The fiery skies of Hell seemed a little brighter that morning, but Yumi wasn't in the mood to care. College was supposed to be a fresh start, a place where people were *mature* and didn't act like petty high schoolers. Apparently, Stryker hadn't gotten the memo.
Yumi sat in her usual spot near the back of the lecture hall, her legs crossed, earbuds in, and her notebook open—not that she planned on taking many notes. Cerberus, her ever-loyal loaf-of-bread-sized Chihuahua, rested lazily in her bag. The professor droned on about metaphysics or something equally boring.
Stryker, sitting two rows ahead of her, suddenly turned around with a smirk that screamed *trouble.*
"Hey, class!" he shouted, cutting off the professor mid-sentence.
The room fell silent, all eyes now on Stryker.
"Did you know Yumi here isn't as tough as she pretends to be?" he said, pointing directly at her. "I mean, she acts all goth and cool, but guess what? She's just a wannabe with some... let's say *interesting* hobbies. Why don't we talk about your little obsession with Elnora, huh, Yumi? Like, maybe how you're—"
"That's enough!" the professor snapped, but the damage was already done.
A few snickers rippled through the class. Yumi's jaw tightened, her black nails drumming against her desk as she glared at Stryker.
He smirked, thinking he'd won.
But Yumi wasn't about to let him get away with this. She stood up, her boots clicking against the stone floor as she marched down to where Stryker sat. Without saying a word, she snatched his phone off his desk.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted, trying to grab it back, but Yumi was faster.
She held the phone up for the whole class to see, her smirk growing with each passing second.
"Let's see," she said loudly, her tone dripping with mockery. "You want to expose *me,* Stryker? Alright, let's expose you. Let's check out this little thing called... your search history."
The class gasped, some students leaning forward in their seats, while others whispered excitedly.
"No! Don't you dare—" Stryker lunged for the phone, but Yumi sidestepped him effortlessly.
"Oh, I *dare,*" she said with a wicked grin. "Let's start with... oh, wow."
She tapped the screen, and her voice took on a dramatic tone. "Ladies and gentlemen, the first entry: 'How to impress goth girls.' Oh, Stryker, I didn't know you were such a fan of me."
The class erupted into laughter.
Stryker's face turned red, but Yumi wasn't done.
"Next up, 'Do enlargement pills actually work?'" she read, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, Stryker, sounds like you've got some... insecurities to work through."
The laughter grew louder, and someone in the back shouted, "Bruh, no way!"
"Let's keep going, shall we?" Yumi said, flipping through the history. "Oh, here's a gem: 'Why do I keep losing in fantasy football?' And—oh my Satan—'How to delete search history.'"
By now, the entire class was in hysterics, including the professor, who had given up trying to restore order.
"Alright, alright, I think we've seen enough," Yumi said, tossing the phone back to Stryker. He caught it clumsily, his face a mix of fury and humiliation.
She leaned in close, her voice low but deadly. "Next time you try to mess with me, remember this moment, Stryker. You can't win. Now sit your pathetic ass down."
Stryker slumped back into his seat, muttering curses under his breath as the class continued to laugh at his expense.
Yumi returned to her seat, satisfied. Cerberus poked his head out of her bag, giving a tiny bark of approval.
"Good boy," she muttered, scratching his head before putting her earbuds back in.
For the rest of the lecture, no one dared to mess with her.
The End of Chapter 37