CHAPTER 3 - It's Not Even a Job

"I don't see the benefit of writing stories. It isn't even a real job."

This piece of...

No, Sarah. Don't curse. I know as a writer, you mingled with a lot of people with vast vocabulary but swearing was definitely a no-no. Once it tripped off the tongue, it would be hard to break the habit.

I heaved a long sigh as Lily's insensitive and ignorant words transferred to my brain. I looked around me. There was my mother, her mother, other aunts, and our grandmother. Call me blinkered but I did not see which part of her 'joke' was a joke. Never in my life would I admit that my sense of humor was terrible because Lily obviously slurred my job yet I did admit that I had never been on the same wavelength with her or probably other mothers in this family. My definition of job or future was something to do with my passion and liking. It only revolved around me and not based on what people expected from a TESL graduate like me.

Just because I was a TESL graduate, it did not mean I would end up as a teacher. The moment I set my eyes on the mentioned program, I was being serious because all the knowledge that I got to get would be applied in my writing. That was my intention.

Yet, apparently, because of my 'bizarre' philosophy of life, I gained a lunatic fan or nosy parker named Lily aka my cousin. Every time our family stood a chance to throw a family party, no matter how cordial the conversation started, no matter how much it had nothing to do with my job, it always ended up with a series of sick jokes involved me and what I did for a living.

For example, like now, we were supposed to chirp happily about pudding before Lily spoiled it by questioning the motive of my job. Sadly, nobody even bothered to say, 'hey, where did that come from, Lily?'. Instead, they decided to play along with her arbitrariness and discourtesy.

Trust me. I might not be the most optimistic person that you had ever found in your neighborhood but when I said that this Lily insulted my job, she really meant it despite obviously saying that my job piqued her curiosity.

She was a cheerful and friendly person, contrasted with me who was the typical introvert who enjoyed her me-time. So, when she said something rude but in a cheerful way, she could get away easily because people would think that was just her personality and I should adapt to it. How sick could this society be? I was positive that they could not even tell the difference between joking and insulting.

I might be reserved but I did have a lot of sarcastic vocabulary in my head. I just did not think she could take it without whining afterward. As much as I love putting all sorts of drama to make my characters miserable, I hated to face the real drama which included my cousin sulked because of my sarcasm.

I just could not bring myself. I wanted to puke so bad.

"Okay," I said as I scurried to the outside of my grandmother's house, followed by my loyal sister, Ana.

Ana was in her third-year university and yet, she was way more mature than the doctor, Lily. She had a strong belief that every job had its own function to make the world stay poised.

I was inhaling and exhaling like an asthmatic when Anna asked me,

"Are you OK, Sarah?"

The next thing happened epically because if this was a movie, you could literally hear the sound of long beep since I cursed a lot. I did not even know if it was because my voice was too loud, the swearing was on another level, or she could hear the long and deafening beep sound but Anna decided to close her ears until I finished swearing.

I knew my mother would bash me after this for sounding so insolent but I would not behave like this if somebody maintained her courtesy with me.

"Okay, you are not okay," Anna confirmed as she curved in an awkward smile at me.

"Of course I am not. That girl just insulted my job. The job that helped me pays my bill. How offensive could it be, Anna?"

"Well, I know you are sad what can you do? Just like what people always say, you just have to be patient..."

"That's the most absurd advice that I have ever heard in my life, Anna!" I looked daggers at her but my sister put on her usual poker face. She was always calm, contrasted with the ill-tempered me. "Why should the victimized victim like me have to put up with a catty mouth from a vixen like her when all the vixen has to do is to not be catty and the whole world will be in peace? I am so sick of this!"

I never thought that a blessing in disguise would take place at that night.

I was spending my time alone by browsing on my Tablet PC, finding inspiration for the book cover. I just received an email from a writer, saying that she loved my book cover design and was interested to have me designing hers. What a way to relieve my stress! Not only I got a work that would keep my mind away from Lily's catty mouth, I would get a payment as well!

Usually, Anna would be by my side, accompanying me since I loved reading online horror stories at night but would be ridiculously frantic when the chapters were terrifying. We both were a pair of spineless sisters but unlike me, Anna was sensible enough to not read or watch anything that would cause her unable to sleep at night.

Yet, tonight, since I was just working and lingering in my imagination, she went to mingle with our cousins except for Lily.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Here we go, the catty vixen.

"I am baking," I said.

"Hahahahha."

At least, she tried to make it sounded hilarious even obviously, I was being sarcastic.

"Wow, you always love to do those kinds of jobs, right? Something that you can easily do at home and you don't even need to socialize with other people. Such an antisocial person," she remarked, enough to make me scowled at her.

"Please... Just please don't glare at me, Sarah. Oh my God, you are as sensitive as ever," Lily took a seat beside me.

Lily took a seat beside me.

The catty vixen took a seat beside me.

I needed Anna now since this situation was creepier than any horror stories that I had ever read online. It was only two minutes passed since my sister left me alone but I missed her already.

"And you are as rude as ever," I muttered as my fingers had fun, scrolling the page which was full of guns, blood, and knives images. The author's story was packed with action so I might search images that had a connection with fighting scenes.

"Excuse me?" She said, emitting the 'dare to repeat it?' vibes but yes, I was daring. Like who the heck she was for me to be afraid of?

"You are as rude as ever," I said, nonchalantly.

"What's gotten into you!? I was trying to get chummy with you and this is how you are going to pay me?"

"I just generalize what I think about you but excuse you?? 'Pay you'? What did you ever do to me for me to pay you back?"

"You just got yourself a cousin who was a doctor. I repeat, a doctor! You should be proud of it!"

What a stuck-up jerk! She even acted ridiculous to the point of I wondered, did she use the same brain to memorize those complex names of diseases? Unbelievable!

"I would be proud if you were a humble and mature doctor but obviously you were not. You know. I happened to know some of your patients and all of them said that you lack the basic knowledge about politeness and what not. You treated your patients like trash. I even witnessed some of them you know."

"You, Sarah... How dare you!" She stood up and pointed an accusing finger at me.

Okay, this was fun.

"At least, I am a doctor! What about you? You are only a poor writer who just depends on the part-time job and what not! Shame on you! You should not study in university in the first place!"

Up until now, I knew I should not slap her. No matter how foul-mouthed your family member could be, she or he was still your family.

But, I did not even make her paid my bills so why should she bother?

With that thought, on that day, for the first time in my history as her cousin, I slapped Lily, the my-once-favorite cousin. I slapped her after my brain said that she was too much and my hand decided that it was time for her to face the music.

"What do I do for a living has nothing to do with you! Yes, I don't have a permanent job but all my payment per month is enough to support me. I do this job because I love it! Don't push your shitty life philosophy on me and screw you! I hate you!"

At that night, my mother advised me to forgive Lily. She was still a family member after all. I did not protest since I did not have the energy to argue with somebody who obviously thought that I was ill-tempered.

The next day was surreal weird. Instead of herself apologized to me, her mother was the one who convinced me to get chummy with Lily back. Since I respected my aunt like my own mother, I just kept smiling and said honestly to her that her daughter was rude and I would have a hard time to forgive her.

The weirder thing was Lily avoided me and I got the feeling it was not because she hated me.

Rather, she felt embarrassed.

On the third day I was in my grandmother's house, I sat on a bench alone while admiring how beautiful my grandmother's frangipani was when my eyes served the sight of Lily, standing next to me.

"Hey, can we talk?"

"As long as it's not an insult, I am fine with that," I said.

She bit her lips, obviously felt hurt but she still took a seat beside me. Maybe because my body treated her like a danger or a virus, it automatically moved aside. My face even winced in disgust.

"Do you hate me, Sarah?" She asked a funny question.

"Do not ask that when you gave me the reason to do such way," I said.

"Well, you should because I hate myself even more," she said while staring deep into the moon.

How symbolic it was if this was a love story.

But, unfortunately, it was not since she was so despicable in my eyes. This was more like a ludicrous melodrama.

But, her line was more disturbing, though. What was with the 'I hate myself even more'? Did she seriously think that this was a melodramatic setting?

"I thought that you love yourself since you are a doctor," it was not supposed to be a sarcastic remark but I could not help it. Just like how you brought down your worst enemy, you just could not bring yourself to talk nicely without hurting her feeling.

"I just pretended to love my job."

"Why? You should be proud of it since you are a doctor."

"Stop being sardonic, Sarah."

"Why? You should be proud of it."

She sighed and I could tell that she gave up.

"Well, how should I say this? I became a doctor not out of my will. I was forced to because my mother suggested it to me. I did not even like Biology in high school. So, how was I supposed to study medicine? The fact that I passed the exam was a miracle itself. But, to be honest, I want to do what I am happy to do... Just like you. I am quite jealous of you, Sarah."

"And that's why you decided to insult me? So that you would feel happy?" I was fuming with anger.

"Yes, Sarah. I am... I am sorry..."

"You are sick, Lily. You should get yourself a medical check-up. Have you ever considered that you don't deserve to be a doctor?" To see that she just locked her head down was downright amusing to me. As much as I hated to be vulgar, she was the one who decided to bring the dark side out of me and I would take this chance to knock some sense into her. "Because first, you are rude as a doctor and second, you acted like a bully who enjoyed herself seeing an innocent student suffered just because you had a complex about her. What the heck was wrong with you people? Have you ever considered that when you acted like that, you just made yourself catty? You should reflect more on the consequence! Excuse me but I have a non-medical job to do."

Which was true because I had to complete the design for the book cover before next week. I had to use my time productively.

I hope that someone like Lily would reflect on themselves. Just like how a bad boy would bully a plain girl just because he could not accept the fact that he fell in love with her, Lily should know that verbally abusing me did no good to her.

In fact, she just made her own cousin disliked her.

I know I would forgive her easily. She was still my cousin. We were close but since we grew up and had more important things to do for our future, we ended up drifting apart from each other and the next thing we knew, we only threw insults to each other.

This story did not mean to insult doctors or any jobs. It was like... I wanted to show that every job in this world needs to be acknowledged. No need to look down on what somebody does for a living as long as it is decent. Everybody has their own destiny and timeline. Everybody has their own definition of job and happiness.