It had already been a week since we started the school year. It was Tuesday, with my friends we were in the courtyard, talking about nonsense as usual, when suddenly I noticed that Erica was not there.

I think my friends noticed me looking away, because they caught my attention.

—Are you looking for your little girlfriend?— asked Galica in a mocking voice.

—What are you talking about?— I pleaded, although I knew well what she meant— Erica is not my girlfriend.

Galica was a short girl, with a mocking smile almost plastered on her face. Her hair was very long and she used to wear it tied in two orange pigtails on the sides.

—Well, you two seem very close— Troveto commented, his voice husky and soft.

I looked at him somewhat annoyed. I grabbed his snow cap that he always wears and pulled it down so he would stop fussing.

Troveto was a tall, skinny boy. He always looked half—asleep or flounced, maybe he was. His hair was quite long, but he hid it under a mountain beanie.

—Hehehe. You're too skinny, she sure likes muscles— Pekos teased, taking the opportunity to raise his arms and show off his bulging biceps. No one paid him any attention.

Pekos was the tallest, and by far the beefiest of all the boys in the school. His hands were thick, his arms bulging with muscle and his head always shaved. Still, his face looked like a baby's, with big eyes and a tiny little mouth.

Just then I saw Raquel pass by, concentrating on her cell phone as she walked. I noticed that, on the other side, some of our classmates were playing football. Just then someone missed a shot, which deflected and flew right at Raquel. There was no way she could have seen it, focused on her cell phone as she was. I opened my mouth to warn her, but it was too late.

Then she ducked, and dodged the ball like it was nothing.

—Caref...— I cut myself off before I could finish.

I sighed, relieved. I should have guessed that the always vigilant Raquel would have heard the ball approaching. The others gawked at her.

—Raquel, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!— exclaimed one of our classmates, Solis, a footbal—loving girl. I didn't notice that she had thrown the ball.

—Never mind— replied Raquel, without even looking at her.

Instead, she stopped in front of us.

—If you're looking for Erica, she's over there, behind that tree— Raquel pointed at one of the trees nearby.

It took us a second to realize that, besides being attentive to the ball, she had heard our conversation.

—Okay, Raka— I said.

Raka was a slender girl, with a braid... wait, you know Raka.

She continued on her course, expressionless as always. Pekos, Troveto and Galica stared at her as she walked away.

—Sometimes I wonder if she is a robot— commented Galica.

—Or an alien— added Troveto.

—No, she's just smart— stated Pekos— but it's scary.

Troveto and Galica nodded their heads. I had heard that phrase before, that Raquel was scary, but I never quite understood why people said it.

—What makes everyone afraid of her?— I wanted to know.

The three of them looked at me as if I had said something in another language.

—Dude, has she never scolded you for eating in class?— Troveto asked.

—Or for talking in a test?— reminded Galica.

—Or for showing your muscles to girls from other classes?— added Pekos.

Okay, I understand the first two, but Pekos was not exactly an ordinary boy. This time he was the one the group alienated with strange looks.

—What?— he pleaded.

—The thing is, she's scary— concluded Galica— she can be kind of... bossy.

—Yes, yes, that— nodded Troveto— she's worse than my mom.

—She told me that if I kept showing my muscles, she was going to report me to the teachers for sexual harassment— recalled Pekos— I just wanted to show my muscles.

I put a hand to my head, puzzled by everything I was being told. It wasn't anything new, Raquel used to boss me around too, but I never found it annoying, it was just the way she was. I wondered if I was the only one in the class who thought that way.

—Well, Raquel will be Raquel— I stood up and wiped my pants— I guess she earned her reputation, so I won't convince you guys that she's any different. Moving on, she said Erica was around, right?

The others also stood up and pointed to the tree Raka had indicated earlier. We set off into the small forest next to the courtyard, and there we came across something that caught my attention; Erica was leaning against the trunk of a tree, reading a book. She looked very peaceful, sitting on the ground and reading. In fact, I don't think I had ever seen her so relaxed. Usually she was tense, with her shoulders stiff and her eyes on the ground, but at that moment she looked comfortable.

—Erica!— I called to her, as we approached.

Then she tensed again. She sat up straight and looked us all in the face, even closing the book. We sat around her, I had personally hoped to get to share a bit of that quiet side of her, but she hid it as soon as we arrived. I wonder why she doesn't relax with us.

—What are you doing?— I asked her.

—Oh, hi, guys— she said in a shy voice— just... reading.

I remembered that this quiet girl had the strength to hold several tons of steel as if it was nothing.

Galica picked up her book and examined it.

—Oh, my sister read this one! She said it's very good.

Erica smiled, pleased.

—Yes, it's exciting. Do you like it?

—No, I don't read much— Galica admitted.

—Oh.

—Hey, Erica, why don't you come out to the playground and join us?— asked Troveto.

I noticed that Erica became more tense than usual. I had that doubt too, but at that moment I felt good that I hadn't raised it. The need to answer didn't seem to be a pleasant thing for Erica at that moment.

—It's... I don't know, I just felt like reading— she answered, or rather dodged the question.

—Hey, Erica, wouldn't you like to go to the gym with me sometime?— Pekos offered— I bet you'd like to see my muscles.

As usual, Pekos took the opportunity to show off his biceps. Oh, silly and deluded Pekos, don't you know that Erica is a thousand times stronger than you? Unable to contain a smirk, I looked at her to see what kind of expression that girl would put on with such a ridiculous offer. To my surprise, Erica was looking at Pekos' arms with interest.

—Wow, they're really big!— she observed.

—Hehe, I know. I train every day.

—Amazing. I don't work out at all.

—Then you should come with me! It'll be fun!

I got ready to jump in and cut their conversation. If Erica ever set foot on a gym, I didn't even want to imagine what kind of havoc she'd wreak.

—I don't know, I've never been attracted to the idea— she admitted.

—Come on, I'm serious— Pekos insisted.

—Pekos, don't be a pain in the ass. It must intimidate her to go with a gorilla like you— I mocked.

To my surprise, he seemed offended.

—Yeah? Well, you're a... a stupid jerk! Ha!

—At least I'm not a gorilla.

—That's enough— Gallica pleaded.

I laughed. It was fun to tease Pekos.

—Hey, why don't we do something after school?— Troveto proposed.

Then I noticed an important detail. I turned to Erica.

—You've ever hung out with us after school?— I asked her.

She gave me a frightened look, as if she had discovered an enemy spy.

—She went with you on her date— said Galica.

Troveto laughed, Pekos folded his arms, Erica shook her head vigorously. I just smiled, I knew Galica was just trying to get on our nerves, but I was immune to that kind of thing.

—The first day of school— I clarified.

—Yes.

—Ah, the same day the church fell down— Troveto reminded me.

Erica and I looked at each other. She seemed nervous that the subject was on the table, I just smiled mischievously, while I thought of a way to tease her for a while.

—Oh yeah, it was awesome!— I exclaimed— Erica and I saw it in the front row.

The others looked at me with varying degrees of interest. Erica didn't say anything, but her eyes were wide open, as if warning me to shut up right then and there.

—Did you see when it collapsed?— Galica asked.

—Yes, it took me by surprise— I said— we were walking down the sidewalk and suddenly it collapsed, just like that, out of nowhere.

—They said on the news that they didn't manage to find out how it came down— said Troveto, in his soft and relaxed voice— but that the rigging of the bell was heard before it happened.

—Ringing— Galica corrected him.

—Running— insisted Troveto, just to annoy her.

—Really— I asked, feigning surprise— I don't know if I heard it. What did stick in my mind was the sound of the collapse itself.

Of course I had heard the ringing of the bell. I had caused it myself, but I wasn't going to tell them.

—And how did you see it? Were you walking around?— asked Pekos, pretending not to be interested.

—We were in the square, having some ice cream— I said.

I looked at Erica, smiling. She still looked annoyed, but relieved, and no longer looked at me as if she wanted to kill me, which was always a good thing.

—So where can we all go?— Galica asked.

No one said anything for quite a while. I thought of several ways to pass the time, but I wasn't quite sure how Erica would take them. After a minute of silence, I started to think that maybe we could go to the plaza to hang out. However, to everyone's surprise, it was Erica who came up with an idea.

—Emh... Why don't we go to the food festival?— she proposed.

We all looked at her, disgruntled.

—Food festival?— exclaimed Pekos and Galica.

—Is it around this time?— Troveto was surprised.

—Ah, that festival where you pay admission and eat whatever you want, isn't it?— I remembered.

—I've never been there! How do you know of it?— asked Galica.

—My parents took me when I was a kid— I explained— What a good idea, Erica. Who wants to go?

—Me!— they all said.

—When is it?— Pekos wanted to know.

—Today— pointed Erica— it's on the other side of town, but it looks fun.

—Isn't it a little expensive?— Troveto recalled— I don't know if we have enough money to get in.

We took out what we each had, there were barely a couple of crests in all.

—How much is a ticket?— I asked.

She gave me a smile.

—84 crests.

We all opened our eyes wide. 84 crests is enough for an expensive dish in a moderately elegant restaurant, a huge amount for a student at school, like us.

—84 crests for one person?— I asked to make sure.

Erica nodded. I looked at the rest.

—There are five of us. 5 times 84 is...— I needed a calculator.

—That's a lot of money! We can't go— Galica exclaimed.

—That's 420 crests— Erica calculated after a few seconds.

Galica put her hands to her ears.

—No, I can't hear you, I can't hear you!

Pekos and Troveto didn't look very enthusiastic either. Certainly, 420 crests looked like a lot, but I gave it some thought anyway.

Just then the bell rang. We went back to class, but I didn't let the festival thing go. It was a good idea to go together, it looked like something fun, and more importantly, it was Erica's idea. It seemed to me that, if I wanted her to join the group, turning down the first idea she came up with for an activity would not be something that would make her to trust us.