So You Might be Soulless

8|| Prince

"Yo Reject!"

Oh boy... here we go again. Diya rolled her eyes and didn't respond, pretending to care about finding the value of 'x' in the equation.

"Hey Reject! I'm talking to you!" A hand slammed down on the desk and swiped away her books. Loud, brutish laughter followed, which sounded like a bunch of gorillas had been gargling with gasoline.

For all its faults, Valentine's Week did serve the purpose of distracting the bullies who were wrapped up in their soulmate's arms. Diya observed that teenagers were less likely to bother you if their judgement was clouded by hormones.

"Reject!" Gorilla leaned in way too close and Diya gagged on the stench of garlic and cologne. Perhaps he's trying to ward off the vampires? And anyone with olfactory senses?

"Dear God, ever invested in mouthwash?" She waved her hand and tried not to breathe in too much.

Gorilla frowned and tilted his head. "How dare you insult me, Reject? Huh?"

"Oh please," Diya laughed, taking the opportunity to scoot away, "I've seen empty petri dishes with more culture than you."

"Don't talk to my soulmate like that!" Female Gorilla screeched, slamming her hands down on the table. "You're just bitter 'cuz we have something you don't!"

"If this is love then I don't want it," Diya lied, collecting her books from the floor. She quashed down the negative feelings, trying to remind herself that envy was wasted on people with the personality of a plastic bag.

"You're just jealous 'cuz I'm so much cooler than you." Female Gorilla smirked, a hand resting on her hip.

Finally, Diya looked up, her thin veneer of patience snapped and disappeared. "Doesn't that make me hotter than you?"

"Stop talking!" The shadows begged, but she refused to listen.

Female Gorilla glowered at her, her black eyes flashing for a second to gold. "I am both hotter and cooler than you!"

"So you're lukewarm. Neither hot nor cool."

The shadows gave up, waving the white flag. "You're on your own, kid."

One of Gorilla's lemmings knocked the books out of Diya's hands and they all started laughing. They cornered her against the bookshelves and mocked her, exploiting every piece of information they knew about her. How she was a foster kid, her dark powers and, most importantly, her Reject status.

The insults rolled across Diya like a passing wave, their force absorbed by skin hardened over years of abuse. She put her hands behind her back and felt along the bookshelf until she found a thick enough book. She slowly pried it out of its spot and stepped forward, biding her time.

"Henry," Female Gorilla smirked, "I have an idea."

"What is it?"

She tugged on the scarf wrapped around her head. "Perhaps I could...y'know...turn the insolent little brat into stone."

"Bree," a lemming said nervously, "you're not allowed to use your Gorgon powers on school property."

Oh shit, Diya's eyes widened, a Gorgon?!

"We told you to stop talking," The shadows said despairingly, with a touch of smugness colouring their tone. Diya knew she could never live this moment down.

Bree clicked her tongue against her teeth, "You're no fun! It doesn't last long as I'm not an fully-grown yet...just a few hours should be fine..." She slowly pulled down the patterned cloth, revealing the roots of green snakes that hissed and writhed excitedly.