2 Chapter. 1. New school.

In their minds they can still recall the principal's encouraging speech on their first day of school.

- Do not think that this is your amusement park and unless you are here on vacation. They know why they are in this school. No. They don't know. Well I'll tell you:

His speech did not vary between students, only the file he read of each one differed. By the way, last names didn't matter here. Once you enter this school you can forget about your family and any plans you had for the future. The future belongs to luck. 20 novice students but only three interest us for now.

-Abigail: A smart girl, but knowing how to write does not mean being smart in life. If your tongue had your brain, perhaps you would stop before saying certain things and you would not be here.

-Marlía: The walking disaster. A girl that no one will miss, but since everything you do with your mind you destroy with your hands,

-Veronica: Endowed with a privileged mind. But you don't have to always look for details in everything. If you had not intruded your nose in the wrong place you would continue like any small town girl.

They were taken to their room, where they would live throughout their stay. They would have normal classes, or so they thought. They met in the worst circumstances. But they had something that united them. All three were rejected by society.

-Hi, I'm Marlía, nice to meet you.

The girl with short black hair, annoyed by her whole day, and knowing that her parents could not be reproached for anything, she responded angrily.

- You're silly, they already said our names in the principal's office.

The other girl, the only one with glasses, decided to intervene. It would be a long school year and feuds were not appropriate.

-Don't be like that, remember that we'll be together for a long time.

Silence reigned in the small room. The one with braided hair and another decided to take their things out of their backpack. The only one with glasses spoke again.

-I'm Abigail. We should get along. We don't know anything about this place.

The silence continued. The one with the short hair came over and said.

-I am Veronica. Do you want the bottom bunk or the top bunk?

Abigail and de Marlía smiled, because the discussion was over. They decided on a corner bunk. Abigail and Verónica stayed in the lower ones and Marlía stayed in the upper ones. Between both bunks there was an empty space, that would be their place to put their backpacks. Soon the room would be filled with other classmates. Counting the bunks, at least five more girls were missing.

They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other. As the day passed, other roommates were arriving, but they were more interested in writing letters and packing their things than in introducing themselves. They discovered that a bell rang at 5:00, indicating the meal time. This lasted until 6:00. Then all the students retired to their rooms. The girls were able to calculate that the school did not have a large enrollment, perhaps 30 or 60 students, mostly boys.

The first night was very quiet. Their roommates were not interested in meeting them and they were very entertaining in their conversation. Besides Marlía, Verónica and Abigail, there were five other girls in the room. There were some blonde twins with light eyes, they only talked to each other while they arranged a few changes of clothes in the locker. There was a black-haired woman who was dressed in a rocker style. She only listened to music lying on her bed. There was another light brown girl. She just looked at her two large suitcases and the locker. Apparently he was preparing to put away his things. Finally there was a redhead. She was sitting at one of the tables in the bedroom, apparently writing a letter.

-Excuse me...

The light brunette approached, interrupting the conversation of the three black-haired women who met in the morning. They looked at him. Marlía smiled at him, because at last another of the girls would join her group of friends. Abigail flashed a fake smile. He didn't want to be rude, but it seemed disrespectful that they were being ignored. Veronica didn't pay attention to him. He got up from his bunk and went to get something in his backpack.

-Goodnight. I am Marlía. What do you want?

-Not much. I just wanted to ask you if you would use your three lockers.

Both Abigail and Marlía looked at her curiously ...

-Oh. Excuse my carelessness. I am Laura Gómez del Castillo. Daughter of the prestigious owners of the Gómez Company.

-A pleasure. I am Abigail. As you already know, she is Marlía and the one over there is Verónica.-Abigail stopped for a moment to look at the other girls in the room. -I do not care who you are. But at least you are polite. Even if it's to ask for a locker.

"I can't fit all my clothes!" Laura exclaimed. She was about to continue her speech, but was interrupted by a laugh. It was the rocker blackhead.

-I would sell it.

-What do you say! It's brand clothing! Very expensive ...

"And?" The black-haired woman said again without taking off her headphones, adding later. -Also ... when the show starts, the least you need is brand clothing.

They all fell silent. The other girls seemed to attach great importance to this new conversation.

-What do you mean? - Asked one of the twins. The rocker laughed more outrageously again.

-Tomorrow we'll see.

The light went out at 10 at night. Not one more minute, not one less. Strange noises were heard at night. Chairs and tables that crawled. Whispering voices. But nothing to disturb the sleep of newbies. The bell rang again at 7:00 am. The school day began.

-What do you think is the show Anne was talking about? - Marlía asks her two new friends. They looked at her without understanding who she was referring to. Anne? Who is Anne? -You know, the rock girl. -Aclaro and her companions thought for a few minutes while they ate breakfast.

"I guess we'll find out today." Veronica answered as she took a sip of her yogurt.

After finishing her bread Abigail said:

-I think it will be the same. Lessons. Lessons. Lessons. And survive a scholarship. By the way, how do you know his name?

They could not continue speaking the bell rang again to start the first day of school. They ran to the freshman classroom, it was on the second floor. They followed other students and were astonished to see that the older ones were not wearing their entire uniform. Most of them wore neckerchiefs, and the skirts, pants, and T-shirts looked badly altered for a uniform.

There were a total of 20 students in the classroom. They knew there were only eight girls, the rest were boys. They could hardly examine all their classmates because the math teacher had arrived. Although some were obvious. The rock girl couldn't stop smiling. There was a boy with black glasses that it was impossible to tell who he was looking at. The twins looked like two ghosts. Another scarred boy also stood out in the group. Ah! And you could easily tell who the group's bully and his support group would be.

Miss Fernández was the math teacher. There was no doubt that she was a soldier, because of her uniform and the way she addressed the students. From just feeling his smell, everyone began to tremble.

-Listen well! - That was Miss Fernandez's greeting. His hair was black and his skin tanned. He wore the typical uniform of the military.

-The bell will ring at 7.30. At 7.31, I will be here and we will begin the lessons for the day.

There could only be two students at each table, so they sat in pairs. Verónica and Marlía chose the second table in the row next to the windows. Abigail sat behind them, and next to her sat the strange boy with black glasses. After they passed the list, everyone was able to know the names of their classmates. Verónica sounded curious because this school was an almost mandatory scholarship, indeed, almost a prison, who was going to miss. He thought about commenting on it to his closest companions, but just looking at Miss Fernández made his blood run cold.

Four hours later they had given a tedious shift in Mathematics, a tortuous one in Spanish, and two insufferable in Natural Sciences. The second subject was taught by an older woman. She looked like an old lady of those who adored kittens and knitted a lot, Mrs. Mercedes. But don't be fooled, his voice was torture even for a deaf person. In the last shifts of the morning they were tutored by an older man, Mr. Smith. His voice was irritating and the subject tedious, not a few fell asleep, including Marlía.

As they walked to the dining room, Abigail told her new friends:

-That boy, Jack, gives me a bad impression. I do not know. I think he looks at me badly.

They came and took a tray of food. It wasn't a big deal. Rice, meat, a broth, and dessert.

"What are you saying?" They sat down and Veronica answered her. "With the glasses she's wearing, you don't know who she's looking at. The one who is scary is that Anne. And I'm not saying it because of the clothes.

He clarified when he saw that Abigail was going to say something to him.

-I do not know. His laugh is chilling. I get the impression that you want to murder someone. And that boy ... Luis. Did you see his face? It has a lot of scars. Don't you think so Marlía?

They both looked at the seat where Marlía was supposed to be. When they did not see her, they called her again almost in chorus. But the scream went to the sky when they saw what he was doing.

-Marlia !!

The dining room was full of three-year-old students. Although you could see some division between the rookies and those who had been around the longest. Marlía was walking straight up to the scarred boy as he ate his lunch.

-Hi, I'm Marlía. Luis? Sure? I'm curious. You had an accident? Those scars on your face look interesting.

Marlía spoke with a smile. While her friends, just a few meters away wanted to die in the place. How did the braided hair come up with asking those questions just like nothing?

-You shouldn't be so curious. Do you know the saying that curiosity killed the cat? - He answered first with a friendly smile. Then his look was sadistic and mocking. "The same thing can happen to you."

Marlía didn't change her smile. But because of the 180 degree turn she took and the speed with which she returned to her friends, she seemed scared.

"What happened?" Abigail asked, laughing internally at what had happened to her friend. Then he looked at her seriously, because he did not seem to breathe as he sat down and he did not blink. -You shouldn't have asked him that.

-But woman speaking! Say something! - Veronica yells desperately.

-This school is super !! - Marlía shouted excitedly catching the attention of students and teachers. Her friends became dwarfs in their chairs staring at her food until they heard her speak again. Why don't we do a little more research on this school?

Her friends glared at her. Great? That is the adjective with which to characterize a school similar to a prison, with strange teachers and companions with sinister eyes. School was strange. Yes indeed.

"You're an idiot ..." Veronica whispered, but then she added.

-But it's true. We must investigate more about this place.

There was another silence between the friends, although it was not noticeable in the rest of the dining room. They ate or so they tried. The food did not look very good.

-Abi. What is this? - Asked Marlía when she finally stopped to observe her lunch. Abi looked and saw that he was pointing to the broth or soup.

-That looks like broth. Or dog vomit.

Veronica, who ate enthusiastically, almost vomited what she had in her mouth. I scowl at Abi and then say.

-Eat at once. In the afternoon we have Physical Education.

Lunch was uneventful. They found that while the students finished eating they went out to get fresh air. They did too. They sat at the foot of a tree that was on a small hill. Along with them were other students. They conversed in closed circles so that no one would know what they were talking about.

Marlía got up to approach one of those groups, but thanks to her friends and the bell that rang she was unable to specify her action.