The nightmare day in every teenager's life repeats itself every year, when school begins, and with it the end of summer freedom.
For them, going back to school is like opening the gates of hell and frying in a cauldron for ten months. There are young people who love to learn, but they are exceptions who, one could say, are already on the verge of extinction.
Veronica has no problem with learning, she's intelligent, but when she has to sit down to her books, she gathers the urge to vomit. She does it under duress because she realizes that if she's not one of the best students in school, her father will shave her bald and send her off to the monks.
He never jokes.
In her first year, she got a one in literature because she flunked an upcoming exam in order to sneak out with a friend from her senior year to a party. Her father said she was dishonoring his name in a place where he had left his memory as chairman, leader, and one of the best students.
For a week, she walked around in wide, unfashionable pants the color of rotten green that belonged to Uncle Tom.
Horace Mann has a plaque in the main hallway, protected by glass, where there are photos and names of students from all years who graduated from high school with the best results.
Among them is her dad, as well as a handsome uncle who disappeared without a trace before she was born.
There is no one at the school anymore who doesn't know she is Joseph Scott's daughter. Students like her because she has a strong character, they think her beauty and prowess are qualities that popular girls possess.
— If I hadn't died at the age of twelve, who knows.... maybe I would have been your mother.
Veronica looks over her shoulder and twists her mouth in a mischievous smile.
— I'm glad you're dead. My father would never look at you as a woman. You're a ghost, and you smell like a used sanitary napkin. You don't grow up to my mother....
Julie wrinkles her nose, being outraged by her words.
— I don't smell like a used sanitary pad at all!
— Sometimes I wonder if ghosts have heavy periods. You emit a strange smell. Or maybe you have the ability to barasm with extraterrestrials, admit it, how many times have you dreamed of sleeping with a handsome angel? Have you seen one yet?
— You're being naughty, Vera. It's unappetizing what you say. I think you forget that I'm still a child. I died at the age of twelve. Don't talk to me like that.... that's no way to treat a friend.
The brunette rolls her eyes.
— If I were a nerd I would understand that I have an imaginary friend, but for God's sake, I'm a cool chick, so why have I been talking to a ghost for thirteen years?
Julie looks at her with offended eyes.
— You are self-obsessed.
— If I have such good genes, why can't I admire myself? People love me for existing. I may sound empty, but I appreciate that I was born into a golden family.
Henry embraces his lowly friend and tousles her long black hair.
— Vera, you spoiled brat, stop talking to yourself.
— Get your hands off me.... — she says slowly, in a warning voice.
The 18-year-old lets her go, she lifts her face and unexpectedly bursts into loud laughter. With her finger, she points to his nose, in which she has a round earring hooked.
It seems to him that Veronica is about to burst into tears from laughter.
— And what makes you so funny, snot?
— You look like a cow.
The girl covers her mouth with her hand, unable to contain her laughter. Tears run down her cheeks, making Henry get mad.
— This is the latest trend. The fashion comes back occasionally. — He nods a finger in front of her face. — Start respecting me, I'm in my last year, brat.
— Put your mind at ease, bull. — Pats him on the shoulder. — Laughter is health, and you look handsome.
The boy sticks his chin up.
— Do I look handsome?
— You resemble a cow, but you are still handsome.
He is not satisfied with the younger student's answer, but eventually rolls his eyes, realizing that she is specifically teasing him.
— I'm out of here. Your stupid friend is heading in our direction.
— Certainly not dumber than you.
Veronica sends him a kiss goodbye and runs up to the heavily painted blonde, hugging her in greeting.
— I missed you so much, witch.
— Don't pander to me. I know you'll start pouncing on me as soon as your best friend Lucas shows up.
The brunette smiles at the thought of Tom and Bella's son, who has been like a younger brother to her for fifteen years.
You could say they grew up together. When she was four years old, she kissed him for the first time. She claimed that he was her fiancé and that he was the one she would marry when she grew up.
Now this is a nightmarish thought for her. She adores him and would jump into the fire for him, but his character sucks. She needs a mature guy, he acts like he's lost all his senses. Not a day goes by without something stupid coming to his mind.
Crazy is his middle name.
— Don't even say that. When you're not next to me, I feel as if someone has torn off the other half of my heart.
— Make fun of your friend, make fun, and you'll be left alone in the room.
Veronica rests her chin on her shoulder and smiles charmingly.
— Respect me, remember that I was the one who caught you in a loving embrace when you tripped on the stairs the first day.
Her words discussed the blonde.
— If I could turn back time, I'd rather land in the arms of a handsome guy.
— Did you call out to me? — Henry interjects in the girls' conversation, so far, standing aside.
— Certainly not in this life — Nicki answers him. — Something is dangling under your nose.
— You are dangling to me. — Like a prima donna he snorts under his breath and, correcting his bangs, walks away from his younger friends.
*
Nicki screams like as possessed as the door to their room closes with a bang. She puts her hand to her chest, looking at her friend with anxious eyes.
— Rumors about the ghosts of this school will never die down. It has been dragging on for years, and it seems to me that the walls of Horace Mann actually hide a secret.
The brunette twists from her back to her stomach and rests her elbows on the soft mattress of the bed.
— It's just a draft. You'll avoid it if you don't open the windows wide. — The seventeen-year-old yawns without covering her mouth. — My parents have a connection to the secrets of Horace Mann. To some extent, this is what attracted me to this place. I persuaded them for a long time to let me study here. Mom was against it until the very end.
— I would like to one day enter a room that is cursed. Do you think the dense atmosphere there actually has a connection to the suicide of a student?
— I would also like to go in there and see the place that drove my mother crazy. — Veronica smiles mysteriously. — I believe that this year we will be able to do it.
— What are you planning to do?
— Let's wait for my crazy friend.... There is no place he won't get to.
Lucas is special, he can disarm door locks. He once used this ability at her house to take her to a party, but as he crossed the threshold, he ran into Joseph. He got in over his head and spent the rest of the night hearing that he shouldn't take his father's example of disarming padlocks and stealing candy from his closet in his youth.
— I'd love to meet him if he's so great.
The brunette smiles slightly.
— Sometimes he is annoying, but I will stand behind him with a wall. I will protect him with my breast.
— The boy would break down if he heard that. You hurt his pride.
Veronica takes the phone in her hand when she notices that his number is displayed on the screen.
— The wolf is mentioned. — She slides the green handset and puts the cell phone to her ear. — Are you already lost, ugly? Do you need my help?
— I have no problem finding my way in a new place. I've barely passed through the school gate, and I already feel at home here.
Her eyes begin to shine with joy. She gets off the bed and with a movement of her head shows Nicki that they should leave the room.
The blonde spreads her hands, not understanding what she means.
— What's going on?
The 17-year-old tilts the cell phone away from her face and smiles devilishly.
— I need to greet Lucas properly.
*
It's another sensational entry by a first-grader since Veronica managed to cause a stir a year ago when she showed up at Horace Mann dressed in a short top and white shorts. With her hair falling to her waist and her lips heavily highlighted, she created the buzz she wanted around her.
Getting ready in the bushes in front of the parking lot was quite risky, but she had no choice; if she did it at home, her father would immediately dress her in a nun's robe.
The boys were incensed by her appearance at school. They recognized that at last a girl with a pretty face and a sharp temperament had joined them.
Now Lucas is the center of attention. Praised by the schoolgirls for his height, figure, face, and even his clothes, he brings a smile to their faces as he pulls a rubber dog on a leash.
— God, what an idiot. What is he doing? — Veronica puts her hand to her face, feeling embarrassed by him. — I wanted to embarrass him, but he outdid me with his stupidity.
Nicki pulls down her eyebrows, looking at her new colleague with appreciation.
— A positive lunatic was missing from this school. He seems like a funny guy.
— I think you're forgetting about Henry....
— He's a negative type. He doesn't count.
Lucas stands in front of the girls and smiles radiantly. Unexpectedly, he grabs Veronica in his arms.
The girl opens her eyes wide in amazement.
— That's my pretty, little girl — he announces to everyone, not hiding his joy.
— What are you doing? — she turns to him in a warning voice, but he entirely ignores it. — Do you want to die?
He is not afraid of her. They have been friends for fifteen years.
— I show everyone how close our relationship is. I'm counting on this to make me popular pretty quickly. Didn't you say you were the coolest chick in this school? — He grabs her chin and squeezes it in a charming way. — Somehow, you have to screw in a new place. I'm sorry if I'm taking advantage of you.
The 17-year-old opens her mouth, but is unable to get a word out, watching Lucas walk away from her, dragging the rubber dog behind him.
— This man is extra. — Nicki fans her face with her hand. — Do you see him as a brother or a lover?
Veronica croaks at these words.
— A scoundrel who will eventually suffocate with his stench.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she walks away, and Nicki crinkles her eyebrows.
— What?
— Shit! I see shit! — she exclaims to her, looking over her shoulder. — Are you coming with me, or are you going to continue standing like a log in the middle of the hallway?
The blonde surreptitiously teases her friend. She has grown accustomed to her changeable moods.
She is like a woman whose menstruation never stops.
*
The brunette sits cross-legged and watches her friend, who has been walking around her room for five minutes exploring every corner. A smile appears on his face as he takes in his hand a photo decorated with a black frame. On it is a quadruple selfie, the first photo they took of themselves with her mom's phone.
Smeared with ice cream, the ten-year-olds' faces light up, smiling at the lens.
— I love looking at your sweet face — announces the blond boy.
Nicki watches them from the sidelines, thinking their relationship is adorable.
— Are you doing this deliberately? Are you teasing me? You know I hate cuteness and the color pink the most.
Lucas leans over and twists his head to the side to see her panties.
— Then why are you wearing lacy underwear in pink? — His smile causes Nicki to be flooded with a hot wave of love, but his friend is unimpressed.
The girl lifts her skirt.
— This is the color red, rams. — Lucas turns his face away and puts his hand in his hair, feeling intimidated by her behavior. — And what are you blushing about? When we were kids, you saw my mouse. — He looks at his confused friend. — We are like one soul in two bodies. We have no secrets from each other.
— I can just see — she replies in a stifled voice.
Lucas crinkles his eyebrows.
— I hope this way you don't share secrets with other guys.
Someone knocks on the door. Rapidly, it turns out that it's the caretaker, who wants to hand them a lesson plan.
The girls begin to panic.
— Nicki, open the door for her — the brunette says in a whisper as she grabs the boy's hand and pulls him close. The 16-year-old plops down on the bed, directly on top of her, but she feels no restraint at all.
She is close enough to him that nothing can embarrass them.
— What are you doing, Vera? If the sitter sees you in this position, you'll be screwed already.
— She won't see him.
Their faces are so close that the teenager is looking into her eyes at all times.
— And what are you staring at? — The girl twists and pushes the boy under the quilt, then sits on his chest.
Lucas pretends he can't breathe.
— Your parents fed you well during the vacations. It seems to me that you have gained weight.
— Shut your mouth.
The blonde opens the door and lets the woman inside. The attendant looks amused as she glances at the bed of one of the girls.
— Let the poor boy out before you strangle him. — She hands Nicki a sheet of paper with a lesson plan. — It's the middle of the day, so I'll pretend I didn't see him enter your room.
She shakes her head and closes the door behind her, which Henry opens a few seconds later.
— I turn a blind eye, but no exaggeration! This isn't a stateroom, Jonas!
The boy ignores the shouts of the attendant.
— I have wonderful news! — He claps his hands in excitement. — A first-grader who looks like a goddess has joined! She is gorgeous.
Veronica crinkles her eyebrows.
— What are you talking about?
— I'm talking about the fact that you will have a rival. — The brunette snorts under her breath. — She is overly cute. Dressed in a pink dress, she looks like a barbie doll. Her waist is no more than sixty centimeters.
— So find a measurement and go measure her accurately, moron! — The seventeen-year-old throws a pillow at her friend. — And by the way, ask if she cut her ribs!
Lying beneath her, Lucas laughs under his breath.
— Beast versus cat. It could be fun.
The girl gets off the bed and walks toward the door, wanting to see how beautiful this new student is, since she is creating a sensation around her.
— The worst beast knows a little mercy. I'm not a beast, so I don't know her — she speaks loudly as she grabs the door handle. — Let this puppet just try to claim the place that is mine, and he will find out pretty quickly who Veronica Scott is. You don't mess with me.
Nicki croaks when she catches Lucas sniffing the pillow.
— What about you?
— I already know where my favorite hair shampoo has gone missing. That little thief swiped it from my bathroom.
The Horace Mann nightmare will return, and the doors of the past will open anew, releasing the demon who is the main provoker of all misfortunes.