**Critically Acclaimed Book:**
"So this is the trash you've been writing instead of doing something to please God?" - My mom.
"Turn off the light and go to sleep!" - My grandma.
"So, daughter, when are you going to get into Ufes? Imagine, when my daughter is a doctor!" - My dad.
"Karol, you know it's your turn to wash the dishes, right?" - My brother.
"You will never amount to anything." - My physics teacher.
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**Chapter One**
"Apartment available. Requirements: non-smoker, steady job, no pets, appreciates a good joke, no criminal record or psychological illnesses, preferably a woman. Contact via email or phone.
Lizduspao@gmail.com / 02798453769
Elizabeth Oliveira Prado."
I looked at the message, wondering if I was being too demanding. But aren't ads usually like this? No, something was wrong. Maybe I should remove the email address; I never understood why I didn't create another one. I sighed and pressed the send button.
I needed someone to split the bills as soon as possible. I had been fired less than two weeks ago and was already worried about my savings. Luckily, the house my brother Hendrick and I inherited from our grandpa had two bedrooms, and with him traveling, I had a vacant room.
An hour later, I received a message on my phone. It was a girl named Cassandra. She wanted to see the apartment as soon as possible since she had just arrived in Vitória and preferred not to spend money on a hotel. We scheduled for three o'clock, and I was anxious until I finally heard the doorbell.
"Hello. I’m Cassandra." A blonde girl with big blue eyes greeted me. I noticed she spoke in a different way, like an accent.
"Hi. Come in, make yourself at home. Would you like some coffee?" I asked quickly, trying to be a good host.
Cassandra looked around the house with some disinterest, then stared at me with wide eyes in a way that startled me a bit. I wondered if I should have added "no psychopaths either" to the ad.
"I don't drink coffee." She then smiled. "Coffee makes me weird. I mean... it makes me strange, sorry."
I sat on the sofa and gestured for her to sit down. She hesitated, looking around the house a bit more.
"So, Cassandra..." I searched my mind for the questions I should ask. I actually had none in mind. The girl looked at me expectantly. "Tell me about yourself."
Cassandra crossed her legs gracefully and put her finger on her chin while thinking. This made me think she was deciding what to say, leaving out the fact that she had been arrested or had killed someone. I didn't know where this distrust was coming from, but I couldn't trust her much. Maybe it was because her face was too beautiful, delicate almost like an angel's. Her curly blonde hair flowed down to her waist, further accentuating her figure, not that the wannabe psychopath needed it as she was in perfect shape. She seemed like the kind of girl you'd find lost on the road at night, and when you'd get out of your car with an innocent "Hey miss, are you okay?" she’d attack you with a knife.
"Well, my name is Cassandra Flame." She pulled me out of my thoughts, speaking with that accent again. "I came from the United States. I had been to Brazil before, but only in Rio de Janeiro, not in Vitória. I came here... I don't think it's relevant to share the reason. I just arrived and really need a place to stay for a while... Until I finish... What I'm doing. I smoke sometimes, but I can avoid smoking inside, I don't have pets, no psychological problems... Um... I speak three languages: French, Portuguese, and English, but I still struggle a bit with Portuguese."
She looked at me with wide eyes again, waiting for my response. Only then did I realize she had finished.
"Don't do that." I let slip.
"What?" Her eyes widened even more in confusion.
"That thing with your eyes." I crudely mimicked by widening my eyes. "It looks like you want to tell me something secretly and I'm not getting it."
"Maybe I do. 'Accept me into your home' is what my eyes are saying." Cassandra spoke in a playful way and not offended, maybe that's when I started to like her.
"It's hard to trust someone who doesn't like coffee." I sighed dramatically.
"I didn't say I don't like it, I just don't drink it."
I felt a bit paranoid with all the distrust. Despite Cassandra hiding facts about her life, she seemed like just a normal girl who spoke funny. She watched me, waiting for my response, her eyes narrowed into small slits so as not to scare me. That made me laugh. The girl really had big eyes, in a beautiful way.
"Alright." I smiled, and she exhaled. "Your room is the one near the bathroom. You also have a bathroom inside, but the shower is broken, so if you prefer hot baths, you'll have to use the outside one."
She sighed in relief.
"Awesome! You won't regret it, Miss Prado. I cross my heart."