The bell rings and I immediately thank whoever create that beautiful sound and put an end to this torture.

I shove my books into my backpack while looking for Casy. She's putting her belongings into her bag too while chatting with Dilara and Valentina.

Until this very moment I hadn't thought about it, but... I haven't heard of anyone called Dilara. Just as I haven't heard of anyone called Castille and turns out Casy's not from here. Maybe Dilara isn't from here either? It's a possibility. However, I have more important things that I need to take care of. Like talking to Casy.

It seems to be impossible for us to have a decent talk and clear this whole mess up. Something always gets in the middle of our conversation. It's so annoying.

I keep staring at her thoughtfully. There's a lot going on these days and I can barely keep up. In the last twenty-four hours of my life, more things happened than at any other time in my life.

My life before this was an inflexible routine. It was always the same. I woke up, then went to school, I was mistreated and then came back home crying my eyes out. After that I would do homework and go to sleep. Some weekends I'd go out with my family and sometimes I'd write and read tons of books.

Reading has always been something crucial in my life and still is. I started reading when I was thirteen years old, when I was given a book as a present for my birthday: Night Owls, a beautiful love story that I fell in love with since the first paragraph. After reading that book, I've realized how obsessed I was with love stories. Then, over time, I bought more and more books and now I have a shelf in my bedroom full of my books —forty-five books I must say— in alphabetical order.

Now that I think of it, I don't know if I would have been able to put up with all the shit I've been through without the fascinating world of books. This world helped me. It was an escape from the hard reality I was living. The last few years, books turned into my company in times of loneliness; my shelter in rough times; my confidence when I had low self-esteem; even my hope when I felt I had lost all. My books were and are everything for me. Every time I'm free for a couple of minutes I grab a book from my shelf and start reading it, knowing it'll harbor me as a thick cover on a cold winter night. In fact, since I've moved here, I couldn't read any novels, and I really need it. This past few hours has been a turmoil and I need to focus my mind on something else.

A few days ago I thought my life was gonna change for the best, but right now... I feel like that's never gonna happen. I'll never have the fresh start I wanted.
I sigh. I want to come back to that safe place that those written pages provided me with. They made me forget about the real world in exchange for spending some time in a magical-fictional world, a much better world. And, given my current situation, that's what I need right now, to get inside that world just for a couple of minutes.

When I finish putting my belongings inside my backpack, I sling it over my shoulder and walk to the door, glancing at Casy one last time. She's talking with those two idiots and she doesn't even notice me. Clearly, she forgot we've things to talk about. However, I step outside of the classroom and glance briefly at Daniela Salvatierra, who, not-so-surprisingly, is looking at me. I quicken my pace and try to get away from her as fast as I can. I don't want to have another conversation with her.

As I'm walking down the hall, I feel a tap on my back. I turn around and my eyes meet Casy's. She smiles for just a moment and then a serious expression replaces it.

"I'm really sorry about that... I didn't want Leo to... Well, what he said yesterday about us... " she starts saying, her eyes not meeting mine.

"It's okay, drop it" I say sweetly.

"I apologize as much as I say hello to you."

"No, it's not true. I get your reaction. Besides, I already forgot about what happened yesterday" I lie.

Of course I didn't forget about yesterday's situation, how could I? And I certainly don't understand her reaction. Why did she pull back as soon as she saw him? Why does she care about what he thinks of her? We were just hugging each other and yes, we were close, very close, but friends do that all the time. Besides, we aren't lesbians, at least I know I'm not, and she doesn't seem to be one either.

But what bothers me the most about this situation is the following: if Leo's opinion is so important to Casy, will she still be my friend? The thought alone makes my heart ache. I thought we could be best friends, but if it's going to be this complicated... then... I don't know.

"Come with me. Let's go talk outside," she says, grabbing my wrist. "The break is short but I think I've time to tell you everything" she finally says and I instantly get curious.

She walks me to the courtyard. It's a bit small and there are a few students talking and eating some snacks, but there is one free bench far away from them, so there's plenty of privacy for us to talk.

We sit, a few feet away from each other. Casy starts playing with her hair and I know she's nervous and I know I am too.

"I have a lot of things to tell you" she says, shifting uncomfortably on her seat, looking up to the sky, which is blue-light without any clouds.

She's still playing with her hair, but now it seems like she's plucking it out and I can't help but worry about her. If she does this every time she's nervous, then, would she go bald at this age? I hope not, she has beautiful hair and it would be a shame. Though, it may be something she can't control, otherwise I don't think she would pluck her hair out intentionally.

Casy's silent, looking anywhere but me, and I can tell she's thinking what the hell is going to say to me.

With every second and every minute of silent passing by, I grow more and more nervous. She doesn't seem to know how to broach the subject —if there's a subject as I don't know what the fuck she wants to tell me. I can't wait anymore. Is this so important that she doesn't even know how to talk about it?