Chapter 3

Chase looked through the wallet that was in the drawer and it was empty aside from a torn 1 dollar bill.

He sighed in frustration.

"Just how broke were you Theo?" He asked aloud as he kept searching the house for anything that looked like money. He was very hungry and he knew wouldn't be able to think of anything in that state. 

He had searched all over the tiny room and just as he laid down on the floor in defeat, he saw a $50 dollar bill. He quickly reached for it and  grinned from ear to ear. That was the happiest he'd ever been to see $50.

He grimaced at the irony that just the previous day, he had effortlessly tipped a valet with 100 bucks and there he was, genuinely happy to see 50.

He shook off the thought as his stomach growled in protest and quickly put on a worn out brown shirt and a black flip flop that had seen better days, and headed out of the room.

He went downstairs and held tight unto the rail because the stairs looked very weak and protested with a squeak each time his weight landed on any of them.

He reach the end of the stairs and the sun shone brightly at him. He felt it was probably mocking him, because there was nothing cheerful about his life at that moment. 

He walked through the street and the place seriously gave him the creeps. There were three hippies down the street and they smiled like cheshire cats when he passed them.

He shuddered.

He didn't know where he was going but he knew he had to get food. He got to the end of the street and  saw a grey jeep packed carelessly on one corner of the road. The jeep looked a wreck and it looked like it had been packed and abandoned there for a while.

He studied it well, saving the image in hismind to use as a landmark when coming back so he didn't lose his way.

He looked left and right, not knowing which way to follow. He saw some ladies sitting in front of what looked like a hair salon and  decided to ask where he could find a café or something, since they were staring at him anyway.

"Uhhh hi" he greeted when he approached them and one of the ladies whispered something in the other one's ear and they smiled sweetly at him.

"What was going on?" He asked inwardly.

"Look who decided to show up. Where have you been for the past two days Theo?" The one that looked like the leader amongst them asked.

"Just great. They know Theo" he thought to himself. He had to play along so they don't get suspicious.

"Uhmm around?" He offered and the girl rolled her eyes, not convinced. He wondered who she was but he didn't dare ask.

"Wanna come in for a haircut? You really need it" she said and the other girls giggled.

"No no I… I'm going to the café" he said.

"Hmm" she pouted. "Where is that annoying girlfriend of yours? I don't see her around" she said.

"Uhmm yeah uhmm, she, she, we…" he stuttered, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to say anything that would raise suspicion.

"It's fine Theo. Even married couples quarrel" she said, going closer to him and resting her hand on his chest. "That's why I'm here whenever you need me" she said flirtatiously.

"Uhmm I just need you to show me where the café is" he blurted out.

She groaned and rolled her eyes and muttered to her girls and they turned and left. "He's so strange" they said.

"Well there goes nothing" he heaved a sigh.

He looked at his landmark again and decided to go right. He walked to the end of the street and took another turn and walked till saw a tiny café.

The brown building looked like it was going to fall anytime soon but if he didn't eat, he would fall first. So he ignored the look and entered inside.

The smell of sweat mixed with coffee bean wafted into his nostrils and he scrunched up his nose, fighting the urge to puke.

The café was a very small one and it didn't house the number of people that were there presently. Everyone talked very loudly and coupled with the poor air conditioning, the room was very hot. At that moment, Chase thanked God he wasn't claustrophobic.

He walked towards the barista. She stood behind the counter, her hair tied up in two ponytails and her breasts threatening to spill out of her shirt. "I knew nothing about make up but was that green eyeshadow supposed to be there?" He thought to himself.

"Hello" she said irritably, chewing loudly on her gum while making loud balloons with it.

"Uhm I'll have a large chicken burger with fries. I'd prefer the chicken undercooked with extra mustard and a large cup of latte with whip, take out" he rushed out his order.

"For someone who looks like a beggar, you sure have a choice" she said as she sent his order to the kitchen. "That would cost you 24 dollars, 5 cents" she said, still chewing loudly.

Chase brought out the $50 dollar bill and handed to her. She looked at him skeptically like he had given her counterfeit. She looked at the bill thoroughly before she shrugged and pulled out his change from the cash register.

He had to bite down the "keep the change" that was just at the tip of his tongue. He knew he'd be toast if that money finished.

"You can sit over there and wait. Don't stand there staring at me like a moron" she said, shooing him away.

He wanted to yell at her and ask her if she knew who she was talking to but again, he bit down on his tongue, restraining himself.

He wasn't the rich Chase Andersons anymore. 

He was nobody.

He sat patiently and waited for his order while he thought of the sick joke life played on him with a scowl on his face. "Out of over billions of people on earth, why did I have to take the body of a pauper?". He thought.

He groaned at the reality of what his life had become and he tried to think of how to get out of the mess.

"Order up" the Barista's unnecessarily high-pitched voice brought him out of his reverie.