6:59 Read Free

attention. Great progress that brought me. Not.
    Hudson pouted empathetically, drooping her slim shoulders. “Aw, really?” she asked, the look of pity engulfing her mahogany eyes. “I told you to come with Mannie and me to Galicia. It would have been a total blast with you there. Trust me.”
    I frowned a little, rolling my eyes in annoyance. “Hudson, I told you, I had important things to do.” Trying to get Cameron’s attention probably wasn’t important to anyone else, but as for me, it was vital that I saw him at least once a day. Even if only through my upstairs window.
    I tossed my hair over my shoulder, cheering up a bit. “But how was Galicia?” I asked, changing the topic. “Was he as maddening as the last time you saw him?”
    Hudson sighed heavily, plopping her chin on her hand. “ More . Guess what he made me do for half the time I was there?”
    I cocked my head to the side in response.
    â€œI had to meet, like, three hundred gazillion old Galician men every second of the day. It was as if he were trying to show me off to them, or something.” She shivered in disgust, probably remembering her “awful” time there.
    Armando chuckled at his girlfriend’s dramatic behavior. “The man was proud to present his beautiful daughter to his friends,” he said, a slight Spanish accent grazing his words. He drummed his hands on the desk. “Cut him a little slack. He hasn’t seen you in four years.”
    Hudson punched him in the shoulder. “Don’t stand up for him!”
    Armando laughed, grabbing her fist and kissing it gently. “I have to, my sweetheart,” he responded. “After all, he did offer to pay for my education and allow me to stay with you in this amazing country.” He pouted at Hudson. “I owe my life to him.”
    Hudson just sighed and shrugged, apparently annoyed that her beau wasn’t on her side this time, like he always was.
    I couldn’t help but smile at the two of them. They were cute. Their story could be some romantic chick flick if they wanted it to be. It all started when Hudson decided to visit her father one summer in Galicia when she was nine years old. She loved Galicia then, proclaiming that she was treated like royalty and had always spent time with her father (the man we now refer to only by pronouns). She continued to see him every year since then, after befriending her father’s best friend’s son, Armando. They would write to each other frequently and plan to meet every summer.
    When she was thirteen years old, four years ago, she and her father had some type of feud over how he wanted Hudson to live with him forever in Galicia. Of course, Hudson didn’t want that and threatened to run away. Armando insisted upon running away as well, declaring his “violently passionate love for her.” The two of them had made it all the way down to the southern part of Portugal when they were caught by her father’s numerous guards. Then, not wanting to lose his precious daughter once again, he allowed her to return back to America. This time Hudson would not leave without her precious Armando, causing another feud between her and her father. And now that Armando was involved, so was his family, and that caused a feud between both of their families.
    Sort of like a Romeo and Juliet type of thing. Kind of.
    But no one had to die for anyone because Armando’s father had always wanted the best for his intelligent son. He had then agreed to allow his son to study abroad in America because he presumed that an American education would be beneficial for Armando. After countless deals and promises, Hudson’s father agreed to pay for his friend’s son’s education if Armando promised to protect his daughter. Armando bid him his pledge that he would let nothing harm his precious girl at any cost. Then, the two lovebirds were free to return to America,