Despite this, she earns mostly As and Bs in school, and is fully determined to receive an education beyond her primary one. Much to the chagrin of her teachers, she wants to graduate early, in order to get into college as soon as possible.
She lives with her struggling working-class parents and her two younger brothers. With her mother at work during the day and her father working the night shift (and thus, sleeping all day), Chantel is given the responsibility of taking care of her brothers, in addition to going to school full-time and working a part-time job at a local grocery store.