《Garden Snake》 Chapter One: The Pool Party PART ONE Chapter One: The Pool Party Life as a hunter was difficult, especially when you had high school to focus on. Kyomi found herself out late at night with her books in a bag and a switchblade in her pocket. Her teachers were given fake doctor''s notes to explain all the bruises and black eyes she constantly got. Of course, rumors spread from this. People at first said she was delinquent and had been getting into fights with her family. Those who knew her from middle school claimed she had snapped over the summer before ninth grade. They said she had a mental breakdown and now her personality was completely different. Hell, some girls even spread a rumor in tenth grade that she was pregnant. She had issues trusting people hearing the rumors and seeing so many deaths. She knew no one would believe her if she told the truth. It was too unbelievable to tell someone you killed creatures that looked like people but weren''t really human at night. And it would be even harder to explain the weaponry. So she stayed to herself and played the quiet, smart girl role. Still, she had somewhat of social life. There were some classmates who liked her. They thought the rumors where bullshit or atleast had the common curtiousy not to bring them up to her. Girls in her school''s book club enjoyed hanging out with her. So did some of her older friends who knew her since middle school. Those who were extroverted invited her every once in and while to go to the movies or out to a party with them. "Hey," Kyomi had been in the library, skipping lunch to study when one of them came up to her. "Are you free this weekend?" Instinctively she wanted to say no, truthfully there was a lot more demon activity than usual. Too many encounters had been happening when she went hunting at night and even when she was walking home. It was to the point she worried about being out with her friends publicly. But she had been getting hints from her mother to get out of the house and be social. The poor woman thought she was a clumsy, reclusive mess. Dinner was tense and the two were going on way too many shopping trips these days. It made her feel uncomfortable being alone with her for so long. Her mother was a social butterfly most of her life. Played hockey throughout middle school and tennis in high school which led to a scholarship. This led to her being a kindergarten teacher when she was toddler and a soccer coach when she reached her preteens. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. And Kyomi, well, she wasn''t very social and was athletic in ways that weren''t for sports. The idea of working with children was also incredibly foreign to her, which shocked her mother. Due to these differences in personality they clashed along with the fact Kyomi was suddenly so closed off to her. "Oh, yeah I don''t have anything to do," She pushed her book aside, deciding to just put hunting aside for once. "What''s up?" Her friend smiled at her eagerness and sat down next to her, scooting close. Kyomi noticed she was wearing her metro card around her neck, she must have been getting ready to go home. She took out her phone and showed her an old social media reel. It was a video of someone jumping in what looked to be a large swimming pool. A pool in an area that looked like it was worth more than both of their incomes combined, her eyebrows raised. It was dated as being from last summer, around late august right before school started back up. Everyone looked like they were having the time of their life, dancing and diving into the water. The food looked great with kabobs, ribs and burgers being grilled by some of the older looking teens. She recognized some of the people standing nearby drinking from red plastic cups. They were girls she had seen walking in the hallways or hanging out with some of the seniors from the nearby private school. The type you¡¯d see using daddy¡¯s credit card to buy themselves prada or chanel. Others looked to be from other schools as she had never seen them. "The track team is having a game day party and I wanted to invite you this time around. You don''t have to bring a swimsuit or swim. But we usually end up partying by the pool the entire time." She swiped her phone to show some old photos. It looked fun to her, there was food and some drinks. The people in the photos she knew were super nice and open to making new friends. They weren''t the type of girls who''d set you up to be pushed into the pool in front of the entire school. Instead, they would be the ones to take you out of the pool, to comfort and dry you off. Overall, they were surprisingly friendly for being so popular. "Do I have to come with you," Kyomi had never really gone to a big party like this one. The proper etique was unknown to her and she was worried about being embarrassed. "Or can I just go alone?" Her friend shrugged her shoulders, grinning from her confirmation. "Doesn''t matter, everyone will know you are invited. Just go to the address in the group chat and bring some money in case we go out afterward." Kyomi''s cheeks felt warm at the mention of ''everyone''. Did the track team know her well enough to enjoy her company? "Ugh, well then I guess I''ll make sure to arrive on time. Wouldn''t want to disappoint anyone." Thankfully her response was taken as snarky instead of anxious as her friend grinned. She gave her a small hug as she put her phone in her pocket and got ready to leave. "Great! My class starts soon so I gotta go, love you bye!" "B-Bye!" The other teen left the library before she could finish speaking, causing her to blush more. She was unsure of what she had gotten herself into. Chapter One: The Pool Party PART TWO Kyomi found herself in study hall marinating over the party. The room was about the size of the school¡¯s library. But instead of being full of bookshelves, it was occupied by various tables and desks. Most of them were taken by older students going over their exam notes in hushed whispers. The rest had old textbooks and ungraded papers taking up whatever space remained in the area. Atop her desk were her feet as she allowed herself to breathe. Her book bag was on the floor and her jacket was thrown off to the side. She felt an emotion bubble in the bottom of her stomach that she wasn''t sure was excitement or anxiety. The idea of going to such a large event was something she shouldn''t miss out on. Hunting had begun to consume her life and she wished she had more time to behave like a regular teenager. Parties, movies, etc had become a distant memory with demons always on her mind. Her life had changed so abruptly within the past three years and she hated it at times. But still, she knew any time spent not training was a risk. ''Just shut up,'' Her feet hit the ground as she sat forward and slapped herself on the forehead. ''Don''t you dare like yourself out of going?'' Someone cleared their throat loudly from her left. From across the room, a teacher put their book down briefly to glare in her direction. The glare was more annoyed than hateful, though it stung just as much. Someone mumbles under their breath that the study hall room was meant to be quiet, making her blush. The teacher eventually stopped staring at her and went back to reading some novel with an odd cover. Kyomi felt a bit of sweat grow on her back, she had no idea that she had been so loud. Her phone had two bars and she turned her attention to its screen. A few texts had come in from the group chat, thankfully about their math exam instead of the party. A few of her friends asked if she wanted to come over to the nearby nature reserve to study with them. Her eyes drifted away from the messages and to the time. It was a quarter to two, with it being thirty minutes before class was dismissed. She planned on walking home today to clear her head and have some time to herself. There was so much to think about. Demons had been unusually active downtown and she wasn''t sure if she needed to contact other hunters for help. It wasn''t like she couldn''t handle a one-on-one fight, she had been doing so for months. But she was becoming rusty from the lack of sleep and stress from high school nearing its end. She found herself sighing at her grandparent''s newest text, followed by her cousin''s. They wanted to know if she needed advice on whatever lies her parents had spun. The school year was coming to an end and her family was becoming more suspicious. It would be harder to hide her true nature when she moved to college. Or worse, she stays to work at the family store. "Miss Kyomi," The teenager was thrown out of her thoughts upon hearing someone scowl her name. It was the same teacher from before who was now looking at her intently. Her book had been cast aside for her focus to be completely on the sixteen-year-old. "Are you using your phone to study for your final exam?" Kyomi found herself cursing internally as she remembered that the study hall has strict rules. One includes the fact you couldn''t just come in there to sit on your phone or chat. "Oh yeah. My laptop died so I''m going to finish my notes on my phone." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The older woman scowled but couldn''t argue with her any further. She made sure to show her a black laptop screen for further proof. "Well, make sure to bring a charger next time. We will have to send you back to the lunchroom if you don''t." ''That''s ridiculous.'' Kyomi gave a weak smile as she tried not to show her discomfort. A few seniors were staring at the two of them, the teacher had raised her voice purposely. "I''ll make sure to remember that next time." Hours later the sixteen-year-old found herself setting the table for dinner. Her mother was off chatting with her friend outside, while her younger cousins vandalized the walls with crayons. It would be just the four of them as her aunts were busy with work and her older cousins had boyfriends to worry about. This left her the only sane member of the household present. She groaned at the sight of one of the children chewing on a red crayon. Her fork twirled in her pasta as she focused on just eating and not stopping the chaos from unfolding. It was a simple dish that had a bit too much vinegar added to it. Her lips pursed together at the sourness as she took a bite. If she got distracted she would end up leaving late for the party. The teenager had gotten dressed in a plain sundress, her swimsuit in a drawstring bag on her back. It was rare these days to see her wearing something that didn''t stop at her knees. She didn''t want to get fully dressed yet until she saw what the pool looked like up close. Even if she was just going to have fun, she had a weapon. If a monster was near she wanted to kill it before it hurt her classmates. The thought of one appearing upset her a bit, she wanted to have fun for once. But monster hunting, fighting weekly for what sometimes was her life would never end. No matter how hard she tried, Kyomi knew she would never be a typical teenager again. "Stella, spit that out," She yelled as the toddler looked up with a crayon falling out of her mouth. It was dripping in pink-tinged slobber. "Crayons are not food!" "Crayons are not food!" The other three children copied her with amusement. They were old enough to know that the stubs were made for doodles. They found it hilarious that the youngest of the group was now tearing up from the noise. Quickly, Kyomi walked over and picked the toddler up as they sniffled. She silently wished she had just let the child eat it. An ear-piercing cry left their mouth as they chewed on a fingernail, a red blush taking over their soft skin as they began to sob. She swore that she''d never have kids after dealing with these four. The three others watched with worry, coming to terms with the fact what they had done was mean. Allowing the three-year-old to eat the crayon and get sick wasn''t a joke. One of the more sensitive of the three even began to silently cry with a soft whine. ''Please no,'' The teenager watched as the child glued to her hip started to hiccup. If she puked on her, she was going to curse God himself. Baby puke was one of the circles of hell in her household. "Shush, it''s okay you guys. Can you help me get her a napkin to wipe her spit up?" The children glanced worriedly before getting to work, running towards the kitchen table for a paper towel. Throw-up splashed on the new stained carpet and a new howl left her cousin''s chest. It was followed by what she could only hope was a diaper full of only pee. A loud cry from the others proclaiming how gross it was and that someone had an accident filled the room. Tonight was going to be a long night.