Chapter 123.

Chapter 123. Preparations to Destroy a Scumbag’s Life. (4/8)

“Are you looking forward to moving over to the new location in a week?” I figured I’d try to ask her.

“What’s this all of a sudden? You suddenly feel like talking?”

“No. I was just a bit curious, that was all. It’s a brand new location, wouldn’t you find it a refreshing change of pace?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Are you going to miss seeing me every day or something?”

“Yeah, yeah. I will miss you so much. Whatever will I do without the girl who handles all the small talk with customers?” I raised my hands up and shook my head.

“You don’t sound the slightest bit sincere.”

“Well, we’ll still see each other on Saturdays.”

“True. So it’s not like we’ll never see each other. I just hope whoever I work with is pleasant to be around. If they’re an annoying guy who tries to constantly hit on me I’ll be quite irritated.”

“It’ll most likely be a girl if everything goes as planned.”

“Oh? Is someone you know being considered?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… I see. If it’s a girl it should be fine then.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I can’t see you two getting along too well. If I were to compare the two of you, if you’re cold ice, she’d be a passionate raging flame.”

“I’m quite confident as long as it isn’t a guy hitting on me I can manage.”

“If you say so. Just don’t let your words come back to bite you. Though you’ll probably not be with her every day, only two days I think, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don’t know anything about who you’ll be paired with on other days.”

“I see. I assume that person will be paired up with you on the remaining days then, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. If she gets hired that is. She still needs to meet the Owner for her interview.”

“As long as she’s pretty enough to meet the Owner’s minimum standards, I’m sure she’ll get hired. That’s all that woman cares about, appearances. Though… your gloomy expression is the only exception to that. To this day I still don’t get how you got hired at all. Does she have the hots for you or something? Did you provide some sort of sexual favors?”

“Of course not. Do I look like a playboy? There’s no chance in hell I’d be in her strike zone either.”

“Why not? She’s only twenty-seven. You should be about nineteen if you’re in your first year of university like me, right? It’s only an eight-year difference. I’ve seen forty-year-old women with guys who are thirty-two before, it’s not that out of the question.”

Except for the fact that I’m actually fifteen. It’s a thirteen-year difference, not eight. There is a big difference between a forty-year-old woman with a thirty-two-year-old man vs a twenty-eight-year-old man. An entire decade. It’s enough to be out of her strike zone.

Though… Irene… Ugh. I couldn’t say anything when I thought about the fact that she was thirty-two. She just had strange tastes. Yeah, that’s it. She had a very youthful appearance despite her age and maturity, there wasn’t a single wrinkle on her face. She’d taken very good care of her looks and maintained them well. After all, her appearance affected her job, it was only natural she did so.

Honestly, I’d prefer if she could make a living with a single full-time job. Or just go part-time for both her jobs. I’m sure her children would be happier to see her working less. She’s been at this for two years since her husband abruptly passed on. The only alternative was if Alicia worked full-time. If she did, it would greatly affect her grades, something her mother didn’t want to see happen. 

Irene wants her daughter to be able to fully focus on her studies and make a living doing something she truly enjoys in the future. The only way was if she got a job where she could study and work at the same time. Still, working full-time would be way too much on her, it would cut into her sleep and affect her health. The most Alicia could do was work part-time. That wasn’t enough to replace one of her mother’s full-time jobs though. It would still allow her to switch to part-time for one of them though.

Actually… if you took the tax reduction into account, it might work out. Like me, Alicia wouldn’t be taxed on her earnings as a student. So there was a gain in that Irene’s tax burden would decrease both ways. Hmm… there was also Rosa though… she was going to start working as well. If that happened, then everything would work out even better.

She’d also be receiving money from her parents which she’d save. If Rosa contributed as well, then it would definitely be possible for Irene to survive off a regular full-time job.

In fact, the potential to save on taxes was immense, it could cut her tax bill in half like this. Both Alicia and Rosa should even be able to save money as well.

What the hell, when I thought about it, I got a bit excited.

I pulled out my phone under the counter, opened up a spreadsheet, and started working the numbers out using some estimates.

While I was busy doing that, at some point, Alicia had shown up. She’d come for her usual drink. She always came for it without fail. She really enjoyed it way too much. I’d offered to just buy it and bring it back after work, but she said she enjoyed the walk outside. She always went for it as a break when studying, it was also her own personal reward for completing two hours of studying every day.

Even over winter break, she was dutifully studying on her own. She was such a good girl. She used winter break to get a head start on the courses she’d face during the next semester. Truly, a role model.

I felt bad though. Because I’d been distracted with my little side project, I’d forgotten all about moving her drink to the front. She’d frozen in front of the freezer when she saw it at the back. Her lost puppy dog eyes were locked onto me. They were begging me to help her out.

“Hey, you forgot to go about your usual routine and now our precious customer is suffering as a result.”

“Haaaaah. Yeah, yeah. My bad, I’ll do it now.”

“Haaaah, if there’s one thing I’ll miss when I go to the other store, it will definitely be seeing this sweet girl come in for her drink every day.”

I approached Alicia’s side and retrieved her favorite drink from the back of the fridge. I handed it over to her and she received it with a wide smile. She suddenly opened her mouth and said, “I thought I did something to make you mad at me and you were ignoring me.”

“No, I was just busy crunching some numbers and lost track of the time.”

“Oh, I see.”

Though those calculations were pretty useless considering how Alicia’s mother wouldn’t allow her to work even if she wanted to. For her to be hired while still in high school, she’d require written permission from one of her parents. Which meant she had to convince her mother. 

The likelihood of her convincing her mother on her own is as good as zero. It would require cold hard facts to convince her mother, but this girl operated on emotions. Her mother wouldn’t be convinced with emotion alone.

Well, it wasn’t my place to step into. Unless this girl worked up the courage on her own to make such a life-changing decision, there was nothing I could do about it.

“Uh… actually… Ran, there was something that’s been on my mind.” She whispered quietly while looking down at the ground.

“What is it?”

“Well… about my mother… recently I’ve just been wondering if there was any way I could help her.”

“Help her? As in?”

“Well… you suddenly showed up and got her to quit one of her jobs, right? I was wondering if there was a way to take up some of my mother’s burden the way you did.”

It was quite a coincidence that we both had such similar thoughts.

“You know that’s impossible, right?”

“Impossible? Why is it impossible?”

“To do so requires money. Do you have a source of income that can replace hers? No, you don’t, so you should just give up on wishful thinking like relieving any of her burdens. Focus on your studies like your mother wants you to. That’s why she’s working so hard in the first place.”

She appeared dejected when I told her what she expected me to say.

“But… you’re free to do what you want. It’s not like you have to do what your mother wants you to do. That’s what a teenager’s rebellious phase is all about.”