Chapter 1

She stood there while it rained; after all, she had nothing better to do than to think about her own misery. Maybe she could ask for a loan, but they wouldn't give her much anyway since she had no credit history. She didn't even have a bank account, and out of fear of potential future issues with the bank, she hadn't considered getting a savings account or a credit card. It was far beyond her possibilities.

Her friends, of course, would not be much help either, since she only had two, Fernanda and Cynthia. She had met them in the dorms, they lived on the same floor, so they had to share the same washing machine, therefore, they were close, but not close enough to ask them for money, she knew that Cynthia's mother was single and that she worked double shifts to pay for whatever her daughter needed.

Fernanda had the support of both her parents, but she knew that their economic situation was not very good either, and for that reason, she worked part-time in the university cafeteria.

There seemed to be no solution, no matter how many times she thought about it. However, she resolved to share her situation with her friends that night. Perhaps they could provide her with options to find a solution.

In the evening, at the dormitory, when her friends arrived, she invited them for coffee, took what little money she had left, and went out together to a nearby café. By the end of the afternoon, she had concluded: that she would temporarily withdraw before the university could send her another memo. This would probably be her last week at the university, and she wanted to bid farewell to her friends properly. She didn't want tears, but she also wasn't sure if she could handle saying goodbye. It wasn't definite, but she had already made the decision

"You can't leave," said Fernanda, "Why don't you work with me in the cafeteria, maybe they will give you a worker's discount, and you can pay your debts at the university?"

"I don't think they will accept, and even if they did, I also have to pay the overdue months of the dorm rent. Besides, I think the worst situation is that my home will be sold, and my parents will be left on the street. I can't just think about myself"

"Have you thought it through?" Cynthia questioned. Of her two friends, Cynthia was the more prudent one, the one who could be asked for advice with the confidence that she would give you the best option to solve your problem.

"If you have already decided, then we will support you, and we will be here when you decide to come back"

Hearing those words from Cynthia's lips had ended Camila's hope, her spirits declined and while her friends gave her advice for when she decided to go back to college, Camila kept quiet, taking small sips of her coffee, to which she did not add sugar, as her mouth was dry and bitter, and that was what she needed something bitter to remind her of her situation and put her feet on the ground.

"You could ask Sofia for a loan, she has a lot of money," Fernanda joked.

Sofia was a college girl who was about to graduate and lived on the top floor of the dorms, in one of the largest and most expensive rooms. Rarely did anyone rent a dorm room on the top floors because of the high cost, but Sofia apparently had the budget. The strange thing about this girl was not only her beauty and personality, but also the origin of her money.

According to rumors, Sofia had no parents and only had an uncle who lived in the north of the country, but who did not take care of her or her expenses, although the fact that most disturbed the girls was that Sofia supposedly worked at night, in a café that was open 24 hours a day, and Sofia always had the night shift.

All the dormitory residents speculated about Sofia's nightlife.

They had seen her in her uniform, a pair of brown pants, a blue shirt and a green apron that apparently had the logo of that coffee shop, but what was really strange was that Sofia spent as if she was the rich daughter of a millionaire, she had real jewelry that some girls had seen and in her bedroom she had the best technology to make her residence more comfortable, they did not understand how a waitress could earn so much money to give herself that kind of luxury and then because of that mystery, it was said that Sofia was a prostitute.

For that reason, Sofia did not have any friends at the university, and since the dormitories were an independent business, any girl could rent a room as long as she could prove that she was studying and really needed the place.

"Surely Sofia wouldn't reveal her secret to me," Camila said lightheartedly, but her friends understood that her words were a joke, since they were all aware of the rumors.

"Why don't you try, maybe you'll get lucky," said Fernanda laughing again along with Cynthia, but while for them the matter was nothing more than a joke, for Camila it made a lot of sense or at least in her desperation it seemed to make sense.

When they returned to the dormitories, Cynthia and Fernanda did not stay to chat as usual, it was projected season, so they had many pending tasks to finish, so they did not stay to waste time.

Camila had the pleasure of closing her books and notebooks, since she was going to drop out, there was no point in continuing studies, but in her head, she kept thinking about what her friends had said, maybe that girl could help her, and she wouldn't know until she talked to her.

It was eleven o'clock at night when Camila decided to sneak out of her bedroom, her friends lived next door to her, so she had to be careful to leave without being discovered.

She climbed the stairs to the top floor, where only Sofia or the prostitute, as they called her behind her back, lived.

Upon arriving, her body betrayed her, leaving her speechless in front of Sofia's door. She truly didn't know what to do or say to that girl to convince her to help, especially considering she was very reserved.

She was about to turn around when the door of room 15-A suddenly opened, and there was Sofia, in her work uniform, with beautiful makeup and a bag hanging from her arm.

"Who are you?" she questioned Camila haughtily. Camila smiled apologetically and tilted her head slightly to apologize. "I asked you something. Didn't you hear me, deaf?"

"I'm sorry, I'm Camila Olivares, and I live here in the building, a few floors down."

"And what do you want here?"

"Well..." Camila fell silent, reflecting on what she should say.

"Well, what?"

"I need a job, and I wanted to know if you could help me," Camila replied, seeing Sofia's frustration. She seemed annoyed to have to deal with her.

"Job?" Sofia scoffed. "Why would I help a complete stranger get a job?"

"Well, I know you don't know me, but I'm really desperate. Truly, I'll do anything, I'm a hard worker and can exert physical effort if needed, but I really need a job."

"Did you say you'll do anything?" questioned Sofia, emphasizing Camila's words.

"Yes, I really need a job."

She looked her up and down; she was wearing tight jeans and a lovely white floral shirt. Camila had a good body, but Sofia wondered if she could truly withstand the physical and mental wear and tear required in her job. However, she would find out at that moment.

"Come in," Sofia said, opening the way for Camila, who nervously entered with her head down and muttered a thank you that was inaudible to Sofia, who was just a few meters away from her.

"Why did you come here?" Sofia questioned once she closed the door.

"I... I heard that you make a lot of money, and right now, I need to earn more than what is done in a regular job."

"And did you think I would just give you a job like that, without knowing you?"

"I know, it's strange, but I thought you might be able to help me."

"Help you? Of course, I can help you. How much do you need?"

Camila thought about the total of the debts to be paid; the amount hovered over a million pesos, not even counting her university debts. However, she couldn't ask for that much, so she decided to only mention the university debts.

"40 thousand," Camila muttered, embarrassed.

"Do you want it in cash or through a transfer?" Sofia replied arrogantly, testing Camila's resolve.

"Will you give them to me just like that?"

"I'll give them to you, but in exchange, you'll have to work for me and do everything I ask of you. If you behave well and obey me, you'll earn more than just 40 thousand measly pesos. Do you accept?"

"What would I have to do?"

"Not much, I'll tell you tomorrow. Now, I have to go to work, but I'll find you."

Sofia entered what seemed more like an apartment than a simple bedroom. The sound of a door was heard, and then silence. About three minutes passed when Sofia returned with a black plastic bag in her hands and handed it to Camila.

"Here's what you asked for, 40 thousand pesos. Now, you work for me, and if you refuse, you won't want to see my dark side, right?"

"I'll do whatever you want," Camila responded, scared and lowering her head.

Desperation had led her to that distant place from her bedroom. She had achieved more than just a job; she had gained money, money she could use to help her family. The problem was, she didn't know what she would be doing or how she would work for that woman whose name was the only thing she knew. However, if she had 40 thousand pesos and handed them over as if it were nothing, surely the job had to be something bad.