C3 Leila, the High School student

The door opens and Leila is welcomed by her angry mother, "you are late, young lady."

"Mom," says Leila, "I can explain. I have a good excuse."

"A good excuse to come home so late?"

"Mom, it's only 9 at night."

"I specifically said you must be home before the sun goes down so I can review your homework. Don't be acting with an attitude with me, young lady."

"Mom, I'm trying to explain. Someone was in a car accident and I went to help them."

"Oh really? Can't you try a better excuse? I swear, if you have time to fool around, you should think of a better excuse."

"It's not an excuse. You saw the news, right? A car crashed and I was there. I helped them."

"I saw the news but you weren't in it."

"Well, I had to come back here before you got mad, so I had to leave the scene."

"Enough. You are punished, young lady. You are no longer allowed out until further notice. You must report to me after class ends and go nowhere else. Now go to your room."

Leila Marina was the daughter of a single mother who was very demanding. Her mother would demand she get straight A's and nothing less. It was driving her crazy, having her mother control everything about her. Her mother claims it was for her benefit, but Leila just wanted to be left alone for once. The only way she can cope with this madness was to talk to her friend Tomi.

In her room, she picks up her phone and calls her up.

"Hi Tomi, it's Leila."

"I know that. I can read your name on my phone."

"Even you are giving me an attitude?"

"Ah, your mom again."

"I'm sorry but she's always getting on my nerves. She keeps treating me like a kid, even though I'm in High School. I should be treated as an adult now."

"At least your mom is not like my dad. He worries too much."

"Yeah, parents suck. I wish my mom wasn't so pushy. Can you believe that I saved some guy from a car wreck?"

"You did?"

"It's in the news. Some guy was in an accident and I went to help them. I dragged them out of a burning car and just as I was a distance away, the car exploded. I then got scared and ran off. It's in the news, you know."

"Let me check," after a few moments, "yeah, I see the news article, but I don't see you anywhere."

"Like I said, I got scared of the explosion and left. If only I knew I was going to be on the news, I probably would've stayed and my mom would believe me."

"I don't believe you either."

"You don't?"

"No way. I know you are athletic, but I find it hard to believe you can lift a man that's heavier than you are."

"Yes, I can. He wasn't that heavy, anyways."

"Still, this guy is a wealthy businessman too. I think you are just making it up to make yourself look good."

"He is?"

"According to the news, they said he is the CEO of a car company, so he must be rich."

"Whoa, I didn't know that. I thought I just saved some office worker. I mean, the car was an Uber. A rich guy would be driving an expensive car."

"That's what it says here, and you claim you rescued him."

"I did. I swear that I rescued him before the car exploded."

"Well, even if you did, that was a bad idea. You could've gotten hurt."

"But if I didn't, he would've died. I felt like I did the right thing. But I didn't know he was a wealthy man."

"Maybe you should go visit him in the hospital."

"I should, shouldn't I? No, wait. He's not going to believe a 16-year-old girl saved him. He'll think I'm lying."

"Well, that's too bad. If you really did save him, he would've given you some money."

They both laugh. After they had their conversation, Leila went on the computer and saw the articles for herself. It was as Tomi said, he was the CEO of a car manufacturing company and worth millions. She lays on her bed and starts to imagine what it would be like to have so much money. In fact, looking at this CEO named Dexter, she thought he looked a bit handsome. For a guy entering his 30s, he didn't look too old. If it wasn't for his stubble beard, he could pass off as a person in his mid-20s. She liked his short brown hair that was combed to the side. In fact, she just realized that she forgot what he looked like after she left. She thought about it for a moment and remembers he had a lot of black smudges all over his face and some scars as well, but also remembers that he looked at her in that one moment before he lost conscience.