Chapter 2 : A Gamer Girl’s Dilemma
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         In the end, Rainy didn't ditch work at all. She obediently got up before her alarm rang (she had ten alarms that were set 5 minutes in interval), fed her hungry Mochi, made herself a cup of coffee, and had her morning routine of drinking coffee in her bed while watching the lush foliage of mahogany tree outside her window. It was her way of meditating and preparing for the day.

        She left home thirty minutes before her first class. Her city's traffic wasn't as bad as other major cities and getting to the academy would usually take her twenty minutes. After clocking in, she sighed in helplessness. She really wanted to skip work, but she took a day off a week ago under the pretense of being sick. Her manager would bite her head off if she called in again. And there's no way she could escape her mother's questioning look all day at home. She wished she'd hit the lotto jackpot so she could just stay at home, in her room, all day and play.

        She arrived much earlier than expected. She decided to stay at the cafeteria and checked her Facebook. LordAgni uploaded a profile pictured and she was excited. He hadn't uploaded one for months! His new picture was a side view of him looking at the sky. She smiled.

       LordAgni's real name was Michael Flores, 27 years old. He worked as a field officer in a government agency. He was rounder with a bit of belly protruding. His face was round and she found it adorably cute. She often imagined pinching his chubby cheeks. He was a rather average-looking guy with glasses and her BFF QueenBee would make fun of her for having a huge, secret crush on a guy like him. QueenBee didn't like him for some reasons. When Rainy asked, she'd say he reminded her of the guy she fell heels-over-head with in the previous online game she played. Rainy would just play deaf and mute whenever she talked about that "biggest jerk in the world kind of guy".

        Of course, QueenBee would never appreciate a guy like LordAgni. That pretty but foul-mouthed loli friend of her was already married to a handsome foreigner. Definitely not patriotic! She didn't support local brands! Rainy was different. She believed LordAgni was her soul mate. Besides, she and him had reached the stage of calling each other every now and then on the phone. They sometimes talked about the game, but most of the time, it was about all the little things and hints here and there. They were playing the push and pull game. She was smart enough not to tell QueenBee that!

       She noticed few people already liked his picture. Most of them were their guild mates. Since she was not the first, people wouldn't misunderstand it, right? She giggled while liking his picture. Should she take some selfies once she got home and upload them?

       "What are you smiling about so early in the morning?"

        She almost had a heart attack when her co-worker, Jaime, sneaked behind her. "N-Nothing!" She closed her Facebook faster than speed of light.

        Jaime studied her flustered expression for a while then smiled. "You're in love, girl? Who's the lucky guy?"

       It's none of your f*cking business, a-hole! "I'm not. I just remembered how my poor student bit his tongue when I gave him a tongue twister."

       "Oh, you gave him a tongue twister? You actually know how to teach!" Jaime laughed aloud and hit her poor shoulder. "I was just messing with you. You're one of the top teachers in the academy. Your teaching skill is superb!"

       F*ck you. My middle finger salutes you. You're frustrated your students gave you low ratings and you're now taking it out on me? Don't you dare play TCoM or I'll make you quit and regret being born in this world!

      She smiled and laughed with him. This was a usual day with some of her co-workers at work was. She was known to be sweet, polite, well-mannered and gentle. And that made people think she was a pushover they would just bully around. Well... She didn't want conflict and they were older than her (she was the youngest tutor), and she was a coward.

      She made an excuse of getting a book from the office to escape the jerk-faced Jaime. Of course she didn't forget to maintain her image as a graceful young woman exiting the cafeteria. On her way to the office, she was cursing him and his ancestors and herself. If only she was as bold and brave as her Raven. How nice would it be? Just like that, her sunny morning was ruined by a jerk. Well, not thoroughly ruined since LordAgni had a new picture. She actually saved his picture and was thinking of it as her phone's wallpaper.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................

        "Teacher, are you free now?" her student, Yun Ah, asked.

        She tapped her phone to check the time. It's 5:50 Pm. Class had ended and she was putting away the book and study materials. If she wasn't picky on the jeepney ( a common transportion in the country) she always took, she could get home in no time. But she didn't like crowded jeepney. She didn't like sitting face to face with people. She wanted to sit at the farthest spot so she could look out the window. But her student had to ask if she had any plans. Of course, she had! There's a boss raid at 7:30 and she hadn't made potions and battle food for  herself and others yet! It's extremely important! It's a bloody war! They had to secure the entrance 30 minutes before it opened. They had to kill any guild trying to get in!

        "Why?" She decided to play safe.

        "My batch mates and I are going to throw a farewell party for Sang Woo. He asked me to invite you", her student explained.

       Sang Woo? Wasn't he the handsome and popular student in the academy who annoyed the heck out of her whenever he saw her? He wasn't even her student and he always wanted her to have conversations with him so he could practice his English. That Sang Woo?

      "I'm sorry." She adjusted her facial expression into one with full of regrets - like she really wanted to go, but couldn't. "My cat's sick and I need to take him to the vet." Forgive me, Mochi. You got to save your mama!

      "Oh." Her student pursed her lips in disappointment. "Is your cat going to be okay?"

        She sighed. Of course! Mochi eats everything and has the energy level of a super saiyan! "I hope so. Only the vet knows. I'm really sorry. Please tell your batch mates I'm sorry, ok?"

        "Ok. Teacher, tell me tomorrow what the vet says."

       "I will. I gotta go. See ya and oh! Could you turn off the light and close the door when you leave? Thank you. Good night!" And she ran faster than speed of light.

       When she got home, she hurriedly washed her face and changed into her comfortable worn out t-shirt which was her high school Physical Education t-shirt. She made sure her mom fed Mochi before heading back to her room with a cup of coffee. Since it's the weekend next day, she could stay up until dawn. She needed all the cups of coffee she could drink to survive the night.

      The moment her game finished loading, she was greeted by blindingly tempting costumes sale on featured item of the VIP Mall. And yes, she's a VIP, a VIP 9 at that. She bit her lower lip. The costumes were the dye-able versions which were extremely rare and freaking expensive in player shops. She grabbed her purse and started at her debit and credit cards. If her parents found out she's spending real money on the game, they'd kill her. And she's not sure how much was left in her bank account. SHe just paid the internet and electricity bills and last week, she also bought two new weapon skins for her Raven and her DPS alt, a Gunner (a ranged class with canon as a weapon and they specialized in long-ranged attacks and burst damage). Not just those, she also bought cute kitty auto-loot pets that would automatically pick up drops from dungeons and monsters and store them in their pet inventory. Those stuffs cost almost half of her two-week paycheck. The costumes cost almost the same. She's having a headache.

     It's not like she hung out with her students or co-workers after work. She got her priorities straight. Besides, her parents were strict. They'd give her hell if she went home late. As for food, she could just eat Korean noodles until pay check or whatever the cafeteria sold. She just had to make sure she had money for transportation.  She already paid the internet and electricity bills, so those were settled. She had many shoes and clothes to wear; no need to buy new ones. She needed new pressed powder, but she could make do with baby powder for the entire week.

      Her mind was racing. The sale was a limited-time offer only and who knew when the costumes would be on sale again or if they'd be in the mall ever again? However, she had a lot of costumes already in her wardrobe. She was hesitant to sell many of them. The truth was she didn't need new ones.

     But... But... It's 50% off... This is a very good deal...

She inhaled deeply and exhaled deeply. She needed to calm her tensed nerves and heart that was beating erratically.

     HedonistPotato : Brb guys!

       She closed her eyes the moment she clicked "Buy Diamonds" icon. A window popped up. She entered her account info and went straight to the purchase page. 

      Heavens! Mom, dad...Mochi...brothers...humanity...Forgive me!

     She really was beyond redemption at this point!

     

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