Mission Accepted

Mandy had been sitting in the coffee shop for three hours now. She has been contemplating her conversation with her father earlier.

She knows he meant well, but still… It felt unfair on her part.

The scene in her dad's office kept playing in her head like a broken record.

"But Dad…" Mandy recalls.

"It would mean a lot to me, Mandy," Her dad cut in.

Mandy wanted to protest. She wanted to cry. She wanted to tell him "no". She wanted to storm out of the room.

"Sure, Dad, if you think that is the best," was all she heard herself say.

"Great! I know I can count on you," Mr. Donald Enriquez said, as he hugged his daughter. "Now, how about that lunch I promised you?"

They went to a fancy Asian restaurant. They talked for a while before her dad excused himself to go to a meeting.

"I will see you in the morning?"

"Sure, Dad. Bright and early," Mandy replied, giving hi two thumbs-up.

"And remember, except for your manager, no one knows you are my daughter. So please try to blend in. And lose those clothes, buy some more, uhm, ordinary-looking ones," he said with a wink.

Now, in this coffee shop, after she had her third cup of brewed coffee, she wanted to cry. Whatever plans she had after college was thrown out the window just like that. And she had absolutely no say about it.

"And lose those clothes." The words echoed in her ear.

She looked down at her designer blouse, mid-calf skirt and heels. She looked over her designer bag sitting next to her.

"Yeah, if I ever want to convince anybody that I am a nobody, I should get rid of all these things," she thought. She picked up her bag and started to leave. She looked at her unfinished cup of coffee before getting up.

"And if he wants me to look like a nobody, I AM gonna be a nobody!" She has resolved something in her mind.

She walked to the parking lot to get her car. It was a good thing she had parked close to the coffee shop. Good parking spaces nowadays are extremely hard to find.

"At least the sun's not too hot today." She smiled. She looked at her clock. 3 o'clock in the afternoon. She doesn't have much time to prepare.

"Maybe I shouldn't go tomorrow…. No. I will go there tomorrow. The sooner I start this, the sooner this will all be over."

She got in her BMW and started the engine. "Maybe I should get rid of this, too," she thought. But this car has sentimental value that she couldn't see herself part from it. "No, I will just think of a good excuse why I'm driving this kind of car."

Mandy went straight to the mall and shopped for clothes. But she shopped for ordinary ones, not like what she was wearing now. She bought some pair of jeans from shops that she has never gone to. She tried on a dozen or so jeans. She thought she would buy a whole new wardrobe for the new "ordinary" Mandy.

Next she went to buy some blouses and dresses. She also bought some skirts and pants. As she passed the Accessories Section of the mall's Department Store, she touched her diamond earrings and thought she should buy "ordinary" accessories, too. She bought some earrings and necklaces, bracelets and rings. She even bought a new watch.

Next she went to buy shoes. Heels, pumps, sandals, wedges, sneakers — she went all out with shoes. She loves shoes and she can't see herself wearing a pair that doesn't match her outfit.

"If I am gonna look ordinary, I am going to do it in style," she smiled to herself.

A saleslady has started following her, assisting her with her purchases.

"This is not ordinary," she thought.

"Uhm, it's okay. I can manage, thank you," she said to the lady, who was helping her with her bags and the cart."

"It's ok Ma'am. It's my pleasure to help you," the lady replied. They have been trained to help all customers who needed help, even the most ordinary ones.

"Okay," Mandy smiled. It seems she won't be getting rid of this lady so she thought of paying and then loading up the stuff she bought to her car.

"And then I will return some other time to buy those that I still need," she thought.

So she paid for everything — with her father's credit card, of course.

"There is no way I am paying for all these," she said to herself.

A man from the store helped her carry all the paper bags to her car. The trunk was full. She thought of going home but all those shopping made her hungry. She looked at the time. It was almost 10 o'clock.

"Did I take that long?" She was surprised! No wonder she was hungry.

She went to a burger joint and bought food from the drive-thru. She never liked burgers but since she might be doing some "ordinary" things for a while, she thought she should start eating "ordinary" food.

"Good evening! May I take your order?"

"Uhm," Mandy had no idea what to eat. "Just give me the same as the one before me ordered."

"Okay. Next window please."

Mandy felt silly. She has seen that in a movie, ordering what the one before you ordered.

Mandy paid for her food but didn't open it yet. She had a rule about eating inside her car. She doesn't want the car to smell like food nor does she want crumbs on the floor.

Traffic wasn't so bad. She got home before 11 o'clock. By this time, she was famished. She parked her car and then got her takeout. She juggled the stuff she bought earlier, slipping as much bags to her arms as long as they fit. On the other hand she held her keys, her take-out and some more bags.

When she got to her door, she fumbled for the key, trying so hard to slip it into the keyhole. She tried three times before being successful and turning the key, the door finally opened.

She put down all the shopping bags on the floor, went straight to the dining table and opened her takeout. The bag contained one large fries, a double cheeseburger with bacon, mushroom and melted cheese, and a pack of fried chicken wings.

Mandy ate in silence. She was so hungry she finished all of the food she bought.

"That wasn't so bad," she thought. "I could get used to these kinds of meal."

She looked at all the stuff on her floor. Usually, after shopping, she would unpack them, try everything on, before washing them. But tonight, she was so tired that she didn't feel like doing any of those things. She just cleaned the table and then threw the garbage out. She brushed her teeth, showered, and put on her favorite pyjamas.

As she dried her hair, she remembered again what her father said earlier in the day.

"No one knows you are my daughter," the words echoed in her mind.

"No one knows I am his daughter," she repeated to herself. She suddenly realized this might be a good thing. No one knows she is the daughter of the CEO and the President. No one knows she is the heir to this business. No one knows she will be their future boss. No one knows her!

"No one knows me," she said to herself again. "This could be a good thing, after all. I will just be myself minus all those fancy stuff. I can be myself here and nobody will care if I screw up. This might be a good thing. Actually, this IS a good thing. I can finally get away from the shadow of my father. I can finally be me. I don't have to think of what other people will say. I don't have to think how my actions will reflect on my father's reputation."

Mandy smiled. For the first time today, she got excited. As she thought more of it, she looked forward to tomorrow all the more. She couldn't wait to start her day. She touched her hair that had already dried. She looked at the time. It was a little past 1 o'clock in the morning.

"I should get some sleep. I don't want to look tired on my first day at work."

She claimed onto her bed, flipped off the switch of the lamp and went under the sheets. The bed was cold from the air-conditioning but she didn't notice. She was feeling warm inside. She can't wait to start her day. Mandy doubted if she would even fall asleep. She got up again as she remembered her cellphone.

"I should set an alarm or I willIll be late," she said to herself. She set it to 5 o'clock.

"Four hours of sleep should be enough to recharge me," she thought.

She laid down, closed her eyes and went to sleep.