— Hurry up! We're going to be late! — Bernardo tries to rush her.
— Hey, Rômulo is so cute, right? — Marcela casually throws words into the air to her friend.
Sarah doesn't answer, turning her face downward in an attempt to hide it.
— What are you talking about??? — Bernardo questions her, not understanding what's going on.
Sarah stands up and looks at him with a slight smile on her face.
— Wait... Haha… You're in love! — Without missing the opportunity, he teases her.
As she passes him, she gives a light punch to his arm, enough to make him let out a small shout of pain.
— Aaaa Bernardo... you boys are so slow. — Marcela starts to walk with Sarah and takes the chance to tease him while giving a slight glimpse of a cute boy she likes.
— I understand! — After a brief moment of silence, he steps ahead of the two as they walk toward the gym. Then he turns to face them and starts walking backward. — I've already kissed a girl! — His eyes sparkle, and he flashes a smile in front of Sarah and Marcela.
Marcela looks at Bernardo, her eyes starting to water, and then she bolts off, disappearing down the school's hallways.
— Huh? — Bernardo stands there, confused.
— You boys really don't know anything, now go after her and apologize! — Sarah, with a serious expression, gives Bernardo an ultimatum.
— I'm out! — Without questioning the "evil" presence before him, he sprints off in search of Marcela.
After a few minutes of walking slowly, Sarah arrives at the gym.
— Uh-oh... here comes the monster! She's on our team, don't even think about it! — Jorge, a tall boy with short hair and dark skin.
As soon as they see her, everyone stops playing while Sarah approaches where they are.
— Oh no! Don't even think about it! She's on our team! Your team is already strong enough! — Lucas, a short boy with a stocky body, fair skin, and short black hair, enters the dispute to see who will have her on their team.
— Sorry, Jorge, but today I'm not in the mood to play, I just came here to let you know I'm going to play chess. — She responds calmly.
— Chess? Nerd stuff, come play soccer! — Jorge insists, but she's already heading on her way.
— Let him be! Jorge, let's just play alone, it's better! — Gabi, a boy of average height for his age with long brown hair falling onto his forehead, teases her.
Hearing this, Sarah suddenly stops and clenches her fists.
— GABI!!! WATCH OUT!!!! — Shouts echo among the boys around them.
When he turns to see what's going on, with no time to react, he suddenly finds himself falling to the ground, not understanding what happened. A sharp pain strikes his face. He touches his nose and realizes there's blood dripping. Furious, he starts searching around for the culprit. A search that doesn't take long to conclude.
There stands Sarah with her fists clenched, forcing her way between two boys who are holding her arms, while others ask her to calm down.
Gabi, staring at Sarah's face and brown eyes, feels as if a predator is there, forcing its way through fragile bars, about to break them, ready to attack and tear him apart. Her eyes don't move even a millimeter, her pupils are contracted, and she seems to see only one thing: her prey.
What's most terrifying is the silence she exudes; any second of vulnerability the boys give her, she won't hesitate.
Gabi's look quickly changes. His pupils dilate, his eyebrows raised, his breathing shaky with a slight chattering of his teeth, and everything in his body urges him to get away as fast as possible.
— What's going on here!? — A man in his 40s, with fair skin, a scruffy beard, and short hair, arrives at the scene, intrigued by the unusual movement he witnessed from a distance.
Gabi gets up and runs toward the men's bathroom. Meanwhile, Sarah never takes her eyes off him for even a second.
— Teacher... Sarah punched Gabi! — Jorge explains what happened.
She doesn't take her eyes off the men's bathroom for a few seconds until a voice begins to echo in her mind, calling her name.
— Sarah! Sarah! — He tries to calm her as he shakes her by the shoulders.
Moments later, she begins to relax her tightly clenched fists. She then looks at the teacher and the boys and girls around her, who have gathered.
— Look at me! Calm down! Are you okay? — The teacher tries to assess her condition, but she doesn't respond with words, only nodding her head positively while her eyes still burn with slight fury.
— Jorge, take Sarah to the sink to wash her face and then to the principal's office!
After giving the order, the teacher heads to the bathroom to check on Gabi. The others who witnessed the scene begin to disperse.
Jorge and Sarah leave the gym, and after a few minutes of sitting in front of the principal's office, the door opens. Marcia, the principal, appears to be in her 30s, tall with fair skin, black hair, wearing glasses and formal attire. She looks at Sarah sitting there and lets out a deep sigh.
— Again? — Marcia asks, speaking to no one in particular.
Sarah lowers her head, avoiding eye contact.
— What happened this time? — Marcia asks again, now directing the question to Sarah.
Sarah remains silent.
— They messed with her again, principal. — Jorge tries to answer for Sarah, without causing her harm.
— Are you involved too, Jorge? — The principal shoots him a threatening look.
— No! I'm just accompanying her; it was teacher Marcos who asked me! — Jorge tries to avoid trouble.
— Hmm... That's good, you can go back to class. — The principal dismisses him.
— Bye, Sarah, see you later! — Jorge quickly disappears from the scene.
Sarah watches him with a vacant stare.
— Come on, explain to me what happened. — Marcia, now with a calmer voice, invites her to come in.
Sarah gets up and walks into the room. As she passes through the door, the principal places a hand on her back, giving a gentle push while leaving the door slightly open so that teacher Marcos can see they're there.