My name is Ocko. Not to brag, but I'm pretty cool, I like to play football and hang out with pretty girls. I'm a normal student, really. Only my life took a drastic turn recently. It all started on the first day of my senior year.

I was on my way to school when I stopped at a crossroads. It was a big road, one of those with two lanes on each side. The traffic light turned green just as I reached the corner, so I was able to cross without rushing. Obviously, at the opposite corner, the light turned red. However, a person continued walking.

I glanced at her, without thinking too much. She was a tall girl, with long blonde hair waving in the wind. She was wearing a jumper and my school's red and blue tie. She looked about my age. I wondered if she was a classmate I didn't know. She was trying to put something in her backpack, maybe that's why she didn't notice the light was red, or maybe she saw it and didn't care, I never knew. I only know that no one paid much attention to her, until a truck appeared in a hurry from the other side and ran over her.

The blow was loud, I even felt it in my stomach. The girl went flying through the air, the truck slowed down and dragged its weight for several meters before coming to a complete stop.

I froze, not knowing what to do. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks for a moment. Some people around me started screaming. Then I realized I was still in the middle of the street. Frightened by the image I had just seen, I hurried to the safety of the sidewalk. I would have gone to see the girl now lying on the street, maybe try to help her, but at that hour of the morning there were dozens of people around, many of whom had already gone to her aid. There were so many people that it was hard for me to simply stand in one place and absorb what I had seen.

I couldn't believe I had witnessed the death of a girl. I was never going to get that image out of my head.

I felt different emotions running through my body; helpless for not having been able to do anything, sad for her and her family, daunted by the ease with which she had died. One second she was rushing to get to school, happy with her life, the next she had been hit by a truck. I had to go and rest from the impact in an isolated corner. I don't know how long I just stared stunned at the commotion.

After quite a while, I noticed some cars turning and swerving to go somewhere else. I figured they had other things to do. It seemed cruel, but I realized that just standing there didn't help the situation much. I couldn't do anything either, so I decided to head to school. Whatever help the girl needed, she would have with the dozens of people gathered around her, or rather, around her body. A shivering boy wouldn't do her much good.

What a way to start the year.

----------------------------------------------------

Not long after, I arrived at my school and made my way to my classroom. My body naturally went to last year's room, but I stopped after taking three steps down the wrong path and remembered that my classroom was now different. I quickly turned around, went up the stairs and marched to my room: the IV°C.

There were already quite a few people there when I arrived. The room was large enough for the forty people gathered there. The windows were on the left side, facing the wide entrance hallway of the school between the pillars that supported its thick rock ceiling. On the right side was the door, in front was the blackboard, and behind it was a large window. Since it was a new room for our class, it caught my attention; I had never seen a back window, but there it was. It looked out onto the street, a couple of houses could be seen on the other side. Beyond that, just on the other side of the block, that girl had been hit by the truck and killed. I could still feel the impact in my stomach.

Everyone waved at me, I waved back, but I didn't manage to disguise my anguish very well. Even the tone of my voice sounded deeper and quieter, and although I tried a few times, I couldn't cheer myself up.

I sat down at my post. I told myself that there was nothing I could have done, that it wasn't my fault, that this girl must have been paying attention anyway.

Then I noticed a black skirt of a jumper in my field of vision. I looked up, met a slender girl, with a piercing gaze and neat hair, tied in a pretty braid at the back. The girl was looking directly at me.

—Are you all right?— she asked.

—Ah... hey, Raka.

She didn't answer, I understood that she was waiting for me. Her name is not really Raka, but Raquel. I just call her Raka.

—Yes, I'm fine. And you?— I answered as usual.

But she didn't take her cold gaze off me or say anything. Raka can be very intimidating sometimes... most of the time... alright, all the time, at least if you don't know her well.

—You look upset— she said at last.

I swallowed hard. She always got the truth out of me, even if I tried to hide it from her. I lowered my gaze, contrite.

—It's just that... I saw something bad, a few minutes ago— I admitted, and looked up— I saw someone die...

But just as I was saying that, a girl I didn't know entered the room. She was a tall girl, long blonde hair waving in the wind, wearing the uniform of the girls at my school, a little dirty, as if she had rolled in the street, perhaps after being hit by a truck.

I jumped out of my chair, dumbfounded. I stared at her with my mouth open, maybe with a bit of a silly expression, but I mean, any normal person would react the same way.

The girl took a quick glance around the room, sat down in the first free seat she saw and began unpacking her backpack. Raka looked at her, then turned to me.

—What's the matter, did you fall in love with the new girl?— she asked as if it was nothing.

Geez, Raka, sometimes you're thicker than a rock.

But I wasn't going to stand there and drown myself in my confusion. I quickly moved towards the girl, leaned over her and grabbed her table tightly. I looked her straight in the eye. To my surprise, she leaned back, intimidated. But I couldn't act shy, I had to understand.

—How come you're alive?!— I pleaded.

—Huh?!— she reacted, surprised.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder dragging me back. It was Raka, she looked annoyed.

—Hey, hey, take it easy, Ocko!— she scolded me—You're scaring her.

—Look who's talking— I thought.

But I was too surprised by the new girl to be bothered by Raka. I turned to her.

I hadn't gotten a good look at her, perhaps because I hadn't approached her until that moment. She had pretty blue eyes, somewhat slanted, but with a wide range of movements, making her face very expressive. Her jaw was angular and the tip of her nose pulled down a few degrees.

She stared at me without saying anything. Then she looked at Raquel, confused.

—I...—she said— I... I don't understand.

I clenched my hands, hesitating. That girl looked a lot like the one I had seen run over in the street, but I had only seen her from afar and out of the corner of my eye. There weren't many tall blonde girls in the same uniform, but I couldn't confidently shout that they were the same person. After all, one had died.

I took a step back, wondering if I had rushed and said the first thing that came to mind, perhaps the impact had left a very serious impression and was affecting me more than I thought.

Then I noticed the patches of asphalt grime scattered all over her body, her matted hair, even a few places where her uniform had been torn. No, it couldn't be a coincidence.

I understood that she wanted to hide it. I was dying of curiosity to know why, but I put myself in her place.

Whoever that immortal girl was, she had survived being hit by a truck going over the speed limit. She'd had enough for one day; she didn't need some stinky guy harassing her. I decided I wouldn't push her anymore.

So I shut up, took a deep breath and cleared my throat to turn the page. Then I smiled, not like an idiot, but flashed her one of my charming smiles, the kind that every girl loves, and offered her my hand.

—I'm sorry, I must have confused you. My name is Ocko, this is Raquel. You must be new. Welcome to our class.

My smile was so radiant that I could feel bright sparks shooting out of it. I didn't expect it to have any effect on the new girl after speaking to her in such an invasive way, but I noticed a slight blush on her cheeks. Heh. My charm is infallible.

—Ah... I'm Erica— she introduced herself.

Her voice was slightly deep for a girl our age. It sounded powerful, but somewhat shy. It was to be expected in her situation.

Raka pointed at me.

—Ocko can be annoying, but he can help you get to know the rest of the class. Just tell me if he gets weird.

She said it all so earnestly that I feared Erica would have believed the joke by the end. I was quick to interject.

—I'm friends with everyone here. Come with me the first break so I can introduce you to the rest.

—Really?— she asked— Doesn't that bother you, Ocko?

I was surprised. I thought that, on the one hand, she wouldn't want to be with me, and on the other, that she would latch on to the other girl who had spoken to her first instead of a boy. I always thought women tended to make groups among themselves, but I guess that's not a rule.

—What? Of course not, I'd love to!

Erica gave a shy smile and nodded. She looked relieved, I wondered why.

Soon the teacher arrived, we all sat in our seats and class began. It felt weird.

Finally, during the first recess I took Erica to the courtyard, to meet the rest of the class. I made sure to introduce her to each of our classmates, plus a few kids from the parallel classes, and some from the third grade. I thought she would be shy, but she didn't seem to have a problem talking to other people, even cracking a couple of jokes. The only weird thing was, as we were finishing up, she started looking tired and staring at the floor. I looked at her, she seemed bored, even annoyed.

—Are you okay?— I asked.

She tried to smile, but she looked exhausted.

—Yes, it's just...— she pondered her words for a moment— no, it's nothing. Although I don't think I can remember so many names, it's a lot of people.

What she was saying made sense, but I didn't imagine it would be a problem. I stared at her and pointed to my face.

—What about me? What's my name?

She looked at me quizzically.

—Ocko— she replied.

I smiled at her.

—Good! That's an accomplishment. You're doing well.

Erica looked at me for a moment like someone who feels annoyed and treated like a little kid. I thought I had screwed up, but then she smiled.

—Okay.

----------------------------------------------------

I took her to see the school: the three courts, the gym, the central courtyard, the kiosks, everything she would need to know. But I very much doubt that anyone could get lost in our school, it has lots of open spaces and few obstacles in sight. No, I was just curious.

—Hey, why did you change grades right in senior year?— I asked her.

She didn't seem surprised by the question, but I noticed she tensed up; her chin dropped a few degrees, her chest puffed out a little more, her stride was a little shorter than the others.

—Emh...—she looked away, took a few seconds to answer—my dad changed jobs.

A more normal answer than I expected, although I didn't know myself what I was expecting. I stopped for a moment, she stood with me. I leaned over her and squinted, exaggerating a meditative pose. She leaned back. I waited for her to complain in some way, to ask me to stop looking at her like that, but she didn't seem to get too upset, just a little flustered.

—You... —I said— you're not the girl who ran over the truck in the morning, are you?

She looked away.

—No, I've never been hit by a truck.

She turned her eyes back to me, waiting for my reaction.

I jumped to my own conclusions, but stood up straight again and shrugged.

—I'm sorry, I had to be sure. It was just so weird...—I put a hand to my chin— then that girl in the morning must have died, it's a shame.

—A girl died?— said Erica, somewhat surprised.

I explained to her what I had seen before arriving at school. She showed her teeth in a surprised expression.

—I didn't see her body, but there's no way she could have survived after being hit by that truck— I explained.

I was going to explain to her that the girl was in our uniform and that the news of a student involved in such an accident must have been reported to the teachers and students by then, but no one had said anything. That was all very strange, but I didn't mention it to her because Erica assured me that she wasn't that girl. As suspicious as the situation was, I decided to believe her. I didn't know her, but we were already friends, and I wasn't about to start suspecting my friends.

—Here you are!— exclaimed a familiar voice.

We turned and found Raquel. She came striding up to us, took Erica's hands, brought her face within kissing distance and stared at her, like a predator about to pounce on its prey.

—He didn't do anything to you, did he?— she asked in a demanding tone.

Erica let go of Raquel and took a few steps back. I took a step to the right so that an equilateral triangle was formed between us, not too far from either of us, but not in a position that made it look like I was defending Erica; I didn't want her to see Raquel as someone to watch out for.

—Hey, Raka, you're scaring her— I pleaded.

She looked at me with the same piercing eyes.

—Why?— she asked, although if I had to translate just by her tone, I would have understood something like "fuck you".

Then I turned to Erica.

—Don't worry, Raquel is cool, she just doesn't know how to be friendly— I pointed out— Right, Raka?

—But I am being friendly— she pleaded.

I looked at Erica, she kept her arms close to her body, totally reserved. I scratched my head.

—It doesn't matter, you two will get along someday— I said to play it down— let's go to the big kids' playground, recess is about to be over anyway.

Actually, I thought Raquel's gesture was nice, going to check if the new girl was okay, accompanying her so she wouldn't feel intimidated by being alone with a handsome boy like me. I'm sure Erica will understand her someday.

Soon we were back in the room, we had more classes.

I didn't see Erica during the second recess, she left the room as soon as the bell rang and I didn't know where she went. I hoped I hadn't scared her off with my questions.

On the other hand, I had time to talk to my friends and hang out. We still saw each other during vacations, went to play at each other's houses and things like that, but at school it's different. Those fifteen minutes of rest after hours of class feel like a glass of water in the middle of a desert.