Chapter 10: When did I change?
A day passed and Alexa was totally back to her normal life. The events that happened this weekend little by little became more distant from reality, as if everything was just a dream. Even so, news about the events still spread through the media.
When Alexa arrived at school, there was no other talk than the goddess who broke free from the crystal and wandered around the city dragging a high school student as hostage with her. And who was this student? Exactly. Upon entering the room, the eyes of all her classmates turned to Alexa and their hitherto anxious behavior became stares and mutters.
Upon noticing the sudden change in atmosphere, she slows down and walks suspiciously to her place, at the back of the classroom.
"What happened? Why is everyone acting this way?"
"Zzz..."
She looks to the side and sees Mark with his face buried in the table. She gets angry and kicks him in the shin.
"Ow! Why did you do that?"
"Idiot..."
Annoyed, she turns her face and rests her head on her hand. Mark remains lying on the table, this time awake.
"It looks like they saw you on TV. Congratulations, you're famous."
"Weird. Why make a case of it? It was no big deal."
"For you, maybe. But for them, the goddess is still a mysterious and frightening figure and you are someone who lives in trouble and nobody wants to get close. Imagine the sum of these two ludicrous entities."
She kicks him again, this time with more strength.
"Kh! Stop that!"
"Hmph..."
Alexa averts her gaze again. She didn't want to accept it, but it was true. Most of her classmates saw her as dangerous or even as a cause of misfortune and avoided approaching her because of that. Being the target of rumors only makes things worse.
To soften the situation a little, the teacher enters the room and the students go to their proper places.
"Looks like you're still excited about the trip, huh? Really, a lot of unexpected things happened in those two days, but I am happy that you are all well. Especially you, Alexa."
"...thank you."
Actually, Alexa hated the fact that the teacher addressed the word to her at that moment. Because of that, she became the focus of her classmates' crooked looks again. She didn't need that extra attention. She was only filmed walking around the city with the goddess, what was the big deal about that?
The next few minutes went a little awkwardly, but eventually the students forgot about it and the class proceeded normally until the break. The teacher left the room to put the students at ease with their lunches and Alexa was preparing to have another enjoyable meal with Mark - if it weren't for the circle of female students that had unexpectedly formed around her. They stared at her in an embarrassing way, foreseeing her from any comfort or privacy.
"What do you want?"
"U-Um..."
One of the girls in the middle of that little huddle of people decides to speak, still without looking at Alexa directly.
"Is it true that you were with the goddess?"
At this point, Alexa had lost all hope of enjoying her lunch quietly. Mark, who already felt claustrophobic just by looking, gets up and leaves the classroom as if to say "good luck", making her look angry.
"Yes. You saw it on TV, didn't you?"
"Amazing!"
Upon hearing her answer, students become suddenly excited and lose their fear of speaking a little.
"So, did she say anything? What did you do? Where did you go?"
"Shopping."
"Shopping?"
"What? She needs clothes, doesn't she?"
The students looked at each other.
"Does she? What's wrong with goddess clothes?"
"Dummy, times are different. She needs to get closer to people."
"Why? Isn't being a goddess enough?"
"It's not that simple, you know."
"But I saw her on TV! She was very beautiful!"
"Really! Was it you who choose them?"
The girls look at Alexa again, who had already lost the flow of the conversation.
"Y-Yes..."
"Really? You have good taste!"
"It really was a big surprise! How did you manage to be friends with the goddess?"
The girls get even closer to Alexa, leaving her scared.
"Well, we're not really friends, things kind of happened and..."
Even for Alexa who liked to talk a lot when she was excited, she wasn't used to this type of situation. It was uncomfortable to be trapped in this sudden interrogation, but at the same time she was somewhat happy to have people sharing her interests.
"So, did you do anything else?"
"Yeah, tell me more!"
At that point, any trace of nervousness that was previously present in those students was gone.
"We... ate crepe."
"Crepe?"
"Or rather, she ate crepe. I just watched."
Once again, the students looked at each other, confused.
"Weird."
"Do goddesses eat crepe?"
"Do goddesses eat anything at all?"
"Of course they do! She's a living being!"
"What do you think, that she does photosynthesis?"
Seeing the girls talking to each other makes Alexa gain a little confidence to participate in the discussion.
"In fact, she said she doesn't have to eat because it doesn't depend on a metabolism."
"Oooh!"
They all speak at the same time.
"That's cool!"
"So she is a self-sufficient being? I wonder how it works..."
"As expected of a goddess!"
"I'm so jealous! I also wanted to talk with the goddess. You're lucky, Alexa."
Alexa grins and scratches her cheek in embarrassment. She can't feel proud of it, after all, she has done nothing but follow in the footsteps of destiny.
"But why are you so interested in the goddess? Is she that amazing to you?"
"Of course! This is a unique event in history! It's as if a legend has come true!"
"Ah..."
Alexa feels a little discomfort. She had heard those words before. Who said them? Yes, it was herself, during the whole trip. So when did the amazing and interesting goddess become "not a big deal" for her? What has made her change since the encounter with the goddess?
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes. Sorry, I have to go the bathroom."
"Sure..."
Alexa gets up and flees from that place without even finishing her lunch. The break ended and the girls had no opportunity to end their chat. Alexa returned to the classroom lost in thought and was unable to pay attention to the rest of the class. The time to go home came quickly.
After walking with Mark to the entrance gate, they said goodbye, as usual.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yes."
This lazy response was an alarm for Mark to know that she wasn't well, even though he already had his suspicions.
"What is it? You're acting strange today."
Alexa turns her back on Mark. Although she liked to involve him in her problems, she already had done more than enough.
"Nothing. Don't worry. See you tomorrow."
She leaves Mark and walks back to her home. The day was getting late, but the sun was not ready to set yet. On the way, she passes by a small playground and decides to stop there to rest a little. She sits on one of the swings.
"What is she doing now? She didn't make the news anymore."
She looks up at the gray sky, as if searching for an answer in the clouds, and gravity pulls her body back, making her look upside down the other way. That's when she sees a glimpse of a well-dressed woman walking down the street.
"Wha--?!"
She gets out of balance and falls on the floor. Without time to feel pain, she gets up quickly and looks at the street, the woman was already gone. She runs to the street where she was, looks both ways but it's no use, there was no one there.
"Must be my imagination."
Disappointed, she returns to pick up her backpack that she left behind when she fell.
"What are you doing?"
"Waaaaahhh!!!"
The woman was behind her, holding her backpack. Alexa, of course, almost passed out from fright.
"What happened. Looks like you saw a ghost."
"Worse than that! What are you doing here, Caelia?!"
Alexa aggressively takes her backpack out of Caelia's hands.
"I followed you."
"Why? Didn't you say you didn't need my help?"
"Certainly."
"Then why are you here?"
"I wanted to know your city."
"Ha?!"
"You said it was peaceful, different from where I was... I thought it might be a good place to live."
"I see..."
Once again, Alexa felt a mixture of emotions. She didn't know what to expect from the days to come, but she knew that her turbulent life was far from over.
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