The girls are sitting on the windowsill, sipping coffee from a can. With amusement in their eyes, they look at their found friend, who has just returned from a family vacation. Each of them is completely different. Veronica is feisty, likes to draw attention to herself and have power over others, Nicki is calm, although she sometimes has the devil behind her ears, while Vanessa is a 17-year-old whose mind stopped developing at the age of five. She is childish, perpetually smiling and loves to mess around.
- I hope your brother stayed on the island, without the possibility of returning to Horace Mann. - Veronica's words, make the blonde, who takes a sip of coffee, spit it all back into the can, unable to contain her laughter.
Vanessa looks at her friend with indignation in her eyes, moving in place and tossing her two, thick ponytails.
- Before the vacation, you told him that you would think about his proposal. If you like him, you like him, why don't you want to give him a chance? He is really crazy about you.
The brunette sighs loudly.
- So should I change something about myself so that I stop liking him? - He tosses his long hair, hitting Nicki with strands of hair.
- And you don't have to show enthusiasm so much. You pretend you don't like Kevin's return to school, and deep down you're doing pirouettes. - The blonde puts down the can next to you. A passing school hooligan steals her coffee.
- Thanks, oxygenated.
- Cheers to you, spider. My saliva should cure your sick brain.
Vanessa sits down between her friends and puts her arm around them.
- You can't even imagine how much I missed you guys.
The brunette rolls her eyes.
- We, on the other hand, took a breather from you. For these two months, I couldn't believe that there was such a thing as peace.
- Veronica, it's sad what you say, but I still love you very much. - He gives her a kiss on the cheek, which is observed with interest by Lucas, who approaches the girls.
- Wow, I like lovey-dovey girls," he says, catching Vanessa's attention. Her eyes widen with excitement. She measures him from bottom to top, stopping her gaze at his handsome face.
- He looks like Prince Charming. This is the first time I've seen a man with such big eyes. - She puts her hands to her lips, mesmerized by his beauty. - Are you a model?
- My personal one," says Veronica, feeling a slight sting of jealousy. - I've been testing the clothes I design on him all summer.
- So this is Lucas? - She jumps down from the windowsill and stands in front of him, her head reaching his chest. - Do you like comic books? - She turns to him, lifting her face.
- Comics are my whole life.
- I think we will find a common language quite quickly. - He turns to Veronica and looks at her with a gleam in his eye. - You take care of my brother, I'll take care of your best friend. See you later.
The brunette opens her mouth in amazement, watching as Vanessa grabs him under the arm and leads him deeper into the hallway, talking about a comic book she recently read.
Lucas looks amused and completely unperturbed by the presence of the newly met girl.
- Is she brazenly hitting on your soulmate?
Veronica smiles slightly. Sitting on the windowsill, she swings her legs, thinking that Vanessa is the only girl who can win her friend's heart.
- They have similar characters, and common interests can bring them together quite quickly. I don't mind.
Nicki raises an eyebrow when she notices that Kevin is heading in their direction.
- So now think about what you might have in common with a guy who has been raving about you for the past few months. He's just coming this way. - The blonde jumps off the windowsill and purposely runs off to the bathroom, leaving her friend alone to face her admirer.
It all happens so fast that the seventeen-year-old is restrained when Kevin stands in front of her and leans against the windowsill with his hands, holding her captive.
- Did you miss it?
She doesn't tell her friends, but her heart beats faster every time he appears in her presence. He is handsome, charismatic and has been in love with her since last year.
So why is she afraid to give him a chance?
- Hi, Kev. - She puts her hands on his shoulders and the corners of her mouth lift up. - Either it seems to me, or your skin has become darker. Didn't you protect yourself from the sun?
- I used to forget about it when I thought about you.
And what should she do now? She likes him, but is she capable of being in a relationship with someone? Does it even suit her, a girl who is covered in darkness?
She's afraid, so how can she say no to him and ask them to still be friends?
- It's lucky you didn't get burned. - Her words, make them both burst out laughing.
- The break is about to end, so I won't dredge up the topic we talked about before the vacation, but just tell me, have you thought about it?
Her face turns serious. She takes her hands from his shoulders, thinking how she should gently get out of this situation.
- Of course I thought...
- From the look on your face, I conclude that no good news awaits me.
She likes him. In his company she feels those damn butterflies in her stomach, so why does the thought of being in a relationship with someone scare her so much? She's brave, she's not afraid of anything, she has power over people, and she can't share her happiness with another person.
Lucas. He is the only person she can be close to. He is her soulmate, but a few years ago they swore to each other that neither of them would fall in love with each other to be friends for life.
Whoever breaks this rule will suffer, hiding it deep inside.
- Veronica is such a lucky girl that Kevin falls for her. - Passing girls glance at them, looking jealous.
- They think you're a lucky girl, but what do you think, Vera? - asks her question, then walks away, leaving her with a cloudy head.
Nicki comes out of the bathroom, looking at her friend with curiosity in her eyes. From the other end of the corridor Vanessa runs, hearing the bell ring announcing the end of the break.
- Well? - asks the blonde as they enter the classroom. - What did you tell him?
- Nothing yet, but by the end of the day I'll have to decide what I want.
*
The lesson is so boring that Lucas sleeps on a bench with his head laid on a plush dog. His mouth is open and he's snoring, but the teacher isn't paying attention to him at all. He is fascinated by the topic he has prepared for the students and doesn't notice that everyone is interested in something else. No one listens to him.
Miranda draws hearts in her notebook, resting her cheek on her hand. Eric, sitting next to her, is watching the teacher, but his thoughts are somewhere else entirely. Biting the pen in his mouth, he wonders if the nightmare he had tonight alludes to the future ahead of him, or was it just a dream?
He won't forget Julie's red eyes for a long time when she revealed to him that he would be the first to die. She showed him a picture of his death, and he saw himself there, lying motionless with his eyes empty and wide open.
He looked terrifying.
His hand begins to shake, so he lowers it to the bench. This catches Miranda's attention.
- Are you okay? - She asks him, but he wrinkles his eyebrows angrily.
- Take care of yourself," he replies rudely.
The pretty girl ignores his problem, since he is an asshole. What does he think? That she's going to ask him to let him help himself? She doesn't give a damn.
- My family taught me to extend a helping hand to enemies, too. Be cold to all people and you will be left alone like a finger. You will have no one to turn to, everyone will turn their back on you. You will be writhing from your suffering in loneliness, begging for anyone to appear who will take pity on you, but then no one will soften their heart. People will be as cold to you as you have been to them all your life," she says in a whisper.
- You should become a screenwriter. You would write perfect endings.
Miranda opens her mouth, outraged by his answer.
- Do you take any words to heart?
- Only the sensible ones. You're fucking senseless, worse than a cult.
The 16-year-old moves closer to the window, no longer intending to have a discussion with him. It's impossible to talk to him.
He's a nutcase.
- You, on the other hand, act as if you were haunted," she mutters under her breath.
Eric forces a crooked smile. He is amused by the sentence uttered by the girl, because she does not even know how much truth there is in it.
- That night, keep your eyes open, since you discovered my secret. - He hovers over her ear, causing chills to run through her body.
- Hey! - shouts the girl in a whisper as she turns to face him. With wide-open eyes, she looks at him closely. - Why are you poisoning my life? What do you hate me so much for from the very beginning?
She watches his black eyes, which she squints, looking worried. Unexpectedly, he grins his teeth, wanting to bite her nose, to which she reacts by screaming.
Brunet bursts into laughter as she tearfully turns to the teacher:
- I beg you to overdo it. He teases me and I can't focus on the lesson.
- You wanted to sit with him yourself, so now suffer," the man replies to her, which amuses Eric even more.
Lucas opens his sleepy eyes for a moment, not knowing what's going on. Seeing that it's Scott and Miranda again, he closes his eyelids and grins, intending to get a decent night's sleep for the rest of the class.
*
It's now 8 o'clock. Veronica is lying in the same bed with Nicki, browsing social networks. Vanessa corrects her ponytails in the mirror, making strange faces to her reflection. The girls don't pay much attention, used to her strange personality.
Veronica accidentally comes across Kevin's profile, browsing through his photos with a smile on her face. She likes the fact that he has his own style. He can combine elegance with sports and rock, looking really cool at the same time.
- Can you explain to me what you are afraid of? Other girls would give their souls to be with Kevin.
Vanessa turns to face them when she hears her brother's name.
- It's true. Don't even dare to hurt him. You have to give him a chance, and I assure you that you will be one hundred percent happy. - She aims a blue crayon at her friend, with which she intends to highlight her eyes. - I'll take up with Lucas and I'll be happy too. - Veronica smiles slightly at these words. - And Nicki... - She falls silent for a moment, pondering her answer. - I don't know... Maybe my brother's buddy Henry? You two would fit right in. - She shrugs her shoulders.
The blonde chastises her with his eyes.
- Henry? Take after the guy with the nose piercing yourself. If he were the last guy on earth, I wouldn't beget children with him. No way.
- Why not? He has an interesting personality," Veronica interjects. - I can sense chemistry between you two.
- Don't you dare! - threatens her with a finger Nicki, looking terrified. - I hate him! He acts like he has a tomato instead of a brain.
The girls burst out laughing. Veronica gets off the bed, intending to use the toilet.
- Take care of my phone for a while, because I have to pee," she turns to Nicki, then leaves the room. In the corridor she passes third-graders who are talking about an upcoming basketball game.
She enters the bathroom, where no one is present. He uses the toilet, but when he leaves the cubicle, the shower curtain moves away. Water begins to pour, and with that, someone starts crying.
Veronica walks closer to see who is in a depressed state. She opens her eyes wider when she spots Julie. The ghost is sitting huddled in the corner of the cabin, and water is seeping through her body.
- Julie? - It's strange to see her in such a state. The 17-year-old wonders if this is some kind of ploy on her part, since she has had a sixty percent conviction for some time that she is the main reason for her brother's suffering.
The 12-year-old lifts her face, looking at the girl with sad eyes.
- You don't trust me anymore. You believed Eric, didn't you? After so many years, you believed his lies, spurning me like trash.
The brunette wrinkles her eyebrows.
- Or maybe after so many years I finally saw through it and realized that it was you who was lying to me?
She watches the ghost's reaction. Her facial expression changes dramatically, the sadness fades and is replaced by a mocking smile.
- You are becoming pathetic, like your brother. I hate weaklings. - The light in the bathroom goes out, and Veronica opens her eyes wide as Julie grabs her by the neck and presses her against the wall. - Since you've figured me out there's no point in me pretending to be your friend any longer.
Her heart pounds like a hammer as she watches with horror in her eyes as the 12-year-old takes on new forms. She changes in a second. She is Julie, in a moment a teenage girl with short hair, then her deceased grandmother, before finally revealing her true face.
Breathing heavily, Veronica looks at the black apparition, whose face is obscured by a large hood.
- What are you? - She asks in a timid voice.
- A demon. The curse of your family.