After that brief but intense exchange of evil words and murderous looks the door of the classroom had opened very slowly, revealing the figure of a tall man with a sweet and sharp eyes at the same time. He looked at every single girl with attention, immediately noticing a detail not at all appreciated "you are placed at opposite sides depending on the race you belong to and this is not good at all"

"I told them to sit scattered, but they didn't want to listen to me" Momo had just taken the last bite of her bloody donut, under the still horrified gaze of the other girls.

"Thank you for your cooperation" he gave her a kind smile, before returning serious "considering your desire to collaborate, I would like you to be the first to come here to introduce yourself to the class"

The brunette immediately got up from her chair to reach the desk and make a little bow "my name is Hirai Momo and I am an almost complete vampire. I am the daughter of a human and a vampire and my mother's genes are predominant; I hope we will get along, I would very much like to have some new friends"

"Very well, who wants to talk now? You don't have to get up, the important thing is that you introduce yourself to me and the class"

Mina had shyly raised her hand "my name is Mina and I am a human. I come from a humble family and if I am here it is because I want to protect my parents, I would like to annihilate this threat"

Without the professor having spoken, to the surprise of all present, one of the vampires offered to speak "my name is Jeongyeon, I am a pureblood and I have no intention of making new friends. Stay away from me and we will get along well"

The only man in the room was scratching his arm to hide the embarrassment he felt "you could have done better, but that's enough for now. The next one" he said pointing to the girl with the bobbed hair.

Chaeyoung cleared before saying her name and addressing to the half of the class she didn't belong to "you scare me a little, but I'm sure it's a habit so I beg your pardon if I'll be on the defensive for a while"

The noise of Nayeon's nails, who was tapping them on the desk relentlessly, had drawn attention to her "I'm Nayeon, behave yourself and maybe I won't stick to your throat. Blondie, stop looking at me with superiority and introduce yourself to the class"

Sana rolled her eyes, not holding back and introducing herself quickly. She had only said her name, without adding a single word.

"My name is Dahyun and I'm a particular vampire, but I hope we'll get along"

"You are not particular, you are only weak"

"Im Nayeon, don't bully your classmates or I'll make sure you get the worst disciplinary measure" the professor interjected, gesturing for the last of the girls to introduce themselves.

The older of the two remaining, albeit reluctantly, did what she was asked for "Jihyo. I am proud to be a human and not a bloodsucker"

"I am Tzuyu" the way she spoke conveyed a coldness that made all the other girls shut up instantly.

The teacher joined his hands to rub them together "very well, I am Professor Min and I will be your tutor until the end of this experience. I am a hybrid and I represent both races, therefore I hope that there is collaboration and that you don't try to take advantage of my kindness. Even though I am half human, I am part of one of the strongest vampire teams"

"This means that you regularly feed on blood" Jihyo made no effort to hide her contempt, giving him a look of pure hatred.

"It is true that I drink a lot of blood, but in this school we refuel by drawing on voluntary donations, without biting or killing anyone" despite all the hatred she had given him he had replied kindly "even you students could donate, it requires a couple of sheets to fill in to be able to do it and the quantity is really minimal, in fact just a vial of those used to do the blood test"

Sana had crossed her arms over her chest and crossed her legs too "none of you will have my blood, not even a single drop"

"The choice is yours, our human students are under no obligation to give their blood to vampires. That said: get up and arrange yourself so that you are not divided into two groups, from today you will be a team and I do not accept distinctions between the races. Don't make me choose for you, you are not little girls anymore"

The noise of the chairs rubbing on the floor was almost deafening, but after a few glances they all managed to sit down in such a way as to satisfy their professor's request "very well, let's start with a history lesson that includes useful notions for the period we are living in"

When the sound of the bell broke through the loudspeakers posted in the corridors every single student breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to be able to take a break to have a snack and to rest their brains. Professor Min, being a trusted friend of the two principals, had gone off to spend some time with them as he used to do every day.

"Very well, now that he's gone I can put my feet on the desk" Nayeon had made herself comfortable, loosening her long brown hair to loosen the grip she felt on her head.

"It's not very hygienic, do you like germs?" Chaeyoung was watching her with curiosity and fear.

The eldest pointed her dark eyes in the direction of the other girl "germs are not a problem for healthy vampires" she stretched out her arm to indicate a person on the other side of the class "she is an example of a decadent vampire who might even get sick like you humans"

Mina turned her attention to the subject of discussion, noting the tension in Dahyun's shoulders "may I know why you always insult her?"

"Because she's a fake vampire and she disgusts me, that's enough for you as an answer?"

None of them said a single word, all immersed in their thoughts. Momo had clenched her fists, so irritated that she had to hold back. She could no longer bear the nastiness that was directed towards her best friend, distracting herself during the last hours of class in an attempt to find a solution.

After the lessons all the humans were accompanied to their dormitories and left free to settle in; the enthusiasm was visible in very few of them, but the teachers had no intention of becoming demoralized and were sure that a few days would be enough to get everyone used to their new routine.

Jihyo and Sana, being roommates, had taken the initiative to go at the same time to be able to decide every single thing together, immediately noticing a detail: the rooms had been assigned taking into consideration the class to which they belonged.

"What a coincidence, we're all here" Chaeyoung sat down on a huge suitcase while she waited for her roommate.

"I don't think it's a coincidence, I have the impression that they want us to be in a group and I'm sure that behind this door is the room of the tall girl whose name I don't remember" Sana had pointed her finger in the direction of the three doors, two of which were perfectly in front of each other while the third was located next to that of the room in which she herself would sleep from that day forward.

They decided not to waste time and to arrange all their things, not complaining about the simplicity of the rooms and contenting themselves with the space available. The beds were comfortable and in the shared rooms everything was double: the desk, the wardrobe and, of course, the bed. The bathroom was not very large but well matched and, like the room, had a smaller window.

"I had prepared a speech full of complaints, but here everything is perfect" Jihyo was lying on the bed, intent on staring at the perfectly painted white ceiling.

"Vampires can get anything they want and they are proving it to us with this special treatment. Don't be fooled or you will fall victim to their trap" Sana was still finishing her things, slowed down by the fact that she couldn't decide how to arrange everything in the most efficient way.

The younger rolled onto her side to face the wall "now I'm too tired to think about how to mess up this twinning, I'll think about it tomorrow" she had closed her eyes.

The other girl hurried to put away her things so as not to disturb Jihyo, going to take a shower to pass the time.

Mina loved walking early in the morning and for that reason she got up at dawn to get ready for the day, going out after tucking Chaeyoung's blanket and making sure she didn't fall out of bed again.

Her roommate's restless sleep hadn't stopped her from sleeping, but she still felt tired and regretted going out, at least until she saw Momo sitting under a tree: she was reading a book and she had an absorbed gaze.

When the brunette became aware of the human's presence, a smile escaped her lips and she motioned her to join her, closing the book and not thinking about the fact that her company might not be appreciated.

"Hi, are you a morning person too?" Mina was squeezing the straps of her backpack, loosening the grip on them after sitting down on the grass.

"Usually I don't sleep much, it makes me drowsy and I would like to avoid being more stupid than usual in a delicate period like this. Why are you already out of the dormitory? There is more than an hour left for the start of the lessons and you will surely be tired for the transfer"

"I wanted to take a walk to get used to this place" she picked up a pebble and she was turning it over in her fingers, dropping the conversation.

Momo leaned against the tree "can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, tell me"

"Why do you despise us so much? I know very well about the horrific crimes that vampires have committed and as far as I know humans have been no less, but blaming an entire race for minority mistakes seems a bit excessive to me"

Mina had taken a few seconds to reflect "I don't despise any of you, but I'd be a liar if I said I'm not afraid to have you around. You don't deserve to be marginalized, but humans are physically weaker and let fear guide them. You are unpredictable and this scares us a lot"

"Thank you for your sincerity and I hope to be on the list of people who do not scare you as soon as possible" she was smiling "Dahyun is also reliable and would love to make new friends, but apart from you our classmates prefer the unconditional hate"

"I hope so too, when I was a child I often imagined to have vampire friends and you and Dahyun don't look too bad. About her.. Is she okay? Yesterday Nayeon did nothing but insult her and she never reacted"

"I don't think I can answer this question, she is my best friend but she doesn't tell me much about her things. The only thing I know for sure is that she only feeds on human food and that makes her objectively weak"

The human was confused and she made no effort to hide it "I was convinced you couldn't live without drinking blood"

"This condition is valid only for certain types of vampires; Dahyun and I could live without resorting to blood, but that would make us very weak and, to make you understand what I mean and not to insult, practically human"

"How many types of vampires are there?" Mina's eyes were twinkling with curiosity.

Momo smiled again because of that request "I'll list some, if you don't understand my explanations feel free to ask questions"

The atmosphere in the four walls in which the nine girls were supposed to study almost every day was even more tense than the previous day: the humans, having seen Mina's friendly attitude towards vampires, were showing even more hostility towards the latter, extending it to their fellow girl without making any distinction.

"I thought we had become friends, but you've been ignoring me since you entered the classroom. You even pretended not to hear me when I greeted you"

Chaeyoung looked at her roommate without betraying any emotion although she was sorry "I thought so too, but apparently you preferred to ally with the enemy"

"They are not our enemies, we will have to learn to fight together and the least we can do to have a bit of harmony is to establish bonds. And then, honestly said, Momo is much more kind and tolerant than you"

The shorter girl had been upset and she hadn't been able to hide it, but Mina had decided to detach herself from the people who had the arrogance to judge the choices of others.

Momo had listened to the whole conversation and she didn't know whether to rejoice at having found a new friend or whether to be sad that the humans were looking at her with disappointment. She whispered, knowing Dahyun could hear her "I don't really like the way they're looking at Mina, who do they think they are?"

The blonde was twirling the pen between her fingers "let them do it, she doesn't need to have immature and ignorant girls around her"

"Are you angry, huh?" she was smiling satisfied "then you are interested in making friends, cheap liar"

"Shut up, the professor has just arrived and you know he can hear us even if we speak in whispers"

The man had brought some bags and placed them on the desk "good morning everyone, I hope you slept well during the night and that you are charged enough for today. We expect some challenging lessons"

"The beds you gave us are among the few decent things in this bad place" muttered Jihyo, intent on pulling the cuticles of her fingers with insistence.

Jeongyeon was staring at her intently "if I were you I would stop it immediately, you are very close to bleeding and I don't think you would like our reaction in front of such a scene"

Hearing those words she immediately stopped torturing her fingers "I guess I have to give up one of the activities that helps me keep stress at bay"

"Try using this" Momo rummaged in her backpack, pulling out a little stress reliever and throwing it on her desk "I have another one, so you can keep it if you want" she gave her a gentle smile.

"Thank you" she said with detachment, immediately exploiting the object she had in her hands.

The professor seemed satisfied with those short interactions "I already see improvements and I'm happy, maybe it won't be too difficult to make you a team"

"Let's stop with sentimentality and start the lesson, I'm bored to death" Nayeon had done nothing but stare at Tzuyu, not looking away from her even when she had looked back at her. She was attracted to her and was making no effort to hide it, eager to get the attention of the person who had captured her interest.

Not happy with that strong desire was Jeongyeon, who was using all her inner calm not to yell at her best friend to stay away from the human who had attracted her attention, not to be duped by a pretty face because Tzuyu belonged to a race of devious and devoid of morals.

They had talked about it for a long time during the night and yet Nayeon seemed to have forgotten the words of warning pronounced by the younger and she was doing her own thing, as usual, but Jeongyeon wanted to make her reconsider it at all costs.

During the professor's explanation Dahyun had felt the urge to raise her hand "May I go to the bathroom?"

"Aren't you feeling good?" the hybrid had stopped looking at the book he had in his hands, worried about the girl "go ahead and try to recover as you prefer"

She didn't care about the curious looks aimed at her and, once she got to the bathroom, she let herself go against the wall until she found herself sitting on the cold floor "you have to hold on like you always have, you don't need blood to feel good"

"This is a mind-boggling lie, possibly the biggest I've ever heard in my entire life" Nayeon was looking down at her, crouching down to look into her eyes "you're acting like a fool"

Dahyun wasn't surprised at all at how quickly she reached her "what do you care? You hate me"

"I hate anyone except Jeongyeon, but that doesn't mean I'd like to see you all dead" she pulled out a vial half filled out of the pocket "this is enough to give you enough strength to stand up"

The younger had pursed her lips, shaking her head to make her will to reject even more evident, but Nayeon ignored her behavior and forced her to drink, pressing the vial firmly to "one day you will thank me for preventing you from dying in the school bathroom"

Dahyun had recovered some energy and she no longer felt burning in , but she was so angry that her face was streaked with tears "you had no right to do that, you violated me"

"There is no need to thank me for saving you from your stupidity. Lift your pale and go back to class, the teacher wants to explain what we will do during the hours of gym" Nayeon left the bathroom in all tranquility, sitting down elegantly and looking at Momo "your friend is still alive and you owe me a favor"

The brunette nodded slowly after taking back the empty vial "you can count on it, thank you for doing what I asked you"

"As disgusted as I may be with you and Dahyun, I have no desire to see you dead, our race is taking too many losses at the moment"

Momo nodded again, pretending not to know anything about what happened in the bathroom and ignoring the sad look of her best friend. She consoled herself with the thought that she had done the right thing, feeling less repentance than she would have expected.