Chapter 3

Things were still too strange, even though she was halfway through the second week, she still felt out of place, but that was nothing new. Despite the insistent feeling of being out of place, Zara still felt happy, especially that Wednesday.When she sat down in her seat in the first class room, she didn't feel as alone as before, next to her was Eliz, who waved and smiled when the Jinn entered the room. A strange intimacy had been forming between the two girls since the fateful day when Zara fell victim to the "lost ball".Contrary to what Zara thought, Eliz didn't stay close to her out of guilt, in fact, after the brief conversation in the girls' locker room and the invitation to the movies, Eliz decided that she would try to turn that brief moment into the beginning of a friendship. Despite appearing confident and outgoing, the redhead didn't feel comfortable opening up to everyone, let alone forming bonds, but Zahara Grant seemed like a good person, her gentle golden eyes won her over without much effort.That's why she was right there.She had moved her seat to the front of the room to be closer to the new girl. At first, he noticed the brunette's surprise at his act, but a few moments later, he saw her smile openly and it warmed his heart."Have you looked into any clubs or extra activities?" asked the redhead, pulling her chair a little closer to her new friend. "I don't know how it worked at your old school, but we need complementary activities here."The redhead's tone was very low; at the front of the room, the teacher, Mr. Albert, had already started the day's physics lesson. Zara turned her eyes to her classmate and knitted her eyebrows together. Although she pretended, she never really paid attention in class. It was getting tiresome."Not yet, I don't know where to look for these things," she whispered, looking straight ahead as she continued, just so that the physics teacher's eagle eyes wouldn't notice them talking. "Where do I find these things?"Eliz was about to answer when she felt a little ball of paper hit the back of her head and tangle in the reddish strands, and when she looked back, Lucas, one of the boys on the team, was discreetly pointing ahead. At the front of the room, the teacher was glaring at the two girls, irritated by the whispers which, contrary to what they had both imagined, were not so discreet.Eliz, her cheeks slightly reddened with embarrassment, shrugged her shoulders and lowered her eyes, pretending to write something down in her notebook. Zara, on the other hand, felt her hands start to sweat and, like her friend, picked up her pen and started writing something on the blank page, just so the teacher would leave them alone.The class went on slowly and tediously, Zara spending the first two hours of the morning lost in her own thoughts and occasionally whispering with Eliz, who always seemed to have something to talk about even if the moment wasn't right. The jinn discovered that there were clubs at school, divided into music, dance, sports, cooking, literature, mathematics and even chess. Zara didn't know how she would fit into any of these, so she got busy deciding where she would spend her extra hours, since she couldn't just attend official classes.When the bell rang, echoing through the corridors and into the classroom, all the students rushed up without even waiting for the poor teacher to finish his lesson. Zara felt Eliz's delicate hand grasp her arm and, intertwining them, the redhead began to walk with the young woman by her side."Can you play a musical instrument?" she asked, reaching the corridor and looking at her friend doubtfully."None," replied Zara, a little awkwardly, clutching her notebook to her chest.Eliz didn't expect a different answer, Zara didn't look like someone who sang or danced, to her, the girl next to her didn't seem to like being in the spotlight. As a result, her mission to find a club where Zara would fit in became even more difficult.As they walked, Zara felt a heavy arm rest on her shoulder and, as she looked away, she saw Yun's gentle smile, but she had to raise her head to look at the oriental girl. She still couldn't come to terms with the fact that humans could be so tall, but she was getting used to it."What are you doing?" Yun asked, stopping beside the girls as they both put away their materials and picked up what would be useful for the next lesson."I was trying to help Zara choose a club," Eliz replied, looking at the short-haired girl and smiling slightly, discreetly touching Yun's hand as she waited for Zara to put her materials away."Have you thought about the literature club? It might be interesting for you, Zara," Yun suggested, resting his chin on Eliz's red hair and staring at the brunette in front of him."I think I still have time to think about it," murmured the jinn, smiling briefly at the two girls.Inwardly, she felt good, she was happy, after all, the two girls seemed to make an effort to stay close and not leave her lonely. Their proximity also made other students seem friendlier and more open to dialogue. Zara noticed this as she walked back through the corridors with the girls, as some students whose names she couldn't even remember waved and greeted her as the three passed, something that never happened when she was alone.They walked leisurely through the corridors and, when they reached the staircase leading to the third floor, the trio split up. Unfortunately, the girls didn't take all their subjects together, so from now on, Zara would go to her classes alone. But that didn't bother her so much, after all, she knew that when lunchtime came, she would meet her friends again, and that made her happy.

***

The week went by faster than expected for Zara, who felt satisfied with everything she had done, even with the small incidents and a near"drowning in swimming class, everything went very well and the Jinn was pleased with her achievements.When Saturday arrived, she was nervous.Her hands were sweating and all she could think about was what could go wrong at that moment. Despite her fear, she was happy; it was the first time she had been out to the movies with other girls. Normally, everything she did was with her father, but Ifrit didn't have that much time on her hands, so she ended up hardly leaving the house or her own lamp, spending her days with Desire, her kitten, in her private prison.As a result, she wasn't as familiar with human leisure time, having only visited a movie theater once, dragged along by Jeane, the only friend she'd ever had in her life and whom she hadn't seen for a long time. Just as she was about to feel sad, the jinn pushed away the memories of her old friend and looked up when she heard a loud, familiar voice.She was wearing baggy jeans, she had discovered that there were pieces that weren't so tight, and that amazed her. Her wavy hair was loose and more in line than usual, the bright pink blouse contrasted beautifully with the caramel tone of her skin and the light blue of her pants. Her glasses were well positioned on her face, making her big golden eyes look bigger, and she had found a pair of nice white sneakers which, for her, were extremely comfortable."You came!" Eliz shouted, running up to Zara and hugging her, surprising Jinn, who had been distracted by looking at the pretty sparkle of the bracelet she was wearing that evening.Over the course of the week, the brunette discovered that she had several classes with Yun and Eliz, which brought them a little closer, since the two girls always ended up asking Zara to lunch together. This closeness frightened her, she didn't consider herself good enough for an intimacy like the one that was beginning to form between the trio, but she felt so happy that she almost couldn't fit inside.She had friends now and it was like a sweet dream come true."I told you I'd come..." she said, shyly, hugging Eliz."Eliz... You know she doesn't like cuddly hugs," joked Yun, messing up Zara's hair even more, as he did every time they saw each other."I told you, it's not like that... I like hugs," said the brunette, making a small beak and then smiling.The conversation between the trio flowed so well that Zara was afraid that something would happen, something that would spoil her moments with the two girls by her side. The thought made her panic; after all, she didn't want to lose the friends she had just made."So, ready to watch "Thor: Love and Thunder"?" Eliz asked, dragging both girls into the theater. " I've been waiting all last year for this movie!Zara watched them for a few moments, they were like opposite ends of the spectrum. Yun frightened anyone who approached with her haughty bearing and tall height, reaching two meters with ease, she wore tight, dark pants, with an equally black blouse with sleeves, the color seemed to make her even more imposing. Unlike the oriental girl, the little eliz was wearing a flowery dress, this time in shades of lilac, her red hair was neatly braided and she was, as always, smiling."You really like those superhero movies, don't you?" asked Yun, who was only going to see the movie because of Eliz, since she had insisted for two long hours."Zara, who's your favorite hero?" the redhead asked, looking at the genius with her big, clear, sparkling eyes, waiting for an answer."Well... I don't know very many..." she answered shyly.In truth, Zara had no idea what the other two were talking about. Since the death of her mother when she was born, Ifrit had completely cut herself off from the human world. This left Zara completely isolated from the customs of her other half and, as a result, she was not at all familiar with the customs common among humans, including cinema. Especially among Americans, when Zara ventured into the human world, she usually didn't stray far from Arabia, in areas with a smaller flow of people, staying in small villages and towns, playing with children, trying to help one person and another with her powers and then returning to her world afterwards, avoiding forming bonds."Don't you know them?" Eliz asked, as if she had heard her blaspheme against some extremely powerful deity. "We need to convert you to the Avengers!""We can do a marathon, it could be at your place, Za, if you like," suggested Yun, as they bought the tickets and got the popcorn."That would be great for me," Zara confirmed, excited at the prospect of having them over to her apartment.She avoided thinking about the possibility of being questioned about her parents or how she had acquired an expensive apartment in a prime area of the city to live alone, she couldn't lie, but she preferred not to think about the possibility at that moment and preferred to enjoy the fun evening.Despite the short time, a connection was established between the three girls. This both delighted and frightened Zahara who, for the first time, felt part of something...