Chapter 6

"Are you sure?" Yun asked, for the third time, still a little sulky and dissatisfied."It's okay for us to go to the match, Eliz will be there cheering the fans on, let's go and see her too" Zara tried to improve her friend's mood, trying to convince her that they were only going because of Eliz.The two of them hurried towards the school's large soccer field. There was a large crowd of students, all hurrying to get a good seat for the first game of the season.The night was cold, very cold. Zara wasn't used to such low temperatures, she always stayed in her lamp on cold Arabian desert nights, so going out at that time and in freezing cold was new to her. She was wearing a red sweater and tight jeans, black gloves and her head was comfortably warmed by an equally black cap. Her hair was tied up in a braid, leaving her face a little more visible than usual.Yun, like Jinn, was well warmed up, but the oriental girl didn't feel as cold as her friend next to her, she was used to Corning's climate, which changed from one hour to the next."You can fool the redhead, but not me, young lady," said the other, still sulking. "But if you really want to do that, I won't stop you. After all, except for the quarterback, the other guys on the team are nice."After beating her to the punch, the two girls looked for a good seat in the bleachers, which were already full. The school team was playing against one of the teams from the neighboring town of Cortland. Rumor had it that they were a very challenging team, after all, they had been state champions two years in a row. The boys were eager to take the cup away from the boys from Cortland, and Zara was more than eager to exercise her power and try to help them, even if secretly.When the cheerleaders entered, they soon spotted Eliz, who did several jumps and performed the choreography to perfection, drawing some excited shouts from Yun, who only stopped when he realized that people were staring too much. Then the leaders of the opposing team also took to the field, bringing their players.Despite not really understanding the dynamics of the game, Jinn shouted and supported the players, who seemed to be doing well despite the tight score. She was in a very visible place, which meant a few points were dedicated to her out of sheer excitement on the part of the players, whom she had won the sympathy of that week.Despite knowing that they would win the match, Zara knew from Yun that they would need a good lead to disqualify the Cortland team from the playing season, so when there were less than fifteen minutes to go, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, biting her lower lip."I wish for the Corning team to score ten points in the last fifteen minutes", she mentally put into practice what her father had told her, always specifying to the maximum what she was wishing for, because magic works with situations to the letter.The genius felt she was getting better and better at it and, as she had hoped, the points began to turn and, in the end, the boys had opened up a lead of more than twenty points, winning the match with flying colors and doubling the amount of points she had wished for with her own efforts.Yun celebrated as if the victory were his own, hugged Zara and then ran downstairs to find Eliz.After that, the brunette didn't see them again, so she headed for the exit, planning to go home alone. She walked lazily, intending to take advantage of the crowd of euphoric young people to sneak out.However, her plan didn't work very well.As soon as she reached the end of the stands, a group of boys intercepted her, surrounding her in a confusion of shouts and celebrations, lifting the little girl, who was paralyzed with fear and nervousness. The members of the team were extremely excited and euphoric, the victory guaranteed them another match in a fortnight's time, and if they won, they would be in the quarter"finals.Although she was despised among the Jinns, most of whom had difficult personalities and were very critical, Zara began to believe that humans had a predisposition to like people who represented their opposites. At least that was her only theory to justify the affection she had won, she didn't feel interesting enough to attract someone's friendship without some reason, they didn't know about her magic, but they believed she was a good luck charm and that seemed to her the only plausible explanation for being treated so well."What do you mean our rabbit's foot was sneaking out?" Lohan asked, appearing between the boys as soon as they had put her down. "Looks like you're really lucky, newbie.""It was just a coincidence," she said, smiling a little sheepishly."Coincidence or not..." Lucas interrupted, stepping in front of Zara and smiling happily. "You're coming to celebrate with us!""I'm not…""No denials!" Lohan reinforced, smiling at her and taking her by the hand, leading her out the door, accompanied by the rest of the team. "I told you I wouldn't accept any refusals, young lady."Zara didn't refuse, in fact, she was quite enjoying Lohan making such a big deal of her presence. Not just him, but all the boys on the team, well, at least almost all of them. Nathanael seemed grumpy and dissatisfied with Lohan's sudden approach, he sensed that something wasn't right and his senses were rarely wrong. Despite this, he didn't question the decision to bring the weirdo to the celebration, but he didn't think it would be such a good idea.

***

When they arrived at the cafeteria, the boys put two tables together and, a few moments later, the group of cheerlanders arrived, but Eliz wasn't among them, which made the Jinn nervous. Zara noticed the furious look that Emmy threw in her direction, so she chose to sit next to Lucas, who seemed quite happy with the decision.Despite the incident with the chemical compound in the first week, the boy didn't seem to hold any grudges against Jinn; on the contrary, Zara even thought that he really wanted to be with her and pay attention to her. Lucas, for his part, was really interested in Jinn, in a way, he found it funny how the girl managed to be charming and worked so hard that she won his sympathy without any effort.Everyone was in high spirits, the euphoria of victory coursing through the veins of those present and Zara even managed to hold quiet conversations with the large group, enjoying herself for much of the evening. Her gentle and slightly clumsy personality easily captivated people, even if she didn't believe in it, and she soon got along.However, not everyone was enjoying her presence there.Emmy was very dissatisfied with the newcomer's presence, after all, she had barely arrived and was already infiltrating her circle of friends, getting closer to her boyfriend, becoming dearer every day. It irritated her, seeing her take everything in her hands, without the slightest effort and without even caring, made her furious. It wasn't that she worked so hard to maintain her position in what she called the high school hierarchy, her father guaranteed her the top of the chain and she made the most of it.Most people would say that this was blind hatred, that high school isn't all that, but Emmy took it very seriously, firmly believing that her relationships there would define her future, so she should be the center."I didn't know the new girls were special guests now," she quipped, interrupting the conversation that was flowing smoothly."Zara is our lucky rabbit," said Daniel, an exchange student who had been on the team since his first year. "As well as being a very nice girl," he continued, using an expression typical of his country, which left everyone a little confused."That's right, I bet if she hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have won with such a big lead!" declared another player.Everyone was convinced that Zara was a walking good luck charm, so she knew they wouldn't leave her alone, but it's not as if it wasn't fun. She was never having fun among so many people, she was loving every experience she could have and everything she could acquire.Emmy didn't say anything else, ignoring the presence of the genius for the whole evening and focusing on her boyfriend. When the celebration was over, and the night was long gone, Lucas offered to take the brunette home and, so as not to raise any questions, despite not feeling very comfortable, she accepted.So, after saying goodbye to everyone with a wave and a small smile, they both headed out of the small eatery and crossed the parking lot, Zara got into the car, catching a glimpse of a beautiful motorcycle parked among the other vehicles and wondering who owned it."I hope you enjoyed the party... Lohan said we couldn't celebrate without you" Lucas tried to strike up a pleasant conversation, even though he was aware of the shyness of the girl next to him.She didn't know how to hold a conversation there, she couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound extremely silly, especially since he was one of the first victims of her usual disaster in the first week of school, which made her even more embarrassed. That's why she remained silent, as did Lucas, who didn't want to pressure her into talking during the short journey."He was very kind, I enjoyed going with you," she commented, a little bashfully. "You can turn right." He signaled, unbuckling his seatbelt."If you want, you can sit at our table, you know, you can bring your friends too," he said, unassumingly, giving a small smile. "You really are a nice girl."Having said that, the car pulled up in front of the building where the genius had taken up residence. She looked at Lucas and thanked him, getting out of the car and waving before he disappeared around the bends. When she entered the house, Zara found Desejo, her white-haired kitten, waiting for her at the apartment door.She fed the little feline and lay down on the sofa, smiling to herself as she thought about the fun evening she'd had, the times she'd screamed and shouted in celebration of the boys' points, how funny it was when Daniel ended up choking on his potato, turning as red as a ripe tomato and panting."I hope we have more moments like these, Desire.... " he whispered, his eyes heavy. "I'm very happy…"