A few minutes later.
— But Sarah... you can't solve everything with violence, I know this bothers you, you're different, but you shouldn't take it to the negative side. — The lecture had already begun, in a moderate tone from the principal who maintained her composure, while Sarah kept her head down, silently listening. — If you don't improve this behavior of yours, we'll be forced to expel you from the school.
"No! I don't want to leave here, I don't want to abandon my friends!" Sarah panics, then lifts her head with a frightened look directed at the principal, while tears begin to flow down her face, her expression a mix of fear and sadness.
— I know you don't want that, promise me this will be the last time something like this will happen. — The principal stretches her right arm over the table and gently touches Sarah's pale face, wiping away some of the tears that flow. — Promise?
Sarah nods positively, her shoulders relax, and she feels the warmth of Marcia's gentle gesture on her face, a faint smile appearing.
— You're strong, people mock and look at you with envy and contempt, yet you still manage to smile like this. One day, you'll be proud of being this way! — Marcia finishes her sentence with a serene voice full of optimism.
— Excuse me, Márcia, I brought Gabi. — Professor Marcos enters and carefully opens the door. — Come on, she won't bite you!
Sarah is finishing wiping away her tears.
— You don't need to be afraid of me! — The principal speaks calmly toward the door and Gabi.
— It's not about you... — Gabi, upon entering, immediately looks for Sarah and, upon finding her, decides not to approach too closely, standing by the door with a piece of toilet paper shoved up his nose.
— Well... Since you're insisting. — Marcia doesn't push and lets him stay there, trying not to stir the mood in the room. — Come on, Gabi, apologize to Sarah, just like we talked about in the bathroom.
— Gabi. — Sarah stands up and approaches him a little, looking at the floor. — If you don't want to, you don't have to forgive me, I kind of overdid it.
— Overdid it? I thought I was going to die! — He murmurs for a moment.
— Hey, you don't need to exaggerate! — Marcos reprimands him, placing his hand on his shoulder.
Sarah looks at Gabi's face and extends her hand toward him as a gesture of peace.
He stares at her, unable to find any trace of the beast that frightened him moments ago in her eyes. He lets out a brief sigh and steps away from the wall.
— Alright, I shouldn't have insulted you either. Sorry! — His right hand extends as he finishes speaking, and the two shake hands in an act of reconciliation.
— Sarah, you can go! I'll have a little chat with him! — Márcia smiles, clearly pleased by the moment. — Come on, Gabi, sit down!
Sarah walks briskly toward the exit, and the door shuts behind her. She pauses for a second and, instead of heading toward the gym, turns toward the other direction.
— Gabi, I know we don't have the right to ask this of you, but if you could do us a favor, could you not tell your parents what happened? You know... Sarah is a difficult girl to handle, she seems strong to everyone, but she's fragile inside, she gets easily carried away by emotions. — Márcia tries to calm the situation.
— Don't worry, I'll make up an excuse. My dad would make fun of me if he knew I got beaten by a girl. — He lets out a light laugh through his nose, causing one of the pieces of paper to fall off, and the brief smile on his face quickly turns into a grimace of pain as he bends down to pick up the paper.
— Good boy, now you can go back to the gym! — Marcos lets him go.
Gabi quickly stands up, leaves the room, and as he touches the door and starts walking down the hall, he finds himself face-to-face with Sarah.
— Here! Put this in your nose, it'll help! — She offers him a small plastic bag with ice, which she just got from the kitchen with the aunts.
— Thanks... — Gabi thanks her shyly as he heads to the gym. — Aren't you coming?
She shakes her head in refusal, her thoughts on her friends, as she noticed they weren't in the gym earlier.
— Well... see you! — He continues on his way.
After a few minutes of searching for them through the hallways and behind the classrooms, she hears a conversation coming from behind the gym. She leans against the corner of the wall, trying to observe what's going on behind there. Her eyes widen, and she is both surprised and happy with what she sees.
— We could go out sometime, you know, walk around at night... What do you think? — Bernardo is sitting with his back against the wall behind the gym. He asks Marcela while gently stroking her face, which is turned upwards toward him. Marcela lies on the floor with her head resting on his lap, her hair spread over his legs.
— I'd love that, but I don't know if my dad would let me. He's been really worried, I'll have to come up with an excuse for him. — She smiles shyly, her face a bit flushed, as she accepts his invitation.
— Talk to Sarah, she'll definitely help you! — Bernardo suggests while admiring her golden hair.
— But... what about us? What am I supposed to say to her? — Marcela sits up and leans her head on Bernardo's shoulder.
— What about me? — Sarah takes the opportunity to catch the two lovebirds, making a surprise entrance with a voice slightly loud as if she wanted to startle them.
— Sarah? — Marcela, startled, jumps up, her face now completely red.
— Well, now she knows! — Bernardo just comments on the situation.
— Like it was a secret that you like each other, only you didn't see it! — Sarah throws this truth in their faces.
— Was it that obvious? — Bernardo asks into the air while looking away, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Sarah doesn't respond, just gives them a big smile, happy for them.
— I searched for you all over the school, I almost got in trouble, I went to the principal's office and... — Sarah begins to tell them what happened, while Bernardo stands up, and the three of them start walking toward the gym.