After her encounter with the cinanthrope, Sofia had returned home, where she had been tossing and turning in bed until the early hours of the morning. A lot of questions had been running through her head, and the only conclusion she could come up with was that she wanted to help him, and not just from the hunters. She wanted to let him know that he was not alone, that there were others like him, and that she was willing to be by his side if he would let her come close.

That's why she was so tired that morning when she got to class, and on top of that first period was Spanish history. They were learning about the 19th century, a time period that could be exciting if they taught her about the Empecinado, the 3rd of May uprisings and Pepe Botella. Unfortunately the teacher, a forty-something guy with a gray beard, square glasses and who always wore a Hawaiian-styled shirt, preferred to go over all the articles of the many constitutions. It also didn't help that the man spoke in a sleep-inducing monotone voice. Sofia was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and it had only been five minutes since the start of class.

“And during the signing of the Constitution of 1812, which they called the PEPA...” A dry knock was heard at the door... “Because it was signed during the day come in,” said the teacher without varying his voice’s tone one iota.

The door opened and Sofia awoke with a start. In through the doorway came Dave, Sara's friend, the boy she had called a 'cocky pretty boy'. He wore an off-white sweater under his black motorcycle riding jacket and jeans that fit his legs and butt. His straight hair was tousled due to the helmet that hanged from his arm, and there were dark circles under his blue eyes. He was panting after having ran up the stairs, and looked at the teacher with an apologetic gaze.

“You're late, Mr....”

“Wu... Adler, David Adler. Sorry for being late.”

“Ah, yes, the new student. Find a seat, Mr. Adler.”

Dave nodded and looked around the classroom for an empty seat until he located a desk nobody was using at the back of the classroom, right next to where Sofia was sitting. The instant their eyes met, Sofia felt a sudden embarrassment that made her duck her head. The truth was that she felt guilty about how she had treated him that day. Dave had done nothing to her, and she had behaved like an absolute cretin, and all because she was afraid of loving a boy again, only to have her own mother take him away from her for not being human. It was an absurd fear, because it was unlikely that every boy she met was going to be a creature of the shadows, but she couldn't help it.

With his desk chosen the boy walked towards it. The reactions from the class were not long in coming. A collective murmur broke out among the students, and Sofia, with her finer hearing, was able to pick up on many of the things her classmates were saying. Some wondered where he was from since his last name was clearly German, others commented on his motorcycle attire wanting to know what kind of vehicle he drove, and more than one girl and the occasional boy pointed out his looks wondering if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend.

“Silence, gentlemen, let's resume the class. There, there, young lady, stop chatting with your classmate and pay attention,” said the teacher in his monotonous voice, trying to regain the attention of a class full of kids who had found something more interesting than the 1812 constitution.

As he walked past Sofia she noticed his scent again, that pine and greenery perfume that was so appealing to her because it reminded her of her forest. She dared to steal a furtive glance at him as he sat down, appreciating the details of his face. Yes, he was cute, she wasn't going to deny the obvious, and she couldn't blame her classmates for noticing him. Besides having nice facial features, his body seemed well toned, neither fat nor thin, at the right weight. Dave had said that he didn't find it easy to make friends, that he didn't tend to be liked. Seeing the sensation he had caused she found it hard to understand how that could be possible. Surely at his previous high school he had also attracted the attention of the girls.

So immersed was she in her thoughts that when Dave turned to her, she was caught completely off guard. Their gazes met again. Embarrassed, Sofia let out a choked exclamation and ducked her head to concentrate on her scribbled notebook. Suddenly she felt her cheeks flare with an intense blush that surely wasn't going to go unnoticed. She wanted to hit herself for reacting in such a stupid way.

“I just want to apologize...” she whispered in a very quiet voice, only to herself.

Very discreetly she looked at him again, this time from the corner of her eye to try as much as possible to avoid being noticed again. His brow was furrowed in a grimace of concentration and he nibbled his pen’s cap thoughtfully, as he made a visible effort to stay focused on the lecture. The golden light streaming in through the window fell on his hair, highlighting its blond color. Although the sun had become a pale and weak star, its winter version, its light was no less radiant. Frustrated, she began to tap on her notebook with her pen. She just wanted to apologize, it shouldn't be that hard.

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The change of class came even earlier than Sofia had expected, perhaps because she had spent the whole hour imagining different scenarios of how to approach the boy to apologize. The shrill sound of the bell took her so much by surprise that she couldn't help but wince in her chair. She was suddenly aware that, no matter how many scenarios she had visualized, she still had no idea how she was going to approach him to broach the subject. Well, she told herself, clenching her jaw to gather her courage, it would be best to just walk to him and blurt it out. It’s not like she was going to confess her eternal love, or anything. She was just apologizing.

“Dave, you see...”

As Sofia stood up, a group of girls and a boy who was a friend of theirs surrounded the young man's desk, who seemed surprised and overwhelmed at having so many people around him. The group began to harass him with questions of all kinds, from wanting to know where he came from, if he had a girlfriend, to others about his tastes in series, books and video games. Dave, noticeably uncomfortable, ran his tongue over his lips in a nervous gesture and tried to respond politely to all of them, something he was finding difficult because the girls were running all over each other.

“It looks like our pal is not going to have much trouble making friends,” said Sara with a laugh, approaching her friend's desk.

“It doesn't look like he's very happy with the attention,” Sofia pointed out.

“Of course, because he's as shy as a mouse and he doesn’t like being in the spotlight. I told you you'd like him if you gave him a chance, you thick-headed lass.”

That he was shy was quite obvious. Even from the start he had seemed surprised to see so many people there, and at that moment he was looking around for some kind of escape route. Sofia let out a quiet sigh. From her desk she grabbed the first thing she had at hand, which was her history notebook, and walked over to his desk. She had no qualms about pushing those girls out of the way, since they were not her friends, and one of them gave her a sour look that Sofia ignored. With a forceful blow, more to attract the attention of the little group than that of the boy, she dropped the notebook on the table.

“Here are the history notes you asked for the other day. Later, when the classes are over, I'll give you the rest, but you have to give them back to me before I need them which would be, well, I need history for Friday, biology for tomorrow and...” she told Dave, who looked at her as if she had grown a tail.

“Hey, wait a minute, you know him?” said Lola, ‘the snob’, who, as always, was dressed to the nines.

“Yes, we've been friends for a while. Do you mind giving us a moment alone? I have important things to tell him and I can't with you girls fluttering around here,” she said without making any effort to hide the dry tone of her voice, lifting her gaze until her eyes were fixed on those of the other girl.

“Pse!” Lola clicked her tongue and turned to her friends with a certain haughtiness, although in reality she was avoiding the intensity of Sofia's gaze, who was using all her body language to tell them to go away. “Let's go, girls. We'll have time at recess to talk to him.”

The little group said goodbye to the young man with some effusiveness, with one girl even brushing the skin of his hand in a gesture the boy clearly did not appreciate, and they left. Sofia kept her posture tense until she saw them sit back down at their desks, and only then did she allow herself to lower her shoulders and relax. As she turned to Dave she saw a small smile curving his lips. It was cute, that was Sofia's first thought, but it would be much cuter if he didn't hold it back as if he was afraid to smile openly, to be spontaneous.

“Thanks, they were stressing me out a lot.”

“You're welcome. They're a bunch of bimbos, but in a week they'll forget about you. They always do the same thing, they play with the new student until they get bored and then throw him away.”

“Did they do that to you too?”

“No, I made it very clear from the start that I wasn't looking for friends. That's why they can’t stand me and look at me like I'm a bug.”

“Oh...” The boy looked down at the notebook on the table, a notebook full of scribbles and with a horrible handwriting that hardly resembled the neat calligraphy that could be seen in his own.

“You can keep it to copy the notes from the days you weren't here. I'll give you the other ones later,” said Sofia, then bit her lip and looked away. “As for the other day, I'm sorry for the way I behaved. I'm not a monster, but I have a rather complicated past.”

Rosa, the biology teacher, entered the classroom and went to her usual seat causing a commotion of students running back to their desks. Upon seeing Sofia standing up and chatting with another student, something that was not at all usual for her, she smiled as if it was the best thing that had happened to her all day. Rosa’s attempts to save her made Sofia a little uncomfortable, not because she didn't appreciate it, which she did, but because she couldn't. She couldn't save her from her genetic inheritance, from her past as a huntress, nor from Angel's death. However, as she returned to her seat she couldn't help but smile back.

“I understand,” Dave said in a quiet whisper. “That you have a complicated past, I mean. I... we don't have to be friends if you don't want to, I'm not going to force you into anything, but I'd like to avoid putting Sara in an awkward situation, so we could at least try to get along. Do you agree?”

Sofia smiled.

“Yeah, it's fine with me.”

The young man smiled back, that restrained smile that wanted to be wider but he would not allow it. However, he did give in a little, just enough to give her a glimpse of the white teeth underneath. Again Sofia thought he had a very pretty smile, and again she thought it would be prettier if he didn't hold it back. Just like that, simply because she wanted to lend him a hand, she had managed to apologize to that cute boy who always smelled like forest and motorcycle gasoline.