The infirmary corridor is filled with people. I walk through the crowd.

A blond girl waves to me. "See you on Saturday."

Who is this girl? Where have I seen her before?
When in doubt, it's best to say hello.
I give a wry smile and raise my hand with some uncertainty. I don't even know if she noticed it, but I think that half-smile saw it.

I keep walking and pass between two boys. One has curly black hair and looks at me as if he wants to say hello. His body is projected toward me. I think he wants to come and talk.
The other, with blond hair, smiles.
Neither of them approaches. Just as well.
I pass them, I didn't even get a good look at their faces anyway. I have already forgotten what they looked like.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that other people are staring at me.
Or at least it seems to me. I want to figure it out without being noticed, but I see them shaded and I should turn around to focus on them better.
Maybe they are looking at me because of the cigarette thing in the bathroom.

I feel a little embarrassed.
I don't like being the center of attention so much.
I walk a little with my head down and pretend I don't care.

In front of me, I recognize Jasmine and Nicole: they smile as if they have seen an angel.

"Hi." Nicole enthusiastically swings her bracelets toward me.

I stop. "Hi, girls."

"Hi." Jasmine gives me a quick hug. "Is there a friend of yours in the nurse's office?"

"Yes, Karol."

"What happened to her? Rumor has it that she broke her arm."

Is the bullshit faster than light in this school?

"Maybe she broke her finger."

Jasmine shakes her head. "Ah, okay! Chloe's news is always wrong. She wouldn't say one right!"

"Who is Chloe?"

"You'll meet her at the party. Anyway, I don't know if it bothers you, but we've been telling around the cigarette story."

No kidding!

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes, but we talked about it well. You've become a champion of justice."

Of course. I'm Walkgirl!

"In fact, I've noticed people are kind of staring at me." I look around and two girls gasp. "I've become a celebrity now." I sketch a smile.

Nicole strokes her hair. "You don't have to thank us."

I don't think I would have!

Jasmine looks around. "You'll soon get used to it. By now, we don't pay attention."

Actually, I don't remember ever seeing them more than a couple of times, so they didn't have to endure my gaze.

"My friend is inside, I should go-"

"Hi, I'm David?"
Where have I heard that name before?

I turn toward the voice and a tall guy with brown eyes and wavy brown hair is standing in front of me. He holds out his hand to introduce himself.

I hold out mine. "Nice to meet you. I'm Martha."

I look at the two girls, and Jasmine has her arms folded. Her eyes are half-closed. "David, don't disturb my friend Martha!"

If she had the power to shoot laser beams from her eyes, she would have already charred him.

"I'm not disturbing anyone. I simply introduced myself."

"There are hundreds of girls around here. You really need to be where we are."

"I stay where I like."

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Yes, math is about to start." He turns to me. "It was nice to meet you, Martha."

"The pleasure is mine."

"I hope to meet you at the Kickoff Party. Will you be there?"

Jasmine blurts out. "Of course you will meet her, I invited her too."

"Okay, but don't get hot! It was just a question!"

"Are you still here! Come on, off you go!"

I crack a smile. What could this David have ever done to her?

Here, where I heard this name: it's the name Jasmine said in the bathroom. If I'm not mistaken, she wanted to make him pay for something... Inviting Paul...

"Forget about that guy. He's just an unscrupulous Latin lover!" She comes close to my ear as if to tell me a secret. "Rumor has it he got a senior girl pregnant."

"Wow. How did you know that?"

"Chloe told me."

Isn't Chloe that unreliable girl who doesn't tell the right news?

Nicole activates her bracelets, bringing her hand sideways to her mouth. "No one knows who she is, but this girl had to drop out of school... Some say she even abandoned the town."

I don't know if this news is true.
"I'm sorry. And for what reason?"

Jasmine continues the talk, whispering. "Rumor has it that he didn't want to acknowledge the child."

"She did not terminate the pregnancy?"

"The mother is very religious and, out of shame, she wanted to change cities."

She has the answer to everything. I think this Chloe is a real professional.

"I find this story strange."

"Shhh! Keep your voice down." Jasmine scolds me with a sigh.

I continue in a low voice. "It seems a strange story to me in the twenty-first century. If she didn't want an abortion, she could have kept it.... Without running away to another city."

"The mother didn't want the neighbors to see that her daughter was a single mother."

"Bigot."
It came out spontaneously, but this girl won't even exist anyway. Why am I worrying about it?

"Anyway, be careful of him!"

"Maybe you could have not invited him to the party."

"I have to. I want to make him suffer." She shrugs. "You know by now anyway, you heard everything in the bathroom."

"I didn't want to listen-"

"That's okay. You saved us from certain suspension." She looks at her friend and bursts out laughing. "The principal has already pardoned us once."

"Were you smoking?"

"Yes, but weed!"

"And he didn't suspend you?"

"A mess happened: they wanted to call our parents. But in the end we cried, he went soft and confiscated our sunglasses for a month."

"Wow. You were lucky."

Nicole looks at me dumbfounded. "Are you kidding? It was the middle of summer. We had to buy them back."

I think of my seized Walkman: it would be useless to buy it back.

"I'm sorry."

The door to the infirmary opens. Out comes Miriam and, soon after, Karol with a conspicuous bandage on wrist and fingers.

I run toward them. "Karol, how are you?"

Her eyes are red: I think she cried. "I'm fine. I have to go to the hospital to get an X-ray. My finger should be broken."

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

The nurse interrupts us. "Come on, come on! We have to go to the hospital. Talk later."

I rest my hand on her shoulder. "See you later."

"See you later. We have to run."

Miriam and Karol leave escorted by the nurse through the curious crowd.

I'll wait. I wanted to fill them in on the talk I had with Paul, about going to the party, about the Latin lover boy who got Jasmine all riled up.... But I'll have to wait... I'll wait for the x-ray.
Get well, my friend!