*Shatter*
"Oh sh*t!
Nathan paled watching the plate fall into the ground, breaking into countless pieces.
At the same time, Mrs. Beatrice along with her whale-like body came striding in with ground shaking steps.
When her eyes fell into the shattered ceramic pieces on the ground, her previously already ugly face turn much much more hideous.
"NaaaaaTHAAAANNNNN!!! What did you break this time!?"
She walks towards him, with her heavy steps it's as if the ground shakes a little.
Nathan felt weak on his knees when he saw the woman heading towards him.
He is a dishwasher in this little eatery at the side of the road near his house. This place is the only place that an 19 years old Nathan can work on.
He tried to apply to other places before but his qualifications are always not enough no matter what work he applies to.
And the fat ferocious woman that is standing in front of him with a glare that feels like it will kill him any second is the owner of this little eatery.
"Th-that, I j-just accidentally broke a plate. I-it really just slipped on my hands…"
The nervousness that he is feeling because of the thought of him losing the job makes Nathan stutter.
The fat lady continue staring at Nathan for 3 more seconds then she said,
"One more chance, I will be giving you one more chance, Nathan, this will be the last time. If you ever made a mistake like this again… I will truly fire you that time!"
Then she turned back and left Nathan alone.
"Y-yes Ma'am! Thank you very much!" A smile is plastered on Nathan's face, it's as if he was granted amnesty by an executioner.
Nathan breathed out a sigh of relief after the owner left.
Then he felt cold on his back, only then did he notice that his back was covered in cold sweat.
He sat down on the floor for a bit to calm down his fast beating heart that was so nervous before because of the thought of being fired.
Nathan is the only one that feeds his family, which contains just a little sister and him.
Three years ago, Nathan's parents were run over by a truck and died, leaving him and his sister in this world without anyone to support them.
Since then, he's been working hard to look for something to place on the table.
Everyday is a struggle for him just to be able to feed his sister.
Nathan was only 16 years old at that time, he should be studying and hanging out with his friends, but no… because of all that happened that time, he matured fast.
Now he is 19 years old and is in the last year of high school.
And his sister is now 16 years old, she needs nutrition to grow healthily.
Because of that, Nathan started looking for more jobs to work on.
In the span of 3 years, Nathan worked on almost all kinds of jobs.
A waiter, dishwasher, a parking boy, selling cigarettes at the roadside, selling food inside busses, etc.
This dishwashing job is one of his high paying jobs that's why Nathan doesn't want to be fired from here.
So, it only took a few seconds for Nathan to calm his heart, before he started washing the plates again.
...
The day passed by without any more interruption for Nathan.
It's already 5 pm, time for Nathan to leave work.
When he was about to leave the establishment, a colleague called out to him.
"Nate! Mrs. Beatrice is calling for you?"
Nathan turned to look at who called him, it's a man wearing glasses and a bit of a handsome face.
"Oh Peter, did she tell you why she is calling for me?"
Peter looks at Nathan for a bit, his expression is kinda strange, but sadness is visible on his face.
"That, she did not tell me why, but I have a guess why she is calling for you since she also called me a while ago…"
Nathan frowns when he saw how Peter is acting,
"Why then?" He urge,
"Well… I just got fired…" Peter did not continue anymore, but that's enough for Nathan what he meant.
After nodding at Peter, Nathan hurriedly walked towards Mrs. Beatrice.
He knocked on the door of the office, and a few seconds later, the voice of the fierce woman from this afternoon, Mrs. Beatrice, sounded.
"Come in."
Nathan entered the office and saw that Mrs. Beatrice was facing a few papers.
She look up and saw Nathan,
"You're here, I won't beat around the bushes, you're fired." She said, before looking back at the paper in front of her.
While her hand grabbed an envelope from the drawer below her.
"Here is the compensation for all the days that you worked that still haven't been paid."
She stretched out her hands holding the envelope.
Nathan unconsciously takes it, then he remembered, he can't lose this job.
"Uhm.. Mrs. Beatrice, can I please-"
As he was talking, the phone beside Beatrice rang interrupting him.
"Yes, hello?"
As Beatrice answered the call, she gestures for Nathan to leave.
Without any choice, he left the office with his head bowing down.
He knows that this is the end for this job. This is the last time he will be working here, this high paying job that pays 200 pesos a day which is a big help to him is gone.
Nathan felt hopeless in this life, like everything just suddenly crashing down on his thin body burying him under tons of problems.
He did not know how he got home, but he directly lay down on the old rotting wooden sofa.
He closed his eyes and placed an arm on his eyes.
His heart is aching badly, but he did not cry… at least that's how it seems on the outside.
"Life… feels like sh*t." He mumbled.
Nathan knows that his sister might just be watching him and that's the reason he did not cry.