SEARCHING FOR MY MATE

Episode One:

June's POV

The ringing of the alarm at 5:00 a.m. jerked me awake. I quickly sat up in bed as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. My head couldn't help but ache. I have to act quickly to save her life. In less than an hour, I was done with my preparations. I quickly grabbed my bag and application letter.

"Hi, Mum," I said, trying to sound strong for her. Looking at her brought back painful memories. I had to hide my pain so she would stay too long for me.

"Where are you going?" Mum asked, trying to wake up.

"Mum, I can't leave you like this. I have to go find a solution to your problem. I don't want you and Dad to die now. You're all I have," I said impatiently, standing and looking at my watch, eager to leave.

"Okay, fine. But can you at least tell me where the hell you're going?" she pushed further.

"You wouldn't want to know, Mum. Can we not talk about this?"

"Not until you tell me, June."

"To one of the 'Duke's Empire Company'." I said bluntly, not wanting her to stop me.

"Mum, don't even stop me!" I exclaimed, already out of the house.

"Will be back, Mum!" I shouted from behind.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I waited for a taxi to pull over, but none was coming. Feeling frustrated, I had to run, trying to meet my destination on time. Running for ten minutes, I began to breathe fast. Luckily, a taxi pulled up.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Oil and Gas, Duke's Empire Company," I said, still trying to catch my breath.

The driver kept looking at me like I was some sort of sight or something.

"Are you going or not?" I snarled, not minding his looks.

"Uhhm, I'm sorry. I'll take you there," he said.

I hopped in immediately. My heart started beating fast. I didn't know what I was doing, but I prayed earnestly for a miracle to happen. I tried shifting to sit at the other end of the car, behind the driver, when I mistakenly looked at myself through the front mirror. I was totally messed up. I didn't remember to even comb my hair. Sweat was oozing out of my body. Immediately, my bones froze.

"Fuck, why didn't I dress well?" I thought.

"We're here," the driver said.

My heart skipped a million times as I found myself with no feet to stand on. I dipped my hand into my pocket and gave him some money. I had to quickly force myself out. Clinging to my bag, I stood and looked at the gigantic building before me. One had to walk a few meters away before reaching the gate. The environment alone could tell you that's a rich, magnificent business environment. The cars going in and out of the building alone made me weak.

It was then that I started to look at myself, from head to toe, and knew I wouldn't even be considered for employment, even as a mad person in their company.

"Okay, I've got to do this," I murmured.

I walked with my wobbly legs. The more I walked towards the gate, which was meters away from the road, the more it occurred to me that I was walking into the zone of riches. I could see two men in uniforms approaching me. Fear gripped me.

It was then that I knew how stupid it was for me to ever think of coming here. I had to slow my pace, not knowing what to do, as I was caught in the middle. At some point, they stood looking at me. The anxiety in me now could kill. At that point, I didn't know what I was doing, but I just found myself moving towards them.

"Good morning, sir," I said, bowing down.

"How may we help you?" one of them asked in a hoarse tone.

"I...I actually want to see the owner of the company," I stammered out, making those men look at me like I was a clown.

"What the hell brought me here?" I asked foolishly to myself.

I could not bring myself to look at those souls looking at me.

"Did you at all look at yourself in the mirror before you jumped onto the road?" I heard one of them say in a rising tone.

I almost gave my last breath as I pinched myself.

The last option now was to run away. I couldn't withhold the shame. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as I turned to leave, but I heard a strong baritone voice echo in the air.

"I am the owner of the company."