"Make yourselves comfortable, girls—you arrived just in time…"
William said it in an almost festive tone.
"Lía… Cinthia… what are you doing here?" Roy added, confused.
Lía answered with irritation:
"Cinthia went crazy and came here. Besides… no way we'd sit next to the plague."Her gaze fell on Rudy and Gary.
Gary felt the weight of the remark on his shoulder; he let out a small tch and looked away.
Rudy didn't even react, as if nothing could reach him.
"Let's go, Cinthia…"
"No. You go ahead if you want."
"Huh?"
"I'm sure he knows something… about Oliver."
Lía held her breath, then released it in a resigned, frustrated sigh.
"Fiiine…" she said, dropping onto another sofa at the opposite end of the room.
"You're very tense, Cinthia. Take a seat next to your friend," William offered.
She accepted, though she never took her eyes off him. As she walked toward the sofa, she followed him with silent vigilance. Total distrust.
"What are you trying to do with all this?" Roy snapped, out of patience.
"I already told you. I came to help all of you as the new president…" He raised his hands as if weighing an obvious truth, always smiling.
"I am the president."
"Are you sure?"He snapped his fingers. The lights came on instantly.
Roy's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How…? Why…?"
"Someone had to lighten your load, didn't they?" William replied.
Lía protested immediately.
"Impossible. Only Roy can do that!" Her gaze sharpened as it turned to William. "Who are you?"
"William Bianca," he said, idly playing with his fingers.
"That's not what I meant!"
"Calm down, Lía," Roy tried.
But she continued.
"And why aren't you doing anything? Look at him!" She stepped in front of Roy, forcing him to look. "He's just sitting there… mocking us!"
Roy looked back at William—that detached, almost trivial figure. The trembling returned. A nameless fear.
"I—I…"
He couldn't go on. Rage piled up inside him, aimed both at himself and at the intruder. He hated his own immobility. But he hated even more that he didn't understand it.
William suddenly raised his voice.
"Roy, did they really put you in charge of this school?"
"They did… and I must obey that order. It's my duty."
"Who gave you that order? Do you remember?"
Roy didn't answer. His saliva stuck in his throat.
William continued, addressing everyone.
"Do you remember anything besides your duty? Any parent? Any farewell? Do you know how to do anything other than attend and receive those disgusting visitors?"
His tone turned mocking.
"You never asked yourself, did you?"
Lía clenched her dress.
"We attend because we have to take the exile exam. To go to Maxura," she added, with a bitterness that seemed to come from far away.
William fixed his eyes on her and let out a brief laugh.
"You… are lying."
Lía ground her teeth; he repulsed her.
But Cinthia stepped forward.
"I don't understand what you want… but I do remember many things. Even my father…"
"And that is exactly what I'm looking for… inconsistencies… eyes like yours…"
"What are you talking about?"
William stood up.
"I didn't come here to play the evil tyrant…" He stretched, hands folded behind his head like a pillow. "Besides, these positions only end up stressing me out."
Roy never took his eyes off him.
"Then what do you want?"
"As you know, the border opened a few months ago. The fence that kept us separated from the other side."
"Yes… now any of those savages can cross," Lía muttered, her irritation chilling the air.
Gary frowned.
"So what's your problem?"
"If they come from over there…" Lía continued, "I wonder how the hell they managed to infest this place."
"I never wanted to come here!"
William stepped in without visible tension, even letting out a brief, almost warm laugh.
"Relax. Everyone is free to think whatever they want."
"What are you getting at?" Roy asked.
William exhaled deeply, as if he had been carrying those words for a long time.
"Just like with Gary and Rudy, the administration decided to take in more kids from the other side. A bit of altruism… you know how it is."
Lía tilted her head toward Cinthia, lips tight.
"I don't like what I'm hearing."
"My role is to integrate them, manage them… and, when necessary, correct anomalies. Since there are students from Nigella who stopped coming. They stayed locked at home for some reason."
"Integrate?" Roy repeated.
"That job is yours."His smile finally appeared, perfectly formed—uncomfortably so.
The silence grew thick, as if the room had lost oxygen.
"The new council will be in charge of investigating and approving those children who 'deserve another chance'… and of finding those who go missing. Helping them, if possible."
Lía stood abruptly and headed for the door, fed up.
"Let's go, Cinthia."
She looked back. Cinthia hadn't moved. She remained fixed on William, as if he had said something only she could hear.
"Cinthia… didn't you hear me? Let's. Go."
She didn't respond.
William continued, without changing pace.
"You're not obligated to anything. If you want to leave, you can."
Cinthia spoke then, without taking her eyes off him.
"I didn't come for the council. I just want to ask you something."
"Then ask," he said calmly.
"You know something, don't you? About Oliver's disappearance."
"You're wasting your time, Cinthia… let's go," Lía interrupted.
William took a moment before answering. He observed her with a sincere glint.
"Oliver? No. I don't know anything about that."
Cinthia sharpened her gaze; something in it forced him to continue.
"But if you join the council, you could cross to the other side. You might find answers there. Was he that important to you?"
"Well…" Her words seemed to tremble. "It bothers me that I was the only one who saw him disappear. No one believes me. No one believes he existed. I need to prove it. It feels unfair that you're forgotten like nothing. What if there are more victims like him?"
"Enough, Cinthia," Lía said.
"I believe you," William interrupted. "If you have any problem, we're going to help you."
His expression held that unsettling duality: kind on the surface, opaque beneath. And in front of him, Cinthia seemed torn between relief and something she still didn't fully trust.
"That's enough…" Lía grabbed her by the wrist, trying to drag her along. It was useless; Cinthia had already pulled free, almost roughly.
Something cracked inside Lía, like barely supported glass finally giving way.
"I told you to go ahead… I need to stay…" Cinthia murmured, with a shame she couldn't hide.
She didn't even look back at her. Lía couldn't name the bitter taste rising in her throat; she only felt the urge to slam the door as she left.
Roy said her name, as if to stop her, but he didn't move. Lía had already vanished down the hall.
"So dramatic…" William sighed, lazily sympathetic.
"Cinthia… you'd never fought with Lía before… you should've gone with her…" Roy said, worry visible in his eyes.
She didn't answer. She didn't even look at him. She seemed like a child avoiding an inevitable scolding.
"I'll talk to her later…" she whispered, barely articulating, her tone still faintly childish.
Gary and Rudy watched her with curiosity—though in Rudy there was something closer to anticipation.
Cinthia noticed and looked away at once, with an almost disdainful gesture.
And for the first time, a smile escaped Rudy. It was nearly invisible.
"Well then… I suppose we can consider the council members settled," William said, in that light tone that always clashed with the atmosphere.
"I still haven't agreed to anything…" Roy murmured, his voice deeper than usual.
"No need. If you want to oppose me, come closer… and take me out of this chair."
That mocking grin burned in Roy's blood. Of course he would pull him out. Of course he would, even if violence was forbidden, even if guilt devoured him afterward. A blind impulse pushed him forward.
But something—faster than intent, deeper than anger—stopped him. That fear he couldn't explain, like an invisible cord tightening around his chest. Those orange eyes unsettled him. There was something undignified in admitting it, but he felt it: far from William, he was safe. Close to him, something inside him trembled.
"I hope you understand, Roy… it's not something I want. Let go of that intention and you won't feel that anymore," William said, with unsettling softness.
The group didn't understand the silence that wrapped around them, nor the weight of those words. They only caught a flash of terror in Roy's eyes.
"It won't be very different, Roy… You're still a better leader than I am. You'll lead as always. I promise."
Roy listened with his gaze lowered, as if trying to hold together a borrowed composure.
William took control of the moment.
"In short: you just have to locate certain people for me… and convince them to come."
Gary dropped his hands behind his head, annoyed.
"More work? Again?"
"No, no… that's all. I'll handle the administrative side… I'll take that burden off you."
"Lía told me that place is dangerous…" Cinthia added.
"There are one or two risks."
"Then…"
"…It won't be a problem if someone experienced with those places goes along, right?" he interrupted. "That's why we'll divide into pairs… each one with someone from the other side."
Gary protested immediately.
"What? Why do I have to separate from my brother?" He threw an arm over Rudy's shoulder; Rudy pushed it away at once. "Are you okay with this, Rudy?"
Rudy answered without hesitation.
"Yes… I'm fine with it. I'll go with Cinthia."
Silence spread. Cinthia looked at him with an expression difficult to decipher.
"So fast?" Gary complained.
"Perfect. Then let's continue with the details," William said cheerfully.
As William went on with administrative matters, Rudy never took his eyes off Cinthia. She still held that glint of disdain—not as sharp as Lía's, but sharp enough to mark distance. She looked away again, a gesture meant to wound without admitting it.
Rudy smiled anyway.