The girls spent the rest of the night in fear and anticipation. They had expected their doors to burst open at anytime with Big Pa and his men, but it never came and the next day, they found themselves asleep and holding unto each other's arm on the couch in their living room. The phone rang, making them jolt up from their sleep. Mia hurriedly looked at the time on her phone, still not answering the call and realised that they had been running late.
"Shoot!" Mia yelled as she shot up from the bed in a frenzy, she tried to run into the room and get ready but by the time her eyes landed on the wall clock above her bed, she knew that they would not make it in time for their next class. She let her shoulders fall as she sluggishly made her way back to the living room. Cam was still sat in place, "I tried to tell you. But I figured that you would figure it out yourself," she said. Mia frowned at her and took a seat beside her.
"Oh, I think you got a text after your call," she said. Mia immediately rushed to phone, worried that it must have been an urgent call that she had missed. She unlocked her phone and opened up the text, "oh no," she said as she hurriedly checked the missed caller's ID, it was Alexander, "FROM: ANDRE: I CALLED" it read. That was it, to words, but she could feel the chill that ram down her spine as she read the text over and over again in his voice.
Mia immediately called back, hoping that she had not lost her job opportunity. Alexander answered the call on the second ring, he did not speak until she did. "Hello, Mr Ivanov?" she said in a shaky voice. "Are you asking or saying?" His deep baritone voice asked, breaking the silence that was after she had spoken. She let out a heavy breath. "Say- uh, saying sir" she said in a shaky voice. "Why do you sound that way?" He asked. Mia could not tell if his question was from concern or irritatio. But it was easier for her to believe that it was the latter.
"What way sir?" She asked him. He hated it when his questions were responded by another question and he made that very clear to Mia, "do not respond to my question with a question," he said sternly. Mia gulped and nodded. Alexander could sense that there was something wrong, but he did not want to bug her over the phone. He would ask her in person, that way she would have no option other than to tell him the truth.
He asked if she had done all that she needed to do and think before accepting his offer and she gave him a positive response. He instructed her to come to his restaurant later that day to have the contract signed and that they could begin work after. Mia was excited to see what life had in store for her and Cam. The two immediately began to get ready for their day… They would stop by the hospital to check on Diane and discuss the payment pattern with the hospital.
Mia was a bit concerned that the hospital had not spoken or reached out to her since that day her sister had woken up and she spoke with the doctor, "maybe they figured out just how fucked up their demands were and decided to go back to the usual," Cam had said when Mia made mention of her dilemna. She thought it best to go to them first before they came to her. They got dressed in semi formal clothing and left the building.
They did not know the right clothing to wear for such a situation… What was a stripper supposed to wear on her first day of work and contract signing? As they both got into the hospital building, they both split up, with Mia heading straight for the doctor's office and Cam going to Diane's room. As Mia knocked on the door of the doctor's office, she waited for consent before she opened the door and let herself in. "Oh, Mia, lovely to see you. Is everything alright?" He asked her.
Mia gave him a small smile in response, she went ahead to state her reason for visiting his office, "I was hoping that the hospital's board had reconsidered their decision on my payment plan. I have a better job now so I could pay more than the usual amount but-" the doctor stopped her, "Mia, what payment plan? Your bill has been cleared to the best of my knowledge." He said. Mia looked at him like he had said the craziest thing ever.
She had debated it and he had to call the accounting office of the hospital to draft out a copy for her. When the paper was handed to Mia, she confirmed it. It was all true, her debt had been cleared off and she did not know who it was. She had tried to pry and find out but it was to no avail since the doctor knew just as much as she did. Mia walked away from the office, feeling confused.
She took her phone out and saw that Cam had sent her a text, it was a new room number and she said that it was her sister's new one. Mia hurriedly went there and to her surprise, it was a suite. The room was in a private area of the hospital, a private wing that was far from the commotion that came with having a room close to the entrances of the emergency units. "What was going on?" Mia asked herself as she opened the large doors that led to her sister's room.
The room was at least four times the size of her sister's old one. It had more space, a bigger bed, and even had its own television set. Cam immediately got up when she saw Mia and walked toward her, "Mia, what is going on? Or did you get an advance on your salary?" Cam asked her. Mia shook her head and explained her confusion as well. It was in hushed tones since she did not want her sister worrying about anything.