Desire for Independence

"Please come home already, it's late. Please, John." begged Kay's mom on the phone. The young man knew then that she was seriously worried out of her mind. He was called by his first name this time.

"B-But I'm already in the line with my friends. We're going to see a movie and we already bought tickets," he told her. While he did want to go back home at once, it wasn't practical at the time.

One of his few friends, Liz, wanted to celebrate her birthday with the group, so she bought them tickets for a movie that they've always wanted to see together. Kay decided at the time to go for it, since it was someone's treat and it was offered to him. He hasn't had that many chances to hang out with them, as he usually went home pretty early. Because of the curfew that his parents had set.

The group of friends were also in the line already, and considering that it was already the evening rush hour, Kay thought that it would be bad timing for him to actually go home now. He would get himself stuck in traffic, and would likely get home late anyway. That, and he won't have anyone with him, leaving him prone to even more danger.

He did try to reason with his mom the best he could, but, because of his tendency to simply drop arguments even though he was in the right, she wouldn't have it. So in his frustration, he turned off the phone. He felt bad having to do it, but he had to put his foot down at some point.

"Are you okay, Kay?" asked Liz. The young man thought it was a shame that she, Mirra, and Victor had to see that scene unfold before their eyes.

"Y-Yeah..." he said, along with a sigh. "It's just that Mom worries way too much and wants me to go back home now."

"Are you serious? At this hour?" said Mirra. "It's already rush hour. You're not getting back there in time for your curfew, anyway. What are they expecting you to do, fly back home?"

"Teleport?" added Victor.

"I know. That's why I've been trying to tell her that I'm safe 'cause I'm with you guys," Kay said.

"Also, it's just rude to do that when you're just accepting a favor." added Mirra. "I swear, you might as well go out and live away from them. I'm pretty sure that you can do it. In fact, if you decide to, I'm willing to house you."

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

Kay didn't really want to cause his mom any grief, but now that he's come to think about it, he hasn't really been feeling like he's been growing up right. It's like everything else was going too fast, or he's been going too slow. This frustration had been building up inside him and he felt it eating away at him, but he couldn't express it.

He realizes that it may very well be time to fly, for his sake and theirs.

The movie was great, as expected, but Kay's thoughts still leaned towards the earlier incident. He turned the phone on again, just enough for him to send a message that he'll be going home, and then turned it back off again.

He soon parted ways with my friends, and as he rode the jeepneys home, he thought about what to expect. Would they be angry? Probably. He knew that it was out of concern… but he wondered if it was even right for them to worry so much.

He didn't really know. It was only recently that he has thought about these things. He wondered why, because he had often sat and thought about matters before. He thought that maybe he wasn't introspective enough or maybe he knew the answer but didn't want to accept it.

When he got home, his parents didn't bother to scold him right then and there, but instead told him to go change his clothes and go to sleep since it was late. He was almost certain that he'd be told off the next day.

True enough, he did. It went just like the phone call last night, and ended with them telling him that what he did wasn't being a good child and that he shouldn't do it again. He didn't say any more after that, but he did think of how he could finally become independent.

Soon he got the idea that getting a job, even a part-time one, would be a good start. If he even got a full one, maybe he could even just quit school and learn more about living. He figured it would have better value than a diploma for a field that he was only remotely interested in, and admittedly, he hasn't been doing that great in school lately.

He was still unsure about who he could talk about it with, so he proceeded to look for one in secret. He checked job boards, physical and online, and even looked into postings on the paper.

He found that he didn't quite qualify for the ones he found, but one time, he saw this handwritten ad posted on one of the convenience store job boards near his school. It wasn't that appealing visually, now that he realized it, but there was something about it that caught his eye. It read:

"Wanted: House-Sitter

Salary starts at 15k per month

All needs provided for, including utilities and food.

Please write a letter saying why you are interested in the position and put it in the envelope below. Thanks!

I'll get to you when I come back for this ad."

He thought that it was a pretty unusual and rather questionable ad. If it was a prank, it was too obvious…

But then maybe he could put in a reply and see what would happen in the next few days while he looked for other jobs.

After all, what was there to lose? He didn't have anything anyway.

So Kay tore a page out from one of his notebooks and wrote the letter. Even if it was a prank, he thought it best to simply tell the truth. He didn't think he could spare the imagination for a one-time tall tale, if he were to be honest.

He put the letter in the envelope as the ad had said. After that, he left the convenience store.

A few days had passed, and Kay had mostly forgotten about the sketchy ad. That is, until he got a letter in the mail addressed to him. It didn't look like it was sent through the postal service, but rather it was put directly in the mailbox instead. It read:

"Dear Kay,

Thank you for your interest in the position. I've been looking for someone to fill it for a while, and I am so thankful that you responded.

Are you familiar with The Black Dog Cafe? That hip new place near the convenience store you found the ad in?

If so, let us meet there this Saturday, after your class. Look for the server named Lorenzo Bulan. Tell him that you're there for the house-sitter position. He'll help you out.

Again, thank you so much."

Kay was flabbergasted. He didn't expect someone to give him a reply through a letter, and in the right address, too.

He could only think that it was all an elaborate prank… But who would go so far as to do this and stalk him? After all, it's not like he was searchable or anything. He was pretty sure he kept his real identity more or less secret online.

He had to hand it to whoever thought of it. They sure have made a big effort to make it so specific. He now thought that maybe he should return the favor and just go there for the laughs. Even if no one showed up, he could at least try out what the place had to offer.

And so it was decided that he would do just that.

Soon enough, Saturday came. There were few classes at the time.

Well, actually, he only had one, so he had the rest of the day free.

He went to the restroom to change into nicer clothes for the meeting with the job poster. He thought that if it was a simple date with his friends, he would've just stayed in his normal clothing, but he wanted to be able to say that he cared, at least.

Also, normally, he would try to walk all the way there as a challenge, but this time, he didn't want to look messier than he already could be. He chose to get a jeepney ride instead. It would get him there earlier as well, not that it mattered too much. There wasn't any time restraint, after all.

Soon, he arrived at the cafe. It was a small establishment, but looked pretty classy with its wooden furnishings. Several customers were inside; some of them trying out the place, and some of them seeming familiar.

There were also a few servers, mostly male. One of them, a young man with short black hair, came up to him, as the server had noticed he was looking around for a table.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to the Black Dog Cafe. May I help you?"