The Rise of Alexander Black (the Errand Boy)!

“Oh my gosh, Alex, I’ve told you I’m not a fan of physical touch!” Emily spat out in an irritated tone as she pushed her boyfriend’s arms away.

“I’m sorry, babe.” Alex withdrew his arms and pursed his lips in resignation. If he’d tried to hug Emily a thousand times since their relationship began two months ago, she’d refused a thousand and one times.

It was one of the many quirks she exhibited since they started dating and even though he didn’t like it, he would keep on going with it as long as she was happy. He loved her and he was extremely lucky that she’d even agreed to date him.

Sometimes the things she said and did made him wonder if she really cared about him, but he refused to let himself think about it. She was the most beautiful girl in their department and every guy in their department—even other departments—wanted her. But she’d chosen him, the poor, bullied orphan. He didn’t understand it, but he would never question it. As far as he was concerned, he was the luckiest guy ever.

“No one saw you come in here, right?” She queried like she always did whenever they met in their secret location, peering around him to be sure.

And like always, he answered, “No one did. I made sure of it.”

Yes. Another quirk of Emily’s. She’d demanded that their relationship be kept a secret. He wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, they weren’t to be seen together in public, and he shouldn’t ever think of approaching her in public. At first when she’d stated these conditions, he’d been hurt, but of course understanding soon dawned on him.

He was an errand boy for most of the students; everyone knew he wasn’t worth much, and he was humiliated regularly. Being associated with him would almost be social suicide for Emily. The fact that she was even willing to be his girlfriend at all, he ought to be exceedingly grateful. And he was.

He was sure that when he began to make more money, he could convince her to make their relationship public. Seeing as he had big plans for the website he’d created to help him receive errand notifications from students, he hoped that it wouldn’t be too long before that would happen.

Emily eyed him suspiciously, but she seemed satisfied with his response. She cleared her throat softly and tossed her hair back in the fashion that was known of slay queens to do.

She’d asked for them to meet that morning before classes and he’d rushed over to the  rarely used classroom in their faculty that they usually used for their meetings. He was always eager to meet with her and help with whatever she needed. And trust that Emily wouldn’t ask to see him if she didn’t need anything.

“Is everything okay, babe?” He asked as he stared, mesmerized, at her pretty face.

She huffed and lifted her chin ever so slightly.

“I’m going to go straight to the point. I need two grand.”

Alex blinked.

She raised one eyebrow haughtily at his surprised expression.

“You heard me. It’s my turn to take the girls out for lunch today and you know what an embarrassment it would be if I can’t deliver.”

“Uh... sure, I understand. Give me a moment to check…” He trailed off as he pulled his phone from his pocket to check his account balance. His heart was thumping wildly; he knew he didn’t have that amount. But he was hoping he had enough to give her at least half of the money she needed.

He was disappointed.

He had just $500. And that was his lunch money for the entire week. He couldn’t spare much for her. He blew out a breath and looked up into her judgmental eyes.

“Oh my goodness, Alex. I know that look. Don’t tell me you’re going to give me a measly piece of the total amount I asked for again. What the hell do you do with all the money you make from running those errands!”

Alex felt a pang in his heart. He swallowed.

“Babe, I'm sorry. You know I have bills to take care of. And actually... I don’t have any money at all to spare right now. I just paid my rent yesterday so–”

“Save it!” She held up her hand to his face, her nostrils flaring in anger. “All of these excuses you're giving aren't going to stop me from being the butt of jokes and embarrassment today at lunch if I don't have that money. You may be okay with humiliation because you're constantly receiving it, but I can't take it, and I don't deserve it, okay?” She yelled in his face.

Alex was taken aback.

“Emily, you know if I had, I would give it to you. I'm not making up excuses. After all, I gave you three thousand dollars two days ago. Can't you use—”

“Didn't I tell you I had to use that money for something else? I need money for something more critical right now, Alex!”

That money had been all his life savings. Emily had threatened to end things with him and he felt he'd had no choice but to withdraw it all and give it to her.

And this was her pattern. She rarely told him what she needed money for; it was always ‘something critical’. And it was as though she had no regard for his welfare at all; what she cared about was getting the money, even if he had to starve to give it to her.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he tried to get his thoughts in order.

“I see what's going on here. You're tired of this relationship, aren't you?”

Alex's heart did a backflip, and his eyes widened. He shook his head vigorously and reached out to take her hands.

“Of course not! Babe, why would you say that? I just—"

She swatted his hands away harshly, her eyes burning holes into him.

“You seem to have forgotten that there's a long line of guys ready and capable of giving me whatever the hell I ask for at a moment's notice if I just agree to be their girlfriend. You keep giving me reasons each day to question what I'm doing with you—”

“Emily, please,” Alex begged with pleading eyes, “You know I could never be tired of you. I will do anything to keep you happy. I'm just asking for a little understanding right now. I can be able to get you the money by the end of the week but—”

Emily recoiled from him, her face contorting in disgust at his words.

“Are you kidding me?” she screeched, looking for all the world like she wanted to slap him.

“I just told you I need money for lunch today! And you're talking about the end of the week? Are you insane? Oh my gosh, this is all my fault! This is what I get for dating a broke-ass errand boy! You're always broke!”

She spat on the ground in front of him and turned around to walk away.

Alex chased after her even as he felt his heart break in two. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back but she yanked it from him and hissed in his face.

“Listen to me, you have till eleven am to get me that money, and best believe if you don't have it by then, this relationship is over!”

Alex was too stunned to go after her again. He stood there, speechless as his brain tried to catch up to his mind.

He could hardly believe she was being so inconsiderate and unsympathetic to his situation. This was the first time she'd asked him for money that he was unable to give her at least a part of it and she was responding by giving him an ultimatum?

Alex sat on one of the chairs in the empty classroom. He put his head in his hands. He couldn't lose Emily. Dating her was the only thing in his life that made him excited, that made him happy.

But how was he going to get two thousand dollars in less than three hours? His errand business paid about $20-$50 per errand. It would take him about 30-50 jobs to come close to the goal. It was practically impossible.

But he had to try. Maybe he could beg one of the students who was his regular patron for a loan. He couldn't lose Emily.

******

It was now 10:30am and Alex was sweating profusely as he shoved his phone in his pocket while hurrying to deliver on an errand. It was just the third one he'd been able to get since Emily had given him the ultimatum. And it wasn't for lack of trying.

He'd just gotten off the phone with one of the students. He'd been calling everyone to ask if they had any errands for him to run. It was either they didn't, or the errand was too far and he would miss the deadline if he took the job. And he would rather not recall the words that had been said to him on the two occasions he'd pleaded for a loan.

He'd missed all his classes for the morning and his mind was still running in circles trying to figure out how to make more money. He delivered the package to the customer and she paid him the agreed $40. This brought what he'd made that morning to $130. Not even close.

There was no way he could get $1870 in thirty minutes. As he walked down the road, his energy depleted with each step. This was it. Once again being poor and broke had gotten him the short end of the stick. He was definitely going to lose Emily.

Why did life have to be so unfair? Since his parents died, he'd worked tirelessly. He'd done every honest thing possible to put himself through school and stay afloat. Why couldn't something good just happen to him?

A lot of drastic thoughts ran through his mind on how to get the money. Should he sell his website? But it was his only source of income. How would he give her money another day if he sold the website for today's money?

“Yo, Errandboy! You suddenly deaf or something?”

Alex blinked and shook his head to clear his thoughts as he realized someone was talking to him.

They were two guys, actually, approaching him from ahead.

“I'm sorry, I was—” he tried to explain.

“Whatever.” The guy who'd called him Errandboy—his most common name on campus—shut him down.

“You free? We've got an urgent job for you.” The other guy continued quickly.

“What is it?”

“It's a little different from what you usually do, but don't worry, you'll be well paid.”

“How much?”

“Two grand.” The first guy responded, grinning like a fool.

Alex's eyes widened. That couldn't be. The highest he'd ever gotten on a single job was $100. 

He looked at their grinning faces and sighed. Of course they were joking; they were just trying to pull a fast one on him.

“I'm really not in the mood for pranks today, guys.” He muttered and turned around to leave.

They pulled him back immediately.

“Bro, we're serious!” The first guy brought out a wad of cash and held it close to his face.

Alex's eyes widened further. It definitely looked like two thousand dollars. Alex's heart sped up. Were they really serious?

The guy dumped the money at his feet just as the other guy dropped a tied-up trash bag.

He looked at them, then at the money, then back again. They gestured for him to take it and in an instant he did. Was this real? The exact amount Emily needed and it was literally at his feet. He counted it and sure enough, it was complete. He was shocked.

Whatever the job was, he was damn well going to deliver on it; the universe had finally smiled on him and he wouldn't waste the opportunity.

The first guy nodded at the trash bag.

“Come on, open it.”

Alex quickly bent down and did so. His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the contents.

Inside the bag was a clown costume.