❝tell me, why does a sixteen-year-old girl build a fully functional, weaponized, sixteen-foot tall robot?❞
❝i want friends. talking to people on a daily basis seems stressful.❞
after the death of her mother, beatrix discovers unfinished projects o...
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THE SECOND HALF OF BEATRIX'S FIRST DAY AT UPSTATE WAS WORSE THAN THE FIRST. Mechanical Engineering had been her last STEM course, which meant she'd be forced to mingle with other specialties for the two remaining hours of school. Some of the other science geeks marveled at the colorful array of talkative art students and the buff Athletes with wet hair from the school showers -- Beatrix, on the other hand, found them distracting. Much like Harry Osborn and James Stark, student Athletes were treated like Gods and the artsy kids demanded attention. The halls of Upstate Prepetory reeked of rich kid entitlement. By the fifth period, Beatrix understood why every teenager in New York hated Upstate kids. In fact, she could think of multiple different tortures tactics she'd rather experience than come to school with them for the rest of the semester.
It only got worse in the last period.
Beatrix, once again, had been racking her brain for a Science-Expo concept and, once again, not much luck was coming out of it. In truth, her mind was elsewhere. Beatrix was still fixated on that video of Peter Parker. How the students mocked him for his brief spider-caused distress. For some reason, the video's virality had upset her. She didn't even know Peter, yet she was hoping he was okay.
Her worrying for him didn't last long, though. Just as she was scrapping another bad Expo idea, Beatrix felt a chill come down her spine. She had felt a great evil enter the room. She turned to face the door and she saw it—
Sally Avril was making a comeback.
Beatrix almost couldn't believe her eyes as the girl who had terrorized her into leaving school in the first place, came walking into her AP Government class without a care in the world. But, her eyes weren't driving her. The Devil wore a custom-fit version of their school uniform. She really hadn't changed much since childhood. Even if she had, it wouldn't have made much of a difference, Beatrix could recognize her nemesis anywhere; the silky brown hair, the demonic features, the look in her deep brown eyes that just screamed superiority complex. Even without seeing her, Beatrix could simply sense Sally's presence.
Apparently, the link between them was mutual because the moment Sally laid her eyes on Bea, she marched right over to her desk. "Where have I seen your face?" she asked.
Her demeanor was just like it had been when they were in grade school. Confident. Authoritative. The type of tone that let you know not to fuck with someone.
Beatrix didn't answer her question. She was like a buffering video game, she couldn't seem to process any thoughts, let alone express them. She just stared, silent and motionless, hoping that if she played dead Sally might go away.
"I asked you a question." Sally pressed her lips, annoyed by the silence. "Are you like mentally incompetent or something?"
"No," Beatrix answered simply, not detecting her sarcasm (which made a few of Sally's friends laugh.)
