"Are you David's new girlfriend?" Lily asked sarcastically. "His last girlfriend always cried when I corrected her in algebra.

I'm definitely not going to cry over this," Victoria said. Victoria shifted her weight to her right hip; the movements hurt, but she tried to maintain a neutral expression.

A wooden horse figurine with a chipped ear fell out of Lily's backpack. "Equations," Lily muttered. "If you're bad at math, just say so." The last girlfriend liked to start, then, when things got difficult for her, blame it on a migraine. " she said."

Victoria sat down on the sofa cushion as if she were sitting on broken glass. "Have you ever had a migraine, girl?" Victoria asked. "Only when adults blatantly lie," Lily snapped.

"Look, you got the x wrong," Victoria noted.

"Bullshit," Lily replied.

"No, really, you reduced the fraction here incorrectly. Although why am I correcting you? You're the smartest one here," Victoria said.

Lily realized she'd made a mistake and began silently re-solving the equation.

"Stop biting your cuticle," Victoria said, "that's unhygienic."

"I see Uncle's teaching you quickly," Lily grinned, "you're already talking like him."

"Look. You can solve this equation faster. If you subtract this fraction right away, you won't have to reduce it later," Victoria said impartially.

"It works correctly," Lily said, surprised. "Congratulations, you're his smartest girl," she said mockingly. Lily.

There you go. Here, take a Snickers, boost your brain power," Victoria pulled a Snickers out of her purse.

"Dad and Uncle don't allow us to eat that," Lily replied. "It's unhealthy."

"And we won't tell them," Victoria muttered conspiratorially.

"If Mom hadn't left us, Dad would have been kinder," Lily sighed. "But his loneliness and his job as a doctor make him a stickler."

"Does he... punish you?" Victoria blurted out.

"Only with some demands. For example, when I stole his car keys and drove it around without asking, he made me do an inventory of his office at his clinic for a month." Then Lily suddenly pulled a knife out of her backpack and started sharpening one of her pencils for no apparent reason.

"You bring knives to class?" Victoria asked, surprised. "Didn't anyone tell you you're weird?

"Aren't you weird?" Lily quipped. "Normal girls dont have bruises on the butt from incorrect equations.

Victoria marveled at the surgical precision with which Lily sharpened the pencil. "Did your dad teach you to sharpen like that?" she asked.

"No, i learn myself. When Mom's away and Dad's always busy, i quickly become independent." Victoria felt awkward; it felt like she'd opened an old wound. Then Lily quickly changed the subject. "Here," she handed over the anesthetic cream, "apply it to your sore spot." "It looks like you've shoved a cactus up your ass."

Victoria laughed. There was something charming about the girl's straightforwardness and honesty.

"I stole it from Dad's office," Lily said. "Apply more, I can perfectly well guess what happened to your butt."

Victoria began to apply the ointment to the sore spots. "So, you're a kleptomaniac?" she grinned.

"Only for good purposes," Lily replied. "For example, to help our elderly neighbor, Margot." Arthritis.

My God, you're like a living Robin Hood, Victoria remarked. When I was your age, I stole something for a boy I liked back then. He didn't appreciate my efforts, though. Apparently, I wasn't his type. Does your dad know?

He knows, but he pretends not to notice. He's a master at pretending. Why did you take so little cream? Your butt needs a bigger dose of anesthetic, she remarked decisively.

You sound like a doctor; apparently your whole family is obsessed with healing, Victoria remarked.

No, it's just common sense, Lily replied.

Common sense, Victoria thought to herself. It's probably why I'm here, not working for penny tips in a backwater cafe.

In fact, Lily turned out to be incredibly smart for her age and an excellent and understanding conversationalist. All this time, Victoria and Lily chatted, barely getting their homework done. Then the men returned, Adam left with his daughter, and said goodbye to David and Victoria. David immediately gave Victoria a homework test. Victoria failed it and immediately began to cry, knowing he would give her more spanks. David knew she wouldn't be able to withstand the previous number of spanks with a bottom like that, so he announced three more spanks. "Be grateful Lily liked you; we'll limit ourselves to a small punishment." He went to make dinner, and Victoria was left crying.