Hot Night With My Professor

I marched away from him, and just as I left that door, my tears immediately fell from my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. Even my teardrops hurt my eyes. It’s like blinding me. My eyes are clouded with tears, and I can’t see clearly where I’m going. Do I still have a destination if what I consider home is the reason why I cry?

I bit my lip. I am trying to suppress every inch of emotion that is lingering in my heart, but it is suffocating me. The more I hide it, the stronger it grows. It burns me. Why did I let this happen? It’s like I’m back to square one. I’m alone again.

“Jothea!”

I was just surprised when someone shouted my name while pulling me. At that point, I realized that a car was almost going to hit me. I’m already outside the campus.

“What are you doing? Do you have a problem again?” I looked at the guy who was talking to me. It was Raviel. He holds both of my shoulders and checks carefully to see if I’m scratched or something. “What are you doing here? Don’t we have a class with Professor Mondalla?”

Just hearing that name broke my heart. That guy-he just wants my body. I was fully equipped to devote my entire being to him in the mistaken belief that he liked me, but that was completely untrue. He’s dating someone else, someone younger than me, and it crashes my world. I haven’t even confessed to him yet; I’ve lost my chance. However, it could be a good thing, as I do not want him to continue using me.

“I won’t attend the class,” I said firmly before I removed his hands from holding my shoulders.

“Then, where are you going?” he asked after I didn’t answer. “Do you mind if I go with you?”

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I went back to the casino where Raviel had taken me before. He is now with me. When I said I was going to the casino, I couldn’t stop him from following me.

That’s when I remembered that I still have a lot of problems that need to be fixed. My attention was so focused on Ismael that I forgot that it would be impossible for me to survive in the next few months because my parents would no longer send me money.

If I gamble with my money, will it grow?

I shook my head. Nope. Since I’m only starting, I’m going to lose a lot.

“Do you mind telling me your problem? I might help you,” Raviel said while busy playing. I was next to him, watching silently. The mouth is silent, and the mind is restless. There are a lot of things struggling in my brain, and I can’t solve even one of them.

“I need money,” I replied to him. He looked at me for a moment before handing me a roll of dollars. I shook my head and handed it back to him. “No, Raviel. I don’t want the money from you. I want to work. I need a job.”

“Do you want to be a dealer? I heard they need a reliever here. You can do a part-time job at night if you want. I can refer you to them, so you won’t have to worry about it. When do you want to start?”

I watched the women sitting at each gambling table. They are called dealers. They are both beautiful and have smooth skin. The body is slender, the posture is good, and above all, the smiles are fascinating.

“Can I start tonight?” I asked.

He smiled. “Of course.”

After he finished playing, he took me to his friend, who is the manager of the casino. He introduced me to Mr. Vargas, and without any interview, they let me in. They also gave me a uniform to wear.

“I guess I have to say goodbye for now. I have a class to go to. How about you? Aren’t you coming back?” He asked with a knowing nod. I shook my head. “I’ll be here first; I’ll study the game carefully.”

“Alright. Enjoy.”

I turned to go back to the casino when my phone rang. To my surprise, it was Ismael. He is calling me.

My heart suddenly feels panicky. At that moment, I didn’t know what to do. My heart started to delirious with so much nervousness. I never thought he would call me, but no, I won’t answer this. I don’t want his explanations. I don’t want to hear the truth that he was lying-that it was all lies.

I just entered the casino, so the call will end on its own since there is no signal inside. I need to divert my mind to more important things than him. I need money to live. I should be wasting my time on making money instead. I shouldn’t be swayed by emotions. The thought of him liking me is purely unthinkable. Unbelievable. And that’s why it’s so not true at all because he has someone else.

I sighed. I should focus on myself now, just like I was doing before he came into my life. Why did I trust him so quickly because he was my professor? He just manipulated me into getting what he wanted.

Thick smoke from chain smokers greeted me. It doesn’t matter to me at all because I’m also a smoker. I’m used to it.

First, I watched the other dealers handle the players, and I noticed that they were also flirting with older men. At least here, you can get some money instead of flirting with others, which only causes pain.

The days passed quickly. I don’t think I’ve been home for three days because I’ve been sleeping in the casino’s sleeping quarters. I’m getting used to work. My body is not tired here. After class, I went straight to this place.

“Hit,” said a player. He tapped his two fingers on the table, so I gave him another card. Hitting is the term used to get a better hand. There’s no limit to how many cards you can ask for, but once your hand totals higher than twenty-one, you bust, and the dealer will get your bet. The only goal of this game is to have cards whose value does not exceed twenty-one, because when you have a card with a value of twenty-one, you automatically win, and you will be given triple your bet. Three is to two.

The first player currently has the two and six of spades while I have the ten of hearts and a hidden card behind them.

Queen of Spades-that’s his third card.

He waved his hand to stand, meaning he didn’t want to hit anymore. The first player’s card value now is eighteen. I moved on to another player, who tapped his two fingers on the table.

“Bust.” I silently smirked when I saw his three cards getting over the twenty-one. If your card value exceeds twenty-one, you will be eliminated from the game. I took the second player’s bet and continued playing with the other two players.

The third player has six of clubs and eight of diamonds whose total value is fourteen. He also asked for a hit, and the card I gave him was three of diamonds. Now, the value of his cards is seventeen, which is lower than that of the first player. I showed them my hidden card, and it was an ace of spades. Eleven. I tied with the first player who had the same value as mine-eighteen. Draw. As for the third player, I took the bet because his cards were of lower value.

I kind of enjoy this game. Since I am a dealer, I can play freely without worrying about how much I will lose. Well, in just a couple of days, I learned how to play it and win. Mr. Vargas was really happy that, because of me, some big clients are willing to play even if they’re not into playing. His business grows more and more, and he gets money from gamblers. Well, if they want to play with me because I am attractive, I cannot blame them.

“Dealers are on your side, sir. We’re just on the wrong side of the table,” I hissed as one round ended. The two quit because they had lost a lot. To be honest, it is not really easy to win in these games. The rules were made to benefit the casino itself.

“You still want to play, sir?” I told the first player earlier that now deeply glaring at me. Despite my confusion over his staring at me, I continued to smile at him.

“Here? Why don’t we go out of this place and play a different game?” He leaned back arrogantly in his chair. I smiled and shook my head. “I apologize, but I still have a duty to fulfill, sir.” I pressed the red button under my table. “Enjoy your day outside. Thank you.”

Immediately, a marshal came to escort the man in front of me. I was still smiling at him as I watched him argue with the guards not to let him out. It’s really an advantage that there is a secret button under the table so that if someone is rude to us, dealers, we can be helped right away.

I sighed. I guess I’ll make my own way home now. It’s almost one in the morning. I don’t really notice the time anymore when playing. I started my duty at 8 p. m. earlier, and my head was aching because of my sleepless night. Maybe I should just say goodbye to Mr. Vargas and say that I will go out early to visit my cat, which I almost forgot about.

I got up from the chair and was about to leave the table when someone spoke. “I’ll play.”