Chapter 1 A Serious Conversation

• I woke up tired that day. The clubbing night had physically drained me. I could play rich and stay in bed all day, posing and posting on social media. But I had no money, I had few followers, and deep down nobody cared about my life on the internet, except for a guy or two who would send me an emoji or ask me out. They used to always be acquaintances, usually from classes we took together in college. Occasionally there was one I didn't know about. I didn't used to like back. I wasn't addicted to hammocks, but I liked it.
• One click and my picture was there, with the redtag #waking up from the club. Soon a like from Kim, with the comment “Always beautiful”. Of course, it could only be him. And that's why I loved him so much and he was my best friend.
• I took a shower and went downstairs for Sunday lunch with the family. My mother already had the table set and Leon was already stealing a piece of meat with his fork. My stomach lurched when I saw he was going to eat the meat. Although I didn't eat meat, my mother never prepared a meal especially for me. I had to make do with whatever was on the table that I liked. When I complained, she always said:
• - Poor people don't have the right to choose what they eat.
• I think she actually meant that poor people couldn't be vegetarian, but somehow she didn't want to hurt me. Yeah, she didn't make anything I really liked to eat, but she still worried about me. I think it was a mother thing, who worries, but tries to make her children see the reality of life.
• I sat down at the table and saw an appetizing salad. Served with white rice. My mother prepared a plate of food for my father and then took it to his room. It took a while for her to finally sit up so she could feed.
• - Good food. - I praised.
• - Thanks. Starting tomorrow you will help me prepare.
• - Okay, I can do that. I'm capable.
• She didn't say anything. Maybe the fact that I'd come back late and woken up around lunchtime had made her angry in some way. Leon looked at me with a wry smile and continued to eat his meat with gusto. I laughed. He was cute, even when he tried to piss me off.
• - And Kevin? I asked.
• - Kevin's out there... He hasn't been home since Friday.
• - But... Where could he be?
• - Who knows? - She said trying to pretend she wasn't worried.
• I preferred not to ask. I knew how difficult it was to talk about my older brother.
• - Katrina, we need to talk later. – she said seriously.
• I really wanted to ask what, because I saw her voice sounding worried. But I tried not to suffer in anticipation. As soon as we ate, Leon went to watch TV and I cleared the table. I washed the dishes and then went to the bedroom to see my father.
• He didn't look good at all. He was pale and tired in addition to losing weight visibly every day. I took his plate almost without moving from the bedside table and took it to the kitchen. Then I returned, lay down on the bed beside him and hugged him tenderly. It didn't matter what he'd done and the guilt he carried for losing all our money. Still I loved him very much.
• - How do you feel today? I asked caressing his face.
• - Tired out.
• - Maybe tomorrow we could go for a walk? - I suggested. - Just you and me.
• - Kat, honey... I can't get out of this bed anymore. – he said in a weak voice.
• - Of course you can dad. Just make an effort. There's nothing to say your legs are in trouble. – I tried to cheer him up.
• - No. - he said.
• My mother came into the room, put on her glasses and sat in the armchair. I realized that the matter was really serious: almost a family reunion. However, the problem was apparently me. I was aware of what was to come.
• - Well, shall I start or you, Adolfo? she asked my father.
• - I... I wouldn't have the courage. - He said looking at me sadly.
• - Well, Kat, you know we're broke.
• - Yes I know.
• - Your father lost all the money we had on the gaming table.
• - Mom, I know that. – I didn't want her to keep throwing in his face all the past we already knew.
• He was there, lying down, depressed, he had tried on his own life because of everything that had happened. He didn't need to be punished any further. I think the guilt he carried was enough.
• - So... I'll get straight to the point. We don't have a penny left to pay for your college.
• I was stunned by that statement. The only chance I had of being able to get out of the life I had was to study and then pursue a profession. However my mother had just said that I was out. The deal had been that no matter what happened, I would finish college. I was the only chance the family could have a livelihood in the future. So I just stood there, looking at them without understanding anything. She continued:
• - I know we had agreed something else. But the money ran out completely. I don't know how long we can eat.
• - But... I didn't know we were in this situation... I thought...
• - You thought it was wrong. – she said gruffly. – Everything has a cost in this house. And the fountain was completely exhausted. You need to stop studying and look for a job.
• A job? I didn't refuse to look for a job, I just had no idea what I could do...
• - I'm sorry. - My father said looking at me regretfully.
• - No need to apologize father. - I said.
• - Are you going to say it wasn't his fault? - said my mother ironically.
• - Mom, it's over... There's nothing else to do. Now we need to move on.
• - I have not finished. – she continued.
• I looked at her in surprise. Could there be anything worse than me having to drop out of college? That was my family's dream. I grew up knowing that I was smart and the one chosen to go to college in the family. In Noriah South Kingdom, only one of the E-class children could attend college. So I was the chosen one. The justification for this was to make people have fewer children, thus being able to have better living conditions. This was in our class, because the most privileged could have as many children as they wanted and everyone could go to college. In my opinion, everything was a lie: poor people couldn't have children simply because they were poor and the fact that they chose one to study was because they couldn't think, reflect, because in the future they could criticize the monarchical way we lived. So the Lee Family would not have any children attending college. Therefore, we would only be servants of the monarchy. It hurt inside me.
• "Finish..." I asked not sure if I wanted her to speak.
• - Your father also lost the house.
• I looked at the two of them feeling my heart beat out of time. Was that true? It wasn't enough that my father had lost all the family's current and future money, including what he had saved for me to study, had he also put our own house at stake?
• - That's true? – I asked confused.
• "Yes…" he said looking down. “I owed some money and had to give the house as security, because—”
• -Because he was being threatened, as well as our whole family. – ended my mother bluntly.
• I stood there, not knowing what to say. We didn't have my money for college anymore and maybe in a few days we wouldn't have anywhere to live. So it would be left for us to... Go to Zone K?
• Zone K was the last dwelling zone. Zones were divided according to people's purchasing power. The second item to be taken into account was the family's level of education. And thirdly the goods. In K there was absolute poverty, without a job, living in undignified places, being able to be robbed and taken away what little one had... Mainly his body and his dignity.
• - Let's find a way out of this. - I spoke.
• My mother laughed ironically:
• - There is no optimism for this moment.
• - But...
• - Unless you want to be offered at the wedding ball.
• - No! - I said almost screaming.
• The wedding ball was out of the question. It was an annual event where parents could offer their daughters to whoever was willing to accept them. The girls who were there all knew why: broke, degenerate, raped, prostituted, and other things that only the worst men were willing to "get." It was almost a contract: you attended the ball, you were chosen, and your family received a check for the amount the man wanted or thought you were worth. In exchange, she would marry him right there and go away to wherever he came from. I've never known anyone to have been this happy. And nowadays it was already an act extremely criticized by the people, especially by feminist women. Yet Queen Anne Marie was not done with that horrible, ancient event.
• The women from Zone A and B also participated in a ball for the purpose of marriage. However, it was very different from what happened from zone C onwards. These more fortunate girls, from wealthy families and many of them even being in contact with the monarchy itself, had the opportunity to meet their peers at this event, where even the monarchy participated, including even the princes of the Chevalier family. Privilege of a few girls belonging to the wealthiest families in Noriah South. In this case, the fathers paid for the husbands, unlike what happened in our area. So, for girls like us, participating in that ball was impossible, as our families didn't have the money to pay for a good marriage, which in this case didn't guarantee having a good husband in the same way as the one in our area.
• Wedding balls were major events in Noriah Sul's kingdom. Older people still clung to these old-fashioned events. But there was the possibility of knowing true love outside of a gala, regardless of whether it was Class A or Class C onwards. The problem is that money and financial condition were what mattered most in those parents to everyone. So being broke was the worst thing that could happen to the Lee family. For all of us.
• - And Kevin? - I asked
• - Kevin is another story. - she said.