Chapter 9

Even though he tried to convince himself otherwise, Nathanael hadn't had any peace the day before and, when Monday arrived, he was irritable and nervous. He couldn't do anything he wanted, he couldn't even sleep, he had barely completed the activities he needed to hand in that Monday. Unfortunately, his concentration had decided to break down.When he arrived at school, he soon noticed that the teenagers seemed more agitated than usual, everyone was whispering here and there, he heard Lohan's name over and over again as he walked, but nothing more. The boy inspired a little fear in his classmates, he was usually very closed off and no one ever knew when he was about to explode in a small outburst of irritation, but everyone was well aware of how acidic he could be if he was angry.As a result, whenever Nath approached any group, the conversation would stop and everyone would change the subject, after all, the last thing they wanted was to be caught adding fuel to the fire and making assumptions about Lohan's already tarnished integrity.So he didn't have much to do. He carried on pretending to be normal, walked through the corridors, went to his locker and grabbed all his materials. The day wasn't so cold, so he also took off his coat.He watched Yun and Eliz pass him, noticing that the girls looked equally worried. He had never talked to them much, he knew about Eliz because he had some lessons with the redhead, but everything he knew about Yun was related to sport, everyone knew how talented she was and, for sure, she was already guaranteed a place at a very good university.But even with the blatant lack of intimacy, he slammed the closet door and hurried to follow, walking alongside the two girls. Yun and Eliz stared at Nathanael's unfriendly figure and looked at each other, confused; they had never talked, they didn't understand what he could possibly want with them."Have you seen Lohan?" he asked, turning his eyes to the girls, who noticed, for a moment, a certain similarity between Zahara's sparkling eyes and Nathanael's irritable ones.However, this curiosity was brushed aside, especially by Yun, who stared at him as if he were an amoeba with no intelligence."I haven't seen him, but I hope he doesn't appear in front of me today!" the oriental girl said, with all the irritation she had been harboring all weekend. "Your little friend has been…""I know what's going on, you don't have to explain" he cut her off, impatiently. "Just... Keep your friend away from Emillya, I'll try to help sort it out."Having said that, as suddenly as he had approached, he veered off to the right, turning down the corridor that would take him to the side exit of the building, leaving the two girls behind without the slightest explanation.As he walked outside, Nathanael tried to organize his thoughts. Being tired had taken some of the thinking out of him, but he wasn't stupid, he knew that his friend was behind all the commotion and now he needed to find him so that Lohan could undo the mess he had created.He hurried towards the outdoor court and when he reached it, he saw the blond playing with a basketball, completely distracted. Nath walked to the court, past a metal stool where he had left his materials, and, entering without announcing himself, pulled out one of his friend's headphones, looking at him with clear irritation." What's your plan now?" he asked, crossing his arms and receiving nothing but a tired sigh. "Are you just going to let your girlfriend take out all her frustration on that girl who doesn't seem to have the strength to withstand a blow? You used to be more sensitive, Lohan.""Nath, you don't understand..." However, the brunette didn't even allow his friend to continue, he pulled the ball out of his hands and threw it aside, coming closer and resting his hands on Lohan's shoulders."I don't understand? What don't I understand? The fact that you're letting rumors that don't make any sense spread just so that Emillya feels satisfied? Or how you always do her bidding, even if it hurts you?" the words were spoken harshly and sharply. "What's wrong with you? I don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be your fault."Nathanael didn't like that kind of talk, and he didn't care what would happen to Zahara Grant, at least he tried to convince himself that it wouldn't. At that moment, all he could think about was his friend, how, little by little, he was moving and shrinking to fit into the space that wasn't made for him. I thought about how Lohan molded himself to fit into a space that wasn't his and that was bad for him.So, after giving the blond a serious look, he dropped his broad shoulders and turned around, kicking the ball to relieve his stress and walking off the court, picking up his gear from the bench and heading into the school, hoping that his words would have some effect on Lohan's conscience.

***

When Monday arrived, Zara intended to clear up all the misunderstandings that were spreading like wildfire, even though Yun and Eliz claimed that she had absolutely nothing to do with the gossip. However, despite searching, the girl couldn't find Lohan anywhere, let alone Emmy.She was also ready to join the literature club, and even a little excited about it, after all, it was an opportunity to meet new people and, who knows, make new friends.However, as soon as she set foot in the entrance garden, she sensed that something wasn't right. She wasn't welcomed by a single soul, everyone looked at her suspiciously, some even angrily. They stared at her and whispered to each other, following her every move.While all eyes were on her, Zara felt suffocated, trapped. She tried to pretend that everything was fine, but the first and second lessons dragged on, her body felt agitated and it felt like the weight of the world was on her back. She was afraid, she didn't know what would happen and her magic became unstable at times of such tension, which could lead to an even greater disaster. From time to time, she noticed Nathanael's eyes fixed on her, but she couldn't identify what they were expressing; he always seemed to be irritated or annoyed by something.When the end of the morning classes arrived, she couldn't stand to be in the classroom any longer, her chest felt tight and her breathing was labored. It seemed that all the whispers were mixing in her head, accusations, judgments. Even if she hadn't actually done anything, she was now certain that, on some level, she was to blame for what was happening and deserved it.She heard Eliz's voice calling her as soon as she knocked on the locker door, but she didn't wait for her, instead she walked faster, blending in with the other students and entering the girls' bathroom. The Jinn pushed open the door of one of the cabins and, closing it, lowered the lid of the toilet and sat down under it, closing her eyes and trying to regain what little control she had.He felt the magic crackling inside him, making his skin crawl and his body warm. She breathed deeply, her heart seemed to want to leap out of her chest, but when she heard the door open, she put her right hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the wheezing sound of her breathing. He heard the sound of footsteps and laughter, then some taps opened.Outside the cabin, three girls were looking at themselves in the mirror. One of them was fixing her hair, another was touching up her lip gloss, and the third was just watching her two friends, who seemed very focused on their reflections."Look, that's what they told me" one of them said, tossing her long black hair back. "Apparently Lohan and her had been together for a couple of weeks, poor Emmy, she's always been so devoted to him, Chloe told me she's devastated.""Jesus, anyone who looks at that face can't imagine that the new girl is like that" the other, who had just finished applying the gloss, said, as she put the product in her pocket. "Silly, huh? I never believed all that scared little girl stuff.""Neither did I," said the third. "She's just a fake."Zara heard everything from the other side of the door, felt her skin crawl once more and, accused by her own mind, closed her eyes one last time in an attempt to control her feelings, which were screaming in a chaotic symphony in her head. Then, without any control whatsoever, she felt a purplish pulse expand and disappear into thin air, starting from her and spreading out, silently. Shortly afterwards, all the taps started spitting water everywhere, wetting the girls and the whole bathroom.Grant hated it, hated not having control over herself and feeling so helpless. She heard the girls scream and run outside, so she ran herself out of there quickly.Completely shaken, the girl decided not to eat lunch, headed for the empty field and sat down in the stands, far away, cowering between one level and another. Those looks reminded her of the ones she had received at home, the whispers she had heard, the shame she felt at herself and the guilt she felt at bringing shame to her father.All of this left her disoriented, her big golden eyes wet with tears as she hid between the wooden benches to cry. She rethought all her actions, her steps, her treatment of Lohan, but could find nothing to blame for the cruel rumor.But if it wasn't her fault, whose was it?Her position left her hidden, since she was small and easily unnoticed. She hugged her knees and sighed, sniffling slightly as she felt hot tears running down her face.But in the midst of her silent weeping, her eyes caught something unusual. In the distance, Zara saw Emillya and Lohan entering the field. The blonde was irritated and clearly nervous, while the girl had an expression of genuine anger that made Zara shiver slightly, she looked furious.She watched as the girl pulled him by the arm, shouting at him near the entrance. Zara couldn't hear or understand the argument, but she felt even worse, Lohan looked tired and was afraid of being the cause of their suffering, or of their separation.What purpose did the gods serve with his existence? Was she there just to end the lives of those who were so good to her? These were questions that had been on her mind for as long as she could remember.Although she didn't like Emilly at all, Zara liked causing trouble even less, since she did it so often. For this reason alone, she felt her heart squeeze as she witnessed the school's model couple falling out."Am I just here to spoil things?"However, despite the intense quarrel, when the blonde left, she noticed a flash of relief on the boy's face and their eyes briefly met, startling her. As soon as Lohan noticed Zara's presence, he started walking at a brisk pace towards the girl, who despaired.As he was far away and she was sitting on the edge of one of the stands, it wasn't difficult to run away and, when she was out of sight, to wish she was in the aisles. However, as soon as she opened her eyes and found herself in the corridor, she bumped into someone, falling to the ground and feeling a sharp pain in her ankle."Where did you come from?" Nathanael asked, wide"eyed, standing in front of Zara, who was lying on the floor.