I DIDN'T DARE PROLONG the eye contact, pretending to ignore their dangerous red gleaming eyes. Taking all the books and scrambled my way to my next class. I used my long, straight hair to cover my frightened face, pushing the anxieties away. I'm already afraid of Mother's eyes itself, I thought. And this is something beyond the things I'm scared of.

After calming my chest, I arrived at my math class two and a half minutes late. But to my surprise, there are only eight students. And there's no teacher yet. None of the eight acknowledged my presence, preoccupied with their own activities, which is foreign and odd by my ethical standards.

The tables were long and meant to be shared by two people, fixed neatly in two rows, with six tables and two chairs in each column. So I didn't choose thoroughly where I'd be sitting. Since I'll be having a seatmate, no matter where I settled— I ended up at the corner right on the front row, putting the books in front of me.

Still, no one dared to start a conversation. And I felt a bit depressed, feeling unwelcomed by my first class. But I choose to be patient, encouraging myself that I might be open and be acquainted with myself someday. To spare time, I've decided to look around my surroundings, familiarizing myself with the new faces.

I've already expected that they have dark red eyes. And it gleamed depending on their traits and personalities. Some of them have blonde hair but darker ones, unlike my own, which is lighter and livelier; the others are red, brown, raven, and ginger. It's hard to know their qualities. But I've observed that all of them seem liberated. And wild kids who have an odd and mischievous aura surrounding them. Like mother, I thought. And I suddenly felt outcast.

The front door opened. But I decided not to spare a glance, focusing my attention on the book atop my table. I was completely fine on my chair till someone sat beside me.

My nervousness overtook me, and I began to hyperventilate. A rich perfume fanned across my breathing air. But the guy who had sat beside me put his arms on top of our table and slept.

I look beside me hesitantly, astonished by the guy's action —I didn't know we were permitted to sleep during class hours. I examined the guy curiously; his soft raven hair flowed smoothly over his forehead, and he had long, thick eyelashes, but I didn't know if his eyes were red like the others. The teacher came in after that, surprising me more when he seemed nonchalant, even though one of his students was sleeping.

WHEN OUR RECESS started, Alexis, Emily, and Esmeralda invited me to join their table. And it's the only time that I felt welcomed. I'm glad that not all of the Mastema students treat me as invisible and non-existent. I also discovered that our school was a full day shift, which reminds me that I still have seven hours to go before I go home. That's why some students prefer to live in dorms and only return home on weekends.

"So, how's your first day here in Mastema?" Emily asked, half-focusing between me and her meal.

"Fair enough," I said honestly, "though I'm still hoping that it'll change after sooner or later,"

"You're from foster care, right? Tell me about nuns." Alexis said with a bit of stone in her voice. I ignored the slight feeling of uneasiness the way she said 'foster care' and flashed a faint smile instead.

"They were kind. They treated us, foster children as if we were theirs and taught us about god and his begotten son, Jesus Christ."

She nods, suddenly becoming uninterested in the topic. I bit my lip, wondering if my personality doesn't suit their environment. And surprisingly, it was.

I saw a glare emitting from Emily's eyes, shooting at Alexis. Before her face softened as she looked at me, "How about your math class? Did you meet Alex there? The sleepy guy," she said, smiling warmly. I nod. And felt odd that Alex's face flashed across my mind.

"Yes, I remember him. We're seatmates," Emily leaned closer to me, interested in the topic.

"You're seatmates with Alex? That's nice; tell me more about it."

And so I did. I told Emily starting from the moment I saw Alex and how he slumped on our table nonchalantly, but I only managed to tell pieces since there's not much to tell about because Alex slept throughout the class hours.

The door opened, and I froze when the six groups of guys entered. The same intimidating group I saw in the hallway, Esmeralda, sitting beside me, notices my uneasiness, leaning closer before whispering in my ears.

"They are the school's seven deadly sins and the grandsons of our school principal," she murmurs. I tried to hide my face using my hair, looking at Esmeralda.

"What's their names?"

"The eldest one is Alex." She said, pointing at my seatmate. "The second one is Reid. The triplets were named Darius, Calvin, and Enrique; they were seven brothers; the sixth is Luca and the youngest is Dominic."

I felt ridiculed by her statement. The seven deadly sins don't make sense, even though I felt I was being put through a childish game that Mastema students were playing. I pretended to listen till something caught my attention.

"Where's the youngest?" I asked curiously. Because there are only six of them, none resembling a Dominic. "He's always separating himself from his brothers," Esmeralda replied," I'm warning you as early as possible, Mary Jane. To stay away from him, he's dangerous."

My stomach felt sick after recess. And the food here in Mastema tastes strange. But I didn't tell my new friends about it because I didn't want to be ridiculous and be viewed as a snotty reclaimed kid who chose her meal like fake royalty.

English was our fifth period. I informed my teacher that I'd be going to the infirmary. Fortunately, she agreed. And I took my map, carefully followed it, and breathed deeply when I finally arrived. An old and warm nurse greeted me, assisting me on one of the beds hidden inside the thick, dark green curtains.

"What's happened, child?" She asked. I bit my lip, and I looked up at her.

"My stomach hurts right after I finished my recess."

The nurse looked at me strangely, taking her notepad atop the table, and began scribbling some notes. "So you've said that it started to hurt after your meal, am I right?" She clarified. I nod. "And you didn't eat anything besides the school's food?" She asked.

"Yes, I didn't eat anything besides the meal here at school."

She closed her pad, nodding approvingly, before patting my shoulders. "Okay sweetheart, just lay on the bed before I give you some medicine," she offered kindly. I nodded weakly, doing exactly as she said.

I felt sleepy as soon as my head touched the soft pillow. I didn't notice that the nurse had already come in, holding some blue pills and a glass of water, giving it to me.

"That's a good girl. Now, you should rest so the pill will work," she smiled. I wet my dry lips first before uttering a gratification. "You're mostly welcome, dear. Take a nice rest."

I WOKE UP AT dismissal, and I'm slightly surprised that the pill actually worked. My stomach didn't hurt anymore. And I thanked Nurse Judith once again before I left her infirmary.

The hallway was empty. And the sunset displayed warmly from the windowpane, reminding me I should be home now. I checked on my locker and took my bag, feeling nervous about what my excuse would be, to Mrs. Heathers.

I just hope she'll accept it because it's unlikely to have a stomach ache on the first day of school. After I took my bag, I stride in the hallway, my heels clacking against the cold tiles. It was deafeningly silent. And I felt uneasy when suddenly I heard something.

It was a faint glow of music at first, till it got louder and clearer. Full of seduction and yearning as the keys were pressed delicately, one after another. Shivers ran down my spine as the piano echoed in the silent hallway.

It's hauntingly beautiful.

As if my feet had minds on their own, I followed where the sound came from. I recognize the piece as Serenade, played by the pianist Schubert. And the same emotional notes were played perfectly. The music itself leads me to the music room, secluded from the surrounding rooms. And I slowly open up the door.

My chest rose when I saw a strangely handsome man; his dark raven hair swayed as he played with the keys, and his eyes were not red. It's dark and beautifully gray, with golden rings that give me shivers on my neck. He's different from the people that I've encountered. The man appears to be younger than me. But his demeanor shows dominance. And control.

I didn't notice that I was already walking inside. But the man was so drawn to his piece that he didn't notice me coming. I listened. And absorb the beautiful music in my ears, tears escaping my eyes. The music ended, and the guy looked at me, amused.

"Pardon, your piece is beautiful by the way," I smiled, wiping the tears away from my eyes, feeling shy to get caught.

"What's your name?" He asked sweetly and commandingly. I was mesmerized by his eyes. It almost took me a couple of minutes to answer.

"I'm Mary Jane," I smiled shyly, offering my hand.

He looked at my soft hands hesitantly before his gray eyes flickered. "Dominic," He answered, touching my hand with a soft, warm kiss and closing his eyes. "And I'm very pleased to meet you, Mary Jane."