“Then we can discuss the idea.”

  “I see.”

  “It almost feels like we actually have something.”

  Classes were about to end. The professor was in the restroom, so we were talking about how to organize our project. It wasn't even in some kind of beta yet, but thanks to what they did the other day, Aisha and Lucía had something in mind, we just needed to discuss it.

  The idea was to meet in Aisha’s house, but near the end of the conversation, she remembered something.

  “...Oh, right…”

  “Is something wrong Aisha?”

  “It's just, a customer vomited at my dad's bar. He told me it would be better if we worked somewhere else.”

  “It's that bad?”

  “The smell doesn't reach my room. But I agree that we need a place with a better atmosphere…”

  “I see.”

  That was a little inconvenient, but it’s okay. Aisha’s house isn't the only place we can work. Unfortunately, Lucia said something that I didn’t want to hear.

  “My house is not available either.”

  “Why?”

  “Just…Is not available.”

  “Hmm?”

  “...”

  “If Lusia says that we must respect her…”

  “I see.”

  “Can we go to your house?”

  That was the last question I wanted to hear. But I needed to pretend to have a good reaction.

  “Maybe both doesn’t like the place, we can talk in a cafe or in a restaurant.”

  “We’re not demanding, we just need a decent place.”

  “Yeah but…I mean…Some fun place could help Aisha.”

  “I don’t think so…”

  “...”

  “You have some problem with this?”

  When Lucia asked that with a worried tone I quickly tried to pretend again.

  “No, actually, it's good place.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. We can work there.”

  “Perfect, send your address to Aisha and we’re gonna go there.”

  “Okay.”

  DING DING DING

  “We ran out of time…”

  “See ya later.”

  After we finished our discussion, the class was over, so we everyone picked up our respective things.

  “Camila.”

  “Yes?”

  I looked behind me and it was one of my friends talking to me.

  “Wanna go to eat something?”

  “...Sorry, I’m busy today.”

  “I see, it must be important.”

  “Yup, it is.”

  “Good luck then.”

  Turning down invitations because I was busy wasn't unusual. Homework, cleaning, studying, helping my family...that kind of thing consumed my free time.

  At least that is what my classmates think.

  After leaving the school, I headed to a dark alley not far away. It was quiet, relaxing, and above all, lonely.

  "It looks like a good place."

  I was alone, nobody could hear me, so, I was totally free.

  “...FUCK!”

  I yelled in visible irritation. The last thing I wanted was people in my house. Now what am I supposed to do?!

  “Ugh, I can’t blame Aisha…still…”

  Losing my temper wasn't going to help, so I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Swearing would only make things worse, and I wasn't at home, so letting it out physically would end badly.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Maybe she know what to do…”

  Still very irritated, I took some keychains, a face mask, a hair net and a cap out of my bag. It was very generic so with a few accessories it changed a lot, that way no one could recognize it as mine. The face mask and the cap allowed me to hide a good portion of my face and hair, and thanks to the hair net the cap hiddes everything even better. The eyes were the complicated part.

  “I hate this…”

  A little scared, I pulled out a pack of contact lenses. Both were completely green. That way, no one would recognize my eyes. The problem is, I don't really like wearing contact lenses. Wearing them isn't so bad, but touching my eyes with my fingers…Horrifying...

  “I think I have at least an hour before starting the project.”

  Looking new, I left the dark alley and pulled my phone out of my pocket. There was someone I trusted more than anyone. Unfortunately, I could only communicate with her by text message, so I'd never met her in person.

  “Hi”

  “Cammy, hi.”

  “How's it going there?”

  Alice is probably my biggest supporter. I met her playing an online video game. At first, we were trying to kill each other over some weird loot, but we ended up becoming best friends. Someone I didn't even know by sight was perfect for me to vent to, something I often need.

  “I got an interesting loot. Considering the hour, you should still be out on the street, so check it out when you get home.”

  “Actually…I’m going to the store to relax a bit, but I’m going home early today.”

  “Something happened?”

  “Well…”

  I told Alice everything I could as I went into a store full of video games and TV show merchandise. I'm lucky to have a place like this on my way home, so I was able to browse without getting too late.

  After sending to her the full context, Alice responded me within a few seconds. Apparently she can read very fast.

  “That sounds like the situation you were avoiding for years.”

  “It is!”

  “Is it finally time to be honest?”

  “No!”

  “Alright, what is your plan?”

  “Hiding incriminatory things.”

  “And you need my wise for that.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You’re helpless…”

  I was going to text again, but I stopped when I saw something and quickly took a photo of it.

  "Look! That game is finally out!"

  "Great, you're gonna buy it now?"

  "I'm gonna wait a discount, but this is really good!"

  "About that thing."

  "Oh, right."

  I usually got completely distracted when I found something I like. Luckily, I know how to suppress it when I'm with people, but when I'm talking to Alice, I can't help myself.

  “What do you think about the manga and the novels?”

  “Were not in 2012, you can have two or three and just say that you're a very casual reader. The novels are normal, so you can let them in their place...Well, most of them.”

  “Sweet.”

  “I recommend the mangas from old TV shows to be the ones that can be seen, that way you can also say that it was from your childhood.”

  “Great…I don’t have to hide Gersen, right?”

  “Your turtle? Nah, it's just a pet.”

  “Thank god, I would feel like a monster….By the way, it’s a tortoise.”

  “It's the same thing.”

  “The word exists precisely because both are different things. Now you’re going to say that ankylosaurus and saichanias are the same thing?”

  “Let's get back to the point. You should hide any toy or figurine, and only left the band's posters."

  “Yeah, that makes sense, what about my computer?”

  “Change the wallpaper, if it has a password then it shouldn’t be something incriminatory.”

  “Nice.”

  "Also, you can show the console, but you must have at least one game. A console without games is very suspicious."

  After leaving the store, I went to the bus station and sent my address to Aisha. When the bus arrived, I went inside and began taking notes of everything Alice said. I was relieved to know my hobbies wouldn't be revealed. Still, She apparently wasn't happy with my actions.

  “Do you really need to do all that?”

  “I mean…’A’ wouldn’t say anything about my hobbies. But ‘L’ scares me…She looks like someone who could just drop it to everyone…”

  “You are SO paranoic.”

  I used names like 'A' and 'L' because it seemed wrong to tell the names of two friends to someone they didn't even know.

  “I need it, I lied for years about so many things. Now I can’t just reveal everything.”

  “Maybe that’s why all your relationships always end so badly.”

  “Don’t bring that topic now!”

  “How many were again? Two boyfriends and two girlfriends?”

  “You shouldn't use that to bother me…Also, I had three girlfriends.”

  I hated that she was so right about my relationships. My lies started when I transferred to my current school. At first, I just tried to make friends by projecting an image they liked and telling them what they wanted to hear. Everything was fine, but then it all got...boring.

  I started to get curious about everything people enjoy: video games, TV series. At first, I tried to avoid it; I thought it would be a mistake to get interested in something that didn't fit with the image I was creating. But in the end, I tried a more relaxed approach, which ended up being a total immersion.

  When I immerse myself in the things I love, I feel like I don't have to please anyone...I feel like I don't have to think about my speech or my gestures...I feel...free. And that made me fully aware of what I was doing.

  Everything I love, I hid it behind an image that prevented me from showing it to others. Every day, the person I show to others becomes more and more distant from the one who enjoys being in front of a screen. I even had boyfriends and girlfriends, but none of them were with me, they were with the class delegate, someone who only hides disappointment behind that facade.

  “If you still lying to everyone, all of your relationships will be that superficial.”

  “I know… but what if I’m weird? I have this image, if everything falls apart, what will I have left? Also, all those times I lied to stay in home talking with you will anger some people...”

  “Believe me, I know what it's like to have no friends. But you can't be like this forever. Unlike me, you can talk to people, you still have the chance. I hate it when someone who has that opportunity doesn't take advantage of it."

  “I know what you mean, but…”

  Alice has sometimes told me that she doesn't get along well with people. Even though she's a year older than me, she can only study through her school's online class program. Having friends is a luxury for her.

  “At least…try talking with them about some of your interests, if somethings goes wrong, you will know how to fix it.”

  “...I guess I could try…another day.”

  “You’re the one who approached to them in the first place, you should trust a little more.”

  “I approached them because I was trying to be their friend."

  “Then you have more reasons to try it.”

  “I know I know."

  “Anyways, I have to prepare something, so we should stop talking for today.”

  “Is it some kind of crime?”

  “No, I can’t find a keychain, but I think I know where it could be.”

  “Okaye, see ya.”

  As if it was a sign. After finishing our conversation I reached my house.

  “I’m home…”

  I said that, but I never received a response. That wasn’t weird. My parents probably were working, so I have the house for myself.

  “I need to start the cleaning.”

  When I got to my room, I put my bag down and changed into my uniform. After all, I don't need to wear costumes inside the house.

  Now, in my usual appearance, I began to hide all my collections.

  “Maybe both want to eat something, I could cook something…”

  Slowly ,every manga, poster, mousepad, figurine, weird pajama and TCG card was hidden in my closet. When every single incriminatory thing was there, I closed it with a lock.

  “I should make some excuses…”

  “...”

  “Don’t look at me like that Gersen!”

  I used the time before Aisha and Lucia arrived to make a salad for my tortoise. The salad contained everything that he needed, but something wasn’t okay.

  “...Hmm…”

  I carefully arranged the ingredients in the little plate that contained them until I managed to give them a hammer shape. If we consider how I named him, this is perfect.

  “Perfect.”

  Now satisfied, I gave the salad to Gersen, and he started to eat.

  “Is it good?”

  “...”

  “Hehe, I guess that is a yes.”

  Even when I was thinking about cooking something. At that moment, I just wanted to look at Gersen eating his salad. Somehow that was relaxing.

  “I envy you, it would be so cool if I were a turtle.”

  “...”

  “A long life without expectations or major changes, simply being in a habitat giving happiness without doing anything…”

  “...”

  “Okay, I’ll give you a little more, but don’t wait something big.”

  While I was preparing more food I started thinking about why I approached Aisha and Lucia.

  At first, I wanted to be friends with Aisha. It might sound strange, but I wanted to give her the same impression I had of everyone else. I started being friends with everyone because I wanted to, and now it feels like an obligation, so I had to do it now that she was accessible...But, seeing her interact with Lucia, I could only think of one thing.

  “They're so funny…”

  Their relationship is completely different from the one I have with everyone else. I envy those who have honest relationships based on trust. The way they can do things that annoy each other, but at the same time, they see each other in a positive way.

  “...I shouldn't think about these kinds of things before working on a project.”

  Their relationship is something I just want to see more and more of, see how they continue to trust each other, and maybe help them strengthen that trust.

  KNOCK KNOCK

  “It’s them, I guess the second plate can wait.”

  Maybe right now I can't be an honest person, maybe I never will be, but as long as I can appreciate the honesty of others, I suppose I can have genuine happiness.

  "I'm coming!"

  That way, I opened the door for the two persons I envy and admire at the same level.