Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 77: On The Job

Stacy

As promised, Sophia and I received our timetable from De Los Reyes Enterprises via courier service. The envelopes arrived on the second week of January, 2018, and we efficiently organized our academic schedules to fit in with the given work schedule from D.L.R.E.

By sheer luck and coincidence, we got matching schedules in both our O.J.T.s and corporate duties. As Sophia and I sat on the living room couch the morning the mail came, we stared at the sheets of paper in our fingers for quite a while. This was going to be our life for the next six months:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday: 8:00am-5:00pm (Regular internship at Orion)

Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday: 7:00am-5:00pm (Temp job at D.L.R.E.)

"We're so going to die soon," I joked with a brittle smile.

"Don't say that!" Sophia hurriedly knocked her fist on the wooden table before us.

"And why not?" I sighed, slapping the piece of paper on my knee. "We're going to work eight to nine hours every day until June!" I massaged my forehead. "We'll be graduating in March.. that's less than three months away.. and even after we get our diplomas, we'll still be working at De Los Reyes Enterprises for another three months.. we won't have time for summer vacation before we have to face reality and become adults!"

"We already are adults," Sophia pointed out with a tiny smile. "We're nineteen, Ace. Sooner or later we have to accept the fact that our childhood is over..family name, responsibilities.. inheritance. It's a heavy burden to bear. Our parents wanted us to make sure we live comfortably and that's why we're doing this."

The bespectacled brunette lay her hand on top of mine on my lap. "You complain, but I know you want to experience something new, anyway," she continued, her voice teasing.

I smiled at my sister. "It's annoying that you're right."

"Of course I am," she said, standing up from the couch.

"Right or annoying?"

"Both." She grinned cheekily. "I'll take a bath first? It's Monday so we better hurry for school. Or would you rather shower together to make it faster?"

"You go on ahead this time," I told Sophia. "I have to make a phone call."

As my sister dashed up to our bedroom to get ready, I reached into my pink shorts' pocket, fished out my phone, hit speed-dial, then placed the white phone against my ear.

The second he picked up my call, I gritted my teeth,stretching my legs across the couch, leaning my back against the nest of taupe throw pillows. "Bryce De Los Reyes, you better have a good reason for ignoring my calls and texts for the past seven days."

"I wanted to give you space," he answered calmly.

"For a whole freaking week??"

"It's been two weeks, actually."

"And what have you been doing for the past fourteen days?" I practically shouted into my phone.

"I was in California," he brazenly replied.

"When I see you," I hissed. "I'm going to cripple you so badly, you'll limp like a zombie."

"I love it when you talk dirty to me, Ace."

"I hate you! I hate you! Didn't you miss me at all?? I'm your girlfriend and you flew to California without so much as a goodbye?!?"

"You wouldn't even talk to me after Sophia got discharged from the hospital. What did you expect me to do?" his voice remained tranquil.