Esperanza approached her classmate, a 13 year old boy, and told him a plan she had in mind: "Yanet has done something to me, and as a way to get back at her, lets pretend to be each other's lover to get her jealous." Pranks were his thing, he accepted without giving it much thought.

With time, the line dividing pretension and reality dimmed. Indeed, they had become each other's lover. She was his first girlfriend, and as such, he didn't know what to feel toward her. When they'd kiss, he did it thinking, "this must be heaven, it must be nice, I should enjoy it, I have to do it often". That's the best he could do then. He hadn't yet learned to appreciate the beauty of a kiss.

Some classmates organized a ditch-party. They were to get together before school and sneak out. About six or eight went on with the plan, among them the two lovers. They got together and walked to their hiding-place, the home of a classmate. For hours, they had fun the way teenagers have fun: played music, told jokes, and played spin-the-bottle, of course. :)

Then, the lovers' friends thought it was time for the lovers to take the big step. They were placed inside an empty bedroom, and the door was being held closed by a couple of their friends: "don't come out till you've done something!" The lovers didn't make an effort to escape. They sat next to each other. He held her. Their backs were against the wall. She was quiet, he was pensive. Did he really want to devour her with kisses? Did she want to be devoured? After a few minutes of silence, perhaps because their ears had gotten tired of being pressed against the door, the lovers' friends gave up and finally the lovers were free. He had passed up on the opportunity to make love to her.

Time passed. Long gone was the day when they decided to play a prank on Yanet. He was on his way to visit his best friend, William, when he saw Esperanza. They approached each other and talked. They had different things in mind. What he had for her were viscious words, clashing against those coming from her, so sweet and loving. Her heart was being broken, right in the open, out on the streets. She put her dignity aside and asked him to reconsider. She tried very hard to get him to change his mind, but he was stubborn about his ways. She gave up and caught up to her friend, who had been waiting a few feet away and probably witnessed Esperanza's moments of anguish. Esperanza's friend turned to the foolish boy, but before she could take a step in his direction, Esperanza stopped her and said, "no, let things be". She was a woman in pain, but a strong woman at that. She had accepted her fate. That was their goodbye.

Life made it up to Esperanza. It was not long before another man was providing her the happiness she sought in the guy who could not return her feelings. He was jealous to see her with somebody new. He tried to get her back and got what he deserved, a rejection.

Years later, William saw Esperanza and he described her as looking even more beautiful than ever, and still possessed the sweetness and friendlyness that characterized her in the old days. William summarized it all when he said to him, "you're a big fool for having let her go". Those were the same words he had told him years before, that late-afternoon when he broke her heart.