The morning in Hell was as usual: fire in the distance, demons bickering, rivers of lava bubbling. Yumi walked down the cracked streets, her goth boots clicking against the scorched earth as she made her way to school. Her black eyeliner was sharp enough to cut someone, and her dark lipstick completed her usual no-nonsense look.
Cerberus trotted beside her, his loaf-of-bread-sized Chihuahua body occasionally snarling at random demons as if to remind them who her dad was. Yumi couldn't help but smirk. Cerberus was her tiny, fiery shadow—loyal, ridiculous, and a little too fearless for his size.
As she approached the school gates, the morning buzz of students was already in full swing. Demons, fallen angels, and other afterlife residents mingled, laughed, and argued. Yumi brushed past them all, heading toward the entrance when she heard *that* voice.
"Hey, virgin!" Stryker's obnoxious tone cut through the crowd.
Yumi stopped in her tracks, her jaw tightening. Here we go again, she thought, rolling her eyes.
Stryker strutted over, his smug grin plastered across his face. The other students began to form a small circle, sensing that something was about to go down.
"What's the matter, Yumi? Too busy writing sad poems to find a real boyfriend—or *girlfriend*?" He sneered, leaning closer. "Oh, wait, that's right. You're too busy being a virgin."
Yumi turned slowly, her sharp gaze locking onto him like a predator sizing up its prey. She folded her arms, her stance casual yet commanding.
"First of all," she began, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "you sound real obsessed with me, Stryker. Like, *weirdly* obsessed. Is that why you're always following me around? Can't get enough of my 'virgin' energy, huh?"
The crowd snickered, and Stryker's smug grin faltered for a moment.
"Shut up, you emo freak," he snapped, though his voice wavered slightly.
"Oh, I'll shut up," Yumi said, stepping closer, her voice growing louder, "but not before I point out that you're the last person who should be calling anyone out. I mean, you've got a subscription for *enlargement pills,* you pervert."
The crowd erupted into laughter.
Stryker's face turned a deep shade of red, and he stammered, "W-what the hell are you talking about?!"
"Oh, don't act like you don't know," Yumi continued, her smirk widening. "You've been popping those pills and still can't impress anyone. Maybe instead of bullying me, you should invest in a personality—or, I don't know, therapy."
Stryker looked like he wanted to sink into the ground. The students around them laughed harder, a few even pulling out their phones to record the scene.
"Shut up!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "You're so—so annoying!"
Yumi tilted her head, her smirk now full-blown. "Aw, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your fragile ego? Maybe next time, think twice before coming for someone who's clearly out of your league."
With that, she turned and walked off, leaving Stryker standing there, humiliated and speechless.
Cerberus, sensing her mood, barked once at Stryker as if to say, Yeah, that's what I thought, before trotting after Yumi.
As Yumi entered the school building, the whispers and laughs of the other students followed her. She didn't care. She'd dealt with worse, and honestly, roasting Stryker had been the highlight of her morning.
By the time she got to her locker, she was already texting Elnora about the whole thing.
*Yumi:* *Guess who roasted Stryker so hard he might actually cry for the first time in his pathetic life?*
Elnora replied almost immediately.
*Elnora:* *Please tell me you recorded it.*
*Yumi:* *I didn't have to. Half the school did.*
Elnora sent back a series of laughing emojis, followed by a heart. Yumi smiled at her phone, her annoyance with Stryker already fading.
Let him try again tomorrow, she thought. She'd be ready.
The End of Chapter 36