Lacrim

°Chapter 3°

The rest of the day Alex spent reading her book and then went to the library, not without making at least three wrong turns. Once there, she greeted the librarian and looked through the shelves. Again and again she took out a book that caught her interest. After she found one, Alex sat down at a table far at the back, in between the shelves. She casually put her feet on the armchair opposite of her and immersed herself in the book. It was called: die Verwandlung by Franz Kafka. Alex had already read it, but she didn't mind because there were way too many hidden meanings in this book, so you had to read it at least three times to understand it completely.

Alex was so intensily occupied with her book that she didn't notice how two other teenagers came in her direction. When they saw Alex sitting at the table, they stopped in confusion. As they whispered something to each other, Alex looked up and glanced at them. The two boys seemed to be at Alex's age and looked at her with interest. But Alex was also eyeing them with obvious amusement. One of them stood out because of his cat ears and eyes, which had black long pupils. But the other boy also aroused Alex's attention. He had grayish long hair, which he had tied into a small bun. With a cheeky smile on their lips, he and his friend approached Alex, who turned her attention back to the book.

"What kind of book are you looking for again?", one of them asked from behind Alex. She realized immediately that this was a rhetorical question.

"Die Verwandlung by Kafka. But strangely enough I can't find it anywhere.", the other replied with a provocative undertone and Alex now felt the two boys uncomfortably close.

"It seems like someone else was already here before us."

Alex tried to look calm and took her feet off the chair. As she turned her head in the direction of their voices she looked into two smiling faces. The gray-haired one now stretched out his hand expectantly. Did he really think I would just give him the book, Alex thought, stunned. She shook her head in disbelief, She hadn't even read a chapter yet. There was no way she would hand him the book now. She wouldn't do him that favor. Instead, Alex stared him ice-cold in the eye and before they could make any sound, she had already gotten up and rushed passed them. She hadn't realized it before, but her skill had made her stronger, more agile and faster. Whatever her skill was, she could do things now that would have been impossible before. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she walked through the halls laughing to herself.

Back in the dorm, Alex flopped down on her Bed and felt how tired she actually was. She had skipped lunch, not wanting to meet the many others in the dining hall. But her stomach tightened so painfully with hunger that she headed for dinner. She quickly pulled a sweater over her head and , as usual, put on a cap that covered her face. Tired, she shuffled towards the dining room and heard laughter and dishes clattering far away. With her head down, she entered the hall and made her way to the long food line. No one gave her much attention, which was fine with Alex. When it was her turn, she took some rice with vegetables and an orange juice. Uncertain Alex looked around and sighed in relief when she discovered a free seat at the end of the right long table, which was far away from the others. Settling down, she began to look around. It was like in her old school, everywhere there were little groups sitting together and whispering. But the atmosphere was still pleasant and even almost cozy. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the weekend. Alex was drinking some of her juice when her eyes spotted a familiar face. The gray-haired boy from before. He was standing in the food line talking to a girl with long curly hair and caramel like skin, who also seemed to be Alex's age too. The boy must have told a not very funny joke, because the girl hit him lightly on the back of the head, visibly annoyed. Her friend, however, just smiled proudly, held the back of his head and turned back to the front. The whole situation seemed like something out of a shitty sitcom, Alex thought starring again at her food, which suddenly didn't look as inviting as she had imagined. Alex noticed how her eyelids became heavier and heavier and how she began to doze off slightly. Before her head hit the table, however she caught herself again; after all, she didn't know if she was going to travel to tartarus again. It was starting to bug her that she couldn't spontaneously sleep anywhere like she used to and took a few spoonfuls of rice.

Just as she had decided that she no longer had an appetite, the chair next to her was pulled back. Turning her head to her right side to see who had decided to disturb her now, she paused. She looked into very familiar ice blue eyes that seemed to look through her soul. A gray strand fell into his face, which he casually tucked behind his ear.

"So we meet again.", he said, smiling.

Alex couldn't get a sound out, so she just rolled her eyes, to which her neighbor laughed softly.

"You are new aren't you?", the girl from before now asked. She had sat down across from her looking at her skeptically. Goosebumps ran down her spine at her stare. Suddenly she heard a voice in her head.

"You've got to watch out for that one. She looks like she could put down an entire army of soldiers." The voice sounded very familiar to Alex.

Alita, she thought  and heard a giggle.

"Yes, well captured. I finally figured out how to communicate with you even when I'm in the other world."

Wow, that was an interesting discovery. For whatever reason, Alita seemed to want to warn her about the girl. But she would ask Alita about that later.

Alex tried her best not to let anything show, but she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She nodded and turned to her food, forcing herself to take another bite. Alex could practically feel herself being eyed by the girl.

"Staring is rude.", Alex said dryly without looking up and heard the girl hastily clear her throat as if she had choked. When she looked back into her face, she saw anger flash in the eyes of her sitting opposite. When the boy next to her giggled cheekily, his friend threw a napkin at him in annoyance. It burned to ashes before it could reach him, though, which only made him laugh harder. It seemed to be a part of his skill, because none of the two seemed surprised.

"Stalking too, by the way.", Alex now said to the boy and stood up with these words. Behind her back she heard his indignant shouts, but Alex ignored them. She didn't even know this Boy for a whole day yet, but he was already getting on her nerves. Just thinking of his stupid grin gives me a migraine, thought Alex and made her way to her bed, because she couldn't keep her eyes open for much longer. But, before she slipped into her dreams, after this long day, she entered the washroom again and stood under the shower. The hot water splashed on her skin and the girl immediately relaxed. She didn't even mind that her shower curtain was jammed.