After his evening shower, Anthony grabbed a Coke from the fridge. Then, his cell phone rang. When Anthony saw the caller ID, he pressed the answer button. “Hello? Mom. What? Hold on, I’m going to call Alicia right now.” Then Anthony called Alicia three times, but she didn’t answer.
“What’s the matter?” Isabella asked as she noticed something was off.
“My cousin Alicia has run away from home. It’s not a big deal because she does it all the time. She’s most likely hiding out at a friend’s house,” said Anthony
“How old is your cousin?”
“Fifteen. She’s a total troublemaker and often skips classes.”
Isabella thought, Fifteen. She’s the same age as Tammy.
“My uncle doesn’t have any high expectations of her. He just hopes that she could run his tea plantation later. My uncle lives in the mountains. I’ll take you to see their tea plantation when I’m on vacation.”
“OK,” Isabella said with a smile.
***
A week later, Matthew solved the whole thing. Anna went to the airport to see her colleagues off after knowing everything was going well. And Patrick was among the second group of volunteers.
Anna told him, “Don’t forget to bring your protection. Did you bring any insect repellent?”
Patrick replied, “Yes. Don’t worry, Mrs. Wright.” He then leaned in close to Anna’s ear and said, “I will finish the task you assigned to me and will certainly send you the experimental data as soon as possible.”
Before Anna could speak, Nancy walked close to them and said, “Anna is your supervisor, not your mother, Patrick. Are you done or not? If you don’t leave, none of us will be able to board the plane.”
“Mrs. Wright is only a few years older than me, so she can’t have a son my age,” Patrick grumbled.
“Ha! Anna’s son is only fifteen, but he’s about your height. Am I right, Anna?” Nancy said with a sneer.
“I’m talking about my age! Age!”
Wanting the stop the nonsense, Anna interrupted their conversation. “OK, bye,” she said as she patted Patrick’s backpack. Patrick then walked away reluctantly.
At the same time, Nancy remained at the end of the line to count the people. She nudged Anna with her elbow, whispering, “Anna, you are amazing. Patrick is so smitten with you!”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m not! It’s great that you’re not going to Fleosil because it gives you the opportunity to keep him away from you. I was afraid your husband would become envious if Patrick spent too much time with you. Everyone will blame me for this if that happens!”
Anna rolled her eyes and commented, “That’s ridiculous! Have you finished counting? I’m afraid you won’t make the plane if you don’t leave now. You’re the team leader? Aren’t you supposed to set a good example for your team members?”
“Holy crap!” Nancy exclaimed as she checked her watch for the time. She then tucked the roll call into her pocket and dashed towards the security checkpoint, pulling her suitcase behind her.
Standing still and Anna watched them leave. She turned around and exited the airport hall only after seeing them pass through security. As soon as she turned around, a girl ran into her.
“Ouch!” The girl shouted in pain.
When Anna looked up, she noticed a girl sitting on the ground. The girl was cute looking and looked about the same age as Tammy.
“Are you all right?” Anna immediately helped her up.
“Ouch! It hurts!” the girl kept yelling in pain.
“Where does it hurt? Is it here?” Anna asked, putting her hands on the girl’s arms.
“Ah!” The girl shouted in pain.
“Your arm is probably dislocated,” Anna said with a frown.
“Don’t move,” Anna said as she held her arm, “I’m a doctor, trust me. If you move one more time, you’ll maybe never be able to lift your arm again.”
The little girl’s eyes widened in surprise, and she stopped crying. She panicked and looked at Anna. After the girl stopped moving, Anna touched her joints and tried to reassemble them.
During the process, Anna started making small talk with the girl to distract her. “Why are you running around the airport by yourself? Where are your friends?”
“I came here by myself,” the little girl replied.
“You don’t sound like a Birmingham native. Did you come here for a trip?”
The girl shook her head.
“So, did you run away from home?” Anna asked.
In an instant, the girl became pale and looked at Anna warily. The next second. Anna attached her joints with a “click”. “Alright! You can move your arm now,” Anna said, clapping her hands.
The little girl didn’t even react to what had happened. She looked at Anna in panic, then at her arm. She moved her arm a few times carefully Before exclaiming, “Wow! It worked!”
“Does it still hurt?” Anna asked with concern.
“No, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Thank you, ma’am!”
Before the girl turned around and left, Anna took up the bag on the ground and handed it to her, saying, “Stay safe, my dear. Don’t forget to tell your parents you’re here.”
The girl laughed and said, “My parents don’t even care about what I’m doing. Ma’am, you are awesome. Which hospital are you working at? If I dislocate my shoulder again, I’ll ask you to help me with it.”
Hearing that, Anna couldn’t stop laughing and asked, “Are you sure? I don’t want you to get hurt again. And I’m going to leave now.” Anna then exited the airport lobby.
Alicia, the girl, clutched her bag tightly as she watched Anna leave. She stared at Anna’s back and thought, The ladies here are so stunning and elegant! Will I be as beautiful as she is if I live here in the future?
At that precise moment, the cell phone in her pocket rang. And she answered the call.
“Hello? Anthony.”
“Where are you, Alicia? Why haven’t you returned home yet?”
“I’ve gotten a job! I’m going to support myself, so I won’t go home for a while.”
“What? You have a job?! Who would hire you? You’re still underage!”
Holding her phone in her hand, Alicia strapped her bag to her back and stopped a taxi at the airport exit. After getting into the taxi, she said, “So, what? Someone hired me!”
“That’s ridiculous! You should go home now, Alicia. You should at least finish high school!”
Alicia then told Anthony, “I hate going to school. My high school is terrible, and I’m not learning anything there. Okay, I’m hanging up now. I’m very safe here. Don’t call me again because you are interfering with my work.”
“Hey! Alicia! Wai…”
Alicia hung up the phone before he could finish. “Why is he even more nagging than before?” she grumbled. Then, looking out of the window, she asked the driver, “Is that a long drive, sir?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.