Chapter 4

"Hi Zara!" Annie, a girl Zara had only seen a couple of times in the four weeks she had been at school, greeted her.Things had changed dramatically.Her friendship with Eliz and Yun was even stronger and with it came a greater degree of popularity that Zara didn't know how to handle. As the captain of the school's girls' volleyball team, the best in the county and winner of the intercollegiate championship the previous year, Yun was very popular.Eliz was second in command of the cheerleaders, behind only Emmy, and this gave her a certain degree of popularity. Zara knew that, before she proved to be a great dancer, in the first year Eliz was the target of many jokes and always ended up on the cheers bench because of her weight, but according to Yun, she was determined and always wanted to be part of it, so it didn't take long for her to show that her body was in no way inferior to the skinny bodies, that she was able to move and dance like any other girl.The combination of Zara and the two girls made her a little better known in the corridors and, although it was very encouraging, she ended up even more shy and timid with the attention she was getting.Meeting more people was very good for the young genius, but it also meant that more people would be watching her and that terrified her, after all, where she was, disasters happened, it was common. She was afraid of going through the same thing that happened at home, when all the Jinns despised her solely because of her clumsiness. However, at least up to that point, people were welcoming her very well.Eliz and Yun were happy to notice that Zara seemed a little less frightened and withdrawn, but her insistent habit of apologizing for everything still irritated Yun, who worried about it. Despite their short time together, the two girls were very concerned and cared for Zara, neither of them finding ways to explain the almost instant affection they felt for the frightened girl they had met in an unusual way, but that didn't matter, they loved having her around and that was enough."Hi Annie!" replied Zara, approaching the girl who had a different style, her hair was dyed pink and she wore black clothes most of the time. "All right?""Yes, Eliz asked me to let you know that she and Yun are waiting for you in the cafeteria." Annie barely gave Zara time to say thank you and headed down the corridor to find a boy waiting for her.She knew that the girls were probably saving their place at the table, so she hurried off, heading quickly down the corridors towards the cafeteria. She still wasn't used to what was being served, everything she ate at home was very different, much more natural delicacies, so to speak, but here everything seemed very industrialized. But she couldn't deny that the milkshake pleased her very much, especially the strawberry one, which was her favorite.The place was quite full when she arrived, she spotted her friends sitting at the back and made her way through the tables, not paying much attention to the path she was taking. She passed the athletes' table and, in one swift movement, someone grabbed her hand.The brunette stopped in the middle of the path, feeling her heart speed up slightly because of the sudden touch and moving a little away from the table as her eyes met the clear, blue eyes of a boy she had heard was the quarterback.Lohan had an amused smile on his lips, his expression making it clear that his friendliness was unrehearsed. He was wearing a blue long"sleeved shirt, his blond hair was not very straight, falling slightly in his face. Even sitting down, Zara could see how easily he would make her look like a frightened little mouse, after all, he was tall and strong. But no one would expect anything less from the team captain, that was a fact. She'd also heard that he was a year older than most of the guys around there, and she didn't know why, but he'd repeated a year in elementary school."Hi, new girl!" he said, making Zara knit her eyebrows together, after all, she wasn't even that new at school anymore. "I finally saw you, my friend over there said you sent him to the infirmary last week."The boy seemed to be enjoying the situation, but the mere mention of the incident made Zara cringe slightly in her seat. She remembered hitting the poor boy with a heavy ball the week before, while trying to interact in PE class. The incident had landed him in the infirmary; after all, being a Jinn, her strength was somewhat greater than that of an ordinary human and the ball had hit the teenager square in the head."There's no need to be like that, he's over it," continued the blond, standing up and raising his right hand to her. "I'm Lohan, it's a pleasure."Zara shook his hand a little suspiciously, but allowed herself to smile slightly and then all the other boys at the table greeted her cheerfully, sounding very friendly. Strangely, she felt quite comfortable, socializing and meeting new people was becoming more and more common and she was enjoying it."Well, I hope you're going to the game on Friday, they say you've been bringing luck to the volleyball team!" Zara didn't deny it, she just laughed a little nervously, nodded and headed for her friends' table almost at a run.Of course they would say something like that, she thought. Ever since she'd started hanging out with Yun and going to all the games, she'd practiced her magic, wishing to herself that her friend would score points. This had earned the team a few victories, but nothing that diminished the merit of the players, after all, it didn't always work.Although she was having more success with wishing herself, Zara knew that there was a great gulf between using her magic for her own wishes and for the wishes of others, so she was thinking about how she could find a trustworthy master who wouldn't use the gift of wishes for evil.She had been distracted by the boys' talk, but when the cunning eyes locked onto hers, she felt her body shudder slightly. Even from a distance, it wasn't hard to spot the blonde entering the cafeteria with her two friends in tow. As soon as she stepped into the room full of teenagers, Emillya saw the newcomer next to the athletes' table, where she was being greeted cheerfully."Everyone seems to like her," commented Chloe, staring at her friend for a few moments. "You're going to lose your job, Emmy," she joked, laughing and walking back towards the athletes' table.For a moment Emillya didn't move, the mere possibility of being in someone's shadow irritated her infinitely. She had lived her whole life in the spotlight, her father had run for mayor when she was less than four years old and, since then, everyone in her family had become a public figure, including the politician's only daughter. Her life has always been filled with big events, national beauty contests and even small appearances on TV shows. Now, in high school, she was convinced that this was the year of her life, when she had to stand out in any way she could.With a long sigh and an annoyed look on Zahara's face, she began to walk towards the table where she usually sat. As the blonde approached, the Jinn moved away, avoiding sharing the same space with the girl who, for no reason, seemed to hate her. It didn't take her long to get to her own table and sit down."What did Lohan want with you?" Yun asked as soon as Zara sat down next to her."He just introduced himself and asked me to come to the game, I guess he just wanted to be nice," she replied, taking Eliz's juice and taking a sip, watching the redhead stick out her tongue in dissatisfaction."Nice, I know..." mumbled the oriental, bringing a piece of pizza to her mouth and biting into it."Yun doesn't like him, in fact, she doesn't like anything that involves Emmy, and Lohan is no exception," Eliz explained, noticing the confused expression on Zara's face. "Lohan doesn't have a good reputation, he's dating Emmy, but there's always some rumor or other going around.""I just don't like it... Even though I don't like Emmy, I don't think this cheating thing is justifiable, even if the girlfriend in question is that demon" Yun justified herself, still a bit sulky. "So be careful." She tapped Zara on the forehead."I promise to be careful," she swore, still a little curious about the story and, as much as she didn't want to admit it, wanting to know a little more about the quarterback.