Our Shadows (novel in English)

Airless

They entered through the door and once past the threshold, they found a very large classroom with desks and chairs for the students, and a small desk at which sat a woman of average height, with jet black hair except for a few gray hairs, green eyes, and dressed in a dress that looked very vintage to Clary, as the dress the woman was wearing looked very much like one Clary once saw in one of her mother's 80's fashion magazines.

Clary noticed that Mike was looking at her curiously, and Clary asked the boy:

- Do you know her name?

- My name is Felicity Relish, although you can call me Feli, both you and your friend, this course I will be teaching Astronomy class, you must be Mike Anderson and Clarise Sallow - The woman answered Clary with a wide smile, obviously listening to her.

- Uh yes, we are, how do you know? - Mike replied.

- Well, because you are the only ones who have not yet arrived to class to start. - Feli told him without losing her smile.

- Sorry for the delay, we are already seated - Clary said giving a tap on the wrist to her best friend to make him understand that they had to take a seat, he understood, nodded and went with her to the back of the class.

The class went on normally, there was the usual introduction of the class, in which they said what they were going to learn during the year and what book they would use and what materials, after finishing the initial activities that Feli (who Clary had liked very much) had sent them, they went to Math class, then to Biology, which Clary felt comfortable in because she had always loved Biology, and after finishing the day, which was shorter than usual because it was the beginning of the school year, they went to lunch in the cafeteria.

- Didn't you find the math teacher unpleasant? - Mike said to Clary as they made their way to the cafeteria, crossing the large courtyard that separated the classrooms from the cafeteria and the gym.

- Very much so, but I think only because it's the first day and he'll have to get to know the students and then, I guess he'll be nicer," said Clary with a shrug.

- You're probably right, by the way, are we going to look for Mary and Kyle or do you think they're already sitting there waiting for us?

Clary was about to reply that they had probably already beaten them to it when she noticed a girl sitting on the edge of a small stone fountain they had just set up in the corner of the courtyard.

The girl (who looked a year or two younger than Clary) was on her cell phone typing with her fingers moving frantically over the keyboard, one of her feet touching the fountain, wetting her sneaker and the bottom of her pants, but she didn't seem to notice.

She glanced at Mike and saw that his gaze was directed to where she was looking, and then she looked back at the girl, there was something about her....

<<I'm more than fed up with writing to this guy, he never answers me, he's probably just blowing me off, it's about time I blow him off too >> Said a voice in Clary's head, she bounced on the spot and almost knocked Mike over Had she just heard what this girl was thinking?

Clary's head kept ringing with that girl's voice, loud and clear, and Clary was starting to get dizzy. <<I'm going to relax and then I'll call Olivia, I'm going to forget about him, besides I'm supposed to go to music class >>.

Just as the girl was getting up and walking away to go to the music room and Clary was wondering who the hell Olivia was and how she had been able to read his thoughts (although Clary thought the expression "read his thoughts" was not accurate, because she had "heard" him as if he was talking to her), something clicked in Clary's head and she seemed to miss whatever "connection "there was. She looked at Mike, who was staring at her in alarm with worried eyes.

- Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost, Clary," he shook her gently, "Clary, Clary, can you hear me? Clary!

- I... I can't... I can't breathe," she said, and it was true, she was trying to get air into her lungs, but she couldn't, "don't worry, Mike" she wanted to say, but nothing, she couldn't.

Suddenly she found herself being dragged by the same man as before, Principal Miller, who moved her to sit her on the edge of the fountain where the girl was sitting a few minutes ago and Miller took water from the fountain with one hand and put it in Clary's mouth, Clary, scared, tried to pull her hand away and tell the man to get away from her, she heard Mike next to her saying to the principal:

- What are you doing, can't you see she is drowning, she can't breathe and you think that making her drink water by force is going to save her?! - Said her best friend with a white face of fear, he was really terrified by the idea of losing Clary, she thought, suddenly she felt a terrible urge to hug him and tell him how much she appreciated and loved him and not to worry, but as she had already discovered, she couldn't move or speak and her lungs were getting more and more ... dry?

At that instant, the director had already made Clary swallow the water (although Clary thought she couldn't, she managed) and she felt the water go down her throat like music, it felt .... good and the air rushed into her lungs in a loud rush that made her arch forward and cling tightly to the edge of the fountain.

 When she had recovered and could breathe normally, she noticed Mike, she couldn't think of anything else, and he was there, in front of her, looking at her with vulnerable eyes and before she could tell him she was sorry for scaring him, he pulled her to her feet and said in a whisper:

- Are you okay? My God Clary, you almost scared me to death - Mike said and immediately the boy hugged her and she accepted the hug, grateful, when Mike hugged her she felt safe and comfortable, unlike when someone else hugged her.

When he had released her, Clary and Mike looked at the director and Clary could only say:

- Thank you for saving me, although I don't know how you ...

- You're welcome, but you both need to come to my office. -Seeing that Mike was about to ask something, she added: "Immediately, I have to tell a friend that you are going to visit him tomorrow.

- What do you mean, visit his friend? - Clary said, getting more and more confused. She saw in Mike's eyes that he was just as confused as she was.

- I'll explain everything Clarise, calm down, now go to my office, please - Miller told them with a kind smile and Clary noticed it was forced.

- All right, let's go Clary - He said with a calm and light voice to Clary and grabbed her gently by the arm and she accompanied him across the courtyard to the opposite side, down a corridor that led to the principal's office, before leaving she heard the principal say to himself:- It will be hard to convince him, if I still owe him so many elemental knives.