Taking a deep breath in, Athena stepped out of the car.

The next scene was familiar. Everyone seemed to have frozen and then, whispers erupted.

'Something never changes.'

She shook her head and headed in the direction of her classroom.

Athena was used to her classmates smiling and greeting her with joy when she entered in the morning but today, they stared at her with a gaze similar to a stranger.

"The horror! Look at her face!" A voice exclaimed loudly.

"I heard that you were hospitalized. Did someone beat you up again?" Athena heard a familiar voice. Her back turned cold as she heard sarcasm and joy in this voice.

Brittany was standing at the corner earlier and she asked this as she approached her.

Seeing her bestfriend also turn into one of those hateful stranger, Athena did not know what else to feel.

"Hope your break was enjoyable and all. Where is my assignment that I told you to complete?" Brittany asked with her hand extended forward.

"Oh yeah!"

"Shit! Seeing her beaten up ugly face, I almost forget about that!"

"Where is my assignment, Athena?"

"Mine too!"

Athena was bombarded by these questions. She frowned, understanding that that Athena was also bullied and forced to do others' work.

Athena sighed.

"Those assignments are yours. You are supposed to that not me." Her words left everyone stunned.

"Are you talking back?!" Brittany yelled, getting closer to her face.

"Who gave you these guts, huh? Don't forget what happened last time!" Brittany continued shouting.

"Get out of my face." Athena mumbled softly.

Brittany felt her temper rose and she raised her hand to slap Athena. Before her hand could hit her face, Athena had already grabbed her wrist.

"Don't even think about it!"

Brittany was her bestfriend in her world but this Brittany was not her.

She calmly flung her wrist away.

Brittany almost stumbled. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped after seeing a figure appear at the door and she called out his name loudly.

"Max!"

Athena stiffened before she slowly turned her head back to look.

Max was standing there and to her surprise, she found his eyes fixed on her. Standing behind him was Sarah who was chewing on a gum. She was staring at Athena with interest in her eyes.

"Class is about to begin." Max spoke in a crisp tone and he moved his gaze towards the students who were crowding around Athena.

Athena watched intrigued as everyone rushed back to their seats. Even Brittany too.

Athena held her breath as Max passed by her.

"Yo Girlie! Go to your seat." Sarah patted her shoulder and she followed Max towards their seat.

Athena headed to the only empty seat at the front. Taking a quick glance at her schedule, she pulled her books out and put them down in front of her.

Soon, the teacher arrived. As he began his lecture, Athena felt a peculiar stare on the back of her head. Her hands which were flipping through the pages on her book, paused.

The stare felt familiar and she had a vague idea about who was staring at her.

She turned her head back to look just to be sure and found that her suspicion was accurate.

Max was playing with his pen and staring at her. Athena looked away from him and glanced at the teacher in front, intending to pay attention to him.

But no matter how much she tried, she just could not focus on the studies.

****************

*IN THE ORIGINAL WORLD'

Athena had adjusted herself well into her new life and she was also recovering well from her injuries with the support of Ariana and her cousins. That terrible headache also did not occur again.

"Are you excited to return back to school?" Ariana was quite cheerful.

Athena nodded but deep inside she was a little worried. Her experiences at highschool were always so horrible that the name of school scared her a little.

"Ariana! No skipping classes today." Luciano reprimanded Ariana who stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

Athena was a little surprised when along with Alexander, Vittorio and Romeo jumped into the car.

'It seems like they all go to school together.' Athena was nevertheless happy at this discovery.

Luciano and Vincenzo watched their car drove away.

"Athena seems to have changed. It is almost like she has reverted back to her oldself when you brought her here for the first time." Vincenzo stated suddenly.

Luciano nodded slowly and said.

"She has gone through a lot and escaped death by inches. We cannot blame her."

Vincenzo did not say anything back but the scene when she had woken up in the hospital, played in his mind.

The way she flinched in fear after seeing him for the first time had made him a lot worried. She might look happy now but Vincenzo had observed clearly that she seemed to be a little more cautious around him as compared to others.

Why was she so scared from him?

Thank you for reading!!!💞 I hope you enjoyed this double update.

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Love Davina❤💞❤