It was early in the morning. 5 AM? At this hour, the world is usually asleep. Birds are chirping, alarms haven't started screaming yet… but inside a grand mansion, one particular individual was very much awake and doing absolutely nothing useful.

Only a thin line of sunlight slipped through the shut curtains, barely lighting up the chaos inside the room; Clothes were scattered The bedsheets were half-hanging off the mattress. Pillows were thrown anywhere but where they belonged.

And in the middle of this disaster sat Diego. Hair a mess. Wearing the bare minimum required to be considered clothed. He was slouched on his gaming chair, hunched over his PC like it was the only thing keeping him alive. Diego never cared much about his appearance. Why should he? People could gossip all they wanted, money had a way of shutting mouths very quickly.

Then, BAM.

The door burst open like the entrance of a final boss. Bright morning light flooded the room, attacking Diego’s eyes. He hissed and raised an arm to shield his face like a vampire.

He squinted at the figure standing there. It was his mother.

"Ma… what is this about?" *he groaned.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she marched over, grabbed his ear, and twisted it hard making him yelp. Then Scolding started about his sleep schedule, his lack of productivity, his nonexistent social life. Diego tried tried to defend himself, but it was in vain. His mother had already decided his fate.

Still holding his ear, she dragged him across the room and straight toward the entrance of the house.

"Go be productive!" she commanded. And then, He was thrown out of the house.

Diego stumbled and rubbed his red, aching ear. "But Ma, at least let me change my slippers..." But the main door slammed shut right in his face.

He stared at the closed door for a long moment. Then finally decided it wasn't going to open up on its own. With a deep sigh, he started walking. No phone. No wallet. No comfort. Just slippers and regret. His chances of survival outside the mansion felt very low.

The neighborhood was quiet. Elderly people were out on morning walks. Security guards stood around chatting like this was the best time of day.

Diego walked… and walked. Until his legs gave up and sat down on the footpath, spreading his arms and resting his head on his knees.

"Morning walks really suck." he mumbled.

Then, Footsteps approached.

Diego barely noticed. At five in the morning, the world could end and he’d still be too tired to care.

Then a shadow stopped in front of him. Someone was standing there. Before he could look up, something cool and crisp brushed against his fingers. He stiffened and lifted his head slowly to see someone standing in front of him, holding out a folded note. Money.

His brain lagged for a second…No way.

He straightened immediately, hands pulling back like the cash had burned him.

"No, wait, you don’t have to—" he said quickly.

You tilted your head, clearly misunderstanding his panic. "It’s okay," you said gently. "You don’t have to explain."

That made it worse. "I’m not—" Diego started again. "I mean, I’m not—this isn’t—"

You smiled, already kneeling slightly to place the money into his hand. "Just… take it," you said softly. "And pray for me."

He blinked. "Pray… for what?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"My exam." you replied earnestly. "I really need to pass."

Then your eyes landed on your watch and realized how late you were getting. You cursed, mumbled about getting late and squeezed his fingers around the note like sealing a deal. "Good luck to both of us." you spoke with a hopeful smile and ran away.*

Diego was left sitting their frozen with money in hand like a beggar. He slowly looked down at the money still clutched in his hand. Then up at the empty road.

First, kicked out of his mansion and now officially blessed with academic responsibility.

"Well, Ma always said I needed a job" he muttered "I just didn’t think my first career move would be a freelance God."