New school.

From the bus window Leo looked at the countryside.

It was spring, and the cherry trees had blossomed. The day was sunny, and together on the bus with him there was only an old, sleepy lady with a straw hat.

The bus whirred and crackled like an old steam locomotive.

Will I get used to it?

The city, sometimes, made Leo feel suffocated.

There was so much people, everything went by so fast and Leo, always transferring schools, had never managed to make any real friends.

But this was the first time he had transferred schools to the countryside.

He clenched his fists.

Maybe, this time I’ll have a chance!

The bus dropped him off in the middle of nowhere.

There was only trees and fields around him, and the air smelled like dew and wildflowers.

Leo looked around, shielding his eyes from the sun.

?

The bus left, leaving a cloud of dust behind it on the dirt road.

???

Leo blinked twice.

≪ Wait, here? ≫

The wind blew, and the birds chirped on the trees. A pink butterfly landed on his nose.

≪ T- the school? H- here? ≫

He found and old, barely readable wooden sign on the side of the road, with an arrow that said Riverblue High School.

Leo looked forward, squinting, but he couldn’t see anything.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

The school appeared half an hour later.

Leo fell down on his hands on the side of the road, grasping for his breath. He had walked half an hour under the scorching heat, with nothing but a coffee and two almonds in his stomach.

He got up holding on to the baseball field’s net fence and wiped his forehead where his hair had stuck from the sweat.

The white school building shined under the sun like a gem.

A bee buzzed around his ears, but he didn’t even notice.

≪ D- do they walk this much every day…? ≫

≪ I got eyes on the target ≫

≪ Woah, is that him? He looks barely alive ≫

≪ Is his hair actually white or is it the light? ≫

Nancy chuckled.

≪ He’s funny… he kinda looks like a snowman. Also, is it my impression or he’s pretty short? ≫

Terry stuck a finger into Nancy’s cheek, pushing her away.

≪ You say that like you’re any taller than a rose shrub… ≫

Nancy, standing on the chair on tiptoes to look out the window better, lost her balance, and grabbed Terry’s shirt to not fall down.

≪ Hey, watch out, idiot! ≫

Terry chuckled, but then Nancy pushed him and he almost fell down.

Vio sniffled. He had a slight cold.

≪ He kinda looks like… ≫

…

≪ Like what! ≫

≪ Just say it! ≫

Nancy and Terry had stopped mid-fight – the girl grabbing him by the shoulders, the boy holding on to her wrists – just to hear what Vio was going to say.

Vio sniffled again.

≪ A daisy ≫

…

Nancy and Terry looked at each other, then at the transfer student walking up the schoolyard.

He was wearing the school’s summer uniform, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a pair of green trousers under it. His hair was so light-blonde they almost looked white, and his face was burning red from all the heat and the exhaustion.

≪ I kinda see it ≫

≪ Hm-mh… ≫

They let go of each other, but Nancy still landed a little smack on the back of Terry’s head.

≪ Ouch… ≫

≪ You guys… ≫

Lidia, the class president, walked behind them, shaking her head, and sat at her desk.

≪ Will you just leave him alone? He’s not even here yet! ≫

The three turned their heads slowly towards her, grinning deviously.

≪ Hehe… ≫

Lidia shivered.

Woah… they genuinely look like bad people…

Honestly, I just hope they’re not bad people… Leo thought.

Regained some energy, he finished crossing the empty schoolyard and entered the building.

The hall was empty, and there was no one at the desk near the entrance.

They must all be in class already… I knew it, I’m late!

He was planning to get there in time for the afternoon classes, but the lunch break was probably already over.

He hurried.

2-B, 2-B…

He went up to the first floor.

There it is!

The classroom was right in front of him.

The sign that said 2-B was just above the old wooden door – a handwritten piece of paper taped to the wall.

Leo furrowed his eyebrows.

It definitely looked suspicious.

He shook his head, tapping his cheeks lightly.

Don’t be so judgmental, Leo… you saw the sign on the side of the road before, it didn’t look much better. Not every school has enough money to afford metal plates everywhere. You’re in the countryside now, so you better get used to it.

He fixed his hair and stretched his shirt.

If you act like a snob, you’ll never find a friend here.

He took a big breath and opened the door.

≪ To enter, you must leave what’s most precious to you behind! ≫

The boy turned blue.

The room was dark as night. A freezing cold air made him shiver, and from all around him came a low, deafening buzzing sound together with creepy, funereal voices murmuring a long, painful lament.

≪ I’m hungry… ≫ they were saying.

≪ I don’t even know what I’m doing here… ≫

≪ Give me some food… ≫

≪ Why do I always end up saying yes to him?… I should just be chilling outside with the others right now… ≫

The first, eerie voice spoke again, near Leo.

≪ To enter, you must leave what’s most precious to you behind… ≫

The boy’s hair stood on end.

Oh my…

He immediately stepped back.

≪ S- sorry… w- wrong roo- ≫

Before he could ran outside the door slammed closed behind him, making him jump.

At the same time someone let out a terrible, high-pitched scream.

Leo staggered, terribly frightened, on the verge of passing out.

After an instant, though, the screaming stopped.

≪ Ouch… ≫

≪ Hey, why did you stop! ≫ Terry whispered.

Nancy sniffled.

≪ I bumped my toe against the wall… ≫

Terry blinked twice, confused.

≪ Then shouldn’t you be screaming more, you know, from all the pain? ≫

…

Nancy stood still for a moment, thinking that he was kinda right, but then she got angry.

She slapped Terry on the back.

≪ That’s not what matters now- AAAHHH!, I bumped it again! ≫

Terry crossed his arms and nodded, satisfied.

≪ Now that’s what I’m talking about… ≫

Nancy hopped around on one foot while holding the other one with his hands.

≪ Idiot! ≫

The boy chuckled.

≪ Should I go get you some ice from the infirmary? ≫

Nancy was shivering from the cold. She raised an eyebrow.

≪ Ice? ≫

Terry’s teeth chattered, and the boy crossed his arms tightly around his shoulders.

≪ Yeah, you’re right… there’s like three degrees in here already… ≫

≪ It’s these things… ≫ Nancy said, kicking on of the fans with the leg that wasn’t hurting.

≪ Let’s just turn them off then… ≫

≪ Good idea… ≫

After a couple of *beeps* the cold air faded, and the buzzing sound stopped.

Leo glanced around, but his eyes still hadn’t gotten used to the darkness yet.

W- what just happened…?

He was very much confused, but even if he couldn’t see them he could hear them talk, so his classmates had to be in that room.

So, it was now or never.

One thing he had learned transferring schools so much was that the first impression usually mattered the most.

He had already embarrassed himself enough by trying to sneak out of the classroom immediately after entering, but now he had a chance to redeem himself.

Luckily, he’d come prepared.

He stepped forward, unzipping his bag.

They mentioned ice…

≪ I- if you guys want, I’ve got ice cream ≫

The other thing he had learned was that the best way to be immediately liked by someone was giving them food, so he had asked his mom to buy a tub of ice cream the day before.

≪ I- it might be a bit melted… ≫ Leo said, taking out the tub.

It had spilled everywhere after the long walk, but he hadn’t bought any of the textbooks yet so luckily the bag was empty.

≪ B- but it should still be cold enough if you guys don’t wanna bother going to the infirmary… ≫

≪ Oh, that’s great! Thank you! ≫

Someone grabbed Leo’s face and started pulling.

≪ Huh? Hey, let it go! ≫

≪ T- that’s not the ice cream, t- that’s my face! ≫ Leo protested, grasping for air.

≪ Oh, s- sorry ≫

Leo cracked his neck back into place.

≪ No problem… here… ≫

≪ Thanks! ≫

Terry finally took the tub, then went back to Nancy.

≪ I don’t know… ≫ he whispered, unsure.

≪ It’s all kinda sticky… ≫

Nancy bonked him on the head and took the ice cream from his hands.

≪ Stop complaining! ≫

She had skipped breakfast that morning, so she was pretty hungry.

≪ We’re also already skipping lunch break to do this stupid s**t… ≫

Nancy looked at Leo, raising an eyebrow.

≪ Can’t we just eat it instead? ≫

Before the boy could answer two eerie violet lights lit up a few centimeters away from her face, and the girl screamed again and jumped away, terrified.

≪ What the f**k! ≫

The person that, in the dark, she had mistaken for Leo was actually Vio, who had remained silent up until then to prepare his great villain entrance.

The two violet lights made a pair of creepy eyes that revealed the outline of a scary, inhuman face, spiky and rough-edged and with an open row of long, sharp fangs curved into a horrible smile.

The monster got closer to Leo, who remained perfectly still, petrified, trying at all cost not to make eye contact. He had cold sweats all over his body, and his heart was beating out of his chest.

≪ So, what’s it gonna be, human? ≫ the monster, to whom the voice he had heard before belonged, said in a low, creepy whisper.

≪ What are you going to give up to enter? ≫