Now, winding their way toward the end of school, while Mariana chomped fries and went on about her plans for the summer, Alex had started to freak out about the final. She had really tried to study and follow the classes, but she was always so tired that whenever she sat down to review the material, she would fall asleep on her notes.
“Nothing more than the beach and a good book, and I’m the happiest person on earth,” Mariana was saying about her future plans. But suddenly she stopped as she saw a thought forming on Alex’s face, a scary yet intriguing thought. “Alex. Want to share what’s on your mind?” she asked.
“Huh? Uhm… not really, no. What beach are you going to?” Alex replied with a forced smile.
“If I didn’t know you so well, I might have thought that was an awful attempt to change the subject,” Mariana replied amused. “Come on, miss, spit out what’s on your mind.”
“Okay, but you must promise to take it to the grave,” said Alex. “I’m going to cheat.”
“On who?” Mariana asked, while wondering how she could not know her friend was dating someone.
“What?” Alex replied confused for a second, and then, lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, “on the test.”
“Oh… it’s that bad?” Mariana replied concerned. “I’m sorry. I thought you were exaggerating a bit. We can study together; I’m not that well prepared myself, but we could help each other out.”
“No, I can’t fail, I can’t. If I don’t get an A, I will have to take the exam and I won’t be able to work during the summer and I need the money. I’m three months behind on the rent and I’ll get evicted if I don’t pay up. Getting less than an A means taking make-up classes in the summer, I just can’t afford it,” – Alex added with watery eyes.
Mariana had not realized how worried Alex was or how serious the situation had become. She would have loved to lend her money, but she didn’t work, except for the occasional gig doing odd jobs. She had offered to let Alex stay at her place a few times, especially during the winter because she knew Alex was way too stubborn to turn on the heat, but she’d never suspected her friend was close to eviction, or worse, that they wouldn’t graduate together.
While both digested Alex’s statement, their brains were already at work. Mariana was proud of her pragmatism and business mentality. It was the reason why many of her professors suggested she pursue a career in nursing management instead. She loved budgets and she was fond of power, but overall, she had a sense of fairness and leadership that, combined, were able to look at things from a pragmatic perspective without forgetting the final purpose, in this case, helping her friend.
Alex, however, was an introvert and a very sensitive person. She was a people pleaser to the point where she would put other’s well-being before her own. She had a strong character; not many people would have been able to go through what she went through and still choose such a noble profession, but sometimes she found it hard not to stray from the rules. What united them, was what they most treasured about each other and themselves – they were unstoppable.
(…to be continued…)
Series – Evanescent
January: If Something Can Go Wrong…It Will – Jonay Quintero Hernández (Spain)
February: The Planet of Pleasure – Nane Sevunts (Armine Asryan) (Armenia)
March: Evening with Jackie Chan – Gennady Bondarenko (Ukraine)
April: Vuvuzelas, Walkie-Talkies and Madiba Magic – Sarah-Leah Pimentel (South Africa)
May: Remembering – Seyit Ali Dastan (Turkey)
June: 5-4-3-2-1 – Talia Stotts (America)
July: Getting Ready for Newborns – Marilin Guerrero Casas (Cuba)
August: Regrets – Kate Korneeva (Russia)
September: A Hollow Pursuit – Diana Haidar (Syria)
October: The Test – Alejandra Baccino (Uruguay)
November: A Life Rekindled – Lauren Voaden (United Kingdom)
December: Translation Perfect – Zhang Lu (China)
Special: Catching Water III – Javier Gomez (Argentina)
Background – Context
Transadaptation Volume 2: Conceived – Childhood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2021)
Transadaptation Volume 1: In the Middle – Prelude to a Contemporary Transadaptation, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2020)
Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)
L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)
From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)
Emblems and stories on the international community
Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world
Credits
Cover photo: Montevideo, Uruguay – Parque Rodo – Fabrizio Rivero Vernengo (Shutterstock)
Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed