Midnight crept closer so slowly that Aila thought she'd lose her mind. She hadn't told her mom or siblings about the deal she'd made with Mist. Only that things should be okay now. How could she explain things to them?
"I offered to work for a criminal mastermind so we wouldn't be screwed over by debt collectors anymore."
That would only make them worry more, and that was the last thing Aila wanted. Their mom had struggled enough. She didn't need extra things to stress her out. With her kids finally growing up, they should be the ones taking care of her now.
Tonight, Aila had insisted that everyone else go to bed early while she waited up to make sure nobody from the debt collectors came. This was her do or die moment. If Mist had done what she said she would, then nothing would happen. If Mist had screwed her over like most other people had, Aila would just have to offer herself up in place of Abby and figure something else out.
The clock ticked on as dread continued to pool in Aila's stomach. What had she been thinking? There was no way she could trust a villain.
Aila slapped her cheeks and retreated to the living room. She turned on the TV, making sure it was muted and captions were on. News videos detailed the fight Aila had stopped earlier that day. She didn't need to look at that. She'd been there.
Instead, she put on an old show she liked. The familiar characters with their practiced scenarios helped calm her pounding pulse down.
Two episodes later, it was well past midnight and not a peep at the door. Aila had checked multiple times.
She quickly booted up her mom's laptop and logged in to the Kwik Kash account.
Balance: $0.00
Aila's limbs grew weak at the sight and she could barely believe it. Mist really had come through.
If that was the case, her next move seemed obvious.
Even if it looked like an obvious trap, Aila would go work for that Jase guy. She wouldn't do anything illegal, but Mist had said Jase would give her work. As long as it was legitimate, Aila had no reason to refuse.
Not only had they saved her family, they'd given her the chance to repay Yellow for saving her life.
Aila pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Mist. Starting tomorrow, she'd be working with them.
But for now, she needed to sleep. Desperately. By the time she'd gotten to her bed, she was almost asleep. She didn't even remember falling into bed.
The next morning, she slept in until almost ten. When Aila checked her phone, Mist had responded with a meeting place and time, asking if that worked for her. Considering Aila had little to do anymore, she responded that she'd be there. It was the same cafe she'd been to with her the previous day, at 2:00. Plenty of time for Aila to get there.
When she got downstairs to eat something before she left, her mom was waiting for her.
"Aila, did they come last night?" she asked, fear in her expression as she gripped Aila's hands.
"No. Did you check the account? We're free, Mom." Aila forced herself to smile reassuringly as she gently pried her mom's hands off of her.
"I did, but...how?"
"I guess it's a miracle," Aila replied mysteriously, making sure to smile when she said it.
After making sure her mom was reassured and unsuspecting, Aila finished her breakfast and left the house. Without much else to do, she figured she'd wait at the cafe. She brought a laptop so she could peruse job applications, even if this Jase probably had something lined up for her. At the very least, she could look busy and not have to talk to anyone.
A few hours later, two people sat across from her. One was Mist, who she'd met yesterday. The other was a relatively large man with tattoos on his arms and a row of earrings. Aila forced herself to look at the two of them firmly. She would show no fear, and hopefully they wouldn't do anything too terrible to her.
"Aila, right?" The man said, smiling. Aila nodded.
"Are you Jase?"
"Sure am. Juney here told me you might be interested in working with us?"
"Maybe. Depends on your conditions. You've accrued some goodwill with me already."
"A bargainer. I like it." Jase leaned forward slightly, Mist sitting next to him as if she was totally bored.
"You should also probably know that my Miracle doesn't discriminate. It disables any Miracle in its radius, so if your enemies don't have Miracles, you won't either."
"Fine by me. That just means we'll have to settle it with our fists."
"And I refuse to do anything illegal. I won't budge on that."
"Fair. What kind of job experience do you have?"
"A lot." Aila pulled up her resume on the laptop and spun it to face him. Jase narrowed his eyes as he read it, nodding slowly.
"A lot indeed. What kind of job do you want? What's Aila's dream job?"
"I don't care. I just need enough to take care of my siblings. They're the ones who'll get dream jobs."
"You sure? You don't have any ambitions of your own beyond that?"
"Not really. My mom spent a long time taking care of us. I'm just returning the favour."
"Alright then. How about I find you a job as a software tester? You'd make your own hours, allowing you to go do whatever you need to do as long as your quota's met at the end of the month. I have no direct hand in the business, but we have an understanding with the CEO. He'll take you on. When can you start?"
"Just like that? No questions asked?"
"I'll send him your resume. I assume you don't want to stick with customer service, though? And again, you should be able to drop everything and move if something with the Miracles happens. Hell, you could even work from home."
"This sounds too good to be true."
"Not at all. You just show up and turn off Miracles as best you can. I'll even provide you with a Solstice style disguise. What colour scheme would you like? The default is black and orange."
"Fine. But I'm not wearing something like that. If you're gonna give me an outfit, make it grey. As plain as possible."
"No cute fairy motif?" Jase asked, grinning in amusement. "Juney looks pretty good in hers."
"I'm a cute fairy," Mist herself said, making a cutesy pose in her chair with her totally blank face.
"Sure," Aila said, rolling her eyes. "But I'm the one destroying the fairies, aren't I?"
"Fair. I'll get something together for you as fast as I can. Might take a while, though."
"In the meantime, I'll keep doing things the way I have been. Your CEO friend is gonna contact me?"
"By Tuesday. I guarantee it. Welcome to Solstice, Aila." Jase stuck out his hand and Aila reluctantly shook it.
No turning back now. At least he seemed reasonable enough.
I'll fulfill my mission. Even if I have to make deals with devils to do it.
