Little Devil

05

Chapter 5

The sun was already high when I woke up. Ruoxie greeted me with a plate of breakfast, kicking off her slippers when she walked in.

"I told you not to go out alone. There are a lot of some bad people around here," I said, getting out of bed. I walked out of the room and looked at Ruoxie more closely.

"Don't worry, Leticia, I wasn't alone. Manang Fe's son went with me to buy breakfast," Ruoxie said. Manang Fe was the mother of one of a goons I beat up last night, and she owned the rent house. It was weird, because after I confessed to im the one beating her son, and she saw how her son was avoiding me, she still gave me this place for a really cheap rent.

It had its own bathroom and two bedrooms. The only thing was, we had to fetch water outside to take a bath.

"Master! Your water's here."

I heard one of the goons from yesterday outside. I covered myself with a towel and let him in.

They had two buckets of water.

"Master, we got your water, and you can use this bucket while you're staying here."

They brought it inside the bathroom. Looking at them, they seemed like good kids.

"What are your names?" I asked. The son of the rent house owner introduced himself as Anthony, and his friend who was also carrying water said his name was Ian.

Ruoxie reached for her wallet to pay them, but they refused.

"We're leaving, master!"

They bowed and pushed each other out.

"Wait."

They stopped walking and nervously turned back to me. I grabbed two plastic of spaghetti from the table and threw them to them. The two guys caught them immediately.

"Come here every morning to fetch our water. We'll give you breakfast."

They looked at each other and saluted with smiles.

"Yes, master!"

They ran out, bumping into each other at the gate.

"You're not scared of them anymore?" I asked, turning to Ruoxie. My sister immediately shook her head.

"You can totally beat them up if they bully us. They're just scared, and they even went with me earlier and chased away the guys who were trying to hit on me," Ruoxie said, raising her fist. I smiled, seeing her in high spirits.

I sat down at the table with Ruoxie beside me.

"I'm going to look for a job later. What about you?" I asked after taking the pancit out of the plastic and putting it on a plate.

"I talked to Manang Fe. She asked if I wanted to help her watch her store. She'll pay me and give me free food."

I nodded. That was good, because it was close to home. Ruoxie was happy, biting into her bread and handing me coffee.

After I showered and got dressed, Ruoxie was gone, and our dishes were washed. I saw a note on the table saying she was going to work and that I should just go to Aling Fe's store for lunch.

I left the house and closed the door. I walked out of the gate and started walking.

"Master! Where are you going?"

People scattered to my side as the three goons from yesterday approached me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want to get beaten up again?" I asked. They raised their hands, saying they wouldn't fight anymore.

"I'm looking for something to earn money. Is there any easy way to make money here?" I asked. They looked at each other and said selling fish was a good way to earn.

I thanked them and passed them by.

"Wait, master, we know a place that sells cheap fish! We'll go with you!"

I ignored them and followed them to a factory. Many of the goons were there, and they all flinched after seeing me. They dropped their baskets and shouted "Master!"

Apparently, being a gang leader had its perks. I got the fish for cheap, and I had a spot in the market right away. I even had people to deliver for me, and no one charged me for the spot.

"Hey, there's a newbie. She's pretty."

I wiped my face with a towel after cleaning the fish. I smiled and thanked the old woman who bought it.

"Hey, let's go closer. Ask for her number."

"Master, the water's here!"

Anthony arrived, having been fetching water for me all day. He glared at the loiterers who seemed to be trying to approach me.

I gave Anthony 100 pesos and asked him what it was for.

"Buy me a coke, the change is yours."

The kid thanked me immediately and ran away. As the sun was setting, I had sold all my fish.

"This is her first time selling here. She sold out so fast."

"Face card, sis. She's using her looks. Did you see all the guys who were approaching her earlier? And some were even calling her 'Master.'"

I ignored the women gossiping and started packing up.

"Master, are you going home?"

Anthony came back with his three friends. They took the bucket I used.

"Anthony, Stella's calling you!"

I turned to my side. I heard that Anthony was courting Stella, and the girls were jealous because Anthony had done nothing all day but help me.

"I heard you joined a frat," the woman said happily. I asked Ian what that was.

"Anthony joined our group because Stella said she'd go out with him if he joined the frat," Ian answered. From my peripheral vision, I saw the girls who passed me on my way out of the market glaring at me, but I ignored them.

My goods sold out quickly because I lowered the price, and I only made a small profit.

When I got home, Ruoxie was there, preparing food on the table.

"Leticia!"

I said I would take a bath first before eating. Ruoxie nodded and said we would eat together.

After I showered, Ruoxie asked me what job I got.

"Selling fish in the market. I got my capital back and made some profit since I sold out everything," I answered, sitting down at the table.

"Manang Fe gave this, I just warmed it up, and she already gave us rice," Ruoxie said. I took a spoon and started eating. I looked at Ruoxie, who was now getting rice and food.

"Ruoxie, if working is too much for you, it's okay if you just stay here at home. It's just the two of us, I can work alone," I said. I was worried about Ruoxie because she was sickly and weak.

I remembered that when we were kids, she often passed out and was always in the hospital. Ruoxie immediately shook her head and chewed the food in her mouth.

"I'm fine, Leticia. The work at the store isn't that hard. I can handle it."

Lie. How could it not be hard, going to Manang Fe's store, which was always crowded with people? I'm sure Ruoxie would be busy all day.