The next day, Solis' accident was the most talked about. Erica didn't show up during the morning, I think maybe for the better. No one really knew what had happened, but everyone agreed that she had been the culprit, in one way or another. Some said that she had prepared herself with a knife hidden in her sportswear, others said that it was all an act that Solis was doing to skip the tests and that Erica had only helped her. Gallica didn't quite know what had happened, because at the time of the accident she had been busy running to the other side of the court. Raquel seemed to be the only one who knew the truth.

During the first class the teacher arrived in a hurry. As soon as he entered the living room, he pointed to the door.

—Everyone, to the gym! Let's go!

We left the room. The entire rest of the school was doing the same. We crossed the middle court to the gymnasium, sat in our place on the benches and waited for the other hundreds of students to do the same. After several minutes of general movement, and teachers silencing their students, the principal stood on the podium and tested the microphone.

—Dear students— he began in a slow and grave tone— we are gathered here by an announcement that breaks our hearts. Yesterday, one of her classmates, a promising young woman from the IV C class, suffered a serious accident that will have consequences for the rest of her life. She hurt her leg severely. It is very possible that she will not walk again. In these times it is important to keep in the heart the...

After that he started to give a half hour speech about the values of the school and the community, but did not give more relevant information. We didn't know what would happen to Solis, nor did he mention the culprit, although we all knew who was. I wondered how Solis' family would feel. I knew she had a little sister in III C class, but I didn't know anything about her besides that she existed.

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

That day, my gang didn't looked very lively. But the one who seemed most affected was Raquel. She stuck, staring at the ground or infinity. I kept an eye on her during class, but she didn't change. I decided to take her to the place where we used to hang out to make her talk, to unload a little, that would do her good.

—How do you feel?— I asked as soon as we sat down.

She didn't even look at me, just squeezed her knees, leaning against a tree trunk.

—No... I don't know—she admitted—it was so terrible, so strong. And what will Erica feel?

Raquel held one knee, the same one that Erica had taken from Solis. I understood her, she was experiencing the same thing I did; that strange feeling that she was lied to, that her friend had really been a monster in disguise all that time.

—But...— she said.

However, at that moment Troveto appeared from the court, followed by Galica and Pekos.

—What are you two talking about?— asked Troveto.

Raquel remained with her head down while the gang made themselves comfortable. I didn't know how to make them understand that this was not a good time to interrupt, so they just sat next to us. I had no choice but to integrate them.

—We were talking about what happened— I told them.

—Ah, the thing with Solis— Troveto guessed.

—She liked to play football, didn't she?— commented Pekos.

—Having your leg amputated just like that must suck— Gallica snapped.

—But did she really do it?— asked Troveto —Do you think she really took her leg?

—It's hard to know— Galica admitted.

—She amputated it— said Raquel in a quiet tone —with a single kick.

The others kept quiet for a moment. I sighed, not quite knowing what to make of it all. I understood that I was not as surprised as the rest because I knew something that they did not, I knew a side of her that they did not even suspect yet. Not that I was proud of it, but I think it let me think more clearly.

After a long time in silence, Pekos dared to speak.

—Maybe... Maybe it's not so safe to hang out with her— he said, shyly.

The rest of us stared at him, surprised. He stared at the ground.

—I wouldn't want to lose a leg or an arm!— he defended himself —I've worked too long on my body!

—But... Pekos, it's Erica!— Galica argued —she's our friend!

—I'm not saying we should abandon her! I just... I don't know, we should be careful.

Troveto changed his position.

—I think the same— he admitted.

—Troveto!— exclaimed Galica.

—Friend or no, she's dangerous. Is no one else scared?

We kept silence for another moment.

—Let's just be careful. I think Erica would also want the same.

What Troveto said made sense. Just paying more attention, avoiding accidents.

—Well, when you put it like that, I guess you're right— Galica relented —Do you think it was... on purpose?

—What?— I yelled —that she wanted to take her leg?

We all looked at Galica in surprise. She made no attempt to hide her thoughts.

—Solis was not the nicest girl in the class, sometimes she could be very invasive, she got into your personal space. Erica is very reserved. She was super uncomfortable talking to Solis. I'm just saying that it's possible she wanted to hurt her.

It seemed absurd to me. I was about to complain, when suddenly Raquel hit her knees with her palms and caught everyone's attention.

—Erica would never do that!— she asserted —What happened was an accident! We all make mistakes!

Galica, Pekos and Troveto stared at her for a moment.

—I'm not saying don't be careful. We should always be careful, but right now, Erica must feel horrible about what she did. Let's stop treating her like a weirdo, alright?

The gang couldn't answer, they just kept silent. I sighed, somewhat relieved. The one who worried me most in all this was not Solis or Erica, but Raquel; she was the most affected. It was a relief to see that she continued to trust Erica. That's what friends are supposed to do.

—Look!— exclaimed a classmate, a few steps away. I didn't pay attention to what he was saying, until he said the magic word—It's Erica!

The five of us turned. We looked around the courtyard. I noticed people stopping, everyone was looking in a certain direction. I followed their gaze line and found her; walking with her backpack down the hall, there she was.

—Erica!— I shouted.

We stood up and went to see her, it just wasn't that easy. Before we could reach her, a bunch of students came ahead of us and surrounded her to fill her with questions. Noticing this, I ran, stepped into the crowd, and pushed and elbowed. That's how I got closer. She tried to move forward, but people blocked her way. I extended my hand to her, she took it and pulled me in. That was all I needed.

—Enough, ladies and gentlemen!— I said to the others —My client will answer no more questions! Now make way, please!

Some listened to me and laughed, others were very focused on getting answers from Erica. Regardless, the crowd softened and we managed to break through. I continued to make way and dissuade the other students from instigating her. After a few eternal minutes, we managed to get rid of everyone and get to the classroom.

—Are you okay?— I asked.

—Yes, thank you for that— she said —I didn't think it would cause such a stir.

This surprised me quite a bit. Erica was not stupid, she could be pretty smart and come up with creative solutions, but sometimes it felt like she didn't know what common sense was.

—You took out a girl's leg, of course it would cause a stir!— I said quietly.

—I'm sorry.

—But since we're at it— I looked everywhere, the others inside the room were staring at Erica, but they didn't seem to dare to approach her yet— what exactly happened yesterday?

—Yes! What happened?!— Pekos asked.

We turned, our friends quickly approached to listen. I noticed that some other people in the class turned to us, listening, but I didn't mind.

She pressed her lips together, visibly uncomfortable with the memory.

—I thought I was going to hit the ball— she explained —I was nervous, I put a lot of force into it. She got in the way. I didn't even see when she took it from me. Suddenly there was blood everywhere.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then it hadn't been on purpose. The others also looked less nervous. Even Raquel, who had seen everything.

—And why did you escape?— she asked, in her usual accusatory tone.

Erica stepped back, intimidated.

—I'm sorry! I panicked!

Troveto placed a hand on Raquel's shoulder.

—Don't press her, you yourself said to be careful.

The rest of us cast murderous looks at Troveto. That we agreed to be careful around her was not something Erica needed to know. Fortunately for us, she didn't seem to mind.

—Emh... I didn't cause much trouble, did I?

I didn't quite know how to answer that question, but I didn't need to. At that moment, a slamming door startled us. We turned around and saw before us a very tall girl, almost the size of Pekos, with similar musculature. Her skin was tanned for a long time in the sun, her constitution was big and her sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Her face was wrinkled into a frown that gave me goosebumps, but her hatred was not directed at me. Her eyes immediately fell on Erica.

—The blonde one— she observed —you're Erica Sanz, right? The one that blew Solis' leg off.

—You can do it, Krois!— a girl outside the room cheered her on.

I followed the source of the voice and noticed a crowd behind Krois, mostly third—graders. Everyone looked curiously at the athletic girl, some even smiled, excited to see a show. I didn't like where all that was going.

—Was her name Solis?— asked Erica.

Krois gritted her teeth and her face wrinkled even more, hateful.

—Yes! My sister, whose leg you amputated! Didn't you even know her name, you piece of shit?!— she yelled.

She strode forward, stretched out a swift hand like a snake, and caught Erica's neck. The others tried to separate them, but she did not let herself be pushed away. For her part, Erica didn't move, just stared at her with a red face from the tight neck.

—How did you do it?!— Krois shouted, furiously —How the fuck did you amputate Solis' leg?! And why?!

Erica made a little grunt, I think she couldn't speak with Krois' hand squeezing her throat. I hoped that she would get rid of her, easily overtake her in strength and show her that she couldn't just go around grabbing people by the neck, but Erica didn't do any of that, she just stood still.

—Erica?— I called to her, dismayed.

Krois punched her so hard she threw her to the floor.

—Erica!— yelled Raquel, bending down to help her.

Krois seemed ready to continue, Pekos and Troveto prepared to push her to make distance, Galica took a breath to shout and I was paralyzed, not understanding what was happening.

—What's going on here?! — shouted a teacher.

We all turned around. The math teacher entered the room and advanced quickly towards us.

—What's the meaning of this?— he alleged, and then addressed Krois specifically —Miss Ramos.

—No, I... I just...

—The doorbell has already rang. Go to your classroom, now— the teacher urged.

She lowered her gaze and agreed, but as she walked to the door, she cast one last hateful stare at Erica.

She stood up with Raquel's help. The professor looked at her.

—What happened, Miss Sanz?— asked the professor.

She rubbed a cheek, though it looked more like wiping away the dust.

—Nothing important— she commented.

—Good. Take a seat, quickly.

We went to sit down, but we didn't feel entirely sure the matter was over. As the teacher began to write on the blackboard, I turned to Érica.

—Why didn't you stop her?— I asked.

She didn't seem annoyed at all, not even exasperated. What's more, the punch hadn't left any marks on her. She looked at me questioningly, as if wondering if I would understand the answer.

—Although it was an accident, it is normal for her to hate me. There's nothing wrong in lashing out a little.

I was shocked. I did not expect such a response from the murderous brute who had decimated the robbers in the alley.

Her concept of justice seemed odd to me, although due to circumstances, I couldn't say I disagreed.

—Alright.

It was a mature way of dealing with the consequences. However, that would not be enough to calm the people most affected. I just hoped that the matter would not get out of control.