—Adrien? Hurry up ! You are going to be late !

His mother's voice came to him from downstairs. With a sigh, he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed down the stairs. A new day in hell was ahead. The only thing he didn't know was when he would cross the threshold.

After briefly greeting his mother, he hurried to reach the only bus stop in the village that his parents had chosen for their new departure. He sighed again. He missed the big city. It was going to be complicated to get around with such irregular public transportation, but in a few months, he would be able to get his license and buy a motorcycle or even, perhaps, a car... That is, if his parents let him TO DO. It was in his interest to behave exemplarily in order to make them forget, if possible, the events that led them to move.

He sat down on the log that served as a bench for some middle and high school students. As he approached, ten pairs of curious eyes focused on him. He grimaced when he realized it. Exactly what he feared! The flood of questions would not be long in coming. He was not disappointed!

- Hi ! Are you new? a nasal voice asked him.

- Yes…

- What's your name ?

—Adrien…

He didn't ask her her first name, hoping that the less talkative he was, the sooner she would stop being interested in him. That was not knowing Eris very well. The young girl persevered:

— Do you go to the nearby high school?

- Yes…

- In my last year ?

- Yes…

-- Which class ?

She was starting to get annoyed at not being able to get another word out of him. For his part, Adrien was finding it more and more difficult to tolerate this high-pitched and unpleasant voice.

“In TS 2,” he blurted, barely concealing his annoyance, which the young girl did not notice.

- Me too ! What a coincidence ! she exulted, clapping her hands. I'll show you everything, I'll be your personal guide! So, we'll probably start with the home...

She left in an endless babbling, of which Adrien only caught half, too busy cursing in his head... Well, it didn't take long before the doors of Tartarus opened to him. Suddenly, a shadow distracted him from his unpleasant thoughts. He looked up and saw a boy with an affable face offering him his hand before introducing himself.

— Hello, my name is Romain. I am also in TS2.

Her voice was deep and pleasant, a stark contrast to Eris's voice. Adrien in turn held out his hand.

“Adrien,” he replied more warmly than to his overly curious neighbor.

- Don't pay attention to Eris, Romain continued, she's a little extravagant, but you would do well not to encourage her. It can also become invasive.

He began to laugh at the furious look of his companion. A noise coming from the adjoining street indicated the imminent arrival of the school bus. Adrien got up to return to his seat. He had barely sat down, pretending not to see Eris who was beckoning him to join her, when he saw a dark blue figure running towards the bus. The driver saw her too and waited patiently for his last-minute passenger.

The young girl who entered immediately attracted Adrien's attention. Without a doubt, the redness on her cheeks was due to the run she had just done, because her skin was otherwise extremely pale. Her almond-shaped hazel eyes were looking for a place to settle. The bus was full now. Romain, mockingly, sat down next to Eris, who looked exasperated. He had obviously done it on purpose. The newcomer therefore had no choice but to settle down next to Adrien.

She didn't look at him, while he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her long, brown hair waved over her denim jacket, framing a face dotted with freckles. There was something about her that didn't leave Adrien indifferent. She wasn't one of those girls who make boys turn around, but there was an aura of mystery emanating from her, which attracted him like a magnet. He even seemed to feel a small electric shock when she brushed against him to attach herself.

Not for a moment did she turn towards him during the ten minutes of the journey, trying to catch her breath, and it was without a word that she slipped out of the bus when it reached the high school.

***

It wasn't as bad as Adrien had imagined... The industrial-style building stood before him. The courtyard full of students reassured him, he could easily blend in with the crowd. Absorbed in his thoughts, he did not see Eris take him by the arm to lead him to the administrative building.

The interview with the principal was brief. His record was unblemished from an academic point of view and the problems encountered in middle school had been erased during his time in high school. The stern-looking man simply reminded Adrien of the important outcome of the year and that his office was always open in case of a problem. The young man nodded and murmured "Thank you" before a supervisor accompanied him to his class. He stopped in front of a room on the first floor of the main building and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” ordered a clear voice.

— Ms. Remy, here is the new student.

- Oh yes ! Please Adrien, sit there. I'll give the exercises to the others and I'll take care of you, she told him, pointing to a chair in the third row near the window.

Adrien slipped between the rows of tables to reach his own. He paid little attention to the lesson. He knew most of the program... Yes, he was a "little math genius" as his former teacher had called him, but he would be careful not to say it, hoping to go unnoticed for as long as possible.

As he put his things away, a cascade of brown curls passed in front of him. The girl from the bus was in his class too. This would make classes a lot less boring. Once again she walked away without a glance for him, her shoulder bag tapping on her thighs. He found himself looking at her figure in detail: she was slender and graceful. She almost seemed to be dancing as she dodged her comrades, avoiding the slightest contact.

- SO ? Are you planning to sleep here? someone sneered.

Adrien raised his head emerging from his dreams. Romain stood in front of him.

— No, I was wondering what class we had now.

— Natural Science.

—Argh!

—Aren't you a fan? Romain laughed.

— Not really! Adrien replied, smiling.

— Don't worry! Ms. Roussel is a cool teacher. She always manages to find a way to make the class interesting. There, we work on the nervous system. We hit our Achilles tendon for half an hour last week...

- Ah good ? For what ? Adrien replied, curious.

It was easy to chat with Romain. He lived in the present, without bothering with the usual questions reserved for newbies. Adrien appreciated the young man more and more. The trouble was, he wasn't the only one. Obviously very popular, especially with the fairer sex, several people joined them before arriving at the science rooms.

The day went less badly than Adrien had imagined in the morning. The courses were mostly interesting, even the SVT! Who would've believed that ! His teacher had managed to attract his attention by talking about different experiments, telling them how they happened like a story, putting himself in the shoes of the scientists. He found it interesting to know how ideas could have emerged even though the technological advancement of the time did not allow their veracity to be proven.

Adrien slipped away during the morning break to look, he said, for textbooks at the library. He hid there for a quarter of an hour, before joining the next class. Slipping away at lunch was more complicated. The whole class wanted to ask him questions and as there was constant hubbub, he had to repeat the same answer several times. So he was relieved when the time to return to the classrooms arrived.

Eris had not left Adrien's side all day, having imposed herself as his personal guide, much to the dismay of Adrien himself. The young girl's elf-like appearance and her permanent smile could have made her sympathetic, if behind the affability Adrien had not detected a certain self-importance and malevolence in her words. He hadn't appreciated Eris's sharp remarks when he asked for the name of the mysterious girl on the bus.

- Oh, her!... Eris spat, it's Eowyn, an antisocial person! She doesn't mingle with anyone, always surrounded by her damn books that are older than my great-grandmother! Don't worry about her, she's not worth it!

Adrien was careful not to tell him that, on the contrary, his remarks had aroused his curiosity. So, she too was a great reader! Adrien wondered if they shared a taste for the same authors. It would be a good way to open a dialogue with her. He tried several times to meet her gaze, but she didn't seem to see him, or she was running away from him... Frightened perhaps by the number of students surrounding Adrien. Unless it was him she was running from. Adrien had not failed to notice similarities between his attitude and that of his former college friends after the incident. She acted as if he didn't exist.

— No, it's impossible, Adrien repeated to himself, why would she run away from me? She has no reason, she doesn't know me. She doesn't know that I'm dangerous... Or maybe she suspects it... Maybe I'm indifferent to her, it wouldn't be the first time that someone ignored me on purpose.

Everything about her attitude should have repulsed Adrien, but he couldn't get her out of his head. His fine and delicate features, his hands with long blue-varnished fingers, his hair falling softly in the middle of his back... It is thoughtful that he goes to his room that evening, thinking of the way to attract the eye of Eowyn. Finally, Tartare looked like the Champs-Elysees...