Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Time flies so fast and it's been six months since Emily arrived in Spain. At first, it was very hard because her family is far, the culture shock, and the people around her. She enjoy teaching though. Her students are very eager to learn and show so much interest.

"Oye, Emily. El director nos está llamando para una reunión. ¿Recibiste la nota?"(Hey, Emily. The director is calling us for a meeting. Did you receive the memo?) Selena asked one of her colleagues.

"Si."(Yes.) She replied.

Emily was somehow curious and at the same time nervous of what will be the agenda of the meeting. She hopes that it is not a bad news.

"Buenas tardes, profesores. Espero que estén todos bien hoy. (Good afternoon, teachers. I hope you are all doing well today.). Said Director Perez, the school director of El Excellente Ingles.

They are all now gathered in the conference room. What Emily noticed is that the newly hired teachers are the only ones who are being called for the said meeting.

"Lo estamos haciendo bien director." (We are doing well director.) They all replied in unison.

"Así que los llamo hoy para una reunión para informarles de 2 cosas. Una es una buena noticia y la otra es mala. ¿Cuál debería querer que le diga primero? (So I call you for a meeting today to inform you of 2 things. One is a good news the other one is bad. Which one should you want me to tell first?) Asked the director which made Emily very nervous.

What will be the bad news? She's sweating all over due to her nervousness. At any time Emily thinks that she might faint.

The meeting was over. It's been an hour since the meeting was finished. But Emily is still inside the conference room. Sitting in the chair lifelessly looking at nowhere. The director of the school just told them a very bad news.

The school is facing a crisis, they only have few students that enrolled in the school and they need to lay off some teachers. Unfortunately, she is one of those teachers. She feels like her world is crumbling. She doesn't know what to do.

On the other hand, their status is only temporary. After the school cope up they will get back to work. Which is why the director said a bad and good news.

The bad news was that they will be laid off and the good news is they will be called back to work. Since they signed for a 2 year contract they were given 2 options.

If they want to continue working with the school or not. If they want to quit and go home, then the school will issue them an end of contract as well as a certificate of employment but the school will not shoulder any expenses for them.

If they want to pursue and wait until they resume for work, they will stay in Spain and they are free to look for another job for the meantime.

Emily was walking towards her home. She was thinking what she will do next. Which option would she choose? With lots of thoughts running through her mind she did not notice an old woman walking towards her.

The old woman was busy checking her grocery stuff while walking so she did not notice Emily as well. So the ending, the two bumped into each other. The old woman' grocery slipped through her hands. Emily then snapped back to reality.

"Lo siento mucho, señora. No quise decir eso."(I'm really sorry madam. I didn't mean it.) She apologized and quickly picked up the woman's things.

"Está bien, hija mia. (It's okay my child.) The woman replied and pick up her stuff as well.

"I'm so stupid". Emily whispered out of nowhere. But the woman heard what she said.

"Oh, you're not Spanish." The woman said seemed surprised.

"No Auntie. I'm a Filipina, are you also a Filipina?" She smiled.

"Yes, I am. I just worked here my boss is half Spanish and half Filipino." The woman said.

"What about you? Are you working here or you're married to a very hot Spanish guy?" The old woman added, asking her naughtily.

"No, Madam. I am working here as an English teacher." Emily said while smiled sadly.

The woman noticed the sadness behind her smile.

"Why you look sad? You miss your family?" She said while looking straight to her eyes.

Emily can't take it anymore and she burst out to tears. The woman panicked seeing her tears and heard her sobs. Remembering her family, the main reason why she worked in this foreign country and now this sad incident happened, Emily broke down.

"Yes, I missed them. But what happened today is even worse than missing them." Emily felt so hopeless.

She have no idea but she seemed comfortable with this old woman. She just found herself opening up her problems to her.

"Don't worry sweetheart. Everything will be fine." She assured her.

Emily helped the woman take her stuff to a luxurious car. There was a driver waiting for her named Oscar. She even scolded Oscar for not coming to her to help her.

"Where have you been Oscar? Good thing I have Emily here." The old woman said.

Emily found out that the old woman is Roberta. She even offered her a job. She said she is going to retire and aside from that, her daughter will soon give birth and she wants to be with her and help her take care of her first grandchild.

Emily went home and immediately called Kim. She don't want her parents to worry. She don't want to go home either. It is not a good idea.

She must do something and she needs someone to talk to. She needs her advice.

"Hey, Emi. How are you?" Emily was welcomed with Kim's lively voice and happy face the moment she pick up the call.

They are now having a video call on Skype. Her smile slowly fades as she saw Emily crying.

"I'm not okay Kimmy." Emily answered.

"Why, what happened." Kim asked worriedly.

"I was one of the teachers who got laid off." Emily replied while sobbing.

"Oh my God." Kim said while her hands covered to her mouth because of shock.

"It's just temporary and the director gives us option if we would want to quit or pursue. If we quit we should leave Spain and they will not shoulder anything, if we want to stay in Spain we should continue working with them and wait until the school surpass the crisis it's facing now. They allow us to find another job for the meantime. Please don't tell my parents about this Kimmy, I don't want them to worry. I'm sure they will ask me to go home if they find out." Emily said.

"Okay, don't worry about that. I won't tell them. So tell me what your plans are?" Kimmy asked. Emily paused and sigh heavily.

"I need your advice. Actually I decided not to go home of course. I met a woman earlier she is offering me a job." Emily said.

"Oh, okay. So what kind of job is it?" Kim asked.

"A babysitter." Emily replied.

She is a bit embarrassed and hesitant to tell Kim. It's not that she look down or underestimate that kind of job. But she did finished a degree so she's overqualified and doesn't fit for that kind of work. Well, she knows how to take care of kids even babies. She has 4 younger brothers and she helped her mother take care of them. Changing diapers, feeding, etc. But she was surprised with what Kim said.

"Then go for it. Anyway, that's temporary and I know you can handle that your brothers are the worst kids so I think you can do it. You're actually used to it." Kim said while laughing.

"Really, Kim. Thank you so much." Emily said.

Talking with Kim really made her feel better. After their talk Emily immediately called Roberta. She left her number in case Emily would made up her mind about the job offer.

=Sarsi=