As soon as the bell rang, Erick rushed out without looking back, sitting on a bench in the large courtyard away from the places where most people gathered. He realized at that moment that he had forgotten his lunch at home.

The migraine began to spread through his head due to the lack of food, he hadn't had time to eat breakfast before leaving so his stomach was completely empty. Bry saw him from a distance and quickly went to sit next to him.

“Hey you. If you forgot your food I can give you mine”.

Erick was surprised, he hadn't heard her approaching. He noticed that she had fixed her hair in a neater ponytail, a portion of it still out of place covering her right eye.

Seeing the soft smile on the girl's face, the discomfort and uncertainty he felt at the sympathy of those outside his family flooded over him again, making his discomfort even worse.

“I don't need your pity”.

He spoke with a monotonous and cold voice, even tho it wasn’t his intention, his tone and his actions always fell into that when he didn’t know what to do or was overwhelmed by his own emotions, although thanks to his two tutors he had managed to improve a bit, it was still an issue.

“Come on… take it as my apology for running into you this morning”.

Still uncomfortable and with some hesitation, he took Bry's lunch box, her smile grew at his acceptance.

Erick opened it and took out one of the small translucent containers, trying to distinguish what was in it.

“Oh, that's mashed potatoes. There are also meatballs and steamed vegetables. For dessert I brought a mini apple pie, you can keep it if you want.”

Looking at the size of everything, it was obvious that it was prepared for a single person with an average appetite. The clumsy gesture, that would surely end up with both of them starving, comforted Erick, calming him down enough to speak normally again.

“Are you sure? I don’t think it’s enough for the-”.

With a sudden smack to the base of his hand, the mashed potatoes flew into the air. Aubrey, distressed and upset, looked away from the scene while Erick got flustered with fury, glaring at the laughing redheaded girl, Linda, who stood in front of them both.

“Look, how adorable, the two weirdos became friends. The one-eyed freak and the caged boy.”

Another brown-haired girl, Rosalina, spoke in a mocking tone. Behind them a boy, with reddish brown hair, a pair of black skull-shaped earrings and a somewhat disheveled uniform, looked around making sure no one intervened, Leroy. Turning his gaze from time to time towards Aubrey without moving his head, as if watching her secretly.

Without hesitation Erick stood up, took the container from the floor, now almost empty, and threw it at Linda's forehead, knocking her to the ground.

He didn't know how to react to the kindness of others, but hostility was something that came naturally to him.

Staring at the three people in front of him, he began to speak firmly.

“I don't care who you think you are, but listen closely, I'm not going to put up with your sh-”.

“Stop it!... please”.

Bry held his shirt as she looked at him in embarrassment. She didn't want to drag him into her affairs. If he kept talking, he would surely become a permanent target of those girls just like her. She didn't want the good time they were having together, especially when they had spent so many years apart, to be overshadowed by them.

Erick controlled himself and stopped talking, even though he thought they had just met, what that girl thought and how she felt  was very important to him. He didn't want to put her in an uncomfortable situation, especially after his first impression.

"What's going on here?".

An authoritative voice broke into the courtyard, silencing the murmurs of the witnesses.

Seeing the head of the teachers approaching, the brown-haired girl stood up with huge fake tears falling down her cheeks. Speaking in an exaggerated shrill voice that made her poor performance evident.

“That boy over there,” she sobbed “he attacked us”.

“But you were the ones who-”.

“SILENCE!”

No matter how false the act was or the truth of the situation, Professor Alcea was ready to side with those girls whose parents had made large monetary contributions to the institution. She didn't like it when children challenged the status quo, as a descendant of the nymphs who protected the natural order, she considered it her mission to keep everything as it was.

The warm afternoon breeze that waved her pink hair contrasted with the coldness of her attitude and voice.

“You're the one who's educated at home, right?”.

“Yes, but-”.

“SUSH. I know it must be hard to adjust, but there's no excuse for violence. Still…”.

She adjusted her glasses, softening her voice slightly without losing her severity and coldness, she looked Erick up and down, thinking about what kind of parents a child ‘like him’ could have, what kind of status they would have if they had not been able to afford to send him to school until now, or so she assumed, she was quick to judge others.

«At least he is human»

As part of the entities registered as beneficial to humanity, she considered it part of her duty to be more flexible and considerate with those creatures that, although inferior to her own, were the closest to her purity.

Of course, not all nymphs thought the same as her, some even despised humanity for its destructive tendencies while others believed that all beings were part of nature, so that every being or entity was considered equal and respectable, but they were a minority.

This great division of ideologies had occurred due to the wars and political affiliations that the species had formed after the great convergence that resulted in the world that all species inhabit together today.

Considering this she decided to give him a chance to return to his respective place in the social hierarchy.

“I'm willing to let it go this one time because of your… situation” speaking and acting as if she was doing him a favor.

“But-”

“STOP!”

She hardened her tone again, irritated that the boy didn't understand his place and tried to argue about it even though she was giving him a chance to back off.

“Don't be ungrateful, if you keep going I'll send you to detention for the whole week”.

Erick got angry again, he realized that the adult wasn't there to help, as was her job, but to silence him and repress him, but he stopped himself again when he felt Bry's hand holding his shoulder.

“However,” the teacher said as she walked away, turning her back on the situation, “you must talk to me at the end of the day.”

The two girls walked off to another area of ​​the yard, making mocking gestures. The boy with the earrings turned to look at them for a moment before following them.

A wave of shame and remorse for his impulsive actions began to wash over Erick. Seeing Aubrey's relieved but annoyed face, who still had her hand resting on his back, he thought it best to keep his distance.

He turned around and walked to the most isolated corner of the room, leaving Bry worried, without saying a word, creating a new tension between the two.

Among the witnesses three girls stood out, three brown-haired sisters, each one in a different grade, their purple eyes with star-shaped pupils revealed them as white witches, belonging to the astronomical groups, they spoke of what had happened while staying away from the rest.

The eldest of them, with her light hair tied in a low ponytail and short but bushy eyebrows, was considered the best athlete in the school, especially when it came to soccer and basketball, Helian.

The middle one, with darker curly hair, was the top grader in her second year, had participated in several fairs and national spelling and chess contests, and stood out for her delicate appearance, Liatris.

The youngest was the one who stood out the least in school, however, in matters of sorcery she was the most devoted, particularly standing out in the creation of potions, Epiphy.

“What a show” exclaimed Helian.

“Unpleasant if you ask me” said Liatris looking away abruptly, as if she were indignant.

“Well…” Epiphy continued to stare at Erick “no one asked you”.