Her house was in a godforsaken neighborhood the government decided was too expensive to take care of, so they preferred to just forget about it. It had just one bus line with a few vehicles that would work in the morning and in the late afternoon. If you wanted to spend the night outside, you had to pay for a cab to take you there. Considering it was Emma’s plan, she gave Millie some money for the ride. It was not because Emma remembered this situation, but because Millie reminded her about it.

She stood outside the house for a moment, this was for the best anyway. The house had two floors and a small garden. The garden’s grass was brownish and most flowers were withered. There was a rocking chair next to the front door her father would sit on every night before going to bed, but he wasn’t there.

The house was supposed to be white, but it had orange spots here and there and the paint was falling off some places. The wooden door’s lock was damaged, but Millie would pretend she was using a key to open it, in case someone was watching. A silly thing to do in her opinion, but she preferred to humor her father.

Once inside she turned on the light of the main room, which was both a kitchen and a living room. Something was weird: if the lights were off, it meant her father was not even there. She saw around but nothing. Her thoughts were interrupted by the memories of her evening.

Stupid guy. Who does that Ewan think he is? He dares to say I’m not their “kind”. As if I’m less of a person just because I sing at a stupid bar. Idiot! They’re all the same. That old guy is probably just okay because he wants to marry that idiot of a grandson he has. I don’t care anyway. I completed my mission, right, Emma? So now I can make a difference and get out of this hole.

She went to her room. It was pink and had some plushies hanging on the walls and some more on her bed. They’ve all been with her since she was a little girl. Her favorite one, a mouse she called Chip, was the first one her mother gave her. She did not even remember when she got it.

She threw herself on the bed, face down on the pillow, and grabbed Chip. Where are you now, mom? She slept there for a little while. Her pillow got wet.

Later, the screeching sound of the front door opening woke her up. Dad! She got up immediately and ran there. He was standing at the door, still open. His face looked twenty years older to her.

“Dꟷdad? What happened?”

He took some moments, some breath, and finally looked at her.

“Millie… I got fired.”

“What? How? Why?”

“Some layoffs. The company is merging with another one and it seems they don’t need some of us.”

“Bꟷbut they can’t do that!”

“Except they can, honey. They can.”

She took him to his armchair and she sat at the sofa in front of it.

“I went to a bar afterward. It’s pathetic, you know. I wanted to drink like crazy to forget all about it, but couldn’t bring myself to drink one drop of beer. That’s how pathetic I am.”

“No, dad. Iꟷbut thisꟷ”

She was staring at the floor, not knowing what to say. The only thing she could do was biting her own lips to try to stop their trembling. When Daniel saw some drops on the floor, he realized his daughter was crying.

“No, honey, no. Don’t feel bad. Look, I’m probably just overreacting. I can find another job. It’s gonna be okay.”

Suddenly, she stood up, a fire of defiance shining in her still teary eyes.

“You’re right, dad. It’s gonna be okay. I’m going to make it okay.”

She sounded calm yet menacing and her eyes did not even meet his before she ran back to her room.

Once there, she sat on her bed and grabbed her phone.

“Emma? I’m done. I did it.”

“Hi, girl! You did what?”

“Cut the cꟷ” she stopped for a second, “I did what you told me. Everything went okay with Ewan. I don’t think they’re gonna set a second date, so I did it.”

“Perfect!”

“So, you’re going to help me with the music deal, right? I need it.”

“Oh, Millie, my dear. We need to talk about that.”