CHAPTER 3

At exactly 5 in the afternoon, she got herself ready out of excitement. She looked in the mirror, applied make-up, and dressed in a red sleeveless shirt and mini shorts that revealed her white legs. Efron, who came from work, arrived at her house to bring her a box of chocolate and a bouquet of flowers. The door was wide open, so he just went inside. Tricia came out of her room when she heard familiar footsteps inside, and Efron was taken aback when he saw Tricia.

"What's with the outfit, Tricia? Am I missing something in your life? The thickness of your make-up and the shortness of your clothes. I think I already know you inside and out!"

Tricia put her hands on her waist and told him the good news. "This is not just my outfit for today. I was accepted at a resto-bar and this style of clothing is required to attract customers. Do I look pretty in your eyes?" she answered, flaunting her sexy body.

Efron placed a box of chocolate and flowers on the table and slightly raised his voice. "Don't tell me you are working as a prostitute? You're still underage, and your dignity is far more important than the money!" he exclaimed.

"Didn't you say I had to swallow my pride if I wanted to get my family out of poverty? This is the solution," Tricia takes Efron's hand and begs him to understand and support her, rather than scold her. "Please, this is the only option for someone like me; I am grateful that my employer is nice, and I am confident she will help me with my financial problems."

Efron yelled on impulse, lecturing Tricia, hoping to instill in her mind that she is deserving of a decent career. "Please, don't do this. I told you there are many occupations out there that pay well without taking your dignity away. I beg you, Tricia, never resort to prostitution just to survive. I can't even imagine another man calling you a whore-"

Tricia interrupted Efron's speech and yelled in anger. "As long as I'm paid, I am willing to degrade myself for the sake of my father, Efron. I'll ask you, if you were in my situation and your father had a serious illness, would you be willing to sacrifice your dignity?"

Efron blinked twice as if shocked by the question. "You're wrong Tricia. I am nothing like you. I saved my virginity for someone I loved. The world is vast and opportunities are abundant, but because you gave up so quickly, you've decided to become a prostitute and used your father's illness as an excuse," Efron frankly answered.

Tricia's tears welled up in her eyes. She felt so small and degraded by what he said. "I thought you were the first person to understand what I was going through? Are you judging me too? I remember you said you were different from all the men I've seen, Efron."

"I hope you don't misinterpret what I am saying, Tricia. I am trying to enlighten you, please. I can still help you and your father survive your life, don't be blinded by instant money," he appealed.

Tricia walked to the door and gestured her hand outside. "The best thing you can do is to leave my house. I don't have time to argue with you, Efron. If you want, bring the flowers and chocolate you brought. I will also pay for all the tangible help you provided us!"

Efron tried to calm her down with soothing words. "Come on, I'm not blaming you, Tricia. I am just concerned with you. It hurts me to see you being judged by the people around us. They will look down on you even more," he explained.

"So the truth finally came out of your mouth? What other people say about me is also important to you?" asked Tricia.

Efron felt guilty about what he said, and he apologized in an attempt to calm her down. "I didn't mean to say that... I'd like to say sorry if everything I said has offended you."

Tricia was annoyed and frustrated by Efron's stubbornness. "Please, just leave Efron! Take the chocolate and flowers you brought. I don't want any of them."

"Just chill for a moment. Can you tell me where is resto-bar you'll be working at?" he asked. "And if you want, I can take you there, Tricia!"

Tricia responded immediately, despite her irritation with his insistent demeanor. "At Ermita Manila, block 207 resto-bar Daanghari Street, but don't come with me, I can take care of myself. I told my boss that I don't have a boyfriend, and you might sabotage my job if she sees you with me, so do me a favor and leave my house, Efron. I still have my utmost respect for you despite what you said earlier."

Efron was really stubborn and did not want to leave. He tried another way to appease her. "Alright, you have my support, but let me stay here at your house so I can take care of your father while you are gone."

"You don't need to. Dad is asleep, and I already told him I'm leaving. He can still move his body, so rest assured that he's doing just fine."

Efron took the flowers and chocolate he brought and slowly walked through the door. Tricia could feel his extreme sadness in the way he dragged his feet on the ground. It was heavy, like he was rebelling and refusing to leave.

When Efron got out, Tricia returned to her room to get her handbag and leave. The moment she stepped outside, she could see at the edge of her sight that perverts could not take their eyes off of her again. Although she was insulted, she reminds herself that the opinions of others don't matter to her anymore.

At six o'clock in the evening, she finally arrived in Daanghari Malate, Manila. She rolled her eyes and saw women wearing seductive clothes that almost revealed their intimate body parts. Their excessive use of makeup has been their primary source of confidence. With this, they were able to conceal the scars, pimples, and other imperfections and insecurities they have. Some of them were smoking cigarettes to kill time while looking for possible customers to pass by.

When she arrived in front of the resto-bar of Ms. Glenda, three slim women with tattoos all over their bodies stared at her in surprise. One of them stood up and blew smoke on her face, and she coughed.

The rude woman sighed, threw her cigarette on the ground, and stomped to put out the fire. "Are you still a virgin?"

Tricia looked at the haughty woman and raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, I'm still a virgin!"

The girl swiveled her head around and looked at her friends, and they all laughed in a mocking way.

Tricia found it odd to see them laughing and wondered. "Why are you laughing at me? Maybe you're not virgins anymore, right?" She asked in a deep voice to emphasize her question.

Katrina placed her mouth next to Tricia's ears and mumbled, "Hey, don't be overly confident here. I'm Katrina, and I'm Ma'am Glenda's right hand. Even though I'm not a virgin anymore, I've had a lot of customers ask for my extra service."

The door of the resto-bar suddenly opened, and Glenda, whose clothes were the same when she interviewed Tricia, showed up.

"Good evening to you, Ma'am Glenda. I arrived earlier today, so you wouldn't have anything to say," greeted Tricia.

Ms. Glenda looked at her from head to toe and commended her appearance. "Nice, you look prettier than earlier, Tricia. Just keep on impressing me," said Ms. Glenda. "By the way, did you take birth control pills to avoid getting pregnant?"

Tricia's face was filled with confusion, and she had no idea what pills were. "Excuse me, what are the pills you're talking about, Ma'am Glenda? I'm not sick; I can work tonight."

The three female prostitutes gazed at Tricia as if she were an imbecile, and they laughed out loud again. They only stopped when Glenda raised her eyebrows and defended Tricia. "Shut the f*ck up, Tricia is still a virgin, so she's innocent of such things. Give her a condom!"

Katrina took the condom out of her pocket and handed it to Tricia. "Remind your f*cker to wear that later so he doesn't get you pregnant!"

Tricia held the condom and gave it a delicate squeeze. She perceived it to be round, slick, and bubbly in the middle.

Ms. Glenda then introduced her three prostitute employees to Tricia, gesturing to each one of them as she mentioned their names. "By the way, Tricia, I would like you to meet Katrina, Moira, and Regine. Make friends with them so you can last here. They'll give you tips so you can be good at extra service. Your first customer will come later. And the good news is, he already paid me 100 dollars as a down payment to assure his spot as your first f*cker. So I am hoping you're not lying about your virginity, because if you are, I am going to make sure you will wish you were never born!"

Tricia slightly flinched. "You have nothing to worry about, Ma'am Glenda. I am true to my words. Thank you very much again for your warm welcome."

Glenda turned her gaze to her three other prostitutes. "Hey you three, don't bully Tricia and teach her to be wild in bed like you, so she won't fail to do her job. Do you understand?"

Her tone of voice was firm and straightforward, and her employees seemed to be scared she would hurt them if they tried to lay a finger on Tricia or hurled an insult at her again.

"Yes ma'am Glenda," replied Katrina.