My dear Sugar daddy

The last class of the day comes to an end. I take a deep breath, relieved. It is time to go home. It's only a few months until the end of my management career. I am excited to finally start my professional career. I dream of becoming a great administrator, in a gigantic company, in a building of at least thirty floors. I pass through the classroom door, walking down the hallway filled with students milling about. I keep my worn cell phone in my purse. “ Emma Alvarez... A male voice catches my attention. I look up and see the university coordinator in front of me. “ Hello, Mr. Perez," I reply with a smile. “ Can you come with me to the coordination office? “ Of course. I am confused. This has never happened before. I know I have done nothing wrong for the coordinator to call me. Still, I follow the man who turns his back and walks down the long hallway. I enter a room, he sits in a chair behind a wooden desk and points to another chair in front of him. I do the same, sit in the chair and place my bag on my lap. “ Miss Alvarez, I must inform you that there are some monthly payments due. “he informs. “ What? I am astonished. I have no knowledge of what is going on. My father is responsible for paying the monthly college tuition. I feel my face burning, very embarrassed by the situation. Since I didn't know anything about it, I don't know what excuse to use. I take a deep breath and shift in my chair. “ Mr. Perez, I have no knowledge of this. My father is responsible for the payment and I will talk to him about it. I'm sure he will bring the outstanding payment up to date. “ Of course, Miss. I am informing you because you are an excellent student and we do not want this to affect your completion of your degree. There is a risk of losing your scholarship. “ Of course, after this weekend, I will sort it out. He smiles, points to the door and tells me I can leave now, so I do. I leave the room, my heart racing. My first thought is that I can't afford to lose my studies, and my second is my father's financial situation, although I was unaware of it. “ Emma! I walk to the parking lot, where my father's old truck is. I hear Lucia's voice running towards me. “My friend, calm down! “she is panting. “What happened? You passed by me and didn't even notice me. “ I need to go home as soon as possible. Can we talk tonight? I get to the van, open the door with effort and notice some people looking at me. At this university, most of the students are children of businessmen, politicians and wealthy people. I got a scholarship that only covers 30% of the monthly tuition. Still, my father offered to pay and make my dream come true. I was teased many times. The popular girls at the university always made fun of my non-branded clothes, my father's old car, etc. “ Do you need help, Emma? Juan shouts mockingly. He's a spoiled boy who thinks he's the center of attention. He's handsome and girls fall at his feet, but since I've never given him a chance, he teases whenever he can. “ Go to hell! “my friend shouts in response. “ Don't mind him, he's an idiot. I tapped my friend's shoulder to calm her down. I get into the car, ignoring any looks of contempt. “ See you later! “I say goodbye to my friend. “ I'll be at your place tonight. See you later! I turn the key in the car's ignition, but it won't start. I turn it again and see Juan laughing with his group of popular friends from college. Idiots! The car starts and I leave immediately. Despite all the adversities, I never let them affect me, because my goal is to become an administrator and give my father a better life, since it's just me and him after my mother's death. ●●●● I arrive home, open the door and look for my father, who is not in the living room. I walk down the hallway and see the door to his room open. I look inside the room and see my father sitting on the bed, surrounded by papers. “ Daughter, are you home yet? “he says nervously. I walk over to the bed and notice he is hurriedly picking up the papers. I frown, confused to see him trying to hide something. “ Dad, what's going on? “ Nothing's going on, honey. “ Don't fool me, Dad. I was warned about the late payments from the university. Why didn't you inform me of this? I notice he's turning pale, looking visibly sad. I feel a knot in my heart seeing him like this. “ I was trying to work it out. His tone of voice is sad and seeing my father like this causes me so much pain. I sit next to him, looking at the papers on the bed. They are debts, college fees, house bills. “ What happened? “I ask cautiously. “ I lost my job, they cut my salary to three months. “she sighs. “ My God, why didn't you tell me? “ Daughter, you have your studies to worry about. I was trying to work it out, but... it's complicated. I know I can't despair, I won't solve anything that way. I take a deep breath and look away. I look around the room with its simple, old-fashioned decor, and I remember my mother, who was always a wonderful person. She would be with us if that m*ld*t* accident hadn't happened. “ Everything will be all right, we'll find a solution, okay? “I look at my father and caress his face. “ God help us. “He smiles forcibly. After I found out everything that was happening, my father shows me the unpaid bills, we talk about the current situation and now I have to think of something. I don't know where to start. I can't think of anything that will help us. I go to my room, take a shower and get ready to go to the kitchen to make lunch. After lunch, I go back to my room to devote myself to my studies while I still can. Imagining that I could lose everything I have worked on so far makes me feel terrible. When evening comes, Lúcia arrives at my house. I invite her to my room because she has been worried since I nervously left the university. We sit on the mattress of my bed, which is old-style iron, but the mattress is very soft. “ What's wrong? “she asks when she hears my venting. “ What you heard, I may have to drop out of college. “ Girlfriend, there must be another way. A solution! “ What solution? It's three months in arrears, if I don't pay this week, I'll lose my scholarship and I'll continue to be the laughing stock of the whole university. “ My God! “He puts his hand to his forehead. “ I don't know what to do... I get up and pace back and forth. I think about looking for a job, even though I'm young, only 21, I can get a job. But I won't earn enough, let alone on time. “ A pitiful situation. Some people are so lucky. My neighbor made a leap in life, she unexpectedly arrived with a luxurious car at the door, she always comes with shopping bags.... “Lucia comments. “ But what did she do to get all that? “I stop and look at her. “ A Sugar daddy. “ What? What is that? Is that a profession? Lúcia laughs and gets up, goes to the dresser where there is a pitcher of water. She fills a glass, drinks and then looks at me as if considering what she's going to say. “ Let's say... a rich man is looking for a young girl. It's not a conventional relationship per se, in fact, she becomes exclusive to him. He gives her everything, gifts, trips, clothes, etc. “ Is that yes...? “ No, my friend, she is not a prostitute. At least, I think so. I think... it's a little more refined. There's a lot of things involved. I'm trying to understand what you're saying, but it's hard. I can't deny that having material comforts is tempting, but staying with a man in exchange for financial benefits goes against my convictions. Besides, I'm a virgin. “ That's strange. “I affirm. “ This is wonderful! I would love to have a handsome, rich, millionaire man, who would give me an apartment, a credit card with no limits.... “Lucia lies down on the bed and looks at the ceiling. “ It would be a princess life. “ I just want to graduate and then I'll make a princess life for myself. “ Find a Sugar daddy. Make him pay your tuition and then send him the f*r*j*. I'm thoughtful, considering what he just said, could this work?

“Categorically, no. “I rejected my friend's idea. “ I was only joking. Now, I have to go. She jumps out of bed, we hug and my friend leaves. I'm left alone and spend a long time reflecting on this whole conversation. I imagine myself in that situation, having a nasty man, giving me things, but in return, giving myself to him. I know some of them may not be so nasty, but it's all very complicated. It's already late... I end up falling asleep, it took me a long time to fall asleep thinking about all the problems. But during the early morning, I hear my father coughing. I jump out of bed, leave my room and run to his bedroom door. Through a small crack, I can see my father sitting up in bed, coughing uncontrollably. I realize that he is not in good health, perhaps, he is giving so much priority to my studies and debts that he cannot take care of his own health. “ Dad... “I whisper, opening the door slowly.