#david: 02

Provided how rarely homesickness struck Daniela, she flitted in and out of her childhood home sporadically, often without preemptive notice. She had always been less sensitive and nostalgic than her brother; in fact, it was her pressing urge to ‘get out’ that had partially motivated her decision to move to MWU, even if commuting was certainly a feasible option. A life without her mother looking over her shoulder had seemed vastly appealing. There were moments when she felt the distance benefited the relationship between herself and Mrs. Arevalos — when they saw one another less often, there was inevitably less friction and more time spent getting along.

Ironically, the distance was the source of Daniela’s brief bickering with her mother in the kitchen. You didn’t call me this week. I barely know what you’re up to anymore. Why can’t you be more like your brother? Though the spat was more of an irritable disagreement than a fight, it’d left Daniela in a sour mood, enough so to immediately head up the stairs to find David. “Mom’s annoying,” she declared as she slipped into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Not needing an invitation, she plopped herself unceremoniously onto his quilted bedspread. “Hi, by the way.”