WITHIN THE LAW ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
𓍼 where bruna, who recently obtained her law degree, leaves rio in pursuit of her biggest dream: to become an international lawyer. and paris awaits her.
bruna woke up early for what would be her last day breathing the air of rio de janeiro, the last friday she would wake up to the sounds of the street vendors who, every friday without fail, organize a street market on the street where she lives.
she's lived on this street for 23 years, 23 years in the neighborhood that, according to her, is the best in the world. tijuca, in the northern part of the city, has the maternity hospital where she was born and the best bars in the city.
and that particular street witnessed the highs and lows of bruna's life, her cell phone was stolen there, but it was also where she had her first kiss with a foreign boy who had recently moved to the city and, even more unforgettable, it was on that street that she discovered she had been accepted into her dream university, uerj.
uerj, state university of rio de janeiro, which cost bruna her mental health when she was in her final year of high school, however, she says she would go through all that stress again if necessary. having the opportunity to study at the best university in rio is not for everyone and having the opportunity to study law at the best university in rio is not for everyone.
those five years were spent on campus, the five most stressful and rewarding years of bruna's life. and if it weren't for all those years, she wouldn't be on her way to paris today to pursue a postgraduate degree in public international law. uerj opened doors she never imagined would be opened for her.
université paris 1 panthéon-sorbonne. two years of studying at one of the best law schools on the planet, starting in august. everything was and is being paid for by the university where she studied in brazil, from accommodation to food.
but going to the french capital a month earlier was an opportunity she was given thanks to the money she saved from the allowance she received from her mother and the salary from her internships. not enough to buy handbags in designer stores or visit the best restaurants in paris, but enough for her to survive comfortably during all this time.
bruna can't believe she's going to have a new address in a distant country. she laughs at herself every time she thinks about it because she has never seen the world outside of brazil, she never imagined that this world could be hers someday. but she knows that her entire journey to get there can serve as an inspiration to other girls like her who have dreams like hers, that alone is already extremely rewarding.
and how she wished paris were just a neighboring city to rio, just so she wouldn't have to leave her mother and her kittens, just so she could keep going to maracanã every time her team plays there, just so she could have coffee at the same place every morning. how will she live without that? without her friends from college, from work, and especially without her family nearby.
she has to distract herself from thinking about it every time, because her eyes well up with tears whenever these thoughts reach her.
her mother keeps saying she hopes she enjoys every second and doesn't let homesickness overwhelm her. but flávia, her mother, doesn't hide how much she'll miss her only daughter, but the two have promised each other so many things that the next few years seem like they'll be filled with flights from rio to paris.
and the friends? manuela, alice and bruna have been a trio since kindergarten, always together. even when fate led manuela to medical school in another state and alice to become a math teacher with absolutely no time for anything. the three of them never abandon each other's lives, every week without fail, they have a video call to catch up on recent events in each other's lives. and even when there's no news, they get together just to talk about anything.
they were the ones who made bruna access the list of the students who would be in the same class as her in the first semester, in addition to having accessed each professor's linkedIn profile.
"william saliba," alice was pointing her cell phone at the laptop screen, "he is your youngest professor apparently."
"and with the most impeccable resume i've ever seen," manuela pretended to be speechless.
"he studied law at oxford? holy shit," bruna chuckled, "he's 30 years old and has two postgraduate degrees, that's my life goal."
"and he's quite handsome, by the way," alice winked at bruna, "but he looks like one of those annoying lawyers."
"hot and annoying, a good comb. the kind of man bruna likes."
"oh shut up," she rolled her eyes, "i want his resume, nothing more."
"and he specializes in the area you're interested in, right? immigration and refugees."
bruna nodded, "i'm going to do some great networking with him."
"yes girl, go for it!" alice clapped her hands, " i can't wait to tell everyone that my best friend is the best international lawyer in the world."
william looked at the watch on his wrist, "40."
"do you want to stop? it's too hot, i'm afraid i'll faint."
william shrugged as he knelt on the grass to tie his shoelaces, "up to you."
"damn, saliba," his friend laughed, "it's impossible for you not to be feeling unwell in this heat."
william ran his tongue over his lips, "you're just too weak."
maxence gave him the middle finger, "let's go finish this inside. i'd rather spend two hours walking on the treadmill than stay here for another five minutes."
"you're going alone," saliba took his watch off his wrist, "i need to stop by the office."
william shrugged again, "i don't know, it's a long time before classes start again, it's must be about exchange students."
"i heard that this semester is going to be the one with the most international students."
william nodded, "i received the list of students enrolled in my course, and it includes 10 from outside france."
"how many times a week will you be teaching?"
"four. i'm free every wednesday, don't worry about our tuesday nights football game."
"good to know," maxence chuckled softly, "now go do your shit."
william picked up his bag from the bank and smiled at his friend, "see you later, my brother."
maxence is saliba's training partner. they met when they were children and their dream was to be a football player, not a lawyer. they went years without speaking, but maxence reached out to william as soon as he entered law school. one chose criminal law while the other chose international law.
william isn't sure when the desire to go to law school first arose in him, but he can't imagine doing anything else. today he helps train other lawyers, good international lawyers who are willing to do a good job. and being a professor in the postgraduate program in international law and a lawyer transformed william into a different man, especially since he achieved this position at a young age.
he balances the responsibilities of his profession well with the desire to live life as if there were no tomorrow. from monday to friday he teaches adults, sometimes older than himself. at the end of the tuesdays and thursdays, he runs and goes to the gym with maxence. saturdays and sundays? far from paris, preferably somewhere he knows no one will recognize him.
but it would be a lie to say that he doesn't miss practicing law even when he's not being a lawyer.
he is the personification of organization and responsibility, but nobody can live without fun. he knows that.
today was one of the few times that organization and responsibility did not align, he wrote down the wrong day for the office meeting. he only found out because another lawyer sent a message in the group asking what time is the meeting next friday.
he got home, sent a screenshot to maxence, who laughed and received the reply, "go fuck yourself." and now he's sprawled on the couch wondering if it's worth going to bed early, three o'clock in the afternoon. all because maxence is right, it's unbearably hot in paris and he has absolutely nothing to do.
his cell phone didn't seem to offer any activities interesting enough. the best option seemed to be to open linkedIn and update his profile, which he hadn't updated in a few weeks.
he was inspired, so he updated his profile picture, background photo and added certificates from courses he had recently completed.
william was about to close the app when he accidentally opened a tab that shows who viewed his profile. many people visit his profile, he's practically a celebrity in international law on linkedIn.
but there, amidst so many people, someone stood out. bruna and her friends forgot that linkedIn shows who visits your profile. her profile is beautiful, it draws attention for that reason, and it draws even more attention when people visit and see all those academic achievements.
"brésilien," he murmured.
bruna participated in conferences, lectures, and university activities. she received many gifts and a recent achievement... she was accepted into a postgraduate program in international law. in paris. in the université paris 1 panthéon-sorbonne.
it looks like it's going to be a good semester.
