Chapter Six:
I tried to apologize to that young man; I was extremely nervous as I said: "I… I'm really sorry."
He looked at me with stern eyes, then said in a sharp voice as he sighed: "This happens a lot."
Then he turned and left as if it meant nothing to him. I felt even more confused, so I hurried and grabbed his hand before he walked away and asked him: "What do you mean?"
But before he could answer, he suddenly disappeared before my eyes, and nothing remained in his place except thick gray smoke. I started coughing hard as I waved my hand in front of my face to push the smoke away. I looked right and left, but there was no trace of him; he completely vanished before my eyes.
I stood for a few moments trying to comprehend what had happened. Everything was stranger than I expected. Teleportation, disappearance, horns, food… this place does not resemble anything I have known in my life.
I sighed slowly and decided to go back to look for Maya. After a few minutes of wandering through the long corridors of the academy, I found her standing in one of the hallways, looking at her phone. I approached her, but as soon as she lifted her head and saw me, her face immediately changed. She looked extremely frightened, and her body began to tremble.
I stopped in front of her and said hesitantly: "Maya… I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I know I behaved badly."
But she looked at me with even more fear and said in a low voice: "This happens a lot."
I froze in my place the same sentence again.
I said anxiously: "What do you mean? Why does everyone say that?"
She tried to avoid it at first and turned her face away, but I held her arm slightly and said pleadingly: "Please, Maya, tell me."
She finally sighed and said: "Alright, Iris… you belong to the vampire clan. It's one of the strongest clans here, so it's easy for you to make those weaker than you your prey."
I was shocked. I quickly said: "But I really am not one of them!"
Maya suddenly laughed and said: "Iris, just a moment ago you were eating greedily as if you were ready to devour everyone."
I paused for a moment, then smiled lightly. It was good to see her return a little to her normal self after the fear that had appeared on her a few minutes earlier.
---
The rest of the school day passed relatively quietly.
Nothing worth mentioning happened, but my head was filled with thoughts and questions. When the classes ended, we left the academy and returned to the campus where the student residences are located.
But Maya's residence was far from mine, so we parted ways on the road. I walked alone until I reached the apartment. I opened the door and went in, but I immediately stopped.
Kevin was there… half-naked again.
I quickly closed my eyes and said while shouting: "Kevin, remember that you have a roommate."
He replied coldly without even looking at me: "Ah… sorry. But in the end, I'm the owner of this apartment."
I said impatiently: "But I'm your roommate too, so you need to show some respect."
He didn't respond; he just turned around, went into his room, and closed the door behind him.
I sighed as I muttered: "What a long night."
Despite the exhaustion I felt, the day wasn't entirely bad. But the idea that Kevin is the prince of demons was still spinning in my head. I felt as if I had moved into the world of a fantasy novel, not just an exchange between two worlds.
I quickly changed my clothes, then lay down on the couch and turned on the TV. I wanted to learn more about this world.
The channels were somewhat similar programs, news, and some advertisements. But what caught my attention was a news report talking about something called "the rebels."
I muttered: "What does rebels mean?"
Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me say: "Damn… I can't believe this has started again."
I turned around quickly; Kevin was standing behind me, looking at the TV.
I asked him: "What does this mean?"
He looked at me in surprise and said: "Do you really not know? You're kind of stupid."
I frowned and said: "Just tell me."
He sighed and said: "The rebels are a small group that does not believe in the unified system between the clans."
I said: "So they want to rebel against this system?"
He replied: "Exactly. And if things continue like this… we might go into another war."
I froze in place war? Even here there are wars?
I screamed inside: "Damn it… I want to go back to my world, I don't want to get into trouble!"
After several hours… I don't know exactly when, sleep overtook me while the TV was still on. I woke up the next morning to find myself still asleep on the couch.
I got up slowly. The room was quiet, and the TV was still on with the volume low.
I went to the kitchen and opened the cabinet, where I found some pieces of bread. I ate a little of it; I didn't have the courage to go out today after what happened yesterday.
I went back to the room and started putting on some of the clothes in the closet. They were a bit strange compared to my clothes in my world, but they were still beautiful. I stood in front of the mirror, looking at myself as I tried on these clothes, and suddenly… my reflection disappeared.
I froze in place, quickly turned around, and looked behind me… no one. I looked back at the mirror, and my reflection was gone. Then suddenly, the face of the girl who had swapped places with me appeared in the mirror.
I screamed: "You! Damn you! Please send me back to my world!"
She smiled calmly as she looked at me.
I felt irritated and said: "Is what I'm saying funny?!"
She opened her bag and took out a lipstick, then started writing on the mirror. The words appeared in front of me reversed, then settled by a mysterious force so I could read them.
She wrote: "Sorry. I can't hear you. And you can't hear me either. Writing is our only way to communicate."
I quickly searched for a pen until I finally found one. I wrote: "Please, send me back to my world."
She shook her head and wrote: "I can't, Iris. You have to get used to it."
Anger flared inside me, and I tried to break the mirror with my hand, but it didn't shatter.
She wrote again: "I'm sorry, Iris… but I needed your place. And if you want, I can tell you news about your family how they are and your friends."
I wrote angrily: "Damn you."
Suddenly, my reflection returned to the mirror, and she disappeared.
I fell to the ground as I began to recall some memories memories with my grandfather… and with Mark. My life there was calm and happy compared to what I am living now.
---
In the evening, when it was time to go to the academy, I quickly got dressed and went out, meeting Maya at the gate where she was waiting for me.
I ran toward her so we could enter the academy together.
Maya said to me: "Iris, can you accompany me to the bathroom? I want to fix my makeup."
I replied: "Of course."
We entered the bathroom… and what we saw made us stop in our tracks. Julia was on the ground, and a few girls were standing around her, harassing her.