"Who could that have been? How strange." Leila questions herself in a firm, low voice as she drives her green Jeep along a dirt road on the outskirts of the border.
While driving, she tries to glance at her phone to see if she recognizes the number she just answered. Suddenly, the car hits a pothole, causing her hand holding the phone to shake involuntarily and the phone to slip out of the car.
She slams on the brakes. After stopping and letting out a deep sigh, she looks into the rearview mirror searching for the phone and spots a blue dot in the middle of the road. She opens the car door and walks over to retrieve it.
Picking it up from the ground, she blows forcefully to remove some of the dust clinging to it. After a quick inspection—removing the back cover and checking to ensure the N2 chip is intact—she slips the phone into the pocket of her pants.
She's wearing brown jeans paired with a black tank top under a matching brown vest. On her head is a light brown hat to shield her from the sun at its peak brilliance.
Without delay, she returns to the car and resumes driving toward her destination.
After more than two hours on the road, she arrives home and parks in front of the house. Grabbing her beige shoulder bag made of fabric, she heads to the gate and then to the front door.
"I'm hooome!"
Kicking off her boots and leaving them by the door, she makes her way to the living room.
"Hi, sweetheart!" Without breaking stride, she heads toward the kitchen.
"Hi, Mom! How did it go? Did you find anything?" Sarah asks while lying on the couch in the living room, reading one of her books.
"Unfortunately not, just rocks and roots."
"That's too bad, don't get discouraged! You'll find something soon!"
"I hope so! Otherwise, the Guild will revoke the site's restriction, and then it's over…"
"Why don't you join the Hunters' Guild? They pay much better," Sarah tosses the question into the air.
"You know what I think of those dirty hunters. We archaeologists, at least, have scruples and value our findings far more. Not everything boils down to money." Leila finishes her statement almost as a confession.
"Just don't have a heart attack if you do find something!" Sarah doesn't miss the chance to tease her mom, giving a faint smile without losing focus on her book.
"You're such a comedian! How was school today?"
"It was all normal. I'm still undefeated, but the boys don't want me playing soccer with them anymore."
"Don't you think it'd be nice to let them win once in a while?" Leila rummages through the fridge, looking for something to eat.
"No way! Let them work harder to beat me! Oh, there's food on the stove in the pot."
Sarah holds her book with one hand and flips a page with the other. She's lying with her legs crossed in a figure-four position to prop up her book.
"Seriously, Sarah? Potatoes? Again?" Leila looks incredulously at the pot full of boiled potatoes with a bit of rice underneath and some pieces of meat in the corner. "Seriously! You must dream about potatoes—it's unbelievable."
"Dad didn't complain…"
"He doesn't care about anything, that bottomless pit. It's like you take after him." Leila approaches the couch, holding the pot in one hand and a fork in the other.
"Eeeii…" Sarah murmurs as Leila flops onto the couch.
"Make some space here."
Sarah sits up and crosses her legs, placing a pillow on her lap to support her book. Then she gives her mom a slight, deliberate nudge.
"Eeeii… settle down, kid!"
"There, soon you'll call me a fossil too." Sarah speaks softly, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Hmm, great idea! You'd definitely be the fossil of a Cuscus—at least you're as troublesome as one!" Leila bursts into laughter as she searches for a channel on the TV with the remote control.
"It wouldn't be so bad, you know. I could run around freely without worrying about homework."
"I wouldn't want to be your teacher." Leila continues flipping through channels.
"Now quiet—I want to watch the news about my team!"
"Our team!" After setting her book aside, Sarah sits at the edge of the couch.
A few minutes later, Sarah is leaning her head on her mother's shoulder as Leila finishes eating the last bits of food from the pot.
"The royalty thinks they can do whatever they want… A new shipment of enslaved humans captured in the desert has arrived to work at the commercial port… Unsolved kidnapping cases keep piling up… The wall that divides us will one day fall… Ice cream for me, for you, and for everyone… A new N2 treatment that will restore your youth in the blink of an eye… They're superior, what can we do? The world belongs to them… The Atlás tournament ended with yet another noble earning the right to join the elite guard, they…"
Channel after channel, and Leila starts to growl in frustration.
"He's in great form and confirmed to play today!!"
A man announces the sports segment on TV.
"Yes! We're winning today! He's going to score an amazing goal as always!" Leila celebrates as if victory is already certain.
"Calm down, Mom. That team is annoying—they always make things difficult for us." Sarah warns, her eyes and thoughts still lost amidst the various headlines she heard on TV.
"They're playing terribly this year—they'll get relegated," Leila prematurely declares a sad fate for their rivals.
"Well… if they play like they did in the last round, it's a guaranteed win!" Sarah embraces her mother's enthusiasm and joins in the excitement.
"Do we have any popcorn left?" Leila begins planning the evening.
"Yes, there's half a bag left. Just don't forget to add butter this time."
"You're such a lazy one!" Leila gets up from the couch after finishing the segment about her team and heads to the kitchen to wash the pot and drink some water.
The day passes, and night falls. The game begins, and the two cheer for every play while munching on popcorn and complaining about the referee. Sarah's father isn't home. Play after play, the game ends with a narrow victory for their team. Sarah and Leila then head to their rooms and beds, happy: Sarah because she'll be able to tease the boys who root for the rival team, and Leila, excited for another day of excavation.