William
"It does." She answered in a quieter voice. "But it just means it can't get worse, right?"

"Want me to cook them instead if you need a break? It's completely alright, really."

"Uh... Easy money." She answered, reeling her hand back to herself. "Two hundred or two-fifty Euros a day; just for taking a package snd dropping it off somewhere for like... Five times a day. Nobody ever suspected a kid of handling a kilogram or two of cocaine anyways, so yeah. I just... I don't know, felt that my parents deserved more money for what they did. Worked their asses off for eight or ten hours a day for barely enough. I just wanted them to have good food, good furniture, a good sofa, good... Everything. It worked, mostly."

To this day, Margarita held on to her reasons and beliefs but that conversation with Mrs Pernilla and a chat with her parents were beginning to sow doubt and some sort of awakening into her.
Stephen
◆ "No, no, I got them." She politely decined the offer, flipping them over again and gently poking one with the tip of her finger. "Anyways, I guess, but..."

□ *But it can always get worse,* The pessimist in her lamented, stifled by the light of hope and optimism that shone bright within her. It could have got worse, and it often did because of traffickers like Margarita, whose hands and backs carried life-ruining drugs to those who needed a lift out of their misery rather than a slip and a slide. Attention mostly focused on the ground, she listened to Margarita speak, hands in the pockets of her pyjamas, anything to keep her nervous fidgeting under wraps and out of harm's way.

▪︎ Part of her couldn't wait for these sausages to be done.

◆ "I mean... I get that, but jeez, dude, those were *Drugs.*" She didn't want to sound angry, but with a drug addicted sibling close to her heart she couldn't help but harbor some resentment towards drug dealers and their foot soldiers. "Did you ever think about how those packages were hurting others? Or did the money just... Nullify any guilt?"
William
"Alright, alright."

Not that she was great at reading emotions, but there was genuine discomfort being felt in the room. It all quickly added up in Margarita's head, and with that, decided to give River the space she needed, loving to the sofa instead, her neck twisted 180° like an owl considering the sofa was facing away from the kitchen and River was in the kitchen.

Fun powers.

"I know." She replied, her voice somehow unaffected by her inhumanly twisted neck. "But... No. I never did. I rarely saw the faces of the recipients, and even then I was reminded every day not to think about it. I've seen crackheads and the like. Hell, I beat some of them to a fine pulp defending myself and my shipment. The money's too good, River, it's just... My parents were at the top of my head. I don't care who buys it, I care that they buy it."

And that was her honest to God justification. She did it for the money, overpowering morality the moment she heard how much it could bring her and her family for an hour or two or walking every day. And she wasn't ashamed of it. For now.
Stephen
◆ "Then you never saw the people you were enabling." In stark contrast to the tired yet genuine warmth that had existed not even ten minutes earlier, there was now distrust, a certain distaste, and maybe even an inkling of anger. "It's an easy lie to tell yourself, that it's for you, or your family, or your siblings, or whatever. The truth is, though, you're tainting the lives of those you deal to as if it's equal in value to whoever you're doing it for. It's not a victimless crime."

□ It was admittedly a rare sight, seeing River in such a negative, almost hostile mood, but as someone who'd watched multiple family members slip into decades of drug abuse and ruined lives she couldn't entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, drug dealing or drug trafficking could be a morally correct path. There was always a better path, a less harmful path, and those who chose it over peaceful means of bettering one's station in life were no worse than war-mongering politicians.

▪︎ And thankfully, her sausages were done. She began to dress the buns promptly; clearly she wanted out.

◆ "Maybe you don't care who buys it, but try to have some empathy. Some decency. I'm not a DARE adherent, but..." She set her meal onto its awaiting plate and began to walk out. "Think of all the lives you're ruining just to make the lives of your parents better. Would they want that guilt on their heads? Knowing that their kid is ruining lives just to help them afford material luxuries?"

• With that, she'd step out. Clearly she wanted this to be some sort of rhetorical question, something for the other girl to think on.
William
"No. Most of the time, no." She replied. Any trust or comfort that existed a while ago was gone, the mood now just as cold and bare as the concrete of the outside walls. "It *Isn't* A lie, it's *The* Truth. The lives of whoever had wanted these had already shattered their lives to bits the moment they were looking for bulk cocaine. Their lives compared to my parents are *Nothing*, and even if I had victims, they were already beaten up long before they saw my face. That money was worth it and I do not think otherwise."

"Sympathy for who? Them? It's only business. I'm a mule, and that's the end of it." Watching the other get their food as fast as they possibly could felt... Slightly disheartening, but she had no control over it. 

"Hey, my parents work every fucking day and they get dogshit pay while what, they sit in their fancy villas? Sniffing coke, chain smoke cigars, buy sports cars, and all that? Shit, my parents are more productive than any of the street fucks or the goddamned rich fucking people but get just enough to meet ends. If being honest and working hard isn't cutting it, then maybe it might not be the solution to the problems we have."


And just like that, Margarita found herself alone, her neck twisted to face a non-existent person. Questions began to arise in her mind, but no. She was in the right, and they were wrong. She did her best and she wasn't going to say anything about it otherwise.