✔ ALUEDAA

¢нαρтєя тнιятєєη - уσgα, σя ∂σ∂gєвαℓℓ?

He looked at me, his eyes staring into mine as if he was trying to figure out what was going on in my head, why I was acting like a know-it-all in class.

I mean, you do know everything the teacher was talking about. So what do they expect? A part of me thought, getting annoyed at all the attention they were giving me for correcting the teacher.

"Okay, Alueda. I understand you are new here, and that you came from a very good school and know everything we teach here. But, unlike at your old school, people here aren't as... Well... Smart. That's why you are more advanced." The principal told me, probably buying the fake certificate I got from my fake school.

"Yeah, but I was only correcting the teacher. Mr. Rockstood was claiming false things, and teaching the students irreal conclusions that aren't even possible." I fired back, not expecting my talk with the principal to last so long.

I just wanted to get put in detention, hopefully for the rest of the day, and skip the classes I should be attending.

"Well, I can see you are frustrated for being sent here, so I'll let this pass," he commented, getting up from his sesat and heading towards the door, waiting for me to get up and get out there.

I'm frustrated with life! I felt like screaming, but stayed quiet instead.

"So I'm not getting detention?" I asked, trying to hide my hopeful eyes, covering them with boredom.

"Do you want it?"

"No," Yes.

"Then stop moaning and get to class," he answered, smiling at me as I left the cozy room, the door closing softly behind me.

"Fuck!" I whisper-shouted, annoyance clear in my voice.

As I walked through the maze called school, also known by all the people inside it as hell, I made my way towards my next class, physical education.

I guess this isn't half as bad, I thought, taking in the pavilion, four doors leading outside, probably to the back of the school where, if google maps was right and nothing had changed in a couple of years, laid a football field and a couple of basketball courts, or at least that's what I had distinguished them as.

"Alright everyone! Line up!" A woman shouted, a clipboard under her arm as she clapped her hands, getting all the students attention. "Today, since it's the first day after christmas break, you guys are going to have to choose between two games. Yoga, or dodgeball?"

A bunch of groans and excited squeals were heard, quite a lot of people shouting for dodgeball.

What the hell is that? I thought, imagining it to be something similar to what we did back in CARESS, called dodgebullet, that literally consisted in dodging bullets, fake ones of course, while running through a course to obtain a plastic body.

"Okay, votes everyone!" The physical teacher shouted, making everyone slowly but surely stop talking.

"Yoga!"

A couple of hands went up, but nothing compared to the amount of students currently taking the lesson.

"Dodgeball!"

Shouts erupted, the silence from before no longer surrounding us. By now, all hands were up, smiles on everyone's faces except for some that were smirking towards the people that had a sour face, the very people that prefered yoga over whatever dodgeball was.

"Okay then! Let's split into two teams, and get the game started!" Rosalia, the teacher, said, her voice never leaving the shouting point.

It seemed to be a drill, because soon enough, sixteen people were standing on the left side of the pavilion, while sixteen more stood on the opposite side. By the way they interacted, I could tell these were the usual teams. Just glancing at both teams you could tell which one was the winner, and which one was going to lose.

Only you and two people left, I thought, watching a boy run towards his athlete friends, all of them cheering.

"You! Yeah, the girl with black hair," the leader of the losing team said, pointing a finger towards me, "you're on this team,"

Rude much?

I walked towards the silent group, their faces depressed as if this always happened, and they always lost.

Half an hour later, I had got the hang of the game.

All you had to do was avoid getting hit by the balls thrown at you, and aim at the people on the opposite team, trying to touch them in order to eliminate them.

I had died the moment the game had started, and had to go behind the other teams court, but since I had been taking note on what was happening, I realised I could go back to my court if I killed one of the athletes. So, since I was one of the first people to die, I had quite a few balls to throw, and since I was used to aiming, meaning I aimed quite well, I quickly relieved.

"You're gonna die!" Someone on the opposite team shouted behind me, making me quickly jump sideways, not seeing, but feeling the ball wizz next to me.

That was close, I realised, trying to focus my mind the same way I did when I was in a tough mission.

Attacker on the left, catch ball, throw to the one on the right, he hasn't got a ball, and seems to have injured his leg. Aim for the stomach. Income from behind. Throw it to the bo-.

Cameron.

He was the last person standing on the opposite court, his eyes strained on me as he caught a ball one of his friends threw to him.

Damn... I guess I get to have the honours to kill him, I thought, amused by the fact that, al thought this was a game, I had saved him, and now was about to kill him.

Three balls coming towards you! My instincts screamed, making me twirl and catch one in each hand, while sidestepping the third, the ball bouncing on the floor and rolling into one of my teammates.

Cheers were heard from behind Cameron, the dead people in my team looking at me in aware. Throwing them a ball, I moved the other one in between my hands, waiting for someone else to throw the ball, knowing perfectly well there was still one ball behind me, and by the looks of it, a tall, muscular blondie was about to throw it at me.

Before he had the chance thought, I quickly aimed, and using half my strength, I threw it at Cameron, his face scrunching up in shock when he felt the plastic hit his chest, making the ball he was holding bounce towards to floor with mine.

Screams erupted, along with aload of groans and 'good going man,' making me realise it was probably bad for Cameron's reputation to lose against a girl.

Well, technically, his whole team lost against me, not only him. And plus, if they truly believe a girl can't beat them up... They deserve what they got, I concluded, the concerned feeling vanishing in an instant.

Once I left the lockers, where, since I hadn't brought any extra clothes, not that I needed any thought, I hadn't sweated, I headed out, but stopped in my tracks the moment I saw Cameron standing against the wall, two boys, around a couple of inches taller than my housemate.

Them standing there wasn't what surprised me thought.

It was what they were saying.

"You need to step up your game, kid. You may have been popular before, but you ain't shit now. Stay out of our way, or trust me, you are going to wish your daddy never left,"

Cameron was being threatened.