The Replacement Daughter

Chapter 2 - The Big Boss

No matter how bad it was, I didn't complain. I made the best of it. Because by being there, I knew my father would be safe from those thugs.

I made friends with some of the women, but the closest one to me was Mindy. Mindy was around my age. She was funny and smart. She ended there because of her husband's drug debt. He's out there free while she was here working her ass off for him. She said she didn't mind being there because he hit her. So being away from him was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Having a friend like Mindy made the whole ordeal seemed bearable. There were times when we were working to the bone due to sudden surge of demands, but we survived through it by supporting each other. 

I have accepted the fact that this was how the rest of my life was going to be like. 

That was my life for 2 years. 

*****

I remembered it was a particularly hot day. Sitting in the factory under the zinc roof with no fan, I was sweating profusely. My shirt was clinging to my body. I kept having to wipe my wet palms on my pants and wiped my forehead with my sleeves.

By midday, the heat was becoming unbearable. I was feeling dizzy, wondering when we would get a break. 

Suddenly, Mindy fell off her chair at the station next to mine. She had passed out from the heat. I jumped off my chair and knelt down beside her. "Mindy? Are you okay?" I glanced up and saw the guard coming fast towards us. I shook Mindy's shoulders. We're going to get in trouble if she doesn't wake up. "Mindy? Come on."

She slowly stirred and moaned. She was soaked with sweat. I quickly helped her to sit up. She looked pale and weak. Her eyes were unfocused.

"What the hell are you doing?" the guard asked angrily.

"Nothing," I answered quickly, "She just need to splash some water on her face, is that okay?"

The guard spit behind me. "You have 2 minutes."

I quickly grabbed Mindy's arm and wrap it around my shoulder. I held on to her tightly and dragged her towards the bathroom across the parking lot. The floor was dirty and wet but I had no choice. I set her down by the wall. Then I collected some water from the faucet in my cupped hands and poured it over her head and face. She wiped the water from her face and looked around in confusion. I repeated what I did earlier. The water would cool her down.

I knelt down in front of her and held her shoulder as I looked at her face. She was still pale but she looked alert. "Are you okay?" I asked her. "You fell off your chair."

Mindy exhaled and nodded her head weakly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"What happened? Did you forget to eat?" I asked her.

She chuckled and said, "I did eat, but I'm eating for 2 now."

I gasped and laughed. "OMG, really?"

Mindy smiled and said, "Yeah, about 5 weeks or so. I've been throwing up all over the place but surprisingly only at night."

"That must be hard," I said to her but then I laughed again. "OMG, I'm so happy for you." Then I scowled, "Whose the father?"

Mindy looked at me, smiling sheepishly. "One of the night guard, Jimmy. He's been so nice to me and it kind of just happened."

I wanted to ask more questions but there was a loud banging on the metal door. "Hurry up! Get back to work!" the guard shouted.

I turned to Mindy and sighed. "Let me go first, maybe I can buy you some time. Come back when you're ready, okay?" She nodded at me and smiled gratefully.