The morning light filtered through the curtains and caressed Maria's face. Her long eyelashes trembled and, slowly, she opened her eyes.
But the consciousness that woke up in that body was not Maria's.
It was Airam.
She felt the temperature of "her" body, the vivid sensation of blood rushing through the veins, the dull force of every heartbeat.
The corner of her lips curved into a satisfied smile.
She stepped out of bed, feeling the cold wood under her bare feet, and walked directly to the sink.
In the mirror, a pale face, paralyzed by terror and despair, stared back.
It was the real Maria, trapped.
"Good morning, little sister." Airam pressed a finger onto the cold surface of the mirror, tracing the reflection's cheek, "From today on, I'm taking charge. I'm going to enjoy everything that you never even dared to dream of."
The Maria in the mirror shook her head desperately, her lips moving rapidly, forming words that had no sound. Mute tears slid down her face.
"Don't cry, you should be happy." Airam's smile widened, "I'll make everyone who made your life hell regret it. You just stay there and watch."
After saying this, she ignored the desperate soul in the mirror. She turned around and opened the closet.
But upon doing so, she snorted with disdain. Pure bland, loose, and conservative dresses. She started pushing them aside abruptly, tossing some onto the floor, until she found what she was looking for: a tight black shirt and ripped jeans at the knees.
She got dressed. The fabric clung to a slender figure that Maria's baggy clothes had always hidden.
...
At the dining table, Dan, her father, swept her with a critical gaze, as usual, but this time he frowned about something different.
"Maria, may I ask what you are wearing?" his voice was harsh, "It is completely inappropriate. And your hair, it's a mess. You're not going anywhere like that."
If it had been the old Maria, she would have already lowered her head, apologizing without daring to talk back.
But today, Airam looked up from her coffee. She held Dan's gaze, letting a slight smile appear on her lips.
"Good morning to you too, Dad."
"I like it. And I think that's what matters, isn't it?"
"..."
Dan was speechless for a second, choked by the unexpected retort. His expression soured. Beside him, Amy opened her mouth in surprise, unable to believe what she had just heard.
Airam, as if nothing, picked up a slice of toast and calmly took a bite. Dan finally let out a huff and hid behind the newspaper.
The atmosphere at the table became tense and silent.
...
Upon arriving at school, the hallway murmur followed her as always. Whispers and sideways glances. But Airam ignored them. She walked with her head held high, and the clatter of her ankle boots strongly echoed against the floor, setting a rhythm full of a confidence no one knew she possessed.
"Unbelievable... The scared little mouse dares to raise its head today?" A mocking loud voice boomed in front of her.
It was Mark, a beefy football player who particularly enjoyed tormenting Maria. He and his two shadows planted themselves in front of Airam, blocking her path with condescending smiles.
Airam stopped and simply looked at him without a hint of fear.
Mark, interpreting her silence as the usual fear, let out a chuckle.
"Ooh, what's wrong, cat got your tongue?" He extended a heavy arm to shove her shoulder, a habitual gesture.
!
But before his hand could graze her, Airam moved quickly. Her hand closing like a vise on Mark's wrist.
He felt an electric pinch, followed by a sharp pain that shot up his arm and made him scream.
"FUCK, AHHH!" The scream surprised even Mark himself.
Airam didn't even flinch. With a simple twist of her wrist, she forced the guy, who was two heads taller than her, to his knees in pain.
As he knelt, she leaned over him, bringing her lips close to the trembling bully's ear, and whispered with a chilling voice that contrasted with her warm breath:
"I hate being touched. Try it again and I'll break it. Understood?"
The voice was soft but laden with a coldness that paralyzed.
Sweat beaded on Mark's forehead. He saw her gaze. It didn't look like Maria... Maria's eyes were always afraid, these eyes... these eyes were evaluating him as if he were an insect.
"Y-You..." he managed to gasp, "You're not Maria. Who... Who the hell are you?"
Airam released him, pushing his wrist away in disgust. She stood up and looked down at him.
"I'm a warning. Stay away from me."
She dusted off her sleeve, a casual gesture, and without looking back at Mark, who was still on the floor massaging his wrist, or his two friends, who were petrified, she walked between them and continued on her way.
The entire hallway was in sepulchral silence. Everyone had seen the scene.
The Maria everyone knew, the one who ducked her head and ran away, had just dismantled the biggest bully in the school.
And she had done it without blinking.
With her objective perfectly clear, Airam cut through the crowd until she stopped in front of Leif's locker.
He was, as usual, in the center of a group of admirers, a popularity that had exploded since the incident where he stopped the ghost-faced killer, making him the most prominent figure in the school.
The typical enthusiastic questions could be heard: "Leif, that was incredible! Is it true you took him down all by yourself?"
Leif was handling the outpouring around him with a calm, patient smile, when he felt the crowd instinctively part to let someone pass.
Through the newly formed path, a figure was advancing unhurriedly toward him, and Leif felt a pang of surprise as he recognized her: it was Maria...
Or, at least, a version of her that looked nothing like the one he remembered. The shy, scared figure who always fled from glances had vanished, replaced by a woman with an evident, almost aggressive confidence in her posture.
The tight clothes she wore perfectly outlined her curves, projecting a charm as wild as it was dangerous.
Leif raised an eyebrow, visibly intrigued, "Maria? Wow... you look different."
Airam completely ignored the scrutinizing glances and the murmuring that rose as she passed, stopping only when she was so close to Leif that they could almost feel each other's breath.
Then, she lifted her chin, meeting his gaze without blinking. Her full lips parted and her voice resonated.
"Leif Connor."
She paused deliberately, savoring how all conversations had stopped because of her, and then dropped the bomb.
"This weekend, you and I are going on a date."
!!!
The silence that fell upon the hallway was instant and heavy, deeper than before. Everyone present looked at "Maria" as if she had grown a second head, only to frantically turn toward Leif, waiting to see his reaction.
"..."
Leif observed her carefully, studying that face that was both familiar and completely unknown to him.
His mind couldn't help but compare her to the girl he remembered, that Maria who would blush and stammer just from crossing glances with him.
The contrast was so disconcerting that it made him feel strange, but it also awakened a deep and novel curiosity in him.
Finally, the corner of his lips curved into a playful smile. He leaned toward her, lowering his voice so only she could hear him.
"A date..." he repeated, "I accept. But I have to ask, what is the reason for this very... unique change?"
"My reasons don't matter." Airam replied, and a seductive flash shone in her eyes, "Saturday. Ten in the morning, at the entrance of the town cinema. Don't be late."
And without adding anything else or waiting for confirmation, she turned elegantly and walked away, leaving behind a trail of confusion and a resolute figure receding down the hallway.
"..."
Leif watched her silhouette disappear into the crowd, thoughtfully scratching his chin as the smile on his face grew even more pronounced.
"How bold…"
________
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