(Hérèse POV)
The next morning
– I have a headache
No sooner had I crossed the threshold of the room than the conversations subsided.
It transforms into a whisper.
Just enough for me to notice it.
A few glances turned towards me.
Then others.
I continued walking without saying anything.
The classroom had that strange atmosphere of the day after a disaster.
From the morning
I walked between the tables.
Nobody greeted me, it's not like they had ever done so before.
– He got punished?
- Yeah.
– Did he really fight with them?
– of course.
– Look at his forehead.
I pretended not to hear anything.
I was already familiar with that feeling.
To be observed like a freak show attraction.
Those heavy, annoying looks.
I stopped in front of my table.
I looked at him for a few seconds, then all around.
White dust.
Everywhere.
Even on the leg of my chair.
I sighed.
He was really into it.
- Seriously…
I put my bag on the ground, took out a tissue and began to clean my place.
A small part of the class seemed to find the scene amusing.
A few muffled laughs echoed behind me.
I continued without looking up.
I turned my head slightly towards my neighbors behind me and caught an unexpected face.
Maëva.
She was staring at me from across the room.
His expression was harsh.
Not simply suspicious.
She almost seemed to be waiting for something.
She's going to accuse me again.
I have no desire to start another story, but that's without taking into account another lost cause.
My gaze fell upon those features.
His face was swollen.
One side seemed more marked than the other.
He had several small marks on his skin.
He should have been furious.
But no.
That idiot was smiling.
Alex raised the middle finger in my direction.
As if to greet me.
How childish.
I looked up at the sky and sat down quietly.
He behaves as if we were sharing a friendly joke, or some kind of ritual.
All he did was waste my time, he's so proud of it, at least I won't have to look for the culprit anymore.
I feel like my brain is being eaten away.
I rested my elbow on the table.
My hand came to support my forehead.
The injury throbbed slightly.
So they thought I had been beaten.
I didn't even know whether that should reassure me or worry me.
At least no one seemed to think that I was the one who started the fight.
Finally...
For now, I need to find a way to hold her back.
CRACKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!
A chair suddenly scraped the floor.
I gritted my teeth and looked up.
The boy walked past my table.
He stopped voluntarily and lowered himself to my level.
He stared at my forehead.
Then my uniform and a smile.
Her smile widened.
– Ah.
He exchanged a glance with his neighbor.
Then they burst out laughing.
The professor still hadn't arrived.
The room gradually began to talk again.
Maëva interrupted all of that.
His voice became authoritative.
– Hey, get out of the way.
she called out to the boy.
He turned around, shrugged, and left without a fuss.
The classroom door opened.
The professor entered.
Everyone immediately returned to their seats.
The conversations stopped and Maëva climbed over the desk even though I had given her my seat.
She's far worse than those NPCs.