Chapter 4 – The Fiancée
The next day.
The classroom door opened. The teacher entered. Soft heels. Exact rhythm. —Good morning. —Good morning, teacher —the class replied in unison, standing up. Routine. Order. Normality. How fragile it all was.
—Take your seats. Chairs scraping. Soft murmurs. The teacher left her things on the desk. —Today we have something important. Pause. —A new exchange student is joining the class. The murmur changed tone. Curiosity. Interest. —You can come in.
The door opened. And she entered.
Red hair. Not soft red. Vivid red. Red that didn't ask for permission. Eyes of the same shade. Too fixed. Impeccable uniform. But she didn't seem part of the place. She seemed… infiltrated. She walked unhurriedly. Each step measured. Like someone who doesn't enter a place, but evaluates it. She stopped at the front. —Paulina Volkov. Slight accent. Controlled. —I come from an ancient lineage. It didn't sound boastful. It sounded factual. —I am here to learn the language… and to get to know this environment. I practice fencing. Tennis. Volleyball. A couple of boys exchanged glances.
The teacher nodded, somewhat tense. —Welcome, Paulina. You may sit wherever you like. Silence. Paulina didn't look at the seats. She didn't hesitate. —I already know where to sit. The sentence fell softly. But it weighed. The teacher frowned slightly. —Oh, really? Where? Paulina turned her head. Directly. To him. —Next to my fiancé.
The classroom froze. —Your… what? —said the teacher. —My fiancé. Pause. —Terry. Everyone looked. Terry didn't move. He didn't understand. Then the chair next to him moved. Eliza stood up. Slow. Elegant. Dangerous. —Fiancé? —Her voice didn't rise, but the air changed—. What fiancé? He is my boyfriend. Paulina tilted her head. Watching her. Measuring her. —Boyfriend? Small pause. —Interesting. Her eyes returned to Terry. —So tell me… which of the two do you think is right? The silence was so dense it hurt. Eliza stepped forward. —The only one who is wrong here is you. Paulina smiled. But it wasn't kind. —And you are sitting in my place.
She began to walk. Straight toward them. Without hurry. Without deviation. When she arrived, she didn't ask for permission. She leaned slightly and gave Terry a kiss on the cheek. —Hello, my fiancé. Her voice lowered, more intimate. —I missed you. She sat down. On the other side. Now he was in the middle. The classroom exploded in silence. That kind of silence where everyone is thinking the same thing: What the hell is going on? Then came the stares. Heavy. Dark. Jealousy. Hatred. Confusion. The nerd, the invisible one… now he had two.
Terry couldn't take it. A trickle of blood came from his nose. Then another. He lowered his head. He rested it on the desk. —Great… —someone murmured from the back. And then the first book flew. Dry thud on his back. Then another. And another. Notebooks. Backpacks. Objects. They weren't coordinated attacks. They were impulses. —Who do you think you are?! You bastard! Disgusting! Terry didn't lift his head. He only felt the impacts. One after another. Like rain, but not of water. Of everything people can't stand to see: someone who breaks their place in the hierarchy.
And at the center of it all, two presences. On his right, Eliza. Still. Cold. Looking at everyone as if she had already judged them. On his left, Paulina. Smiling slightly. As if all of this was exactly what she expected. And in the middle, Terry. With his forehead against the desk. Blood on his nose. And not understanding if he was being chosen or marked.