Some minutes later.
"But Sarah… you can't solve everything with violence. I know it bothers you—I know you're different—but you shouldn't let it take you down a negative path." The sermon has already begun, delivered in a measured tone by the principal, who maintains her composure. Meanwhile, Sarah keeps her head bowed, silently listening. "If you don't improve your behavior, we'll be forced to expel you from school."
"No! I don't want to leave here, I don't want to abandon my friends!" Sarah panics, lifting her head with a frightened look toward the principal as tears begin to stream down her face. Fear and sadness mix on her expression.
"I know you don't want that. Promise me this will be the last time something like this happens." The principal extends her right arm across the desk and gently touches Sarah's pale face, wiping away some of her tears. "Do you promise?"
Sarah nods affirmatively, her shoulders relaxing as her face feels the warmth of Marcia's gentle gesture. A faint smile begins to form on her lips.
"You're strong. People mock you and look at you with envy and disdain, yet you still manage to smile like that. One day, you'll be proud of being who you are!" Marcia concludes her words with a serene and optimistic tone.
"Excuse me, Márcia, I've brought Gabi." Professor Marcos arrives and carefully opens the door. "Come on in, she won't bite!"
Sarah is finishing drying her tears.
"You don't need to be afraid of me!" The principal speaks calmly toward the door and Gabi.
"It's not you…" Gabi, upon entering, immediately looks around for Sarah. When he spots her, he decides not to get too close, staying leaned against the wall near the door with a piece of tissue stuffed into his nose.
"Well… since you insist." Márcia doesn't push further and leaves him there, trying not to escalate the tension in the room. "Come on, Gabi, apologize to Sarah, just as we discussed in the bathroom."
"Gabi." Sarah stands up and takes a few steps toward him while looking at the floor. "If you don't want to, you don't have to forgive me. I went overboard."
"Overboard? I thought I was going to die!" He mutters under his breath for a moment.
"Hey, no exaggerating!" Marcos scolds him lightly, placing a 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 had frightened him earlier. He lets out a brief sigh and pushes off the wall.
"It's okay, I shouldn't have insulted you either. Sorry!" His right hand extends as he finishes speaking, and the two shake hands in a gesture of reconciliation.
"Sarah, you can go! I'll talk with him for a bit!" Márcia smiles, clearly pleased with the moment. "Come on, Gabi, sit down!"
Sarah walks briskly out of the room, and the door closes behind her. She pauses for a second but instead of heading toward the court, she turns the other way.
"Gabi, I know we don't have the right to ask this of you, but if you could do us this favor, could you not mention what happened to your parents? You see… Sarah is a complicated girl to deal with. She seems strong to everyone, but inside, she's fragile and easily swayed by her emotions," Márcia tries to smooth things over.
"Don't worry, I'll make up an excuse. My dad would tease me endlessly if he found out I got beaten up by a girl." He lets out a soft laugh through his nose, causing one of the tissues in his nose to fall. The brief smile on his face quickly transforms into an expression of pain as he bends down to pick it up.
"Good boy, now you can go back to the court!" Marcos dismisses him.
Gabi gets up without delay, leaves the room, and as he closes the door and starts walking, he finds himself face-to-face with Sarah.
"Here, put this on your nose—it'll help!" She offers him a small plastic bag filled with ice, which she just retrieved from the kitchen with the lunch ladies.
"Thank you…" Gabi timidly accepts as he heads toward the court. "Aren't you coming?"
She shakes her head, declining, her thoughts preoccupied with her friends. Back at the court, she noticed they weren't there.
"Well… see you!" He continues on his way.
After a few minutes of searching through the hallways and behind the classroom blocks, she hears a conversation coming from behind the gym. She leans against the corner of the wall, trying to observe what's happening. Her eyes widen, and she's both surprised and happy with what she sees.
"We could go out anytime, you know, take a walk at night… What do you think?" Bernardo is sitting, leaning against the wall behind the gym.
He asks Marcela as he caresses her face, which is tilted upward, gazing at him. Marcela is lying on the ground with her head resting on his lap, her hair spread across his legs.
"I'd really like that, but I'm not sure my dad would let me—he's been so worried lately. I'll need to come up with an excuse for him." With a goofy smile and slightly flushed cheeks, she accepts the invitation.
"Talk to Sarah—she'll definitely help you!" Bernardo tosses the idea into the air as he admires her golden strands.
"But… and us? What should I tell her?" Marcela sits up and moves to sit beside him, then rests her head on Bernardo's shoulder.
"What about me?" Sarah seizes the opportunity to catch the two lovebirds off guard. She makes a sudden entrance, raising her voice slightly as if trying to startle them.
"Sarah?" Marcela, startled, jumps up, her face now deeply flushed.
"There, now she knows!" Bernardo simply states his opinion on the matter.
"As if it were a secret that you two like each other—you were the only ones who didn't see it!" Sarah throws the truth in their faces.
"Was it really that obvious?" Bernardo asks aloud, glancing to the side to play it cool.
Sarah doesn't respond, only gives a big smile—the kind of smile someone wears when they're truly happy.
"I looked for you guys all over the school. I almost got in trouble, went to the principal's office, and…" Sarah begins recounting what happened as Bernardo stands up, and the three start walking toward the court.