001

THE sound of machines whirring has been bothering Hailey for months. The place she has been living in Manila, or the studio that she rented in which she can pay with her monthly income, is between an electronic shop and a welding shop. She opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh, she wants to find a new place but the rents are twice her income in a month, she would be under a lot of debt if she starts being picky. Her life was stable for someone who just started working two months ago, she could not ask for more aside from peace during her off from work and not hear machines or whatever the shop owner uses that makes a lot of noise. 

She got up from her bed and yawn, she did not have enough sleep since they had a blast last night. She get a hold of the remote control for the television and pressed the power button. 

"News Flash, the leader of the top criminal organization was found dead after committing suicide last night. Police are still investigating the death of Giovanni Lim the leader of the criminal organization that has been inclined in different crimes over the past years. It was rumored that in the exact place, a gunshot was heard before Giovanni Lim jumped off from the building. A man was also found dead because of a gunshot inside the building whom they suspected the last person Giovanni Lim was with that night bu-"

"They report this and that, come on! There are more important things to report and not the death of some criminal," Hailey said right after turning the television off. She shook her head and opened a bag of chips. She took a seat on the couch and let the sunshine touches her skin while closing her eyes. She rarely has the time in the world and just lets the day pass without having to worry about anything. She ate the chips and looked at the clock placed on the wall at the top of the television, it is noon already and she has nothing to do today aside from lying on her bed or couch while watching the latest episode of One Piece on some illegal site. 

Tomorrow is the same as well, she has two days off from work. Some people usually spend time with their family or go to malls to shop, and parks to enjoy, but she does not have that kind of luxurious life, to begin with so she is just stuck at home. 

In Hailey's opinion, being at home is much better than going outside while lavishly spending your money on some unpractical things. People who have earned at least thrice her salary are the ones who can do that, she does not even dream of it. After finishing the bag of chips, she lay down in different positions before finding the most comfortable one. Her feet are rested at the lean on of the couch while her head is at the edge. It is quite the position but it was comfortable for her. 

She does not know what to do anymore and fell asleep on the couch in the same position. She woke up with the sun almost down and with her neck in a lot of pain, she was not able to turn in her sleep and it felt like she has a stiff neck because of it. Hailey groaned while caressing the back of her neck.

"I would never sleep in that position ever again," she said inhaling and exhaling sharply. It is almost time for her to eat dinner, she stood up from her seat and walked past by the small divider she has installed to separate her kitchen from the living room. She opened each cabinet to see if there are something for her to eat but there is not. She walked towards her refrigerator and opened it, the only food inside is the cake that is probably not edible anymore and the week-year-old ice cream that she got when she was having a minor breakdown. Hailey pursed her lips and ticked her tongue, she closed the door of the refrigerator and went inside her room to get a coat. She will just buy something from the convenience store near her place. 

She went out of the studio she was renting, it is the time of the year where the breeze of the air is almost winter. She locked the door and put her keys inside the pocket of her coat. The owner of the welding shop is closing already, he saw Hailey and greeted her. Hailey did the same and continued walking. People especially teenagers who do nothing but get into fights and call themselves a gang or something like that. 

"Oh, Hailey is that you?" she looked in the direction of the person who called her name and smiled at her. She was her roommate during college, Hailey did not know that she is in the Philippines.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" Hailey asked. 

"I visited grandma, and you? You live around here?" Hailey nodded as her response. She would love to talk with her college roommate some more but her stomach is rumbling. Hailey smiled at her roommate before saying anything. 

"Yes, I do. Anyway, it was nice seeing you but I really need to go, let's catch up sometime, yeah?" She said. Her roommate chuckled and nodded, they said their goodbyes to each other then turned their back. Hailey rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. 

"Unbelievable," she said. Hailey's roommate did the same. They never had a good relationship with each other during their college days and have always been putting up a front. People call them the two-faced roommates because they were always bitting each other's back but when face to face, they cannot. 

The convenience store near her place is full of dark alley's one time, she caught high schoolers making out, kids nowadays just do whatever they want and not think about the consequences. She walked past by an alley and furrowed her forehead when she heard something, she stopped and sneak a peek to see if they are high schoolers making out again but they are not. 

A middle-aged man, probably a drunk and an addict was lying on the ground holding his left abdomen. He was drenched with blood wearing a frightened look on his face. Hailey cannot clearly see what is happening, she took a step closer and hid behind a wide pipe. She saw a short-haired man wearing a three-way suit holding a gun at his right arm while taking a cigarette. Hailey also noticed the tattoo on his throat, for some reason the tattoo was familiar and felt like she has seen it before. 

"You were in my way," the man said. The gun was fired and Hailey gasped as she took a close step backward. She just witnessed a murder and she does not know what to do. The man pursed his lips and pushed his hair back. He put his gun to its holder and threw his cigarette to the dead man's body. Hailey cannot take one more step to get away from the scene, she saw the man walking daringly out of the alley. 

"Come out," the man said. Hailey's eyes widened, she does not know what to do. If he is referring to her, then she will just end up like the man he killed seconds ago. 

"I said, come out."