Demonica by Preston Norton

Lucy and Lilith Hartley, doing their usual thing—texting back and forth, making googly eyes with boys, and making comments in class mostly for the sake of oh look at me! I’m so fucking pretty! Tee hee hee!
    Good thing I’m not bitter or anything
    But fuck. Both of the Hartley sisters easily tied as the most gorgeous and popular girls in Villeneuve High. Which was a little bit strange because, aside from their identical, blonde Barbie faces, they were absolutely nothing alike.
    Lucy was Class President and officiated in our Student Council meetings. There was no doubt she would make Student Body President by her senior year. She was smart, sophisticated, and could have pretty much have any guy in school she wanted.
    Which was different than Lilith who did have every guy that she wanted. Lilith was a cheerleader, but she was known by many other titles. Let’s just say that she was really good friends with the football team. Like. All of them. And it didn’t stop there. Oh no. There were plenty of rumors circulating around that she was just as friendly with several of the other cheerleaders. And because of her sister, she was also on the Student Council. Which actually wasn’t too bad because she would spend the entire time reapplying her make-up while her sister did all of the talking. Those times when she did feel the need to make a contribution…? Good god. Chinese water torture, you have met your match.
    As I continued to scan the lab room, it was impossible not to notice Lilith seductively licking her glossy lips at some guy I didn’t recognize. Apparently she didn’t understand the context of “chemistry” in this class. Fuck. The puns, the puns!
    I’d never been so excited for the lunch bell to ring. But not for food. I was already sick to my stomach. I just needed a break from playing spy. As I made my way to the cafeteria, I immediately spotted Zoey flagging me down.
    “You look exhausted,” said Zoey, frowning. “I still can’t believe you came to school after last night.”
    “Yeah,” I grumbled. “Me either.”
    Moving with the flow of human traffic (well…human as far as I could tell), we spilled out into the open cafeteria. Light gleamed through the wall-expansive windows. After straining my eyes for so long, spying on bored students, I was ready to pop those round, squishy, optical bastards out of my eye-sockets and soak them in Epsom salt.
    This stupid Demon search was beginning to feel like a rehash of my eight-year-old Where’s Waldo binge days. Only Demons apparently wore better disguises than red and white striped shirts and beanies. It didn’t matter that I was in complete zombie mode at this point. Zoey always took the lead, forcing us on a direct route through the cafeteria line and back to our usual seats. I stared down at my processed chicken and mashed potatoes.
    Nope. Not even a little bit hungry.
    “You don’t look so good,” said Zoey.
    “I’m fine. Just a little…I dunno. I’m fine.”
    Meeting Zoey’s gaze, I was only reminded of what Dante had said about her. That she wasn’t human. At least, not completely. So then what was she? I glanced past Zoey, observing the endless rows of students behind her. Just one pathetic glance at this sight and I came to two immediate conclusions.
    One: There was no way I could find all these Demons on my own.
    Two: Whether Zoey was human or not, I still trusted her. At least I knew she wasn’t a Demon, right? That was more than I could say about everyone else.
    “Can I ask you a question?” I said.
    Zoey brushed her black and blue bangs aside, only mildly curious. “Yeah, babe, what is it?”
    I decided that only a little truth was necessary at the moment. I took a deep breath, all while forcing a half-teasing expression. “If someone here at school was a monster, who do you think it would be?”
    My execution was perfect. It sounded exactly like the sort of random, half-baked question Zoey asked all the time.
    “A monster?”