Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought that way. During another break, as I was walking through the courtyard, I noticed a large group of boys in the corner. Normally I would have paid them no attention, or even made an effort to avoid them, but given the circumstances of the past few weeks, I decided to approach.

-What are you guys doing?- I asked.

Some on the periphery of the group turned to look at me. I noticed that they were nervous. Then the boys in the center broke through and faced me. They looked serious, hardened, almost hostile. It didn't seem to me that they were going to share their secrets with me easily.

-Go somewhere else, Raquel. Nothing to look at- said Rifal, the captain of the football team and Solis' widowed boyfriend.

Rifal was a tall, thin boy, with a cursed smile plastered on his face, like Ocko, only without his charm and attractiveness. I guessed that Solis had been in love with Ocko, but had settled for a similar boy.

Of course it would be him. He had several reasons to hate Erica. I had known him for a few years. I had seen how people looked and followed him. He wasn't as much of a leader as Ocko, but he was quite capable of organizing a small group. However, a leader emerges because he leads in a direction. In Rifal's case, it was easy to see where he was pointing.

-Whatever they're planning, it won't work- I assured him.

He frowned.

-What are you talking about? You don't even know what we're doing here. Now go away.

-I say this for your and the others' sake, Rifal. I don't want them to get hurt- I shook my head, disgusted with the image of Ocko's warm corpse- You guys won't beat Erica.

Some of the boys started looking at each other's faces, nervous. I knew I had hit the nail on the head, those brutes were planning to go and beat her up in some dark corner. They thought they would win with numbers, but they were thinking with their muscles, not their heads.

Rifal, irritated, looked ready to shout me down. But then another boy stepped forward, openly showing his fear.

-So what should we do, then? That brute killed Solis and Ocko! Who's next?!

Rifal attempted to retake the lead at that time with renewed strength.

-That's why we have to do something! The police won't do anything! It's up to us to protect ourselves!

-Erica killed Solis with one punch- I reminded them, raising my voice loud enough for everyone to hear me- even with a bullet wound, she killed Solis with one punch.

All the boys remained silent for a moment. Rifal looked at me like he wanted to kill me for mentioning his dead girlfriend, but I paid no attention.

-But we can't stay like this!- said another- We have to do something! Rifal is right!

-No, he's not right. You people are alive right now, that's what counts. If any of you follow him, you will die.

-And you want us to just sit here?- pleaded Rifal- I'd rather die fighting than surrender and let her kill us!

He was using me to boost his ideology. Good move, but the end would be the same.

-You will die fighting, then. But I have a plan. I can make you survive all this.

I waited a few seconds for Rifal to make a counter argument, but he just stared at me. I looked at the others, they were also attentive. I realized that they were not as closed to other possibilities as I had thought.

I clenched my fists. I realized at that moment that I could do something. If I could get those kids and the class with me, I could take on Erica in my own way. Slowly I moved further and further into the circle so that everyone could hear me. In response, the boys just let me.

-If you guys want to fight Erica with your fists, you've already lost. There's no way to hurt her or scare her like that. You can't wound her either, she recovers overnight from anything. But I know her weakness, something she doesn't have and we have plenty of. With this advantage we can kick her out of school, we can force her to leave on her own - I paused to look at my audience. They were still attentive, hopeful. I had to lead them, it was my responsibility - That advantage is our bonds! We have bonds she doesn't! We are many! She is one!

-But you just said we can't beat her!- a boy argued.

-In a fight, we'd lose- I corrected him- that's why we're not going to fight. We're going to hit her where it hurts: in her feelings. We'll make her life hell until she can't stand coming to school.

-And how are we going to do that without fighting her?- asked Rifal.

-I've got lots of ideas- I said- we'll meet in the square after school. Don't tell Erica or anyone else, I'll take care of informing everyone, understood?

Some of the boys were not very convinced after listening to me, but others were more optimistic. Insisting wouldn't help much anyway, so I left. As promised, I took it upon myself to tell everyone except Erica about our meeting. I doubted she wouldn't find out - keeping a secret among forty kids from one girl seemed impossible - but I reckoned she wouldn't feel like snooping around anyway.

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

After school, as I had told the boys, I went straight to the square. It was a lonely walk. I knew I wasn't a girl that others followed, I wasn't a leader. I was more like the bossy mean girl who scolded everyone over little things. I knew what they said about me, and I knew a lot of what they said was true. I wasn't a nice person, let alone an attractive one.

I sighed. If only Ocko was here to lead the masses while I steered him in the direction we wanted.

-Although he'd probably get distracted by nonsense along the way- I thought, amused for a second.

I arrived at the plaza square close to the school, not knowing what I would do. I made my way across the grass to the big tree in the center. Its roots were so thick that people could sit on them. The place was empty. I walked listlessly towards it, when I began to hear footsteps on both sides; two on my right, one on my left. I turned around, and found Ocko's gang; Pekos, Galica and Troveto.

-You three?- I said, surprised.

The three of them stopped and gave me different sad smiles. I was about to ask them what they were doing there, when I remembered that I had summoned them. Still, it was hard to believe.

-Did you come for the meeting?- I dared to ask.

Pekos ran a hand over his head, in no great mood to show off his muscles. Galica held one arm and Troveto took off his cap to adjust it.

-I liked her- said Troveto, his voice muffled- but she has to go. It's unacceptable that she has not paid for her crimes.

-I'd like to try to kill her instead of just kicking her out... but I know it's impossible- admitted Galica- I know it well. I'll settle for helping you punish her.

I looked at Pekos, waiting for him to say something. He looked more hesitant than the other two, but just as sad.

-I just wanted us all to get along- he argued- Why did it have to come to this?

-You don't have to participate if you don't want to- I said- if you're not going to be giving it your all, I'd rather you didn't.

Pekos looked at me, surprised at my words. Then he turned to his friends; Galica didn't even look at him. Troveto just gave him a neutral glance. Pekos sighed.

-I wish we didn't have to do this, but we have to. Erica... she's evil. She has to go.

Galica pouted, on the verge of tears, and took Pekos' hand. I don't know if it was to comfort him or to be comforted by him. Then she took Troveto's hand and joined it with hers and Pekos'. All three shared a rueful smile, then looked at me, belatedly I realized they were waiting for me to join them.

At first I wanted to refuse, as I didn't feel part of their group. But I soon realized that this was not so. I belonged with them now, we were united by our grief for Ocko and our hatred for Erica. At least until we met our goal or died trying, the four of us were united.

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

After that we went to sit under the tree. We chatted slowly for a few minutes, I was already planning what I would say to them when they realized that no one else had shown up for the meeting. However, after a few minutes another group appeared; Rifal and his team of tough guys. Behind them came a few girls. We grew in numbers until we constituted just over half of the students on the class. It was a lot more than I expected, I figured they all wanted to at least give a chance of getting rid of Erica. I had to play my cards right so they wouldn't slip through my fingers.

No, thinking like that would only alienate them. I had seen Ocko, people followed him more easily when he had a definite goal to which they all had to contribute. That was exactly our situation, like a sheepdog leading a flock.

I looked at them all for a moment. I wasn't good at public speaking, I didn't know how loud I should raise my voice, how to move, or exactly what to say so they wouldn't see me as a failed clown, but I put all that out of my mind for a moment. I had to concentrate on Erica. All those people were nothing more than tools to remove her from our school. I took a breath.

-Thank you for coming- I began my speech- I'm sure you all know the gravity of the situation, so I won't bother to explain why I asked you to come, but what we're going to do. We're going to kick Erica out of our school.

I looked at them all for a moment to gather my thoughts.

-I went to talk to the director today. I asked him to get rid of her, I asked him why he hadn't already done so, but he just threw me out of his office. He couldn't give me a clear answer. I think the director has a reason to defend her.

-The director is a fool, we should do something ourselves!- exclaimed one of the girls.

-Let me finish- I asked, raising my voice- this is not a social gathering. We're not here to pass the time, we're here on a mission. I need you to focus. Now, it's true, the director is a fool, but he's not blind. I have reason to believe that someone is blackmailing him into turning a blind eye.

Some looked at each other's faces, others started commenting immediately.

-Silence- I yelled.

It was hateful to have to talk to a group of kids who weren't paying attention. I realized the torment our teachers went through every day.

-If the director says he won't do anything against Erica, the teachers won't either. We can't count on the school to help us, nor can we count on the police. There's something weird going on here, but investigating it won't get us anywhere. At best, we'll discover a bunch of old people who have been bribed or blackmailed. No, we have to go straight to Erica.

-Yes, we have to go together and beat her up!- shouted one of the boys.

-Don't give me that bullshit, Lamico!- I exclaimed- What did I tell you guys during recess? You were there, I remember your face! I said all of you couldn't win against Erica! Get that idea out of your head, you'll only get more people killed!

I took a breath. I calmed down a bit.

-No, what we can do is hurt her feelings. The school can't kick her out, we don't have that option either, but she does. If she decides one day that she doesn't want to go to school anymore, we will have won. We'll be safe again. For that we're going to use stealth methods, out of sight. We're going to use our numbers to our advantage.

-But won't Erica fight us anyway?- asked another girl.

I raised a finger in a negative gesture.

-She won't do it if she doesn't know who to fight back- I said- Erica is a murderer, but even she has her own sense of justice. I've seen it up close. She won't hit anyone who won't hit her. She won't try to kill anyone who doesn't try to kill her. She won't do anything to us if she doesn't know who did something to her.

One boy raised his hand.

-What do you mean, she won't know? Are we going to hide with masks to beat her up?

His question was so silly that I facepalmed myself.

-Scratching her desk, hiding her backpack, tearing up her notebooks: humiliating her, ridiculing her, making her feel bad.

-But we do that with each other all the time- said another boy.

-It's different- I said- usually you are in a group; the class. While you're in that group, there are rules that are hard to break, like "you can prank your friends, but you can't kill them" or have you tried to kill one of your friends?

-Eh... no.

-Of course not, because you would be excluded from the group. That's what happened to Erica. Right now she doesn't feel she belongs in the group, but the group ignores her without doing anything to her. I'm going to change that. I'm going to use the group against her. Think about how you would feel if suddenly the whole class was ganging up on you? Maybe you'd put up with it for a day or two, some for a week, but not much. We are human; social beings. To be enemies of society, of our group, is to go against our nature. Erica can have all the strength she wants, but she's still a girl like us. I know her well enough to know that she won't be able to stand up to the weight of the whole class. But I need the cooperation of every single one of you, do you understand me? The whole group against her, not one part yes and one part no. All or nothing!

As soon as I finished, Troveto, Galica and Pekos got up.

-Count us in!- Troveto announced- we're going to make her feel so bad that she'll go away crying!

-Yes, she'll pay for taking Ocko away from us!- exclaimed Galica, on the verge of tears.

-I'd like to give her a good punch in the face for what she did and be done with it- said Pekos- but your plan makes more sense. You're smart, Raquel. Ocko thought highly of you, so I'll trust you too.

They were not enough, but their support alone meant more than I had expected.

Then, to my surprise, other boys stood up; Rifal and his friends.

-It's a good plan- he said- you're good at this, Raquel. Count me in.

-And with us!- said a group of girls.

-And with us!- exclaimed other boys.

Soon everyone was on their feet, ready to do whatever it took to complete that mission. I realized at that moment that I had inspired all these people to follow me. I was acting like a leader, even if I wasn't a natural like Ocko. I could do it. I could use them to drive Erica out.