“promoting an international system based on strong multilateral cooperation and good global governance''? What exactly do they mean?” Sofia commented, pointing to one of the sections in her study material.
“I guess literally what it says,” said Dave, leaning over her notes.
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Dave shrugged and continued marking with a color marker the key words he considered important.
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They were supposed to be quiet, but a murmur of whispers filled the classroom. If someone went a little too loud Rosa would hush at them to lower their voice, and generally the student obeyed without complaining. Rosa was a friendly and kind teacher, but her exams were hard and she could be very inflexible with the grades. That was why her students respected her.
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The weird guy? What weird guy? Sofia had been living in the village for a little over a year and didn''t know all its secrets, so it was possible that there was some sort of hermit living in the mountains far from civilization. Her knowledge as a former hunter of supernatural beings told her that it was more than likely that this was her white cinanthrope. Most of them lived as humans, fully integrated into society, but she knew that a handful of them failed to adapt and decided to move away from civilization to live closer to the forests. He would matchwhat she would expect of a wildweredog who subsists by eating what he is able to hunt in the mountains.
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Sofia felt her blood burn. The energy in her chest pulsed against her ribs and slowly began to pour through her veins. A dry, deep growl climbed her throat and struggled to will itself out, to force her lips to bare the teeth in a grimace of aggression. With difficulty, she was able to control her instinctive urges, but not the other urges that made her try to get up. It was only an attempt because Dave grabbed her hand and locked his eyes on hers, prompting her to stay still.
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For an instant Sofia felt very confused. Her friend''s whole attitude was different from what she was used to. All of a sudden he showed a strength and integrity that, on one hand, made her feel safe, and on the other it activated her most competitive side. She wanted to rebel, to fight back and prove that she was as strong and self-confident as he was. The very fact that she wanted to challenge him made her understand that it was not true, that it was her insecurity talking. Reluctantly, she managed to control that instinctive part to remain seated, albeit tense, in her chair. It wasn''t just because it was completely disproportionate, but also because challenging a human as if he were another cinanthrope was utterly ridiculous.
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Suddenly all three boys fell silent. Rodrigo looked around as if he wanted to check if anyone was listening. It was highly unlikely since, although the classroom was mostly silent, the murmur of whispers was a constant noise. No one who did not have exceptional hearing and was close enough would be able to discern the words spoken by those three. Dave released Sofia and leaned over his papers, returning to his task of marking those words he considered important. However, Sofia saw him inhale several deep breaths of air and run his tongue over his lips. His body was still tense, despite the calm and steady demeanor he had shown a couple of minutes ago. The two things were not incompatible.
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Under the skin she felt a slight vibration, as if his muscles were throbbing. Her friend was not even able to articulate a word. Concentrating on his breathing, he only nodded. That he was lying was quite obvious, one only had to look at him to know that he was not okay, but Sofia did not know what was wrong or how to help him. Anxiously, she searched through the classroom until she located Sara in her usual place, at the room’s front. She was talking to her classmate, completely oblivious to what was going on many desks behind hers, and Sofia had no idea how to get her attention.
“There are more effective methods, methods that are not easy to detect and that eliminate the problem in one fell swoop,” the hunter''s son kept talking, thinking that no one could hear him.
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All the students who were milling around the classroom made sure they were seated at their desks before the strict and stern physics teacher arrived. Sofia noticed her friend moving more cautiously. He was careful when he picked up the chair to put it back up, as if he was afraid of hurting himself by bending over, and then settled into it very gently. She had also noticed that he was quieter and seemed to be trying not to open his mouth at all. In fact, he dived straight into his notes and avoided even looking at her.