On Monday morning Flavia didn't stay in bed to rest. The day before she had suggested to Gianluca that they meet her at the school assembly and the invitation had been met, of course, with extraordinary enthusiasm.

As they wandered in and out of the school, enjoying the morning between the assembly and the grounds near the high school, Flavia monopolized the conversation.

«Can you believe it?» she said through clenched teeth, after telling him what had happened to her. «And then on Sunday I couldn't stop thinking about it!»

«Have you told Michela?» Gianluca asked. He was sitting on a step in the courtyard of the school building and listened patiently to Flavia as she paced back and forth like a hungry shark.

«Are you crazy? She wouldn't forgive herself, poor thing.»

«Poor her? What about you? Are you okay?»

«Of course not!» Flavia thundered, raising her voice.

«It's normal that you're still scared...»

«I wish I could punch them, those pigs!»

Gianluca widened his eyes. «What?»

«Could I have them in front of me again... ah!»

Flavia waved her fists, passing a few millimeters from Gianluca's nose who, for good measure, dodged backwards arching his back.

«Come on, calm down. Forget about them» he tried to reassure her as he stood up. He smiled at her and put his hands on her shoulders. «If there's anything I can do...»

Flavia relaxed feeling the presence of her friend. She realized that her previous life would have been better if she had had someone like him around. There had been Aziz in the final stretch of Flavio's life, but it wasn't the same as a classmate whom she saw every day.

«I would feel better if you could come with me on Saturday night. Maybe swapping with Michela, I don't want to burden you.»

«Don't worry, it's not a burden.»

Flavia looked Gianluca in the eyes with deep gratitude, which she would have liked to express from man to man. Or, at least, from lanky guy to fifteen-year-old boy.

«I'm glad I met you» she confessed. «You're a special guy, really.»

Gianluca tightened the embrace he had taken her in, and before Flavia could anticipate what was happening, he brought his face close to hers and started kissing her on the lips.

«You silly ass!» Flavia snarled, giving him a powerful shove to get him off her.

«What? What's wrong?» Gianluca squeaked. He was disoriented, and a sense of panic started draining the color from his face. «Why? We had fun, we're good together, we're alone, it's quiet... why not?»

«Because... because...» Flavia stuttered, unsure of how to get out of it. «Because I like girls, you idiot!»

Gianluca's eyes widened, and he looked at Flavia's equally shocked face as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

«Oh God,» he said. «I'm sorry, it seemed like... I never imagined...»

«Why me?» she exclaimed, exasperated. «This school is full of estrogen dispensers, for heaven's sake!»

«I'm sorry, I had no idea! How could I have imagined? It would never have crossed my mind...»

«Forget it, I don't even want to think about what you had in mind,» she said, wrinkling her nose.

From Gianluca's desolate expression, Flavia could tell that he was experiencing a taste of how far removed he was from begin able to understanding the mess he had ventured into. «I ruined our friendship, didn't I?»

Flavia chuckled upon seeing him beaten like this. In truth, she should have expected it. Gianluca had done nothing but take the risk of doing what she herself, when she was Flavio, wished he had the courage to do with Claudia. She realized that perhaps poor Gianluca was now experiencing the same nightmare that had once held him back with the girl whose body he now occupied.

«Don't talk nonsense, that's stuff from a cheesy romance. Everything is fine,» she smiled, softening her gaze and giving him a pat on the shoulder. A rather energetic pat, coming from a young girl.

Yes, a young girl: the assault had made her experience the immense frustration of being physically weaker than her attackers. Much, much weaker.

Even as an adult male, he had never been a Samson, but being over a foot shorter and having muscles lightened by a lack of testosterone weighed heavily on her.

Especially on her pride.

She needed to have Michela and Gianluca by her side to hold her hand and prevent her from getting a boo-boo. It wasn't like her, who, as an orphan boy, had grown accustomed to independence. Managing things on her own was something she couldn't do without.

There had been a reason why Claudia had become an expert in martial arts and had learned to defend herself better than Flavio had ever known how to.

If, as a woman, she was disadvantaged by physical weakness, as a man she had felt no less disadvantaged by limited mental strength. To get results, as a girl, she had to put more effort into things, and she was convinced that greater motivation, greater willpower, were virtues of necessity for most women.

As a boy he had to manage to do things according to reason and not according to volitional impulse, he had to get by without a "female intuition" that he was now discovering and developing little by little. Unfortunately, the biggest handicap in her life as a man had been his profound social and emotional ineptitude, and now, as Flavia, she had discovered empathy and social skills.

She summed it up. Although as a woman she had noticed that she had a much higher threshold of physical pain, and a uterus that forged mirror neurons capable of almost extrasensory powers, she had to work hard to develop muscle strength and not neglect to train her reasoning so that she could tame the powers of her uterus, as vigorous as they were rebellious, and with which she found herself forced to take the first steps.

It was her mind the only tool she had at her disposal to strengthen her weaknesses as a man in a woman's body. Discipline and strength, that's what she had to cultivate. Since school and books no longer required her time, she thought it was an excellent opportunity to dedicate herself to something else.

«Dad, I need martial arts lessons» he confided to Fabrizio, during dinner time.

«I think it's a great idea.»

«Really?»

«Just today I was chatting with a customer, he told me about his daughter. Despite having a very intense academic career, she takes karate lessons nearby.»

«Really?» he repeated, enthusiastic.

«Yes, if you want, I can talk to him,» Fabrizio suggested. «If you were with that girl I would feel more at ease.»

Flavia had to make an effort to avoid asking again "really?" and tried to cage her surprise for the coincidence behind the teeth of her smile.