Sunlight pierced through the old tatty curtain into the small bedroom, gleaming columns of light on her weary face, her nostrils on its own accord inhaled into the lungs the freshness of the morning's air.
Her stomach reacted upon receival, but it wasn't in appreciation nor joy, but a grumble of denial; it had been denied food for proper functions.
Her eyes fluttered while her ears remained repulsive to the sounds by the birds and the crows of the cocks and the tittering of chicks in the traditional settlement of mount Vernon, Nymfaio
A Macedonia village located in a natural beautiful landscape below the mountain, until the door was forced upon, letting in a draggy middle-aged man with a very dark brown coarse hair, voluminous and curly, and bulky eyes behind medicated transparent glasses.
"Valentine!?" He yelled into the young girl's ear, which reciprocated with back flare. She opened her shuttered eyes and pin-pointed her eyebrows with a wrinkle in-between them
"What now Patera?!"
"Why are you still sleeping?"
"Huh? …" She turned her head, and her eyes followed, directed to the window, her eyes widened with lines of surprise "Why is it sunny, Patera!?"
"Because it is March, Valentine!"
"Oops. Can you stop yelling?!"
"You first!"
"Not happening! You're my father and I'm your daughter, you go first, Mr Keftedakia!" She opposed in a greek accent, trilling R's, hardening C's, and thickening I's. A sound similar to Spanish and Italian accent, with mostly no lisp speech impediment.
She called her father, Mr Keftedakia, a greek type of meatballs, and sometimes Mr Pasteli, which usually has a flat, rectangular shape and is made with honey and sesame seeds with some other nuts, because he loved them so much.
"You can't stay indoors all the time! Go and make friends!" He yelled.
"I have friends! And I like to stay indoors all the time!" She yelled back.
"Being an introvert doesn't suit you!"
"And who says I'm an introvert?!"
"Mr Keftedakia says so!"
She clenched her teeth, about to mouth-strike, when suddenly, a rock pigeon slipped in from the window, and started beaking on her father's toes…
"And that's Mr Keftedakia and son…" she giggled and quickly brought out a small camera which she used to capture the moment. The rock pigeon's head was lifted up, with one of it's leg on top of her father's toes, while her father looked down on the pigeon with a “what-the-hell!” kinda face.
"Aww what a nice picture!" She turned the camera's screen for her father's view.
"Wh-at what?..." He stammered "You didn't just snap us!" He moved to get it away from her hand's grasp but she coursed off.
"Don't you dare! …" She frowned jestingly. "You don't get near a girl's bed!"
Her father glanced over the bed through his glasses, and shook his head with a chuckle. Valentine looked around her and shrugged.
"Hmm, a girl's bed…" he said, turning to the door. "A girl's bed shouldn't be so wrinkled up…" he paused. "Oh you're having wet dreams!"
"Huh? A girl doesn't have wet dreams!, Is not even yo—"
"Oh! Valentine does!"
She wrinkled her face and pointed her finger to the already opened wooden door.
"Whatever…" he rolled his eyes. "I was going to use it anyway"
He left the room and left the door unclosed. Valentine hit her hand on the bed and tottered away from the bed "Damn Mr Keftedakia, he won't close the damn door…" she looked down at the floor and saw the pigeon littering around. "Hey Mr Keftedakia's son, you may take your leave now…" she motioned her hand away to the door and the pigeon forged ahead darting it's head forward.
"Thank you" she said with a smile, about to close the door when a knock from the outside resounded. "Oh Mr Keftedakia, could you please see who's at the door!?" She closed the door behind her and walked away into the sitting room.
Her father was going to open the door when she showed up, she eyed him and went to sit down.
He opened the door halfway to see an elderly woman with a smile on her face "Beautiful morning Mr Palemo"
"Beautiful morning to you too" he said with a smile.
"Is Valentine at home?" She asked. Valentine got up from the chair and walked briskly behind the door.
"Valentine? …" He placed his right hand on his face, scratching his cheeks with his face turned to Valentine, while his hand was used to cover his eye contact.
Valentine shook her head. "Don't you dare, Mr Keftedakia" she whispered.
He turned his face away. "You know kids, she left this morning before I could even wake up, probably to play or something"
"Oh, no problem! I will be back in the evening then, have a good day, Mr Palemo" she left, and he closed the door, staring blankly at Valentine, who exhaled and went back to sit down smiling, crossing her legs on the sofa chair.
"What was that? You just made me lie to an elderly. Don't make me lie because of you again!"
"Then don't lie because of your daughter, again" she said with a wink.
Palemo dropped his shoulders weakingly.
"Oh! And I'm not a kid and I don't go out to play or something"
"Shut it kid… you're only eighteen"
"Who said eighteen is still a kid?" She snarled.
"I did. Come and beat me"
Valentine stood up and walked toward her room.
"Are we done?!" Palemo yelled out to her hearing, but she went inside her room and shut it to his hearing.
A few moments after Valentine got back to her room, Palemo switched on the Television to a News channel. And what he saw amazed him.
"Oh my! Is true! Is this year. Oh my God, don't tell me I forgot about it!"
He rushed out of the living room excitedly to Valentine's room, but the door was locked. "That's right, Mr Keftedakia, you knock before entering, that's if I want you to" Valentine said.
"Hey, come out, I want to show you something! …" He rushed back to the living room. "Be quick, Val!"
Valentine trugged out from her room and came to the living room with a slight discomfort expression. "Why won't you leave me alone to rest for you?"
"Sit…" he dragged her down to sit beside him while his eyes remained fixed on the television. "You see that?" He said with a smile.
Valentine looked at the television and back at him with a wondrous look "okay… so what?" It wasn't that she didn't see the meaning or saw what was being shown in the television, but she didn't get why he would call her to see, because it was out of their reach, they shouldn't even be thinking about it.
"What?"
"Yes, what?"
"You know what this year is? Is another academic session, and Liege College, every five to six years cuts their tuition fee to 30%"
"And?" Valentine asked, staring at her father.
"And…" he sighed, and painted his face with a smile. "I think it is time for you to go to college. You just got out of highschool, I think is best to send you to a good school for further education"
Valentine bursted out in laughter, in conflict with the reaction Palemo expected.
"Why are you laughing, Valentine?"
She pulled in the laughter and drained it down her throat, "You mean, Liege College, as in Liege College?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Maybe you don't know. I will tell you"
"I'm all ears"
"Liege College is like the most exotic and expensive school in the whole country…" a big "O" was drawn in the air with her two hands. "Don't you get it? Is only for the wealthy, not even the rich, you know what I mean? Mmm? And look at us…" she looked around the living room; it wasn't so bad, but it wasn't so good. "We barely eat three times a day"
Palemo stood up and went to his room.
"Are we done?!" Valentine questioned.
He came out with some documents in a single file and set it on the table.
"What are those?" Valentine asked in a concerned tone.
"Your documents, I think we are set"
Valentine chuckled. "You must be joking. Are you out of your mind?"
"You don't talk to your father like that, Val"
"Sorry. You're not out of your mind, you're about to be… we can't even afford the 5%..."
"That too, has been settled…" he laid back on the chair with a grin.
Amazement carved some character lines on her face "You have got this planned out already, haven't you?"
"Val, I've been waiting… since the past eighteen years"