The next day arrived, and Annabelle woke up earlier than usual. She prepared a huge amount food for her brother, had a light breakfast herself, and hurriedly went out.
She still didn't want to face her brother after what had happened yesterday at noon and was currently avoiding him.
Since some time ago, when her brother started working in trading, there was a also the issue of his raised appetite, along with the bag incident and the previous issue with school, which got resolved strangely. Annabelle felt that something had changed in her brother, not his personality, but something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Although she found it somewhat suspicious, she ultimately decided not to pry too much.
All these events culminated in the incident from yesterday. While she had cried just as much when he brought her the bag as a present, it was by no means the same as what had happened yesterday.
Annabelle felt overwhelmed by her emotions, which she didn't recognize could be so intense or fragile?
This left her feeling ashamed as the older sister, and she couldn't shake off the embarrassment regarding her behavior.
Now she was on her way to her workplace to resign and be done with the job.
She was still uncertain if her decision was the right one; after all, yesterday's emotional momentum had pushed her into it. Yet, she was also prepared to follow through with her choice, regardless.
And despite all the thoughts swirling in her mind, Annabelle still felt happy. As after today, she wouldn't have work to do, so she was resolved to take one more step into her brother's personal space.
She was eager to exercise her rights as an older sister more freely from now on.
Going through the usual motions of riding the bus and arriving at her workplace, Annabelle found it was still early. So she decided to stop by a nearby café, a place she occasionally visited with her friends, to kill some time.
Sitting alone at the table, Annabelle felt her nerves begin to relax. The reality of the situation struck her, that this would likely be the last time she would drink at this café.
It had been nearly eight years, and in her relatively short life, that was a considerable amount of time. She couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over her, even though her workplace had been far from ideal.
Shaking the trivial thoughts from her mind, Annabelle drank her coffee hurriedly and finally stepped out.
Entering the work building, it didn't take long before she found herself waiting in front of the elevator.
But suddenly, a soft hand rested on her shoulder. Annabelle wasn't surprised, having grown somewhat accustomed to the antics of the likely owner of this hand. Still, she turned her head to the side to confirm.
"Good morning, Sylvie."
Looking at the girl with long black hair and hazel eyes, Annabelle noticed she was wearing a somewhat short skirt and a blouse with one button undone, revealing her deep cleavage, just like usual.
Annabelle started conversing with her somewhat unique friend, not caring about her outfit at all. She pondered whether to start complaining about her sudden hand move, which she never liked, or just let it slide this time.
But maybe she could be generous since she would be resigning today and wouldn't have to work with her anymore?
"Well, you're early today. What happened?"
Being asked about something that reminded her of the embarrassing memory, Annabelle quickly countered back.
"What about you? Normally, you're even later than I am."
"You know, my telepathic senses were tingling today, telling me you'd come early, and I didn't want you to feel lonely, so I rushed over."
Hearing the nonsense she was saying, with the playful grin etched across her face, Annabelle simply replied back with exclaiming.
"Anyway, something seems different about you today."
"So, did you finally get a boyfriend?"
"You were sleeping at a nearby hotel, and when you woke up, feeling embarrassed, you hurried to work, trying to escape?"
Seeing her friend, who had a very vivid imagination, begin with her far-fetched scenario that Annabelle could never envision happening, and knowing she wanted to continue with yet another, Annabelle couldn't hold herself back any longer and finally interrupted her.
"I'm resigning from my job here."
"What would you do then, anyway?"
Annabelle didn't want to keep her friend guessing, but with her hand covering her mouth, she helplessly listened in the end.
"That's it! You made a very rich boyfriend who finds it beneath him to have his girlfriend working in a place with a cheap salary?"
Seeing the excited expression on her friend's face, Annabelle face-palmed internally, feeling a mix of annoyance and disbelief at how her friend always linked things to men or relationships.
But knowing how carefree her friend Sylvie was, changing boyfriends at least once a month, always lounging in her house in the nude, and being the one who had influenced her own choice to wear more revealing clothes at home, Annabelle decided to let it go for now.
In the end, Annabelle didn't bother to ask where this assumption had come from, having done so plenty of times before without receiving a serious answer.
She decided to exercise a little more patience. As she entered the elevator, the doors sliding open, she glanced at her friend's twinkling eyes and said.
"No, I didn't make a rich boyfriend."
"OH, so you made a normal boyfriend then?"
Seeing her friend insist on the boyfriend thing and hearing the regretful tone in her voice, as if she had lost something precious, Annabelle started to get annoyed and said.
"There's no boyfriend, what so ever."
"And no, there's no one I'm seeing, just for a casual relationship."
"And even more, no, there is no man what so ever. Okay???"