The next evening I got up feeling tired. I hadn't slept well at all. After the dream, it had taken me hours to fall asleep and even then my sleep had been uneasy. I had spent half the night tossing and turning about in my bed.

I swung my legs over on the side of my bed and slowly walked towards the shower. I spent a few minutes in there trying to unknot the muscles in my back. I     walked out and somehow found the energy to get dressed. I looked around my dorm room. Something seemed odd. 

With a jolt, I realised how silent the whole room was. Bianca must have headed out early. I walked over to my nightstand and looked around for my phone. I leaned over and tried to extract it from the narrow space between my bed and nightstand where it had lodged itself firmly. 

Finally, I extracted it with a heavy sigh. I saw that Aria and Bianca had sent me texts reminding me about the big football game being held indoors in the gym. I decided to head over there as well. 

As I walked through the corridors and down the stairs, I realised how eerily silent everything was. Nearly everyone must be at the gym. I walked quickly as a sense of unease settled over me. I practically ran the rest of the way, only stopping outside the gym door. Stop being silly, I chided myself. I had been in Monteverde Academy all my life. There was probably nothing to be scared about. That dream had made me paranoid. 

I pushed open the door and was hit by a wave of sound. I saw Aria and Bianca sitting in the fourth row. They had saved me a seat. I hurried over to them and sat down. Airell, Finn and Eryx were playing but Yves was nowhere to be seen. I frowned and looked around, but I couldn't spot him among the spectators. How odd. Yves loved football and even if he didn't want to play, he usually came to watch. I decided to hunt him down and talk to him today. 

Airell scored a goal and the crowd went wild. He grinned and waved at us while Aria and Bianca cheered for him loudly. Caught up in the moment, I yelled too and he winked at me. The game continued and we settled back in our chairs. 

"What's wrong Verina?" asked Bianca leaning over. "You look terrible." 

"Didn't sleep well," I muttered. Aria looked worried and took my hand in hers. I smiled at her in what I hoped was a reassuring way. 

"Ver, you haven't been acting yourself lately." 

"I know," I said. "But from now on, you guys will have my undivided attention." 

Aria smiled back at me. 

"Are you okay though?" 

I nodded. At that very moment, Eryx scored a goal and the crowd went wild again. I decided to take this moment to get the attention away from me and cheered loudly. Aria and Bianca joined in. Then I leaned back in my seat and tried to enjoy the game.