"I'm going to be honest with you Liz, it's been really tough lately. I'm not sure if mom told you but ... I got expelled from my masters program," I had finally admitted to my older sister.
Liz was silent for a few seconds. I could already picture her priceless facial expressions on the other side of the phone. Positioning her head downwards, opening her tiny mouth, and curls accidentally falling between her lips. "Mari- how did that even happen?" She stuttered.
"Honestly, it all happened so fast I haven't even had time to process it yet. A man stole my wallet and broke into my school, so I kinda broke into the school to chase after him as well. I got my wallet back but still received that dreadful message the same day. The director at my school wasn't as lenient as I thought he would be." I laid on my back and let my curls fall outwards.
"That- that is just insane. I know mom probably understood but, what the fuck?" Liz claimed. She was older than me by a few years, but that didn't really take a toll on our relationship. Liz was married and had two kids already, being way ahead of the family game already by my age.
"I know. I did meet some new friends though..." I announced, practically bragging about it.
"Did you?! You haven't had a friend since... well since Gabriel," she noted. I rolled my eyes at the mention of his name.
"Don't even bring that up."
I heard her moving around in the background. "That had toxic written all over it, girl. I always tell people, never have a relationship where your boyfriend is your only friend." And that was true, you shouldn't.
I took a deep sigh, "Yeah, yeah." I turned over on my back and opened up my laptop. "Do you know the band, The Driver Era?" This was a long shot. My sister would know NOTHING about "American Music."
"Actually, I think I heard them on the radio today? Their song went like this..." Liz began humming to the tune of Preacher Man. After spending the last few hours researching as much as I can and listening to their singles, I knew them like the back of my hand.
My eyes lit up as I said, "No way! Those are my new friends. They're in a band. The lead singer actually helped me get my wallet back that day... he also kinda pushed me against the wall the first time I met him."
"Oooo, you mean like..." Liz began coughing.
"Oh my god, are you crazy? No," I laughed out loud.
"But- you wish it was a..." She began coughing again, but this time choking on her spit and laughing even harder.
"Shhh!" I screamed through the phone. "It's not like that! I guess I'm their new publicist now."
"What?! That is really great, Mari! That would look great on your resume, and you always wanted to market the arts!" I knew my sister was genuinely happy for me through the sound of her voice. I was genuinely happy for me too.
I logged into my school email and noticed an unread message. It was another message from the board of directors at my school.
"Liz, hold up a sec," I mumbled.
Dear Ms. Campos,
As the university continues to review your situation, we have come to the decision that your incident earlier this week will be labeled as a crime. As we stated before, this was a direct violation of the school's student conduct, which you agreed and signed too. Specific crimes under these circumstances can require the university to seek compensation from you. You shattered the glass outside one of our main entrances, and therefore we must seek compensation from you because of this. The amount will be listed down below.
