by Briyahna Rice, Literary Editor
The next school day began and progressed with the same dull monotony that I’d grown used to ever since I began attending high school. The fact that I was a demon didn’t make it anymore adventurous. The only thing that seemed to add spice to my days was Mariu’s sudden arrival, no matter how unwanted it was. That and the fact that Evelynn had made a speedy recovery and was quick to settle back into her comfortable routine of sleeping, eating, jumping and breaking items, and sleep again. It was a repetitive cycle, but I was just happy that she was feeling better than she was before. Completely fatigued, and temporarily incapacitated. She was completely fatigued and almost completely incapacitated.
At the moment, I was sitting at a table near the back of the cafeteria. No one seemed to notice me, or acknowledge my presence. However, I can care less. It was less trivia for me to deal with. I was content to watch Youtube videos on my phone, leaving my half finished sandwich untouched. The noise of the cafeteria faded into the background, with the sound in my earbuds being the only noise that I wanted to hear. The video that I was watching was a chapter by chapter breakdown/ analysis of the text Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The tale of one man’s desire to play God, and create a man from the body parts of other humans, only to create a monster that is driven to violence, by society’s cruel treatment. Reading this book, I couldn’t help but sympathize with the creature wholeheartedly. The desire to be accepted in society, to not be looked upon with fear and malice, simply for looking different, to find friendship where there is only loneliness, it’s almost as if this novel was made for me, though I would never say this to anyone.
I looked up from my phone for a moment to see three guys about to cross my path. They were the bullies at this school, and the only people who seemed to notice me, if only to make me the butt of their cruel jokes. The tallest one was the leader of the bullies with blonde hair that touches his shoulders and was smirking at me cruelly. His two brainless followers emulated his expression.
“Hey, goth boy. Watcha doin’? Watching your horror movies about death and cutting yourself?” He asked. Almost on cue, his minions erupted into laughter. Their leader stood there, basking in self satisfaction. The temperature in the cafeteria was cool, since the A/C was turned on, but it did nothing to prevent my blood from boiling. If not for the fact that I had a mission to carry out, I’d turn these idiots inside out. I looked at the three of them with the hardest glare that I could muster, wishing that looks really could kill the way I could.
“Well it’s better than the adult magazines that you have hidden in your locker. Who knows? Maybe you could learn something other than what the female anatomy looks like when exposed in crude positions.” I said. In the blink of an eye, the blonde bully’s expression morphed from mocking to shocked and angry. He got right in my face, and grabbed me by my shirt.
“What do you think you know about that, freak show?” He asked aggressively. I would never tell him this, but as a demon, I have the ability to tap into a person’s darkest desires. Every secret, every vice, and every obscene thing that you wouldn’t want people to know, is an open book to me. On the inside, I was smirking at this fact, but externally I kept up my startled and irritated expression. I grabbed his wrist with an equally vice like grip.
“I know enough to get you suspended for bringing illicit material to school. One more demerit to add to your record before they finally expel you. Now what would your alcoholic mother say about that, I wonder.” I said contemptuously. At the mention of his mother, the bully’s eyes widened in shock and he reluctantly let go of my shirt. Just as I was beginning to smooth out the front of it, my face exploded in pain, as I was punched square in the nose. I stumbled backward but I didn’t lose my footing. I felt blood begin to gush down my face, and instinctively went to hold it with my hand. The three of them looked at me with triumphant looks plastered on their faces, as they took in my temporarily broken state. Naturally, the leader of the group was the first one to talk.
“Say something now, you emo freak.” He said. His brainless followers laughed even harder, but it served to be short lived as they took in the fire that was burning behind my eyes. One of them tried to show this to their leader, but he was too observed in his own silent pontifications to see what his friends were so afraid of. Instead he just sneered at me in the way that only a bully could. The only reason I stayed quiet was because I was more concerned with stopping the geyser of blood that was flowing out of my nose. Plus, I was silently chastising myself for moving so slow, allowing him to lay his hands on me. All the more reason for me to be angry at them, and at myself. When I didn’t say anything, the bully spoke.
“Yeah. Just what thought, another piss scared loser who can’t stand up for himself. “ He said. With that final insulting remark, he and his cronies walked away. I pocketed my phone and went to go gather some tissues to clean the blood from my nose. With my back turned away from everyone else in the cafeteria, I dipped my head back and used my powers to heal my wound. When I turned back around, I saw the three bullies about to make their way over to Marco. I had half a mind to warn him, but wasn’t too keen on sharing his impending beating with him. That, and I didn’t want to waste my powers in healing another injury. So I turned a blind eye and began to make my way out of the cafeteria, and to the bathroom. The only reason I stopped at all was when I took in the sight of Marco being shoved to the floor,while his tormentors laughed.
I stood still for a minute longer and watched the exchange between the four of them. Seeing the leader get in Marco’s face, daring him to repeat what he said. Eventually the entire cafeteria was watching the conflict that was taking place. It wasn’t long before Marco was sent sprawling to the ground again, after being punched in the face, clutching his left eye in pain. Instead of trying to help him, everyone just stood around gaping like goldfish. It’s days like these when teachers were needed to supervise our lunch time.
I continued watching the conflict with frustration bubbling inside me, the way my anger was a minute ago. I knew what Marco was capable of, what he could do with the potential that he possessed. Yet he squandered it on trying to be a normal teenager, wearing a mask of sheltered ignorance and naiveté. Watching him, lie there on the ground at the mercy of his tormentors wore on my nerves until I couldn’t take it anymore. Before I realized what I was doing, I’d reached out to Marco through the use of telepathy and decided his next move for him.
“KILL THEM!” I Shouted into his head. As quick as lightning, he was off of the ground and driving his own fist into the face of the tallest bully, sending him sprawling to the floor, just where Marco was a few seconds ago. From where I was standing, I could see the blood covering his knuckles as he stood over the bully with a gleam in his eyes that was equally demonic to mine. Marco then turned to the other two bullies and aimed his fist hard into one’s stomach, making him double over in pain and vomit onto the floor. The other one, he sent falling to the floor, by knocking him off his balance by his feet, and kicking him twice in his sternum. Everyone in the cafeteria were now wearing expressions of pure shock and horror at the sudden fury that gripped Marco Lance me included. As quickly as it had begun, the violent scene that drew the attention of the student body ended with three school bullies on the ground, writhing in agony, and the culprit standing above them victoriously. I decided that I’d seen enough and made a mad dash toward the bathroom. I locked myself in one of the stalls and leaned against the door, still judging whether what I saw was the real thing.
Could I really have influenced his powers, through telepathy alone? Could I have given Marco a hint as to the awesome power that he had at his fingertips? If so, that was a major mistake on my part. As he and I had separate missions to carry out, we were practically rivals, unbeknownst to him. I was meant to serve as the physical embodiment of the wickedness in the world, while he was meant to be the polar opposite. How would it look if we were seen helping each other, despite our contradicting goals, despite his ignorance about his true power. Thinking about this, I couldn’t help but think back to what Marius’ words during his brief time in my apartment.
“I’ll be updating Melina on your progress, and she’s expecting nothing but the best from you.” I couldn’t help shake my head in dismay and exhale a sigh. If that was the case, and I was caught inadvertently helping Marco, I’d be in trouble there aren’t even words for. Nevertheless, I exited the stall completely unaware of what came next. There, standing at one of the sinks was Marco himself washing his hands almost frantically. I was so caught up in my thoughts about him that I didn’t even sense him come in. That was just unforgivable. The expression that he wore was nothing short of shock, worry, and confusion. Yet when he turned to look at me from the mirror, the other two emotions melted away completely, until shock was all that remained. He immediately directed his gaze toward the sink, and continued to wash the already gone blood from his knuckles. I on the other hand, kept my composure and walked toward the sink near his. I don’t know why, but I opened my mouth to speak, but fell short when no words came out. My second attempt however, was somewhat better.
“Um” I started. He turned to look at me, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.
“Yes?” He asked. My words turned to ash in my mouth, and I was reduced to silence. This wasn’t how I wanted our first encounter to play out. Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I shook my head, turned on my heels, and prepared to leave the restroom.
“Nothing”.I said. I didn’t have time to see what expression he wore, as I made my way out the door, and down the hall. I didn’t know, nor did I care where I was going. All I knew was that I had to get away and think this through, lest my words fail me again and I turn into a bashful, frantic mess. That was Marco’s job.
