The Seventh Deadly Sin

Part Two: Strange Accounts

"THERE'S SLIGHT CHANCES, THAT YOU MIGHT BE SOMETHING, THAT YOU DIDN'T EXPECT YOU ARE."

- ALFRED KNITZ

I DIDN'T DARE PROLONG the eye contact, pretending to ignore their dangerous red gleaming eyes. Taking all the books and scrambled my way to my next class. I used my long, straight hair to cover my frightened face, pushing the anxieties away. I'm already afraid of Mother's eyes itself, I thought. And this is something beyond the things I'm scared of.

After calming my chest, I arrived at my math class two and a half minutes late. But to my surprise, there are only eight students. And there's no teacher yet. None of the eight acknowledged my presence, preoccupied with their own activities, which is foreign and odd by my ethical standards.

The tables were long and meant to be shared by two people, fixed neatly in two rows, with six tables and two chairs in each column. So I didn't choose thoroughly where I'd be sitting. Since I'll be having a seatmate, no matter where I settled— I ended up at the corner right on the front row, putting the books in front of me.

Still, no one dared to start a conversation. And I felt a bit depressed, feeling unwelcomed by my first class. But I choose to be patient, encouraging myself that I might be open and be acquainted with myself someday. To spare time, I've decided to look around my surroundings, familiarizing myself with the new faces.

I've already expected that they have dark red eyes. And it gleamed depending on their traits and personalities. Some of them have blonde hair but darker ones, unlike my own, which is lighter and livelier; the others are red, brown, raven, and ginger. It's hard to know their qualities. But I've observed that all of them seem liberated. And wild kids who have an odd and mischievous aura surrounding them. Like mother, I thought. And I suddenly felt outcast.

The front door opened. But I decided not to spare a glance, focusing my attention on the book atop my table. I was completely fine on my chair till someone sat beside me.

My nervousness overtook me, and I began to hyperventilate. A rich perfume fanned across my breathing air. But the guy who had sat beside me put his arms on top of our table and slept.

I look beside me hesitantly, astonished by the guy's action —I didn't know we were permitted to sleep during class hours. I examined the guy curiously; his soft raven hair flowed smoothly over his forehead, and he had long, thick eyelashes, but I didn't know if his eyes were red like the others. The teacher came in after that, surprising me more when he seemed nonchalant, even though one of his students was sleeping.

WHEN OUR RECESS started, Alexis, Emily, and Esmeralda invited me to join their table. And it's the only time that I felt welcomed. I'm glad that not all of the Mastema students treat me as invisible and non-existent. I also discovered that our school was a full day shift, which reminds me that I still have seven hours to go before I go home. That's why some students prefer to live in dorms and only return home on weekends.

"So, how's your first day here in Mastema?" Emily asked, half-focusing between me and her meal.

"Fair enough," I said honestly, "though I'm still hoping that it'll change after sooner or later,"

"You're from foster care, right? Tell me about nuns." Alexis said with a bit of stone in her voice. I ignored the slight feeling of uneasiness the way she said 'foster care' and flashed a faint smile instead.

"They were kind. They treated us, foster children as if we were theirs and taught us about god and his begotten son, Jesus Christ."

She nods, suddenly becoming uninterested in the topic. I bit my lip, wondering if my personality doesn't suit their environment. And surprisingly, it was.