CHAPTER SIX
During the journey, Ana and Joshua talked enthusiastically. Marina, however, preferred to remain apart from them. Moments later, the three said goodbye. Sulking, Marina didn’t utter a word throughout the rest of the way. Ana was her best friend, but she shouldn’t set her dates - that was an exclusive concern of herself. Despite Joshua being a hunk, Marina wasn’t interested in exploring the loving aspect of her life. Guys were a conundrum of problems, even if they were nice and good looking. Besides, the one who seemed to be interested in Joshua was Ana, so she should just invite him to go out.
When they arrived at the doorstep of Marina’s house, Ana asked, “So, you stubborn chick, are you still like a bear with a sore head?”
“If you don’t want to hear a wicked answer, it’s better for you not to push me,” replied Marina as she kicked a little stone that rolled away.
Ana put her hands on her hips and sighed. It was her turn to show a little anger, so she stated, “I did it for your own good.”
“I don’t know what good you’re talking about. It’s better to leave this conversation for tomorrow before it goes bad,” Marina grumbled.
“Fine, have it your way. See you tomorrow.”
Marina turned around and entered home, while Ana followed to her mother’s office.
That day, the backpack was heavier: the volume of homework had increased a lot, forcing her to bring several books and diaries with her. Aware of that, Marina headed to her room and sat at the desk to do her duties. She started with Geography, but she couldn’t concentrate. She was still concerned about Lucas, had an unwanted encounter to plan for next weekend, and was upset with her best friend. Men ruin our lives, she thought.
“Concentrate and work!” Marina ordered herself out loud. She then closed her eyes tightly and next opened them, as if the gesture would ensure that, from that moment on and almost by miracle, she would be focused.
Her mother arrived meanwhile and went to the bedroom to greet her. However, upon seeing her so transfixed on what she was doing, she decided not to prolong the conversation and went to the kitchen to prepare supper. When Marina finished her homework, it was supper time. She stretched in her chair, stood up and went to join mom in the kitchen.
That night, her mother was very chatty and talked a lot about the new nursing home that would open in the suburbs and that belonged to the institution she worked for. Marina tried to listen and made an effort not to look distant. After supper, she helped to wash the dishes and went to her room. The day hadn’t much more to offer her, so Marina just put on her pajamas, prepared the rucksack and the clothes for the next day, and settled into bed to watch some TV. Soon, she fell asleep.
Friday arrived with rain, though it wasn’t cold. It was a boring: it was hot and she wanted to wear her sandals before the autumn moved in, nonetheless she couldn’t, otherwise she’d have wet feet all day. With no choice, Marina swapped the sandals for her comfortable All-Star sneakers and finished getting ready.
Since she wasn’t wearing heels, the way to school was done quickly and she even arrived several minutes before the bell. She settled at a table in the lobby and waited for Ana’s arrival. They hadn’t exchanged texts last night, which meant that she was still upset. Marina had to fix the situation; she didn’t like being angry at her best friend.
As usual, Ana arrived just five minutes before the lessons began. Upon seeing Marina, she let out a mute moan. Uncomfortable, she walked in her direction, pulled a chair and sat down. She was the first to speak, “Are you still upset?”
“Kind of. I think I'm more annoyed than upset. I really don’t wanna go out with him,” Marina tried to explain.
“Like I said yesterday, and I repeat it, I did it for your own good, even if you don’t believe so.”
“But what makes you say that?” asked Marina, shrugging at the same time.
“For someone so smart, it’s strange that you don’t get the gray matter working properly. Just the other day you almost died. By any chance did you think about your life? You could have died without enjoying anything of what the world has to offer. You just study and live closed up in that little world of yours. What for? One day, without expecting it, it's all over and you realize that you haven’t truly lived. Yes, I set you a date against your will: suck it up. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to repeat it. It’s not something that lasts forever.”
Marina thought about that. It was true that, when she was about to sink in the immense waters of the river, she had thought of the injustice of dying without having lived, leaving so many experiences she was yet to enjoy. She wanted to live, but she also believed that everything had its right time and she wanted to do things at the right moment, not rush anything, and to enjoy them in due course.
Giving up a little, she said, “I get what you mean, but the choice is mine. If I want to die a dumb killjoy, let me die as I wish. I understand your position, but you must see mine too.”
Ana put out her tongue and gave up. “Ok, I promise not to repeat this again. But you’re not obliged to go out with him. You can tell him you don’t want to or that you’re busy. I’d go out with you, guys, but my parents want to go visit my grandparents in Portalegre.”
“Whatever... I’ll decide about that later. It’s not like he’s going to bite me, right? Despite vampires being in fashion these days.”
They both laughed and the strings of tension evaporated as if by magic.
In a way, Ana was right: she could afford living a little more once in a while. Plus, Joshua didn’t seem like a bad guy; a bit cocky, maybe, but perhaps it was just her imagination. It’d be best to refrain herself from judging him the next times. And if she went out with him, what harm could it do? Well, there could be some problems if one fell in love with the other and was not matched. But she was putting the cart before the horse! Who said that people fell in love just because they had one date? And they could always become great friends. Who knew?
As if guessing that he was the topic of the conversation, Joshua arrived at school. He intended to approach the two friends, nevertheless he swiftly changed his mind when saw a group of girls, at the next table, beginning to rise up to meet him. Before they could get up, he turned around and walked to the classroom. Two minutes later, the bell rang and the two friends followed the same direction. The three of them met at the classroom door, and only exchanged a “good-morning”; nobody said anything else.
When they were all inside the room, Marina looked around and found out that Lucas was absent again. She tried not to give importance to that detail and focus in class. He was grown up enough to know what to do with his life and she also knew why she was there – to learn. And that was what she was going to do.
That was the subject in which Joshua had top marks - English. The teacher spent the entire lesson dazzled by his amazing mastery of the language, leaving many student sick of his reported skills. It wasn’t fair that she gave him that much attention. He came from America, spoke English fluently, while the rest of the students were Portuguese - they needed support, in order to learn. For that reason, when the bell rang to exit, almost nobody followed Joshua.
The two friends decided to go get the meal ticket for Monday. At this time there was no line, so they bought it more quickly than usual and also had the chance to sit for a while on the atrium benches.
Joshua approached them and occupied the place next to Ana. He touched her lightly on the arm, forcing her to turn to him. “Hello. How are you?” he greeted.
“Hi! We're fine and you?” asked Ana back.
Joshua seemed to blush a little when he said, “I’m good too. Huh, this is embarrassing but... can I ask if you were kidding me yesterday or telling the truth about Marina’s proposal to go out with me this weekend?”
“That, my fellow, you’ll have to ask her directly.”
That said, Ana got up and sat on the left side of Joshua, leaving him between the two girls. Marina observed Ana’s movem
ents and sighed inside, trying to sort out what would come of this.
After sitting down, Ana turned to Marina and asked her aloud, “Did you hear that, baby? Joshua is asking if the two of you are going out this weekend. Have you thought about it?”
The boy got even more embarrassed. He blushed like a lobster, and rushed to try and fix the situation by stating his intentions. However, before he could even open his mouth, Marina responded, “I have no idea. I don’t know my mother’s plans for the weekend, so I’m not sure if I'll be available. What about you, Ana? Can’t you go out with him?” Marina was trying to buy some time. For the moment, that was the only answer she would give to Joshua.
In reply to Marina’s question, Ana sighed and said, regretfully, “I can’t. I’ll be visiting my grandparents. But you can talk to your mom, and then you can reply to Joshua.”
Marina clenched her fists hidden behind her back, annoyed by her friend’s insistence. Reluctant, she ended up saying, “Yeah, I suppose I can ask her.”
Joshua felt a bit ignored by the conversation the two girls had in front of him. He was right in the middle of them. Couldn’t they have spoken directly with him? Girls... Anyway, from what he could infer, he would have to wait till the end of the day to get an answer.
Hearing the bell ringing, Ana and Marina rose and prepared for the next lesson they would have straight from hell - Philosophy. As students of the Humanities area, they had to have three hours a week of this subject. The Executive Board decided that they would have one hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which meant that they were massacred every other day. Based on the experience of the previous lessons, Marina and Ana ran to the room and managed to arrive before the teacher. When he opened the door, they rushed to their chairs, sat and pulled out the necessary stuff from the rucksacks.
The fatigue inherent to the approaching end of the week would be weighing on the teacher, who wasn’t in the mood to be sarcastic and cruel that day. Still, he couldn’t help leaving a comment about Lucas’ absence, like ‘We’re still starting and he’s already finishing.’
At the end of the lesson, the professor called Marina to deliver the work about her origins. “Here's your assignment,” he said. “It deserved a more serious investigation, but it’s not the worst I’ve read. At least, it has something interesting. I gave you a 12 in a scale from zero to 20, but I expect much more from you. I hope a bigger effort in the future. What about your colleague, Lucas? Where he is?”
Marina shrugged her shoulders. She wished she knew where she could find Lucas; that would get her rid of the concern about his welfare once for all. She just needed to see with her own eyes that he was fine and then she’d leave him alone, as he had requested. Answering the teacher’s question, she said, “I don’t know where he is, sir. I think he missed school yesterday, too.”
“Fine. Just keep his work and hand it to him when you see him.” He handed her the sheet of paper allegedly written by Lucas and she noticed that it had a ten circled in red in the upper right corner. Ignoring that, she kept both papers in her backpack.
Before leaving the room, the teacher added, “His ten is just for having delivered something. I have two caveats to point out: first of all, I’m also familiar with the technique of ‘copy and paste’; secondly, I know it wasn’t him who wrote that, I have good information sources. I hope he values your gesture and that this won’t happen again, otherwise you’ll only be harming him by promoting his detachment.” With this, he left the room, leaving her alone.
What a nerve, Marina thought. Manelito had put her between the sword and the wall, leaving her no choice, and now he was protesting because she had done what she needed to save herself. Some things are too incredible to be real, she said to herself. Trying not to dwell on the teacher’s comment, she joined Ana in the hallway and they walked to the canteen to have lunch.
Recalling that she had seen Lucas behind the canteen before, Marina decided to take a peek. When Ana was getting ready to enter the place, Marina turned to her and asked, “Do you mind going ahead alone? I'll be right there with you.”
“Why? Where you going?”
“I’m just going to check something, I won’t be long. Really, go in and I’ll be right back. It will only take a minute.”
Ana found that very strange, but eventually gave her friend some credit. She didn't know what she had to do, although she suspected what that was all that about.
Marina skirted the canteen with a vague expectation to find Lucas at the same site as the other day. Her hope soon faded away: there wasn’t a soul there. Where could he be hiding? It was as if he had vanished. Sadder, she decided to join her friend for lunch.
From her seat, Ana saw Marina entering the cafeteria with her head down. She grabbed a board, filled it with food and sat beside her with a frown, ignoring her completely. This was followed what suggested a battle between the fork and the knife. Bothered by her friend’s attitude, Ana inquired, “Did you really need to go back there to check? Even I knew there would be nobody there. Only a fool would be in that place in this rain.”
Marina was torn from her inner world. What was Ana talking about? She turned her head toward the window and looked outside. It had begun to rain cats and dogs and she hadn’t even realized that. Slowly becoming aware of what Ana had told her, she replied at last, “It was a possibility. I figured that, since he’s been in the 11th grade for so long, he could say to his parents he came to class, but instead he hid back there and missed lessons.”
Ana reflected for a while and nodded. It was a possibility, but given that he had missed school the previous day too, he shouldn’t be there. If he lied to his parents and went to another place, his hideout certainly wouldn’t be in some corner of the campus. Still, there was a question hammering inside her head, “Why did you go looking for him?”
“No special reason,” said Marina casually, trying to escape from Ana’s interrogation. In a rush, she completed, “Manelito gave me his assignment on his roots to give it back to him. I suppose I’ll have to keep it till his majesty decides to show up. If I knew where he lived, I’d go there and hand it to him.”
She had no idea where he lived, but neither did anyone else. Lucas was an enigmatic character about whom very little was known. Still, Marina could say she was the person who knew more information about him. And what did she know? His name was Lucas, he descended from the Purepecha, he was tri-repeating the 11th grade, he liked to annoy teachers, had a rebel attitude and got into trouble. He didn’t relate to anyone at school and, outside the campus, he associated with people of dubious character. Ah! And he haunted people’s dreams, meaning hers.
Ana knew even less than Marina. For her, Lucas was just stupid and ill-mannered, although he was cute with that exotic look. Considerations aside, she reflected a bit about on how she could help her friend in her quest for data. In the end, she just said, “I would help you, but this sort of information is only available in the Executive Board. Forget it! By the way, be careful. Don’t let this become an obsession.”
“You think so? I know he's a moron, but since he’s missing classes for the second day in the row and I know he took a violent beating, I’m a bit concerned. My life doesn’t revolve around him. Besides, I was curious to know where he lives, just to go there and rub the Philosophy assignment in his face.”
Ana smiled mischievously as her friend spoke. When she shut up, Ana insisted on sharing her thoughts, “Your world doesn’t revolve around Lucas, but it could go around a delicious American who wants to go out with you this weekend. Did you phone your mom to ask if she has plans?”
“No. What for? Saturday plans are always cleaning the house and doing homework. On Sundays I just stay in front of the TV all day, resting.”
“What a bummer! I'd rather go out with him. Just give it a thought, he’s waiting for an answer till the end of the day,” recalled Ana.
“Don’t worry. I already have one for him,” assured Marina.
&nbs
p; Ana wrinkled her nose, since she was sure that Marina would blow him out. Poor boy. God gives nuts to those who have no teeth, she thought. In a final attempt to make her change her mind, Ana threw at her, “Just knock it off. One day you’ll open your eyes and see that what was good for you has escaped, despite having had it right in your hands. Men quickly get bored chasing after us. To give some fight is good, but when it’s too much, they step away in a heartbeat.”
Putting an end to the conversation, Ana took the tray and handed it to the employee. Next, she grabbed her bag and made her friend a sign that she was leaving the canteen, forcing her to hurry up. Marina rushed, as she still wanted to enjoy her friend’s company for the next hour. Since that day they had a different schedule, they wouldn’t meet up again that afternoon.
They both ran into the school lobby to avoid being soaked by the rain, and remained there the rest of lunch time, entertained gossiping and commenting on what couples had broken up in the holidays and who was dating who now. When lunch time was over, they said goodbye and each went to their classes.
Afternoon classes went well for Marina, although she had again felt that twinge of irritation against Joshua’s brilliance in English. It was obvious that he was going to have a good grade in translation too: he really knew English. Another teacher in love with him… There was always room for healthy competition, but this was unfair rivalry. Outside, the weather matched perfectly with her stormy state of mind: it was pouring like hell. When the precipitation ceased, it was the wind’s turn, and it blew with great intensity. It seemed like a typical Winter day.
“Do not forget to translate the text on page 12,” recalled the professor after the bell rang for exit.
Marina was so focused on her anger that didn’t pay much attention to the teacher’s request. She just wanted to get out of there, to go home and turn off from everything. This grueling week had to end soon; she couldn’t stand anymore. With an ever-present sense of urgency, she walked in a hurry towards the school gate, but was surprised by the weather's ferocity.
“Lightning and thunderbolt,” she grated through her teeth.
Despite having an umbrella, she was sure she’d get wet anyway, such was the force of the rain falling. She couldn’t call her mother and ask to come get her, since she had warned her that she would work extra hours and would get home late. There was no choice but to run home, praying to get there as dry as possible. She opened her umbrella and crossed the gateway. The wind was so strong that she had to hold the umbrella with both hands so it wouldn’t fly away.
Marina was moving hastily down the first flight of stairs on the route back home when, out of the blue, she was pushed. She fell lengthwise flat on the floor and heard a laugh that sounded familiar. It was Joana, her pet-enemy since the day they met each other. Smart and pretty, she ruined everything with her arrogance and haughtiness. Marina and Ana described her as a ‘vulgar cruel shrew’ and there she was asserting that title.
“Oops! I didn’t see you. It’s just, you know... you’re invisible,” she provoked.
The two girls and the three boys with her burst out laughing like crazy. The laugh lasted even after they disappeared from Marina’s sight. When they were gone, Marina stood up and stared at her sad figure: her pants were brown because she fell right in a pool of filthy water, her sneakers were wet, her coat was starting to drip from the downpour she was caught in, and her hair was luckily tied in a pony-tail, otherwise it would be all bristly. After swallowing a little scream of frustration and restraining the will to strangle Joana, she prepared to get back on her way.
“Are you okay?” she heard then.
She looked at the stairway and saw Joshua. There was the reason for just having been humiliated. Joana should be furious about the labored rescue of the previous day, and could also have heard them talking about the date on the weekend. Her stupid action hadn’t been more than her marking territory. As if Marina wanted to have anything to do with that guy.
About to pop, Marina rolled her eyes and snorted, “I’m great! I have a very retro look, compliments of the vixen Joana, and in your honor. Yes, in your honor, after all she’s your number one fan. Curiously, she feels so threatened by me, that she decided re-baptize me.”
Irritated, she adjusted her bag and put the umbrella over her in a decided gesture. The drizzle continued to fall, though it wasn’t as rigorous as before, which she was thankful for or otherwise she would be soaked to the bones.
However, Joshua didn’t quit. He downed the last few steps and whispered, “I don’t think you look that bad, but this is just my simple opinion. And who am I, but a humble servant of yours, my lady?” And he made a bow.
Marina was stunned. Was he making fun of her or what? Frowning in a critical way, she questioned, “Are you mocking me?”
“Not at all and I can prove it!” Having said that, he closed his umbrella and handed it to Marina along with his backpack, making her a sign to move away next. Not knowing what to expect from him, she took four steps back. What followed would never have crossed her mind: Joshua approached the pool where she had fallen and began to jump in the water, making it splash in all directions.
With brown pants like hers and his t-shirt getting glued to his body due to the copious rain, Joshua paraded in front of her as a professional model, displaying his artwork. Next he asked her to return his rucksack. Incredulous, Marina could only mutter a very shy You're nuts. She gave him back the bag and the umbrella, but he didn’t open it and walked on his way unhurried. Marina blinked hard twice to make sure she wasn’t imagining things, and it proved to be true: Joshua was going down the street with a wet look, very similar to hers, and didn’t even use his umbrella.
With the stark recognition that he was really crazy, she ran over to him and put her blue umbrella with marine motifs above them, in order to shelter them both. He smiled, happy that his strategy was working. Marina wanted to repay the smile, but the irritation she felt hadn’t passed, so she just gazed at the stones of the side-walk and told him, “At least, use your umbrella. There’s no need for you to get any wetter. You don’t have to get a cold.”
“I didn’t know you cared about that,” he broke in with a sly expression.
Marina opened her mouth a little surprised. She wanted to protest and tell him he was mistaken, but only managed to stammer, “I-I just think that there’s no need for you to get sick. And what was that bath in the puddle for? Is the jet-lag affecting your head or what?”
“You can bet it is!”
With no prior notice, he threw his bag to the side-walk and began to run in the rain, jumping in every muddy puddle he met. One of them spat all the water onto Marina’s legs, freezing her in place. Joshua spun around with his eyes closed and opened arms, receiving the drops straight on his face. The storm decided to give him a little hand in his attempt to get soaked like a drowned rat and raised the level of the rainfall. It looked like a movie scene: Joshua’s clothes were glued to his body and he was all wet, but it didn’t seem to worry him a single bit. He looked happy and lost in another dimension.
Marina reacted at last. She picked up his backpack and walked toward him with hasty steps, while ordering, “Get back under the umbrella now!”
Joshua opened his eyes, lowered his arms and turned to her. He was breathless from running between pools and his face was pink. He inclined his head slightly and asked her, “Have you ever danced in the rain?”
Before Marina could react, Joshua ripped the rucksack out of her hands and threw it back to the pavement. Next, he grabbed Marina’s umbrella and made it fly down the hill, leaving her speechless. With the backpack on the floor and without any protection from the endless water cascading from the sky, Joshua held Marina’s hands, placed one on his back and took the other into his. He moved his body close to hers and they started to dance a waltz, to the sound of an inaudible song that only was heard by them. They were two foolish teenagers dancing in the rain, but Mari
na didn’t mind. Despite the fact that she was getting drenched, it was as if the rainwater was cleaning all the hassle she had had that week. Soon she was smiling and her bad-mood was gone. That boy had a knack of making her forget everything around them.
The dance was interrupted by a car that honked at them to get off the road. However, they didn’t stop there. After picking up their backpacks, they ran down the road and jumped two by two the steps of the staircase that followed. Occasionally, Joshua held her hand to make her spin as if still dancing. Although they both laughed, both of them knew that the fun would end soon.
After descending the stairs, it was time to follow different paths. Marina dropped his hand and prepared to turn left, heading for home, however he pulled her back. “Don’t go,” he begged.
“I have to. I need a hot bath urgently or tomorrow or I won’t get up, because I’ll have the flu. And you should do the same. Look at us!”
They looked at each other from top to bottom and the result was a major laugh. Joshua knew she was right. Although he wanted to spend more time with her, it was better to let her go and run home to change his clothes. Before releasing her arm, and with their faces very close, he asked, “Come out with me tomorrow.”
The word ‘date’ sounded an alarm in Marina’s head that led her to pull back her arm abruptly and step back. Realizing that he could be frightening her, Joshua tried to lighten the mood by explaining, “It’s not a date. You know that I just moved here this week, so I still haven’t had time to see anything, and I’d love to visit Alcácer. Would you give me the honor and be my guide?”
Joshua was no terrible bogeyman; indeed, he seemed to be a straight guy. Even so, the word ‘date’ was ringing in her brain like an annoying bell that wouldn't shut up, trying to dissuade her by force. It was not a date - they were only going for a walk, something very simple and innocent, therefore there was no reason to refuse.
“Fine, you convinced me. But it’s not a date. I’m only going to show you your new city. Can it be on Sunday? Tomorrow isn’t good for me.”
“Done! And where do we meet?”
“As you don’t know Alcácer, it's best I come to you. How about at 4p.m at your building’s gate? Is that okay?”
“Yes, but for everything to be perfect, you could give me your phone number to confirm things tomorrow. You never know what contingencies may arise, right?” said Joshua with an innocent expression imprinted on his face.
What? I already accepted being your guide; now I have to give you my phone number, too? You’re pushing you luck, dude, grumbled Marina to herself. To convince her, Joshua gave her some very sad eyes in the style of ‘Puss in Boots', which led her to sigh, defeated. His face lighting, Joshua pulled out his phone for her to key in the number. With the nine digits inserted, she returned the device. After recording the info in the phone’s memory, he put it back in his pocket.
Then the moment came – it was time to say goodbye. Determined, Marina told him simply "See you later," turned around and started walking at a marching pace before another downpour could start. Joshua observed her walking away for a minute until he too decided to go home as well.
Marina was getting tired of walking so fast, yet she felt that she couldn’t stop: she wasn’t just fleeing from the storm, she was inconspicuously dancing with the rhythm of her bewildered heart. She was moving in such a hurry that she didn’t even realize that, while passing along the stairs where she helped Lucas, her heart took an even faster pace. Sensing a shock running through her body, she stopped two shops ahead. On an illogical impulse, she retreated to face the ill-fated flight of steps. She looked up and, like what had happened at the rear of the school canteen, found no one. Marina tried to shake out of her spirit the ideas related to Lucas, and waved her head in disapproval of herself. Lucas didn’t care about her, so why should she worry about him, a perfect stranger? She should better concentrate on Joshua, who seemed to be interested in being her friend.
The sound of thunder made her become aware that she should leave, leading her to opt for a jog since she wasn’t too far from home. Her legs ached a little, but they responded with readiness to her call. Within two minutes, she was at the door of the old building.
She entered home slowly, trying not to make a sound, so that her mother didn’t realize that she had arrived. Noting that there was nobody else home except her, she threw the backpack on the bedroom floor and ran to the bathroom: a hot water soak was imperative. While the tub was filling, she turned on the stereo and tuned in her favorite radio station. Music had always had a calming effect on her. Music and a nice bath would do wonders for her.
Undressed, Marina got into the bath. Nice! It felt really good. Thoughts such as ‘this was just what I needed’ and ‘right on time’ crossed her mind, emphasizing the theory that what made her happy were life’s simple things. The week had started with trouble, but she couldn’t complain about the way it was ending. Right on Monday she had met the dark Lucas, had fallen into the river, and then got involved in a fight with a sinister guy because of him. The black tide appeared to shift, however, in the last two days: she had met Joshua, who had diverted her attentions to him, and thank God he did, because she couldn’t stand people looking at her anymore. After they had danced in the rain, she had felt good and alive. And now? Now she had music and a fragrant hot bath. What more could she ask for?
Although she wasn’t aware of it, Marina spent 45 minutes in the tub. Only the fact that the water was getting cold alerted her that it was better to get out. Wrapped in a towel, she tidied the bathroom and returned to her chambers. It was too early to go to bed, yet she didn’t intend to go anywhere else, so she put on some thin pajamas. Undoing the knots of the hair was a hard task. She kept pulling them, though they seemed to be so tight and didn’t break up in any way. With great effort, she managed to keep her hair neatly combed and aligned.
Suddenly, the girl was surprised by the house telephone ringing. She ran to the phone, picked it up and, from the other end, heard a male voice: it was her father who had finally decided to ask her how she was doing.
“I'm fine, thank you,” replied Marina in the most polite tone she could imitate.
Of course she was upset with him. She had suffered the incident earlier that week and only now dad was calling. He was her father, had father's duties and to worry a bit was one of them.
The conversation didn’t go much beyond that. Dad commented that it had been a huge fright and soon after passed the phone to Marina’s sister. That conversation was even shorter, not only because they fought like dog and cat, but also because, to Sofia, phone conversations were so yesterday: for her, people spoke by texts or on social networks. Knowing how her sister thought, Marina hastened to give her, her phone number. She hoped that she had written it down.
That brief exchange of statements left Marina with one foot behind. She should try to get along more with Sofia and her dad, but distance didn’t make it easy and none of them seemed interested in any closer contact. Marina pondered about it and made a decision: now that she had a mobile phone, the language of Sofia’s world, she’d try to text her every now and then to get closer to her. When their parents wouldn’t be around anymore, they would only have each other. They couldn’t let their parent’s divorce separate them.
There was a depressing topic... Just now she was feeling much better. It was always like that: when some rays of sun began to appear in her life, soon a dark cloud covered them before she could enjoy a little bit of them. Annoyed, she shook her head, refusing to ruin the moment of peace she was living. She wouldn’t allow it, not when so many things had gone wrong in the week and, finally, an end had been put to them. Marina closed her eyes, recalled her dance in the rain with Joshua, and a smile splashed to her lips automatically, restoring the balance that she had found.