Knock three times

Only after the landlord had assured her of the absence of rats did she accept the small apartment as her own.

It was her first time away from her family and the time of Lima where she has grown up. It was her first step to the freedom she begged for.

The apartment she had chosen was part of a larger apartment complex with thirty or forty people living within it. As long as none of these people bothered her then it would be fine.

The building was five minutes' walk from her workplace; her room was moderately size and dimly lit as she imagined most if the other rooms to be. While it wasn't perfect, it was hers and that was a start.

For the most part the other tenants limited their communications with Santana to the occasional nod on the stairwell or a flirtatious comment from several of the well-meaning older tenants. She wasn't complaining or anything, you see Santana wasn't what you would call a people person.

During her high school years she hid behind a bitchy persona, bullying those weaker than herself in hopes of being shielded either with popularity or fear. If she were honest with herself, she hadn't changed all that much now.

While she had calmed down enough not to beat the crap out f any stranger who glanced her way for more than three seconds, she still had her walls up, unwilling to form close bonds with anyone around her.

It was just easier that way.

Santana was nineteen year old and living in New York with a job at a top advertising firm.

It had been one of her dreams for as long as she could remember, seconded only by singing, a career she had long since lost hope on.

Despite her natural beauty and talent, she had been unable to break into the industry, being refused recording contracts by several local firms and narrowly avoiding having assault charges filed against her after she swung a microphone stand at a man who had made sexual advances toward her person.

After several other similar experiences at more companies in the town, she had but given up on finding any job let alone in an industry she was in any way interested in. This was until she got the all that would change her life forever.

Troubletones advertising was one of the most we known and well respected firms in the industry, with clientele coming in from all over the world in hopes that they could cast their magic on their product or service.

They had picked up on Santana's work after a teacher at her high school had sent several pieces to them. Santana had shown an unnatural talent in many forms of creative media, skills rarely seen at such a high level in one so young without training.

As soon as they were certain that she was ready and that she had finished her high school education, they made the call, offering her a job with them immediately.

She was a genius and they needed her.

So that's how it had started.

That's how her life changed.

A phone call and she was off and out for bigger thugs that her small town could have ever made possible.

Full of hope she left her family and small group of friends and leapt into the big outside world and into adulthood.