Chapter 7

"The discussions about the White Cobra attack on the heroes during the raid against the criminal group are still ongoing. The authorities have requested reinforcements from the capital due to the significant loss the heroes suffered…"

It was the morning after my apology to Selphira and also the day I returned to school after my detention, so today, I'm going back to school.

"Honey… I'll be honest, there are probably going to be some people who talk badly about you…" mom suddenly began.

"Why?"

"Because that's how people are. They like to judge without knowing your situation, and even if they know, they don't care and keep judging… What I'm trying to say is… even if people talk behind your back, it shouldn't matter to you. They're just talking and doing nothing. Those kinds of people are destined to be mediocre in life, and… and I'm getting off-topic," mom looked down while thinking and then continued.

"What I want to say is that it doesn't matter what others say about you or if they point fingers. The only thing that should matter is what the people close to you say."

…

And mom was right. The moment I walked into school, everyone stared at me without saying hello, whispering among themselves. I followed mom's advice and ignored them, but… it's annoying, yeah, really annoying…

In no time, I reached the classroom, where again no one spoke to me, but they did stare. At least until Selphira arrived.

"Hi, Aelyra!"

"Hi, Selphira."

She quickly ran to the seat next to mine and sat down, looking at me intently with a smile as if she was expecting something. After a couple of seconds of her staring at me without speaking, I asked her.

"What's up?"

"Can you do it again?"

"Do what again?"

She seemed to hesitate a bit but continued, "You know… use your gene and copy mine."

"Oh, sure."

Without hesitation, I activated my gene, and my features changed. When I copied it the first time, I didn't pay attention to my appearance, but at home, I realized that my looks were practically the same as Selphira's, except with white scales with a black diamond at the tip instead of her green scales.

Another thing I discovered is that I can't maintain the Medusa form for very long—only a few minutes—unlike my wings, which I can keep for a couple of hours. The doctor said this is because my body only mimics the mutation genes; it doesn't add them to my body.

I hear some gasps around me, but I don't pay attention as I look at Selphira, who shifts from a pitying look to one of happiness. She hugs me and says:

"No matter how many times I see it, it's always just as impressive."

"That's what your mom and mine said too, but I'm not sure if it's really that impressive."

She steps back a bit and looks at me from head (or tail?) to toe, then nods and says:

"Yes, it definitely is that impressive."

"Whatever," I say, rolling my eyes but with a smile on my lips.

...

Classes were… fine. We're almost on vacation, so there's not much going on, and I spent the whole time talking to Selphira, occasionally answering questions from some of our classmates who seemed curious about my transformation. Though I wasn't in much of a mood to respond after hearing them whisper about me, so I kept my answers short. And so, we went to break.

"Now that I think about it…"

"What?"

"After you… you know… fought with Arnold's group, they didn't come to school for a week. But when they returned, they had all their fingers reattached and started causing more trouble… until another kid awakened his gene and almost blinded one of Arnold's henchmen."

*laughs* "Really?"

"Yes! And this past week, besides the kid who nearly blinded someone, four other kids awakened their genes, so when they see Arnold and his group, they go over and beat them up."

"I guess they're getting what they deserve."

"Yeah… although…"

"Although?"

"… I heard they want to get revenge on you and the others for what you did to them, especially you, so you'd better be careful."

"Don't worry, it seems like no one takes those idiots seriously anymore. Besides, what can they do?"

...

The bastards brought knives to school… and they're pointing them at us right now.

"Now you're really gonna pay, you damn bitch, for cutting off my fingers!" Arnold shouted, clearly furious.

Selphira and I have a secret spot on the playground, behind a small storage shed that no one goes to because they say it's haunted. But we like to go there since no one else does... until now.

Selphira is standing behind me, trembling with fear, while Arnold and his five henchmen stand in front of us, each holding a knife.

"And don't even think about screaming, or I'll cut off your ears too!" he yelled.

I try to think of something, but all Arnold seems capable of is shouting angrily. Although, considering what he just said, there's only one good idea that comes to mind for this situation.

"HELP! HE'S GOT A KNIFE!" I scream at the top of my lungs, surprising everyone.

"YOU!" Arnold starts, to which I respond.

"Me?"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

He charges at me, followed by his cronies. The situation, contrary to what you might think, is pretty simple—I just need to hold out until the teachers arrive. The hard part is surviving.

As Arnold runs at me, I hit his hand with a strike from my wing. I aimed for his head, remembering my mom's advice about fights if I ever got into one, but I missed and hit his hand instead. Still, it wasn't bad—I made him drop the knife. Then, with a second wing strike, this time using the sharp edges of my feathers, I cut him across the chest, knocking him to the ground.

But now comes the hard part. The other five kids approach, hesitating a bit when they see their leader on the ground, but they keep coming. Not sure what else to do, I remember my mom telling me to avoid fights where I'm outnumbered. I start swinging my wings wildly in the air, without any real target, just trying to keep them away from me and Selphira, who's still trembling in fear. I think maybe I can keep them at bay until the teachers arrive, but then I feel a sharp pain in my right arm and see a knife lodged there. That's when I remember one of Arnold's cronies has some kind of telekinesis gene.

Everyone stops in shock. No one speaks except for my cries of pain, though it seems my situation doesn't bother a certain idiot.

"You deserve it, bitch! And there's more pain coming your way!"

He takes advantage of my distraction and jumps on me, knocking me to the ground. He starts strangling me with one hand while punching my face with the other. I try to use my wings, but he's at an angle where I can only hit him with the joint, where there are no sharp feathers. And to be honest, it hurts me more than it hurts him.

I start to feel something—like something inside me is shifting.

He keeps hitting me, but suddenly I hear Selphira scream.

"LET GO!"

She leaps onto Arnold, wrapping herself around his torso, and the snakes on her head bite him all over, making him scream in pain.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? KILL THAT DAMN SNAKE!"

Then his cronies rush at Selphira with their knives, and all I can think about is what they're going to do to her.

And then... everything clicked.