Moving Out

After getting directions to the house, as well as finalizing everything through a contract, which he read thoroughly, signed, and received a copy of, Kay commuted back to his house. He didn't know at first if he should go and announce to everyone about his new job, or if he should just keep mum about it.

Later in the day, he decided that he should tell them, at least out of respect. Besides, he was bad at lying, and he would eventually be found out when the time came for him to go. Who knew, maybe they would be happy about it. Maybe he would get a reaction that was different from the usual.

But then, there was another voice in his head that told him that it wouldn't be the case. After all, he's tried telling them things before, such as joining a school club or going on a trip that was required for his subjects, but they were so "wild" and "unthinkable" that his parents didn't approve of them.

It was such that later on, he didn't want to tell them anything anymore. Like if he needed anything for his studies, or if he was feeling bad, or any other interesting thing that he encountered during his day. He resorted to keeping them to himself and writing in his diary.

Still, it would be better for him to just get on with it and let them know now, right?

He made the announcement over dinner, taking a few deep breaths before he spoke.

"Hey… It would be a good thing if I got myself a job, right?" Kay asked.

"Of course, son. It would help a lot with the house. Is there anything that you're interested in doing?" answered his dad.

"Well… What if I… I got myself a job already?"

His mom had a look of surprise on her face, but it was the happy kind of surprise. "Oh, really? What kind is it, dear?"

"Uh… well..." Kay's nervousness was starting to get the better of him, but he managed to force himself to just say it. He had regretted enough, not speaking his mind, so he might as well do it now. "It's a house-sitting job."

"House-sitting? Is that even a real job?" asked Isaac, his younger brother.

"And what are you supposed to do with this 'house-sitting' job?" asked his dad.

"Well, I'm paid to take care of a house… The meals and utilities are also free for me to use while I'm there," said Kay, trying to explain things in the best way possible.

"So you're going to be house help?" asked his mom in the worst way possible. "Dear, you didn't go to school just so you could become a house boy. I'm worried for you. What if you're just being taken advantage of?"

And here was the part that Kay had feared from even before he had spoken a word: the overreaction.

If he were going to be given the time and space to explain properly, maybe he could.

But now he felt like he didn't want to say anything anymore. He wasn't going to win.

But still, he tried. He knew that after this, he wasn't going to be able to say anything to them about it anymore.

"I'm not. I got to talk with the owner, and I could tell that they're a good person. I even got a contract and I read it thoroughly. They even left me keys to the house as well as directions. I even received pocket money for my fare!"

"There are many people out there who look like they're good, but they're out to get you, you know. I mean, I have been fooled a lot of times before. You're not used to the world out there... Don't think badly of me, alright? I'm just worried about you."

"But that's just you, mom," he wanted to say, but he didn't because he knew his mom wouldn't be able to take it. "And I'm not used to the real world because you haven't let me experience it!"

If only he could tell them about the delicious cheesecake and coffee that he had earlier. If only he could tell them that his future employer was also a person who had a hard time finding a person to trust, and that he wanted to make a difference for that person.

He wanted to be helpful to someone, even in a small way such as taking care of a house for somebody.

"Just contact the owner and tell them you're not going. Return that key and just throw away that document."

"Okay..." Kay said with great reluctance.

He didn't plan on following it, however.

=====

As he got ready to go to sleep, Kay concluded that he didn't expect to win the argument, or at least convince his family that he had a good feeling about his new job. However, it didn't stop him from believing that what he had witnessed and experienced so far was real.

He just participated in and saw the whole exchange with Mailbox with his own eyes, and he even had physical proof of the agreement in the form of the contract and the keys, so how could it not be real? He knew that he had a healthy imagination, but he was sure that he wasn't suffering from hallucinations or anything of the sort.

It's not like those would disappear the next day, would they?

He soon realized, as he lay down on the bed, that it was just plain and simple faith that had prompted him to go to the Black Dog Cafe earlier. And it was also such that had given him the courage to send Mailbox that first letter during their conversation. And in both of those times, his trust wasn't let down. In fact, he even got more out of it than he thought.

Maybe it was even faith and not just the lack of anything to lose that had driven him to take the ad seriously in the first place. After all, he could have ignored it, or left something there to troll

As the days passed, he worked on packing his things whenever no one was around, preparing to move out of his family's house. He decided early on that he would travel light and take only one bag with him, as anything more would make it harder for him to move if ever he needed to do so quickly.

"I guess I could suffer for a while until my first pay day..." he thought one time as he looked at the contents of the bag. This was a critical time, and even if he normally had trouble setting his priorities, he needed to remember which things were important, and which weren't.

Clothes could be replaced, so he focused instead on his personal items such as his phone, some of his notebooks (one of which was his diary), and his writing materials. He realized then that he didn't have much that wasn't clothes and books, but that was because relatives usually gave him clothes. While he would've wanted to take some of the books, they would be too heavy.

He also notified his friends that he would be moving away, but he had already taken care of his accommodations. He knew that they wouldn't try to stop him, and one of them did suggest that he move out before. He was thankful that he had gotten the idea, at least.

All that was left now was to hope that his employer would keep their word… and not end up somewhere he didn't want to be.

=====

Soon, the day when Kay was supposed to move to his new job had come…

Before leaving, he wrote a letter telling his family about some of the things he'd wanted to tell them but couldn't. He also had his last solitary meal, which was fried chicken and rice.

As he ate, tears fell from his eyes. He thought about what could happen to his family now that he won't be there anymore. But he soon reaffirmed his decision to move out, as otherwise, he wouldn't be able to make a difference in his life and others'.

He then snuck out of their house and took the jeepneys on the way to his new job.

At one point, when he was halfway through his route, he bought a new SIM card so that he could replace his then-current phone number with a new one. But he didn't replace it yet, as he still needed to record his friends' numbers so that he could put them in the new one.

There were touchscreen phones already that could access the internet, but he didn't have one, since his fingers had a hard time making an impression on them.

After some more time of traveling, he arrived at the house.

It was a two-story structure, and looked plain, with its cream-colored walls, brown roof, and wooden door and window frames. It was also surrounded by a black metal fence that had a cemented bottom that was also painted in a cream color. There was a gate of the same color as the fence, and there was a mailbox next to it. There was a yard to the side of the house, which could be accessed from the gate as well as from the side door, which probably led to the kitchen.

He didn't know much about how to design a house, but he did find this one appealing at least. And he had a good feeling about it.

After a while of admiring the view, he finally went up to the door and unlocked it...