Rosalia [h.s.] COMPLETED

Chapter 33*

I need y'alls advice! Would you like an epilogue placed in the far future or more near future? What details would you like to see in the epilogue? Please lmk! Thanks and enjoy :)

✾✾✾ Rosalia ✾✾✾

"Como que no vas ir a la Universidad? Estas loca?" (What do you mean you're not going to college? Are you crazy?) Was the first thing her mother said when Rosalia brought up the proposition to take a gap year and travel.

Steven, who was clearly supportive of the idea, took about an hour trying to explain to her parents that everything would be just fine. However, that didn't necessarily come easy.

Rosalia's parents were the type who didn't expect their children to do extraordinary things. Survival was pretty much the only accomplishment that her parents wanted for them but it wouldn't happen unless they got some kind of education or a good job.

So to tell them that she wasn't going to be doing either of those was especially hard for them to hear. For them, there was no such thing as "figuring yourself out" or "connecting to the inner self." It was algo que hacen los gringos.

Nonetheless, they eventually gave in. It was when Armando told them that it was a good idea to let her go when they actually came to an agreement. This didn't surprise Rosalia much since he was the one who was more academic and responsible. Plus he was a man, so his parents trusted his judgment more.

Despite the subtle sexism, as soon as they gave the hesitant yes, Rosalia and Harry practically jumped in their seats.

"So, my dad just has to call his brother and let him know that we'll be at the beach house for the summer and there we can figure the rest out, I guess," Rosalia smiled as she laid against Harry's chest, between his legs while he sat against her headboard.

"And what does the rest include exactly?" He chuckled.

"Where we're going to go next," She looked up at him.

"Where do you think we can go next?" He asked.

"Wherever we can live for free or cheap," She scoffed.

"London is the only other place I have family, but it's super expensive and it's not going to be anything exotic or free from chaos," he sighed.

"Hm. True," she looked down, "we'll just think about it later. If anything, we can stay in Mexico or another country down there," she shrugged.

Harry agreed and they sat in silence for a while. He thought about how easy it was for him to think of this idea but he knew it was easy for a reason. It's because you're sub-conscience always knows what you're really thinking and it may not always be right, and you can certainly train yourself to think certain ways.

It's why we as humans in a capitalist society can fall so easily into customs without even thinking twice. We just assume that going to college and getting a degree and then a job is normal. We never ask ourselves if this is a routine we want to follow.

"Life is so much better when you just do what you want, isn't it?" Harry blurted.

"It is," she looked down at her lap, "When you asked me to go away with you, I wasn't scared of leaving. I was scared of what people would think. Isn't that weird? We care more about what people think of us than what we think of us."

"Adam Smith really succeeded in setting us all up for misery, didn't he?"

"I'm gonna pretend I know who he is."

Harry gasped, "Rosalia, how dare you forget yet another iconic white male of your history textbook?"

"Damnit, I did it again," she shook her head sarcastically, "I'm sorry," she frowned.