Chapter 26

• Narrated by Luciana:
• Once I returned to university, I caught up with my assignments. The final exams would be in seven days. Ericka and I had to study hard and couldn’t afford to get distracted. Now we were at home, Ericka and I were at the table with our books studying. She had been sad as if her heart had been broken; I didn’t know if it was because of a boy or something else. She pretended to be fine, but I knew her well and knew that she wasn’t. The worst part was when I found the grades from past exams by accident; she failed in almost all of them, so it was important for her to pass these final exams. I had no Idea she was doing so poorly in her classes; obviously Abel didn’t either, but I wasn’t going to tell him anything; that would be betraying her. I decided to talk to her instead and have her open up to me, but I would do it when we returned to university on Monday for more privacy. As for her father’s other business, she didn’t say anything, just that she respected what he did and accepted his double job, which also surprised us; she was quite understanding.
• “Sweetheart,” Abel spoke to his daughter; she stopped looking at her book, which she hadn’t even turned a page of since we had arrived. She looked up. “Is something wrong? Lately you don’t look healthy,” he said, concerned because her physical appearance seemed neglected, which was not common for her.