Chapter 5

Nathanael walked lazily beside Lohan, who had the same pensive expression since the early morning. The golden"eyed boy didn't even bother to ask his friend what was going on, he knew that whenever he got like that, it had to do with Emilly.They'd left their last class before lunch, Nathanael never paid much attention to anything, in the end, these matters were somewhat irrelevant to him, being who he was."You're really not going to ask?" Lohan asked, tired of his friend's inquisitive look."Ask what?" Nath asked, staring at him in a way that he knew would push his friend to tell him what was going on, but it didn't seem to work.He stopped next to his own closet, tidying up his brown curls with some irritation, as the strands insisted on falling in his face, and sighing heavily. Although he constantly pretended not to, he cared about his friend and knew that he had been in a terrible situation for months."You know you don't need that, don't you?" he tried one last time that afternoon to get Lohan to open up, but failed again."It's okay, man…"Having said that, he left, leaving him standing against the cupboard.Nathanael had always considered himself very good at reading people, so he knew that something wasn't right, that there was something more than just discomfort or nerves about the game, he just didn't know what was making his friend so upset.In the distance, he saw Emmy throw herself into her boyfriend's arms, who welcomed her with the same enthusiasm as always, in other words, almost none at all. Although it bothered him, he had concluded that it was none of his business, Lohan could take care of himself very well, he didn't need a babysitter, although sometimes it seemed just the opposite.Leaving his friend aside, he decided to forget the matter.Nathanael made his way down the corridor towards the exit, he needed to be at the gym in ten minutes, the coach had called him for a short meeting and only then would he be free for his lunch. He hated appointments booked at short notice, they annoyed him, but he was his teacher, so there was no way he could refuse.He walked leisurely despite losing precious break time, but his path was intercepted by something wet, sticky and sweet"smelling that completely soiled his clothes.When he looked up, he saw the newcomer, pale and wide"eyed, holding an empty glass in her hands. Nathanael noticed that her hair looked straighter, framing her small, delicate face. The brunette's expression tightened and, although he thought it was silly, he was getting annoyed by the girl's sudden appearances everywhere, she seemed to be everywhere at times."Have you lost your eyes somewhere?" he asked, making Zara shrug, intimidated by his tone."Sorry... I was just going to my office," she whispered, lowering her head and hiding her glass behind her back, as if that would erase her guilt at the notary's office."You're a disaster, girl," he grumbled grumpily, continuing on his way and trying to improve the state of his blouse.He walked hurriedly towards the men's restroom, his closed expression already commonplace for those who lived with him, so when he passed two boys who were also heading for the gym, he wasn't the target of jokes and teasing, after all, no one would want to deal with a stressed"out Nathanael first thing in the morning.He was well aware that this girl often irritated him, but he attributed it to the fact that she sounded so familiar. Her features reminded him of someone he couldn't identify, and not knowing things made him nervous and stressed.Zara continued down the corridor, throwing the empty glass in the garbage can and looking at it sadly; this was the second time she hadn't been able to check if the milkshake really tasted good. As she walked up the stairs, she passed Lohan, who stopped her as soon as he saw her."If I didn't think you were so nice, I'd swear you were hiding from me or avoiding me," he said, raising his eyebrows and observing her reactions, which seemed rather embarrassed. "But I can forgive you if you go to the match tomorrow, I don't accept refusals."His words surprised Zara, who had actually been avoiding him. Ever since the lunch she'd had with Yun and Eliz about Lohan, the brunette had decided that the best thing to do was not to get close to him, she didn't want to attract any more trouble or be targeted by Emillya, who seemed to dislike her from the start, but was currently ignoring her existence. However, being found out like that made her too embarrassed to formulate a coherent excuse."I don't... " she began, only to be interrupted by the boy, who put his finger against her lips, turning her red as a bell bell pepper and her heart racing."Your friend is going to cheer, if you don't want to accept my invitation, at least go and cheer her on" he insisted, looking at her with a half-smile. "If we win, you can come and celebrate with the team, your friends can come along."Lohan didn't even give her time to react, he smiled slightly and winked at her, leaving quickly and assuming a more closed expression as soon as his back was turned, heading downstairs.Zara was paralyzed for a few moments, her cheeks hot and her heart racing. After realizing how silly it looked to stand there, she followed, trying to hide the silly laugh on her lips. She didn't know how to deal with such a feeling, or with all that it aroused. She blamed her lack of interaction with boys for all these sensations and reactions that sounded so strange to her. As she went downstairs, she thought that she now understood what she had once been told about butterflies in the stomach.She walked unhurriedly down the corridor until she reached the medium"sized notice board near the lockers. The brunette stopped in front of it, taking advantage of the empty corridor to stare for a long time at the object that had raw wooden edges and a vibrant green background that drew as much attention as the tickets, which seemed contradictory to her. Attached to the frame were several flyers, but only one of them caught Jinn's eye.The genius was still trying to find a club she could fit into, she couldn't sing or dance, she thought about the cooking club, but remembered that she didn't know much about American cuisine and that could be dangerous. Then, as she looked at the board, the brochure made her eyes light up. It had a green tinge that almost made it go unnoticed, the letters were large and square, next to the name "book club" there were a few books stacked up and a happy face.Zahara pulled the leaflet out carefully, trying not to tear it in the process, then looked at the description of the club and the location. She had little contact with anything of human culture, but literature had always fascinated her. She started slowly, but as she grew older, she began to lose herself for long hours in the books she found around her father's palace.So, determined, she turned on her heels and walked towards the office, already knowing which club to spend her extra hours in.