Mom wanted me to keep my door open while I studied, so I sat in my room without any privacy at all and with her checking in on me every five minutes. My phone buzzed on the desk, and I quickly flipped it to read it before she came back.
João: I’m picking you up.
João: I’m picking you up.My heart raced, breath catching in my throat.
When I heard Mom’s footsteps coming up the stairs, I shoved my phone in my desk and leaned over my books, yawning at the perfect time for her to catch it.
She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”
I looked over, pretending like I hadn’t realized that she was there, and closed my textbook. God, it was about time. It was ten p.m., and I had been studying nonstop since three p.m. She had even brought dinner up to my
