“Product of an oversight on my part,” said Rebeka, broadening the smile on her face as much as she could, for if her happiness was to result in someone else’s misfortune, she wanted that misfortune to be as great as possible. “A slight situation arose and has prevented me from properly calculating the time I had left to be able to fulfill my duties. Although, as far as you could see from the cameras, I made it to school on time. Now that I have a more active social life, I have a boyfriend, which is something that is not against school rules. I can assure you that these incidents will not be repeated, but that I could not continue being the president either, since having an active and healthy social life is of vital importance for my development as a student, much more so when during these last few years I had none. Right now, I plan to take a letter to the principal if you will allow me, of course. I ask for just a little more patience, just as I am grateful for the high expectations you have had of me for all these years. Why didn’t I let you know in advance? My engagement became official this morning. Also, if I may add, I don’t think you really have such a great reason to point fingers and criticize my behavior as president when this is the first time I didn’t have time to pass attendance, prepare the blackboard, and throw out the trash before starting a class. Nor did I stop by my locker or the teachers’ classroom: but perhaps they have not yet seen all the merits I have achieved up to this point.”

   “Excuse me for interrupting you Miss Rebeka, but this is not the time to have a debate when we are already fifteen minutes late in the class shift,” interrupted the teacher after hiding her anger at not achieving her goal. “You will have to see me after class if you want to continue talking; for now, take a seat, but I want you to understand that the second time you are late, you will be written up, and the third one you will not be allowed on my shift, and it will be marked as an absence. Five unexcused absences from any class will be enough for a permanent and definitive expulsion. Take a seat as your classmates did.”

  Rebeka turned around, keeping a triumphant smile on her face. All in all, after those words she had become much calmer, and her decision to resign as president was the best way to stop the teachers from continuing to treat her the way they were treating her so far. If excellence in that school was worse paid than mediocrity, it would be better to be mediocre and thus get rid of all the unnecessary problems that being excellent could bring.

  At the first recess, Rebeka made her way to where the principal’s office was and left the secretary her letter of resignation as president. That was something she told the librarian when she met her in the hallway while walking.

  “So, that’s your final decision?” asked the kind lady with a sad look on her face.

  “Yes,” replied Rebeka, confident and haughty as ever.

   “Sometimes taking the easy way out in this society...makes you end up at the bottom” said the librarian with the look of a worried mother. “I don’t think you’re counting on what they call ‘the germination of a heroine.’”

   “I am a mere human, also aware that my vigor, intelligence, dexterity, strength, endurance, faith, or even my luck is enough in the face of imminent death. Not that I need it to live my life either; after all, this is the real world and not a fantasy book.”

  “Your favorite book isn’t fantasy, it’s history. May death taste like glory to you” said the librarian, as parting words that could not be heard by the black-haired girl, the same one who moved happily like the wind and went back to take the rest of her remaining classes.

 For the rest of the day, Rebeka didn’t hold back from breaking the news to the teachers, who, having gathered in a corner to whisper, already knew the news and could only feign surprise.

  Without having to do extra work, pay attention to the class, or be responsible for passing attendance, cleaning the blackboard, or throwing out the trash, Rebeka felt liberated for the rest of the day. Finally, she was content with the expectation of continuing to enjoy her new life, just as the last class ended and she was the first one out the door to head home with her boyfriend.

  Of course, she was anxious because she knew well that her mother was not at home because she had gone out to work, as usual. So, she would give Omar the prize that, like a needy puppy with her eyes, she had been asking for, but it wasn’t that she wanted to make it so easy for him; after all, he would earn the treasure that was between her legs with more effort.

Rebeka understood that love could distract her judgment and reasoning. It had to be seen objectively as a test. First, she felt attracted to him physically and sentimentally, to the point where it was even like dependence. She was willing to give him back his well-being and pleasures. Second, I wanted to do whatever it took to spend as much time with him as possible; just looking at him and feeling him close was enough. Third, it was as if she was under a spell of well-being; as long as he was happy, she was happy too.

  Holding hands, Rebeka and Omar arrived at the entrance of the house they had left in the morning. The girl, with the smile of a playful cat, turned and said the following words.

  “Let me go into the house. In the meantime, hide in the courtyard and wait for my signal.”

  Omar kept silent and paid utmost attention to the plan he was being told. Because Rebeka sounded very serious in her words, he decided not to ask questions and begin the art of espionage and patience, so as not to be detected, while hiding in the courtyard.

  After dismissing her boy with a peck kiss, she turned and walked until she disappeared from sight as she crossed the door of the house, but not before looking back and winking with her right eye as a sign of complicity and expectation.

  Once inside, Rebeka locked the door and went running in the direction of her room with the intention of fixing anything that might be out of place. No longer under the spell of bamboozlement, she was now back to being objective and more cautious in her intentions to ‘want to be liked’.

  ‘They say a girl’s room is a reflection of her personality. I really don’t want her to be distracted by unimportant things’, she thought. So, he put away the toys and stuffed animals he had, threw under the bed some incriminating books, and made sure none of his undergarments were exposed anywhere other than the laundry basket.

   ‘Come to think of it and look in the mirror; it would be better if I also took a bath before starting the action. A whole day at school has made my skin sweaty, and I feel really sticky; it’s not like I want to have a bad smell at a big time either.’

 Like a bolt of lightning, she went to the bathroom and turned on the hot water tap as she undressed and stepped inside the tub.

Between the desperation and the movements from side to side: ‘Damn!!!!! My hair got wet... I’ll have to dry it later so it won’t show that I took a bath’.

  Already out of the bathtub and drying herself with the towel she had, Rebeka took a last look around her room, wondering if anything was missing to make the moment perfect. Her room was fine, but:

‘What’s to eat in the fridge? What if we get hungry and there’s nothing done? That could be bad, couldn’t it?’

After looking over the table, Rebeka remembered the times she had gone to the kitchen and brought back a different glass, which she had forgotten to return. There had been six times; why six? Well, because six were the empty glasses she had on the table, stacked in a corner behind the school books.

   ‘If he wants to eat after we’re done, I’ll spread my legs and tell him to keep eating me down there,’ she said to herself confidently as she picked up the glasses as best she could to return them to the kitchen. ‘What if I bleed? After all, this is my first time with a guy.’

  Overwhelmed with so many “what ifs,” Rebeka tried not to think anymore; after all, she had realized that she was nervous and, in a way, felt afraid. With fear, insecurities came up and didn’t help her think clearly. As soon as she finished washing the glasses, she opened the fridge to see if she had anything to eat.

   ‘I think I can use my mother’s wine for the occasion; I’ll tell her I used it for cooking.’

  More than eating, she thought about drinking. After all, they say alcohol gives courage. She went back up to her room with the bottle in her hand and looked at everything, but a strange sound brought her back to the present, and she looked at the clock. It had already been two hours since he had left Omar outside.

   “It’s night, and he’s still outside, the poor guy. I hope he doesn’t get eaten by mosquitoes.” 

 Tick Tick…

  ‘What is that noise? It’s coming from the window. It must be him. Omar, it’s only been a few hours; how impatient! I haven’t dried my hair yet; I haven’t made any food or organized the bookshelf either.’

  With no choice but to stick to the imperfection of the sporadic rather than wait for the perfection of what was carefully planned, Rebeka had no choice but to open the window, hoping she could come up with something convincing to say. A justification that would buy me time in this situation and at the same time stall him.

 ‘My room is on the second floor,’ she said to herself.

   Rebeka opened the window facing the courtyard and after locating Omar with her eyes, she whispered:

  “You must come up this way.”

  “But how?” said Omar, in response to the request he had heard.

   Not knowing what to say, Rebeka shrugged off the question. After one last look into her boyfriend’s determined eyes, she decided to go inside so she could organize what she had left.

  ‘I really can’t believe I have so many self-help, sex education, and romance books,’ she said to herself with a nervous chuckle, the one she hadn’t been able to hold in since the beginning. ‘No matter how much she pushes them aside, there’s always another embarrassing book behind. who knew?  From being two people who were silently attracted to each other, we are now about to walk a fiery path together. From looking at each other silently, greeting each other politely, to smiling discreetly at each other, to touching each other hotly, to kissing each other hungrily, to desperately wanting to be together and now... to being about to have sex.’

  After tossing the last book she thought would put him on the spot, Rebeka turned to watch as her beloved’s head peered out the window.

  ‘This doesn’t make much sense, I know...’, Rebeka thought as she laid out the bed. ‘But hiding who I am only happens because we haven’t had much communication with each other yet. Once I can get confident and act like who I am, he can’t get rid of me anymore. That’s the perfect plan. First, though, there’s having sex, which can’t happen if I don’t first make time for romantic details, open up our intimacy, and make us feel special, or do we...! He’s already here!’

As soon as he could avail himself of a firm grip, Omar brought one foot up and then the other, allowing him to leap over the window frame beyond Rebeka’s study table. Dodging the chair, he landed on his feet with his hands outstretched, as if he were a gymnast who had finished a somersault without surviving.

After shrugging his hands to look at the very risky jump he had performed, he almost didn’t hurt himself. After realizing that he was covered in dirt and paint on his hands, he added, “Can I rinse my hands?”

  Rebeka’s heart was pounding, even though her boy was talking and acting normally, as for her it was the first time she had ever had a boy inside her room.

  ‘I really never expected him to be so fearless,’ she thought after keeping her distance and saying loudly:

‘You can go into the bathroom and wash up if you want.’

Rebeka watched as he walked past her and silently made his way to where the sink was.

   Silence fell, so much so that you could hear the faucet turn on and the waterfall as the suds were created by the rubbing of two hands washing each other. Rebeka wondered if perhaps he could hear her heart beating as it did, not out of excitement but out of fear of not knowing if he was doing the right thing.

  ‘Now that we’re in my room, with no one to stop us... I don’t feel ready; my body is telling me it’s a bad idea; it’s like I want to jump out the window. I don’t know what to do!’ She said to herself, swallowing dryly and taking a step back.

  Omar took longer than it would take someone normal to wash his hands, something that gave Rebeka a chance to keep thinking and build up the courage in her body. After all, what would become of humans if they stopped doing the things they felt were wrong?

  ‘I guess it goes both ways... that assurance in his words is just him pretending; after all, this isn’t his territory, and he’s in someone else’s house, uninvited by my mother.’

  “So... this is your room?” asked Omar after turning off the tap and drying his hands on his clothes, which made Rebeka tense up even more.

   “Yes” she answered aloud, not knowing what else to say.

  After all, she believed that once a tiger was before its prey, it wouldn’t take long for it to attack and devour the meat. Omar may not have been a tiger in the strict sense of the word, but he was a man thirsty for sex, and being there in the room, having waited for so long, what made him not want to attack?

   “Rebeka...” the girl tensed even more when she heard her name. “I know it might sound unpleasant, but do you mind if I use the bathroom? This situation has me very nervous, and I don’t know what to do about this uneasiness in my stomach.”

  ‘Perfect! That will give me more time,’ she thought. She was also glad for the unexpected opportunity, and she let all the energy she had prepared to rush off dissipate.

“Yes, of course it does. It doesn’t sound unpleasant; it’s natural, very natural; no problem; use the bathroom all you want.”

   “You mom?” he said, whispering.

  “Don’t worry, she’s not here” replied Rebeka, with a mischievous smile, of one who didn’t want to get in trouble.

  As soon as Omar managed to process the answer to one of the issues that bothered him the most, his look of a calm and serious boy changed to that of someone who was obviously confused but relieved at the same time. After seeing Rebeka, he looked back to the window and then back to her, realizing all the work he had gone through and the time he had waited out there.

  Mischievous and with the same playful cat look she gave when she said goodbye at the entrance of the house, Rebeka chose to avoid giving an answer, as just smiling back was enough.

 After taking as deep a breath as she could, Omar gave her a smile as he closed the bathroom door with the eyes of someone who would not regret doing what he was about to execute.

  As soon as the boy stepped into the bathroom, Rebeka turned around and walked to the kitchen with the bottle she had brought upstairs. She couldn’t deny that she felt better, more willing, and less afraid. ‘I don’t feel so tense anymore, and the ends of my hair are about to dry completely. Everything will be perfect. Yes, everything has to be perfect. I really deserve it; it’s not the moment that’s important; it’s the person we share the moment with.’

  Under the stairs, water could be heard falling.

  ‘That the sound of the shower? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a boy take a bath. I’m also worried that it will take too long.’

 Unable to suppress her curiosity, she left the rice cooking, to silently drain back to the bathroom entrance. With her heart in her chest, Rebeka slowly moved her hand closer to the door handle. She stood, feeling her legs tremble as well. That someone was bathing meant he was naked, plus the sound of the water was falling in a strange, rhythmic way.

  With conviction in her gaze, she tried to turn her hand, but the latch prevented her, something that forced her to stand firm on the other side, just listening as her boy bathed.

   She could resist and leave, but her memories were stocked with memories and foolproof methods to open the door she had used in the past. Swallowing dryly, she picked up a small, long key just behind the night lamp, which would fit through the doorknob hole, and she could open it from the other side. Considering what she was about to do, she thought about it for a moment, then, without even being sure, inserted the key into the lock and made the effort to open it.

 Even more nervous, she began to turn the faucet.

  The water falling from the shower sounded more constant, as if whoever was bathing had stopped moving.

   Curious as she was, Rebeka ignored this change in sound, and the first thing she noticed inside the bathroom she had just opened was whether or not he had used the bathroom as she imagined. With a smile on her face, she continued to analyze with her gaze:

   ‘His clothes, they are neatly folded on the floor, let me take them and hide them for the moment before he notices. Just her clothes alone, I can tell I trespassed just for the sake of pranking her.’

   “Re... Rebeka!” pointed out Omar, who was on the other side of the curtain that prevented the water from draining out of the bathtub. “Are you there? What are you doing?”

  “Don’t mind me; I’m just going to hide your clothes. That’s the price for using the bathtub without my permission.”

   “Don’t tell me you’re serious, please. Don’t do it.”

   Rebeka, who was leaning on the floor already with Omar’s pants, shoes and shirt in her hands, realized that something was not right with her answer. Someone who stammered and reserved the privilege of complaining in a situation where he had the upper hand was doing so because he really didn’t have the upper hand. Something fishy must have been going on.

   “You know what? Let me see you. Open the curtain. I want to see you, Omar. As your girlfriend, I have that right,” she sentenced, with words that sounded serious, something that led him to think. ‘If she was able to kneel before me, declare her love for me, and climb up to a second floor, I guess she won’t back down to such trivial whims I have, unless she’s hiding something.’

  The steam from the hot water had the windows fogged up. Omar didn’t speak; he seemed to be hesitating and even took a few minutes to open the curtain. And there he was, standing there, naked and with his body wet, but his look and demeanor fit even less, as they were not appropriate for someone brave.

  Rebeka could infer that he had been masturbating behind her back, inside the struggle of her house, without her having allowed him to. ‘What kind of pervert would do such a thing? That he preferred to touch and self-satisfy himself without including his partner in the act? Was it considered naughty?’

  “Did you mean to break my condition of not masturbating? Explain yourself, right now!” demanded Rebeka as she folded her arms, offended. Without taking her eyes off the virile member, he was trying to cover himself, but since he was hard, he couldn’t do it completely, even if he was using both his hands.

   Omar lowered his head and looked in the direction of the floor. In the boy’s gaze it could be deduced that he would rather dance without clothes inside the train, as embarrassing as it was, than have that situation happen.

    The rice cooker went off, and with that, the characteristic sound indicating “the rice is ready” was heard, but Omar did not dare say anything or argue a good justification or, at least, an excuse.

  It was not that Rebeka was angry; it was rather that she did not know how to feel, but she could not take the situation as if it had not happened; otherwise, the incident would be repeated when what she wanted was that he would touch himself in front of her every time she felt like it.

   The minutes that passed in the bathroom were many and very uncomfortable for both of them, something that only delayed the plans for a perfect night.

   After taking it in a neutral manner, Rebeka threw a towel over her boyfriend’s face and as she turned around, she said:

   “Dinner is ready. Dry yourself and come downstairs... I’ll wait for you to sit at the table.”

  Rice with freshly cooked vegetables, yesterday’s white beans, fresh salad, and instant meat were carefully served on each plate on the table. The meat and salad, along with the beans, were separated, while the two plates were already served with their corresponding portions of rice. The portions in each bowl were not generous, but enough for two; after all, Rebeka had made sure to leave enough food for her mom to eat when she got home from work.

  Sitting on the chair, while the food was getting cold, the girl tapped the nail of her index finger against the wood impatiently, even though she already heard her beloved coming down the stairs.

   As soon as Omar made his presence known in the dining room, she raised her eyes to watch him.

   There he was, shrugging his shoulders, his hair still wet, walking like someone who felt uncomfortable walking naked in someone else’s house and who, by the way, would be surprised by an overprotective mother with her daughter, who would be less likely to break his head and cut off his balls, as soon as she saw how disrespectful it was to walk naked in someone else’s house.

  Under her gaze, Omar didn’t intend to move forward without saying something first, and so he did:

   “I wanted to cum before I was with you,” he said.

  Rebeka blinked twice to keep her eyes wide open. She could see pity in the other’s face as his eyes avoided making eye contact with her, while his body sought to cover his member using both his hands, as if trying to bring down the erection he still had.

   “Do me a favor and have a seat” Rebeka announced, as soon as she stopped the sounds caused by her fingernail hammering the table. Omar raised his head and swiftly proceeded to take it, as if obeying whatever he was told at that moment would guarantee the outcome of a less severe punishment.

 ‘Omar, famous for doing and undoing, taking risks, and coming out victorious before others, was feared as a criminal and respected by them. How come he turns out to be so unsure of himself before me?’ wondered Rebeka as she served the portions of meat, salad, and beans on the guest’s plate, taking care that one of her breasts did not burn with the hot rice already on her plate.

 “Why?” she asked Omar, referring to his reason for wanting to come before having sex with her.

   “It’s my first time with you... I want to last as long as possible and not have to worry about looking bad” he said, after swallowing and settling down on a cold, unpadded chair. He wasn’t swallowing out of hunger, but he had done so to keep his voice from shaking on the way out, something he couldn’t help.

  ‘More time... looking bad’ she internalized, who let her guest’s plate perch right in front of him, to proceed to serve herself.

   “In other words, you want to make sure you give me hard work for a long time so that I’ll be delighted with your performance and won’t stop looking for you when I have the desire to keep wanting more sex.”

  Rebeka didn’t mince words, she wanted to set the record straight and, as if she were a businesswoman, touch every dot and comma of a contract, as long as she didn’t get the wrong idea before making the decision she had in mind.

  “Yes, I want you to be unable to walk after how hard I gave you for the whole night... I also believe that, despite ejaculating ten times, I would still be unable to come for more than a few minutes, touching you...”

   “Oh...” replied Rebeka, who decided to take it as a compliment, as she stopped paying attention to the boy and looked inside the glass to which she took a sip after stirring in a circular fashion and sniffing as if it were a cup.

  Silence flooded the table.