Chapter 2

• I got up a few minutes after the alarm went off. I put on my baggy, boring gray uniform, with a full moon printed on the shirt and the school’s written inside the moon in Gothic letters. I put on my big glasses, made a clumsy bun, and left my room for breakfast again without putting on makeup or any other cosmetics. That was already quite an improvement...
• "Good morning!" I greeted my grandmother, Nilza, as she placed freshly baked rolls on the table. The aroma was simply irresistible, making my mouth water. I grabbed one and began nibbling on it.
• "Good morning, dear!" She smiled tenderly and sat down next to me.
• I remembered the day my mother had called my grandmother, asking if I could stay with her. Without questioning the reasons why I had decided to come here instead of staying with my parents, she welcomed me right away. She called me almost every day to ask when I would arrive.
• "How sloppy! You'll never find a boyfriend like that!" My aunt Angelina complained, approaching me with a jar of homemade red fruit jam. She looked at me with the same disapproving gaze she had worn since the first day. It was strange for someone who had chosen celibacy to be thinking about boyfriends for her niece.
• "That's exactly the point, I thought you would understand me."
• "Eliza..." She sighed deeply before starting another lecture. I was already fed up with them lately. "I'm not single by choice. I just haven't found my partner yet."
• Maybe I never would, thought to myself. I remained silent, waiting for what would come next, but she said nothing more.
• "Well, maybe I won't find mine either," I said as I got up from the table. I really hoped I wouldn't have to worry about that kind of thing for a long time. I kissed my grandmother on the cheek and grabbed my backpack.
• Since school wasn't that far from my grandmother's house, I walked there and back every day. It was a great way to start the day. On the way, I thought about this whole predestined partner business for a while and how inconvenient it could be for someone like me.
• "Maybe you're like your father and can choose!" Lisa said, trying to comfort me.
• "I hope so..." I sighed, looking at the classroom door.
• I was one of the first to arrive, put on my headphones, and selected a song on my phone to listen to while I waited for class to start. Although the cellphone signal was strong, the city’s internet was terrible. The music froze every few seconds, and I ended up eventually putting my headphones away in frustration.
• "If you want to listen to music here, you have to download your playlist in advance." A soft female voice sounded beside me. I looked at Annie, surprised that we had another class together. Since I had touched her music sheet yesterday, she hadn't spoken to me again.
• "Yeah, I noticed," I replied monotonously, as I looked away and crouched over the table.
• "Thanks for yesterday!" she whispered in an embarrassed tone. I straightened my back and looked at her more carefully.
• "No need to thank me. Just try to pay more attention in class now." She nodded and sat shyly behind me. She accompanied me to the next classes, and I realized our schedules might actually be the same.
• "Have you considered joining the music club?" she asked me as soon as the lunch bell rang.
• "No!" I replied shortly as I headed toward the school cafeteria. Music clubs usually had a lot of members, which would only make me uncomfortable. Annoyingly, Annie ignored my rejection and started following me.
• "Looks like you've made a friend. What about trying to go unnoticed?" my wolf teased me. I gritted my teeth as I served myself lunch before sitting at the most isolated table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria.
• "See? Hahahaha," she said when she realized that Annie had sat across from me and even gestured for someone else to come sit with us. I almost choked when I realized it wasn't just one person approaching the table, but an entire group.
• The first boy in the group was tall, with brown hair and eyes and light-medium skin tone. He sat down at the table, ran his fingers affectionately through Annie’s hair, and said, "Hi, beautiful!"
• "Hello!" Annie replied with rosy cheeks and a loving look. "Liam, this is Eliza, the girl who helped me with the music sheet."
• "Hi, Eliza. I'm Liam, Annie's boyfriend," he replied with a friendly smile as he wrapped one arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.The overly sweet display nearly made me sick.
• Then, he gestured toward the three other boys standing nearby. The first two sat down next to him while greeting me.
• "These are Jonathan, Maxsuel, and Nicolas."
• I nodded politely to them without saying a word. Since there wasn’t enough room on the bench beside his friends, Nicolas sat next to me instead. He was taller and thinner than the others, with dark skin, slightly curly short black hair, and brown eyes. He answered my silence with his own.
• "Don't mind Nicolas, he's not having a good day. Eliza, you seem to know a lot about music. How about helping a band?" Liam said in a slightly more serious tone.
• "I don't know that much about it," I replied tersely, focusing on finishing my food so I could leave as quickly as possible. "Besides, I've already signed up for the archery club."
• "What a coincidence, Nicolas. It looks like the new girl is in the same club as you," Jonathan said mockingly. "Come on, Liam! It's a waste of time!"
• "She can help us with the sheet music," Annie interjected, as though trying to convince them that including me in their group was a good idea.
• "Why don't you just get sheet music online?" I asked as I stood up and left the table.
• "The internet here makes research nearly impossible. If it were that easy, we wouldn’t be asking someone like you for help. Don’t be arrogant." Nicolas' voice was deep and powerful, making me look back at him. Unexpectedly, I noticed the people around the cafeteria staring at me with disdain. My hell in this place was about to begin.