After hearing all the details of the party that our fellow faculty members organized, according to them, it was meant to boost the spirits of everyone in the class. It was something they were somewhat right about. We went on to talk about how they prepared everything, followed by descriptions of the number of guys that, in Anetta and Remina's opinion, deserved to be given some means of contact by them. I just laughed when the two of them couldn't agree on whether one was more attractive than the previous one. I lost count of how many there were, but they looked happy to have gone to that party. A few minutes later, my friend Mina's story about how she met a guy named Deimos, a 21-year-old blond guy with an athletic build and hazel eyes that kept staring at her since she arrived at the place, seemed very animated when she told how she talked to him and they even exchanged social networks.
There were moments during the conversation when I tried to maintain an air of tranquility and attention to what they were saying, but for short periods of time I remembered what happened a few hours ago. The images of the Noctophage, the combat with that beast, and Zeylan's look came back to my mind; they came back and went away like waves in the sea. I didn't expect that my roommates would believe me for such an extraordinary story that had happened a few hours before in this same place, and no matter how much I showed them the symbols in my hands, they wouldn't believe such a story. I gave a sigh of resignation and tried to listen to what the girls were saying.
"You know what girlfriends are?" Anetta commented animatedly after putting on the flowered pajamas her mother gave her for Christmas last year, about which we made numerous jokes."We should go out this weekend for a girls' night out," she said cheerfully.
Remina stopped brushing her hair for a moment, seemed to consider it at first, then nodded her approval to her cousin Anetta.
"Well, yes, if Miss, 'I'm not in the mood today! This period is killing me!not in the mood today! This period is killing me! "Did want to go too?" She said she was sitting on the edge of her bed, trying to imitate my voice while making funny gestures with her face.
I threw a pillow at her when she finished making her joke, and we all laughed right away until they both looked at me curiously as if waiting for an answer from me. When I noticed that I was being watched, I stopped reading the webnovel's story on my cell phone to fix my gaze on my friends.
"All right, let's go out this weekend, but no surprise dates, okay?" I mumbled as I looked at Anetta out of the corner of my eye.
"Okay, I get it, but David seemed like the perfect match for you, Mera," she replied with a giggle.
"I don't think Mera would have liked to receive a complete guide on how to play Monster Smasher for PC, and let's not forget the spoiler of the series you were watching back then; that was decisive to run away from there, wasn't it?" Remina reminded me.
That night, after returning from that date, my friends laughed for a while when I told them how bad it was and the many times I said I would never go out with that guy again. I swore never to pass by his faculty building and avoid him at all costs in the corridors.
"Tell me that Zincarla killed Reilus in Chapter 10 of Outlanders; that was unforgivable!" I said it with a certain tone of anger.
"Take it easy; this weekend you can get rid of that anger," Remina answered me as she settled on her bed.
"It's better to start sleeping now; tomorrow are the classes with Professor Galvan, and you know how he gets when he sees someone nodding off in his class." Anetta suggested picking up the sheets from her bed.
"You're right, the last time someone fell asleep in class, we had to write twice as many pages on the essays," I said to both of them.
"Yes!" they replied with a tone of dread.
I put the cell phone on the nightstand next to my bed and turned on the alarm clock to wake us up an hour earlier than we were used to.
"Good night girls!" As I closed my eyes and sank into my pillow, I said.
"Good night, Mera!" they replied in unison.
The night passed without incident, and I could say that I had not slept peacefully in months since those nightmares returned; I did not have any again, but for a few moments my mind remembered the moment Zeylan uncovered his face and the look in his blue eyes; I pondered for a while if I would see him again, but the last words "...for your sake, it is better that you forget all this... "When I came back to reality, I was already on my way to the university in the Spark that Remina was driving. It took about 30 minutes to get to the campus parking lot, and we saw that a crowd of people had formed the moment we got out of the car. That's when another car I had never seen before arrived; it looked like one of those sports cars driven by the rich guys in the movies that Anetta used to see on the weekends.
"Wow, when did Metropolitan become a private university?" Remina exclaimed in a sarcastic tone at the sight of the expensive car.
"Who knows?" replied Anetta with a shrug.
At that moment, my heart skipped a beat; of all the possibilities, this was the most remote. Zeylan Levi, the boy I met in that unlikely event, was getting out of the car wearing very different clothes—I would say rather normal—a hoodie in shades of white with black sections, blue denim jeans, and casual sneakers, carrying a backpack on his back. We quickly realized that he was accompanied, and the other doors of the vehicle opened. A blond boy exited the co-pilot's seat wearing a casual outfit: a white t-shirt with a black jacket, black jeans, and sneakers in the same color. The last ones to exit were a couple of girls my age; one had long brown wavy hair; she was wearing a printed dress with a short black jacket, leather boots, and a purse; the other was a natural redhead wearing a short suit with a slight dark style; she was wearing black
"This can't be a coincidence." I whispered as I saw Zeylan close the door of the car and join the other guys in his group heading to one of the university buildings.
"Huh? "Were you telling us something?" asked Anetta.
"No, it's nothing, Netta; it seems to me that they are a bit cocky, aren't they?" I answered her, trying not to look excited.
I wondered what my friends would say if I told them that yesterday I met him while a huge monster was attacking me and he saved my life.
"I think both boys are cute, especially the one with the blue eyes," Remina told me, "although the girls look more like models than public university students."
"We better hurry or we are going to be late for the first class," suggested Anetta when she saw the time on her cell phone.
We entered the classroom and most of our classmates were already sitting in their seats when Professor Galvan entered the room accompanied by the two girls I saw accompanying Zeylan in the parking lot. The one with wavy hair looked smiling as she entered the classroom, however, the redhead was indifferent towards us.
"Good morning, guys and gals!" He said as she put her briefcase on her desk and took a seat, "This Thursday we start classes with new faculty members; they are transfers from Rousseau-Libier University in our capital city."
The girl in the patterned suit turned her gaze to us and, with a cheerful gesture, began to speak.
"How are you guys doing?" "I'm Kyara Luna, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She expressed her smile in contrast to her friend.
"Sharin Almeira..." said the redhead in a dry manner.
The boys in the room seemed to get their libido up with the red-haired girl because of her very flashy black short suit and those lace stockings that caught everyone's attention.
"This one doesn't like to be noticed." Remina commented in a low voice.
The professor silenced the greetings and murmurs of the others and spotted our seats.
"Miss Aldana, Nova, and Albaceleste, could you help young Luna and Almeira with a tour of our alma mater?" As he picked up a couple of markers for the acrylic board, he said.
"No problem, professor," answered Anetta diligently.
"It's good to have you young ladies with us; you can take a seat next to your classmates, Miss Luna and Miss Almeira," said Professor Galvan, pointing with his hand to the empty seats next to us.
"With your permission," answered Kyara.
When the girl named Kyara took a seat near my friend, she introduced herself kindly to the girl, and the other, Sharin, rolled the chair of her desk and sat down silently minutes later..." The last part of the message had a smiley face making the sign of silence, and the girl on my right looked at me slyly, confirming that she was the one who made the writing magically appear.
Two hours passed and the professor finished explaining his class and asked us to do a little more research on the subject to complement what had been learned today. He also suggested that we help the new classmates with the notes of the past classes so that they would be up to date with the group of students in our faculty. Normally, we gave a guide through the classrooms to the girls every time we had to enter another class. Anetta and Kyara seemed to have things in common and were already talking quietly; their ability to make friends was amazing, but on the other hand, it was difficult to make conversation with Sharin, who only asked for directions to the important points of the university every time we went out to the corridors. Remina did not take long to make a joke to the silent girl.
"I wonder what's the name of that blond boy who arrived in that fancy car with the brown-haired, blue-eyed one?" She commented in a flirtatious tone while holding onto my arm.
I could see a certain red color in Sharin's face, giving evidence that the question had not gone unnoticed in her ears. I also noticed that she had clasped her hands and directed a look of wanting to scratch Remina's eyes out. Kyara also began to pay attention to what my friend was saying.
"If I met him in the cafeteria, I would venture to talk to him." Mina continued.
The redhead couldn't hide her displeasure anymore, Mina had managed to piss off the silent girl who was trying to look glamorous at all times, I saw that victory smile my friend used to make when she managed to beat a joke to someone, and our new companion stood in front looking at the girl who was holding my arm.
"Haven't you noticed that he's my boyfriend?" she shouted at him with a frown.
"See how easy it is to talk?" "You just need to have a topic of conversation, don't you think?" Remina commented animatedly. "Don't take it so seriously; I'm not trying to take your boyfriend away from you," she concluded with a smirk.
"Hey Sharin, it's time for lunch; let's go meet Zeylan and Erick at the cafeteria, okay?" Kyara said, a little embarrassed, and at the same time she took his hand and said, "Excuse us, girls."
I felt sorry for what happened; no doubt my friend had overdone it, although it was funny to see that change of gesture in that redhead.
"Sorry Sharin, Remina tends to be a little reckless sometimes," I said to the redhead.
"Hey, what did I do now?" She said she was pretending to be oblivious.
The dark-suited girl turned around with a resounding silence and started walking stylishly towards the cafeteria.
"You also excuse my friend; she has a hard time interacting with other people besides Erick, Zeylan, and me," Kyara said, embarrassed. "See you later, girls; wait for me, Sharin!"
We saw the two of them get lost among the other students who were also going to have lunch in the cafeteria dining room, and we looked at each other's faces to confirm that Remina had made the new girl's dislike evident.
"It's about time we went to get something to eat too, girls," commented Anetta.
"I don't think it's a bad idea; besides, I brought salad." She took out of her purse the transparent plastic container with the prepared food. "If you remind me what a good friend I am, maybe I'll invite you."
"Please," we both said simultaneously.
"Don't worry, silly, I made enough for all three of us," she answered, smiling.
If there was one thing Remina excelled at, it was cooking; she had a special talent, and no doubt whatever she did in the kitchen was delicious, very different from the attempted birthday cake that Anetta and I wanted to prepare for her; she ate it and thanked us for making it a good time; she was used to never receiving a call from her mother on that date, but that day we managed to get a lot of laughs out of her, and she was very grateful for it;
"Well, we arrived at rush hour; thank goodness we brought our lunch," I commented as I looked at the long lines in front of the bar, where Madame Bussen, as we called her, was a sturdy woman with a strong character.
Madame Bussen, the head of the dining room kitchen, tried to keep order at the counter with the help of her assistants. If you were slow in deciding what you wanted to eat, you were served green vegetable soup and a side of rice. At the insistence of the others, you were forced to go to a table and debate whether to go without lunch or eat the punishment dish, all of which forced you to learn the day's menu by heart.
"That's okay! "I'll get the sugar-free drinks and straws." expressed that Anetta was looking for money in her purse.
"Take these coins, and remember that the change machines are not working." Mina said as she gave her the coins.
"Ah! "Right, thank goodness you told me about it before, cousin." She smiled before heading to the soda machines.
"We'll be at the usual place." I said it out loud to Anetta.
I noticed Zeylan and his friends at the next table, Sharin looked cheerful sitting next to Erick; I could see she was smiling while eating next to her handsome boyfriend, Kyara had her back to me and was trying to have a conversation with him; I noticed she was staring at me and I quickly looked away.
"Look how smiling Miss Indifference looks," Remina said to me as she put her hand on my shoulder.
"She should do it more often, don't you think?" I replied to my friend.
"Or spend more time with her boyfriend to see if she changes that poker queen face," she commented.
I laughed at what Remina had said and took a seat facing the table where Zeylan was. Mina started to take out the transparent plastic packages and offered me one with a fork. At that moment, I looked at the boy again and noticed that he was still looking at me; his blue eyes were trying to tell me something.
"Didn't you notice that Sharin, the new girl, looks like another one when she is with her boyfriend?" said Anetta, sitting next to me.
"That's what I say to Mera." Remina spoke.
Netta placed the drinks next to the salads, and I saw that the boy got up from the table and said goodbye to his friends. It was my chance to finally ask him for an explanation of what was going on and why he suddenly moved to this university. Remina's phone started ringing, and she was excited to see who the call was from.
"Hello Deimos! "I'm sure it's not a bad time to talk," she said, waving her hands excitedly.
That's when I saw an opportunity to catch up with Zeylan and talk to him alone without having to wait for another chance to meet him in the university halls, and I got up from my seat.
"You guys excuse me for a minute, I'm going to the powder room to freshen up a bit," I said, a little embarrassed to give him credibility.
"Don't worry, we won't leave here." Anetta answered me.
Remina nodded her head when she saw me. I took my bag and made it look like I was going to the restrooms in the cafeteria, but I took advantage of the fact that they were distracted to sneak among the other students and get to the door where Zeylan had left. I went through the ceiling of columns that was a corridor to the parking lot, but when I got to the place I could not see him in the place. When I was about to go to the other side to look for him, I thought I heard his voice behind me, so I turned my eyes to where he was coming from.
"Are you looking for someone?" he asked me while I was sitting on the hood of a car with my arms crossed.
"I want the truth, Zeylan. Tell me, what are you doing here?" "Did you order them to watch me?" I said I was showing my displeasure.
The boy looked at me as if debating whether to tell me what he knew or not, then he came closer.
"In fact, our mission is to protect you now; your ability is very powerful, and we are in the middle of a war." We fear that those who are behind the attacks of creatures like the one we are facing are after you to make you part of their side. She told me with a serious look on her face.
I remembered that dream with the blonde girl with pale skin, and then she was trying to warn me about the intentions of the people who control the noctophages, but could it be true that with Zeylan I will be able to defend myself against any of them?
"But if so, who are these people?" "Aren't these creatures only supposed to exist in the midnight realm?" I was puzzled.
"It is the cult of darkness, a large group of nóctals who, unlike us, seek to spread the horrors of nightmares to this reality; somehow they have managed to open accesses that link this world with the Midnight Realm." The boy answered seriously.
"So I'm in danger; how can you ask me to forget what is happening?" I claimed, frightened.
Zeylan placed his warm hands on my shoulders and his eyes on mine. I could feel that I could trust him.
"Nothing bad will happen to you or the people you love as long as I am protecting you," he said as he wiped a tear from my right eye with his index finger."But please don't get involved in this."
"So this is how you think things should be?" You want me to turn a deaf ear to the suffering of others? To go on with my life as if nothing happened? "If this is how I should live, I'd rather risk my life for my friends and for those who can't save themselves. I'm tired of being the one who has to run and hide." As I drew his hand away from my cheek, I declared it to him.
"This is something you don't understand; you still don't control your abilities, and we don't know when the enemy will attack; you don't know their abilities or who they are; how can you defend yourself if you don't know how to use the power of your dreamcatcher?" He said that, and then let me see his worried look.
"Then teach me how to fight, Zeylan, how to use my powers, so I can defend myself against any attack by those beings," I said cheerfully.
The guardian looked away and made it clear that he did not agree with what I was asking.
"I ask you one last time, Mera, stay out of this," he repeated sharply.
I remained silent until I could not control my anger. I did not understand why he insisted on leaving me out of what was happening.
"Well, if that's the way things are with you, I have nothing more to talk to you about, Zeylan Levi!" I told him before running away from there.
"Wait, Mera, Mera!" he said to me in the distance.
I couldn't tell if the pain in my chest was from feeling useless or from being rejected by Zeylan. "Were his friends or allies not like me at some point?""Or were all his compliments about my ability empty? I hate you, Zeylan Levi."
When I returned to the cafeteria, trying to avoid being seen by Kyara, Sharin, Erick, and my friends, I took my stand where my salad was with the soda Anetta bought.
"You took a long time, my friend." Remina said she was getting off the phone.
"Excuse me, I forgot some notes in my locker and I wanted to go pick them up," I replied, avoiding looking discouraged.
"Then let's have lunch without further ado; I'm starving." Anetta's comments to us were very animated.
"Yes, let's eat, girls," I said, looking as cheerful as possible.
Lunch and the other classes passed unnoticed. Sharin and Kyara occupied the same places that Professor Galvan assigned them, and so did the students in the other classrooms. When I wanted to realize the time that had passed and that we were already on our way home, Zeylan's words were again hovering in my mind, "I ask you one last time, Mera, stay out of this.
"Idiot," I said in my mind as I remembered his look.
So Friday went by except for a breakthrough in making conversation with Sharin and an unexpected introduction at the table that Kyara, the red-haired girl, Erick, and Zeylan occupied. I tried to be indifferent to him imitating my new classmate when I greeted him; this made the atmosphere feel tense during lunch.
When classes were over, the expected girls' night came, and with it my desire to forget about Zeylan, his rejection, the monsters, and the Nóctales. That night, I wanted to feel like a normal girl again.