Kokekokko
"Hngnnnn!"
Angel woke up, her long silver hair all messed up.
The strap of her white tank top slid down her shoulder as she sat up on her bed.
She rubbed her eyes, yawning, stretching her arms way up in the air before letting them drop.
「Right! Today's the day I get to go outside to an ukay-ukay.」
Angel squinted her eyes. She kinda didn't wanna go now...
But she had to. She wanted to try out new clothes. She wanted to see how pretty she was!
Angel got up and went to her mirror, grabbed a comb, and began combing her hair.
She didn't really have a routine... but she always combed her hair first.
「It's so satisfying to do this.」
Angel smiled as she continued to comb, untangling stubborn strands.
After that, she looked at her bed. The blanket was just laying there, the bed cover all creased up...
「Nope, I'm not cleaning that.」
Angel nodded to herself, then left her room and made her way to the living room.
When Angel arrived, she stumbled upon her mother getting ready to leave.
"Good morning, Ma."
Angel leaned forward, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Morning, 'Nak. I left the money on the table, okay? Stay safe, Angel."
Her mother gently held the back of Angel's head, pulling her in to place a soft kiss on her forehead.
Angel looked away, a small blush on her cheeks.
"You too, Ma,"
she murmured as her mother left in a hurry...
Her mother usually went out between 6:30 and 7 AM.
Sometimes that meant she'd be late for class.
「In any case, I should prepare what to wear.」
Angel went back to her room.
Her wardrobe was still... as plain as ever. Mostly male clothes and one sundress.
Bummer.
Well, it's not like she went out often, right?
She grabbed the sundress and stepped outside her bedroom, making her way to get a towel.
Then, she headed straight to the bathroom to take a bath.
Afterward, she made her way to the dining table, towel-drying her hair while looking for the money her mom had left.
「Where's the money... ah, over there.」
Two 1k peso bills rested on top of the table. Angel grabbed them.
「2k is more than enough!!」
Angel grinned and jumped in place.
She could buy so many clothes with this! She hoped— but for real, thoughhh!
Now all that was left was to wait for her hair to dry a little before heading out.
Still, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
It was her first time going outside as a young woman— and this time, her mom wasn't with her. This time, she had to fend for herself.
As soon as her hair was dry enough, Angel grabbed her phone and tucked the money inside her phone case.
She didn't have a purse— and didn't really need one. Most people just brought their phones these days. With GCash, she could buy things easily— a side effect of the previous pandemic.
So, as soon as she was ready, Angel closed the windows to the house, made sure no appliances were running, unplugged anything that was plugged in, and headed out.
Angel lived in Bagumbayan, Naga City. It's an area where a university called Ateneo de Naga University is located. But—she wasn't a student there!
She used to study at the University of Nueva Caceres, or UNC, as most people here called it.
What Angel particularly liked about the Bagumbayan area was that right in front of Ateneo, there was a street filled with street food, restaurants, and stuff... not really fast food chains, but basic karinderyas and all that.
But Angel wasn't here to eat—she was just here to sightsee.
She kept glancing to the side, watching students from Ateneo eat at the restaurants. Looking away the moment they looked at her.
Truthfully, she hadn't said this up until now, but her heart was racing. From the moment she left her house, people kept staring at her. Whether it was out of amazement, jealousy, or curiosity, she didn't know. All she knew was—she hated being stared at.
She knew they didn't mean any harm, but still—she hated it. She couldn't help but think things like:
「Shit, what are they thinking about me?」
Even if she had turned into a beautiful young woman, it was uncomfortable. Sure, back at the mall, she was flattered—maybe even a little happy about the attention. But that was because her mom was with her! If anybody tried to hit on her, her mom would've helped.
But now that she was alone, there was nobody to help her if things went downhill!
In any case, it was really, really bad to stay in one place for too long. Lest she got doxxed. Or someone took a picture of her and the internet went feral.
Angel fastened her pace, turning right the moment she reached the edge of Naga Parochial School.
From there, she had to walk in a straight line again—from the side of Naga Parochial School to Metropolitan Cathedral, where Our Lady of Peñafrancia was held every September.
Then, from the Metropolitan Cathedral, she turned right onto Barlin Street. It was a fairly long walk from there. Most people would've taken a tricycle by now, but Angel didn't want to.
She rarely went out, so she preferred walking to her destination, no matter the distance. It was a calming and humbling experience.
Once she reached the edge of the street, she looked to her left—and there it was. Lucky Bookstore. She used to buy from here. They had decent art supplies, school supplies, good stuff!
Before crossing the road, she realized she was thirsty. And rightfully so—it was very sunny today, and she was drenched in sweat from the walk.
Hydration was a must.
She looked behind her, and to her right, she spotted a middle-aged man selling buko. Luckily, aside from the 2K she had, she also brought her own coins.
"Kuya, can I get one? The big one,"
Angel said, leaning forward and placing a 20-peso coin on the buko stand.
The guy got startled. He stared at her for a moment before grabbing a big plastic soup spoon to fill a plastic cup with buko juice.
After receiving the buko juice, Angel stepped to the side so she wouldn't get knocked over by passersby and began sipping her drink. People continued to stare at her. So she could only avert her eyes. Or sometimes close them as she drank.
Once she was finished, she tossed the plastic cup back at the buko stand, crossed the road, and from Lucky Bookstore, made her way to Graceland. From there, she turned left—and now she was on Gen. Luna Street.
「Now this is the place!」
Angel smiled.
This was the street where a lot of ukay-ukay shops were.
Literally beside Graceland, a restaurant—was an ukay-ukay.
There were already a lot of people sifting through the clothes—perhaps the only con of an ukay-ukay. People, if you really want to buy something from here, you need to be fasttt! There's no such thing as stocks; once something is sold, the person who bought it has the only piece.
That's why Angel stepped into the store and began rummaging through one section. Yes, while some clothes were neatly hung and organized, the cheap ones? Tossed into big plastic bins or wooden crates, waiting to be discovered. You basically had to dig through them, hoping to find a hidden gem that matched your taste. That's just how it works.
「I think I wanna try really girly clothes... maybe something off-shoulder?」
Angel thought to herself as she sifted through the piles of fabric. It took her a few minutes, but eventually, she found a cute pink off-shoulder long sleeve.
「I think it's a crop top as well?」
Holding it up against her chest, she examined it. Yeah, definitely a crop top. She'd never worn one before, so just the idea of trying it felt a little exciting.
Aside from tops, she also started looking through shorts, pants, skirts—anything that caught her eye.
People couldn't help but be drawn to the young woman digging through the piles, bouncing up and down in excitement every time she found something she liked. It was... bizarre. And yet, no one around her seemed to judge.
Who would?
When they were witnessing such a genuine smile?
Three hours. That's how long it took for Angel to find what she wanted and try them all on in the fitting room.
In the end, she bought:
>White puff-sleeve blouse + denim midi skirt
>Beige turtleneck + plaid A-line skirt
>Oversized knit sweater + pleated skirt
>Classic button-down shirt + high-waisted mom jeans
She also bought a lot more, she was able to buy 11 more sets, compromising of tops and bottoms, some are dresses as well
Feeling satisfied, she made her way to the counter and paid for her haul. The cashier handed her 200 pesos as change.
Worth it.
Totally worth it.
Angel could barely hold back her excitement.
With some cardboard bags in hand, she stepped out of the ukay-ukay, a little skip in her step—until she almost walked into someone.
The moment she brushed past, a familiar scent of cologne filled her nose. Angel's eyes widened.
She immediately turned around.
"M-Maria?"