Victor again before heading to the manager's office.

Immediately after he left, Noah and Alexander began to taunt Victor.

"Nothing good can come out of you. Of all people, you choose to befriend that loser." Noah said,

Alexander added, "As Daniel is useless so will he." But Victor ignored them and went back to what he was doing.

Meanwhile, Daniel arrived upstairs and stood in front of a well-furnished wooden door with a golden look. "I pray he should be inside or I won't get my payment today." He mumbled and took a deep breath before knocking on the door after composing himself.

He waited for minutes, but there was no reply. However, he was hearing voices inside the office. He recognized one that belonged to Mr. Brown, the manager, but he didn't recall hearing such a voice from anywhere.

After the wait, he knocked again, and a hoarse and unpleasant voice peered out from inside, "Who's that fool that wants to pull down the door?"

Daniel sighed, hearing the harsh tone of Mr. Brown's voice; he shook his head and replied, "It's me, sir." Without waiting for any further information, he twisted the door open and walked in.

The office was beautifully decorated with artwork. A large flat-screen TV was hung on the wall and the air conditioner gave the room a well relaxed atmosphere.

"I wish I could have this someday." Daniel admired the whole place. It was his first time entering the office.

He raised his head and saw Mr. Brown sitting on a swivel chair facing his direction with a man whose face he couldn't see clearly because his back was positioned against the door.

Quickly, he headed to the desk, "Good morning, Mr. Brown." He greeted and then turned to the man whose face he can now see clearly, "Good morning, sir."

The man seemed to be in his late fifties, and he was dressed richly with a high-end wristwatch. It seemed like the man was discussing business with Brown.

"What are you doing here? Did I ask you to come here?" Brown shot at him with a disdainful look. He didn't reply to his greeting, and so did the man who was seated there, too.

He was staring at Daniel with disgust with his handkerchief covering his nose.

Daniel overlooked it; he was only there for his salary since Brown had paid every worker except for him, "I'm sorry, Mr. Brown, but I'm here to receive my salary. I heard you have paid everyone theirs."

He went straight to the reason why he was there without minding the disgusted looks that mounted on him.

"And so? I have paid others, so where were you when they were receiving their payments? Huh?" Brown asked, a hint of anger flashed through his eyes. "Can't you see I was having an important discussion with someone before you waltz in with your stinky lazy ass?"

Daniel felt a burning sensation on his face as he reluctantly replied, "I'm sorry, sir but I need it to get something important."

"What the hell is going on here?" The man in the office interrupted, standing up angrily from his seat, and shouting. "Brown, how could you allow this dirty young man to come in here to suffocate me with his odor?"