Ellipse of about a year

It's been almost a year since the last attack. I was on edge for the first two months. As long as the military curfew was in place. But since then, I've relaxed. At Mélia's instigation, I got on well with her flatmates, Blaise and Thibaut. The boys have been at university since September. They passed their baccalaureate with distinction. Maltez, Naya, Clarissa and Petunia are also young students. We see them regularly. Musclor repeated the year and continues to terrorise the weakest. He is wary of me and keeps a safe distance from my friends and my twin.

I'm still as grumpy as ever. I have three new housemates who won't talk to me, which is fine. I stick around the Kawai quartet or spend my time at the stables. I love the four puppies. They are wonderful, very patient and tolerant of my special character. Although they tease me about it, they all respect my look and my way of thinking. Mélia is my double. They are my friends. I love them.

I am very close to Blaise and Thibaut too. Blaise is the joking and seductive friend. The big brother who teases and cuddles the five girls. Thibaut, only Mélia and I are really close to him out of the five. He is much more shy and reserved, calmer too and much more mature. He is the big brother who educates and advises. As soon as I have the opportunity, I spend time with him. He shows me his biology lessons, which I'm passionate about. He helps me with mine with kindness. They are the only two guys who can touch me without getting hit. I even seek out their soothing touch.

Sarah and Fleur have finally come out. They go out with each other without worrying about the stares. They are happy with their romance and want to make everyone happy, so they play matchmaker. Lilou, Mélia and I are subjected to their lousy dates to find boyfriends. Lilou and Mélia go on one love affair after another.

I don't get past the first date. I sometimes daydream about a love story, but not with the people proposed by the Kawais. I have a small crush on someone. A complicated, if not impossible love. I'm sure it's not reciprocated. No one even Melia knows about it. I'm only sixteen. I still have time for romances. In the meantime, I'm dooming the plans of my two matchmakers.

I'm not really close to Naya. It's kind of a status quo. We agreed that we didn't really like each other and were very different. We have things in common such as a love of horses, bitchiness and unshakeable self-confidence. We respect each other. We tolerate each other. We don't need to ask more of each other. We avoid each other as much as possible. Her friends Clarissa and Petunia pop out at me. I really can't stand those two.

With Maltez, it's a cold war. We don't like each other. We send each other jabs whenever we can. He said that if I was a guy, I would have taken a punch. He got a lot of slaps from me. It's epidermal. We get on each other's nerves. Despite Blaise, Mélia and Thibaut's attempts at conciliation, nothing happens. Dog and cat. The only time we don't tear each other apart is when we're working on renovation projects. He has no patience or pedagogy, but I learn a lot from him.

The attack house received a boost from the government. The military carried out a complete clean-up and sanitation free of charge. They had orders to disinfect. They took advantage of their large equipment and their numbers to give us a little help. The house was able to receive the family during the month of May. The Kawais even donated stuffed animals for the children and especially the baby. They came to decorate the children's rooms with beautiful wall drawings. Fleur drew, the others coloured. The mother cried when she saw the house. I was proud of myself. I like this kind of charity.

Since last year, Mélia and I have been giving survival classes to our friends for fun. We let them read Papinou's survival guide. Fleur almost got poisoned while picking mushrooms and berries. Lilou is practising recognising medicinal plants. Naya is learning about animal care with Sarah. Thibaut is our most serious and disciplined student. The only one who tolerates my bossiness. He is a sweetheart with everyone. Pétunia and Clarissa scotch us with their camouflage outfits and make-up. Maltez is the most skilled in hand-to-hand combat. I win, but he is the only one to put Mélia and me in difficulty.

Blaise wanted to learn to ride. Mélia and Étoile devoted themselves that day. Despite the gentleness of the two girls, Blaise ended up on the ground as soon as Étoile started trotting. He has no balance. Naya and I tried to help. So did Naya's father. Blaise is a hopeless case. I had to ride bareback behind him to get him to hold on a bit. Sarah is holding on to a sweet horse like Etoile. Fleur, Lilou and Thibaut too. Clarissa and Petunia are not too bad. Maltez is worse than Blaise. Even Étoile didn't deign to let him ride on her back.

To my surprise, Grumpy allowed himself to be approached. Surprised, I let him, shrugging my shoulders in incomprehension. Maltez stood proudly. I looked up. Melia and I understood at once as we met Grumpy's eyes. We didn't have time to intervene. Grognon lunged and Maltez flew several metres and ended up biting the dust. He was furious. We were all biting our lips to keep from laughing. Even Naya. My stallion has the same temperament as me, vicious. Maltez is convinced I planned the whole thing. That's okay. It was a very funny scene. I'm sorry I couldn't get it on movie.

Christmas is coming again. This year it is very cold. It's even snowing. Melia and I have just received our annual card telling us that our parents are still alive. In the spring I made a fake one for our anniversary so that Mélia wouldn't be too sad. Richard had a distant friend send two small gifts to fool my double. I think she's not fooled. She smiled, more for the gesture of people who care about her, than for any hope of intelligence from our parents. Our friends gave us great gifts and a wonderful day of pampering on this occasion.

This card from the Bahamas has destroyed what little esteem Melia had for our parents. They dare to ask us to withdraw money from our personal accounts because of five-star hotel bills to pay. Richard made sure they could no longer access our accounts without our consent. Melia did not respond. I told them that they will get my life insurance money the day I die in excruciating pain. All they have to do is wait for the zombies to kill me. I think the middle finger at the end of the letter was too much. Anyway, drawing it made me feel better.

I'm working with Grumpy. Naya is with Prince. I'm helping her to train Prince in show jumping with Grumpy as a competitor. Maltez is watching us and talking to his sweetheart. They are thinking of introducing themselves to each other's families, Naya's father already knows about their relationship and likes the young man. We are on the carousel at the edge of the forest. Maltez compliments us both on our prowess. Our two stallions are competitive and jump higher and higher to challenge each other. Even my horse is getting silly on testosterone.

Musclor is in restraint. He is splitting logs nearby. Grumpy and Prince put their ears down suddenly. They are nervous. They are worriedly pawing. Naya and I can't make ourselves heard. A heart-rending bellow makes us turn our heads towards Musclor. He is on the ground, three creatures are devouring him. A dozen are heading towards us. Coming from the forest and surrounding us. Shit. Sometimes survival is about escape. In ten seconds, I analysed the situation. Only one chance, to jump with our horses. I warn the other two. I help Maltez to climb with me. Grumpy is the most powerful and the most trained. He will be able to jump with two people on his back. And I haven't put his saddle on him, which makes him lighter. Naya and I launch the horses into a triple gallop. The two stallions, in full confidence in their riders, leap up and offer us a chance to escape.

We take refuge in the stable like last time. Except that I have a gun, sent by Richard and hidden in Grognon's stable. I rush to retrieve it while my two companions in misfortune close the doors as best they can on my orders. I stand at the window of the mezzanine and shoot. I aim for the head as Papinou taught me. Maltez and Naya have retrieved the shovel and axe. They protect the windows. Grumpy is at the door, ready to kick if it gives way. Prince is at his side, two stallions ready to defend their herd. The noise has attracted reinforcements. Another gunman comes to my aid. High school security. We kill the group of zombies. Survival is also about knowing how to fight and finding a weapon.