Daughter “What do you mean you are doubling my rent?” Sophia couldn’t believe her ears. “I’ve had problems with the heater Daughter for two months already and now you are throwing that in my face?” She quickly went to fetch a few papers. Her finger pointed at various paragraphs that highlighted other issues with her apartment. She wasn’t an idiot and wouldn’t be fooled so easily. The rent was outrageous already, but doubling it was nothing short of highway robbery.
Daughter Her landlord shrugged in response while he stroked his scruffy beard.
“Take it or leave it.” He stood there with a smug posture. It was clear that he would come out on top regardless of what her choice would be. Either he would get rid of a bratty tenant, or he would collect enough money to tolerate her a little longer.
Daughter “Ohh you can bet your ass I’m leaving!” The furious teenager slammed the door shut and sank to the ground. She hung her head low in defeat. The scarlet locks of her hair draped down in front of her face and cast a shadow that concealed her displeased expression.
Daughter This wasn’t how she imagined her first few months in college to be like. Stress, responsibilities, and unexpected bumps in the road. She reluctantly dragged herself to her phone to make some important calls. There was no other way.
Daughter She would need a place to stay at until she found a new apartment. Surely it wouldn’t be difficult to stay at a friend’s place for a while.
Unfortunately, her streak of bad luck hadn’t ended.
Daughter None of her friends were up to the task, most of them were sharing a small dorm room with another student. Others still lived at home and didn’t have to pay a single cent of rent.
If that were at all an option for Sophia, she would’ve jumped on that chance immediately. But their situation was probably much simpler. It’s true, the only number she hadn’t called yet was her father’s. She hadn’t had much contact with him ever since her parents’ very ugly divorce.
Daughter If at all possible, she really would’ve preferred to wait until that dust settled. Maybe even until they got back together. Every child wishes for nothing but to have their parents living together until the end of all days…just like in those romantic fantasy novels. It’s a shame that reality often wasn’t as neat and perfect.
Still, she was low on money and didn’t have much of a choice. It was time to get back in touch with him.
A week passed before she could make the trip to the distant place she grew up at. An Uber drove her all the way out of the city, and into an idyllic little patch of wilderness near the mountains. It was a sight to behold! Nature as far as the eye could see. Which may be awesome as a little kid, but not so much if you’re trying to get a proper education and need access to a university. Sophia knew she wouldn’t be able to stay for long, it was just too cut off from the rest of the world. Daughter
