“Sorry, I’m late.” The little girl in the purple dress said, running out her bedroom. A lunchbox waited on the filthy counter, filled with a sandwich, juice box, and a bag of chips. The mother stood facing the sink, her mind too distracted with getting all of the dishes done. She was a simple women on the outside, slender build, short, dark brown hair.

“You look amazing for someone who just woke up five minutes ago,” a man said from the table at the corner of the room.

“Thank you, papa.” the little girl smiled, “It was actually ten minutes though.”

They both chuckled, causing a disruption in the silent room. The girl sat across from her father, stealing a piece of his toast. She stuffed the bread down while finishing up a piece of her homework.

“Darling, we must be going,” the mother stated, putting on her coat.

She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were hollow pits staring off. The girl skipped over, putting on a purple coat to match her dress. With one hand she took a hold of her mother’s and with the other she waved goodbye to her father.

“Bye Bye Papa!” She said as the front door closed behind her. “Love you!”

---

As the two walked down the hall to the elevator, the mother began to speak, her pace slowing.

“Darling, your grandfather should be visiting tonight.”

The little girl squealed happily and jumped up in excitement, adding a little skip to her step.

“I know you’re excited darling, but how happy is your grandfather going to be when he sees your grades.”

“No! Momma you can’t! Please. You can’t show him.”

“Darling, you have to get your grades up. They aren’t the best that you could be doing, and you know what’s gonna happen when the city exams come in. You’re gonna fail darling,” she hugged her daughter, tearing up, “And you know what happens when you fail.”

“Yes, momma.” the girl answered.