Acid +rap

Eight

We both stared at the bleached piece of paper in horrified silence.
Erma was rubbing her temples as if that would ward off the headache she was getting. 
I was still frowning at the litmus paper that was now completely white. I'm sure my eyebrows were starting to mesh together with how furrowed they were.
Many questions rang through my mind, but only one screamed the loudest:
Why the fuck was my saliva this acidic?!
And if it is really acidic, why haven't my mouth and oesophagus corroded beyond repair?
Where would the acid in my saliva even come from?
I'm pretty sure the proteins in that place would be denatured, or something! How was I even alive?
My mind raced frantically as I realized that none of the books I'd read even remotely mentioned something like this. I tried my hardest to remember any sort of mythology that spoke of something similar to my situation, but there was nothing. Acidic saliva doesn't exist.

Except for now.

I looked down at the paper and back up at Erma, whose face was now set in a focused frown. I reached for my phone to Google 'acidic saliva', when Erma snatched it out of my hand.
I stared at her in confusion.
"What?" I demanded. She shook her head and eyed the phone with urgency.
"Don't use the internet," she chided in hushed tones, "someone could trace that shit!"

I dropped the phone like it was on fire. She was probably right.
"Got a better idea?" I hissed. She shrugged, and was back in her thinking space again. My eyes scanned the schoolyard and I noticed Mr Bruno walking toward the staff room. Maybe he could provide some insight – he was a chemistry expert after all...
"Don't even think about it," she squealed anxiously, slapping the bench top. I sat down quickly, staring at her questioningly.
"Fine!" I squealed back, infected by her anxiety. I've seen cornered animals more relaxed than this girl. I glanced back at Mr Bruno, and we made eye contact, right before he looked away uneasily.  Erma made a disapproving noise.
"What is it?" I demanded, "why shouldn't I go to him? He'd have an idea of why the paper got bleached!"
Erma gave me a look that could put Karina's snarkiest facial expressions to shame. I felt like a moron, so I definitely knew that she was doing it right.
"Why would you sell yourself out like that?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes questioningly.
"Do you actually think Bruno would keep that shit a secret?"

I did, but I knew better than to nod at that. If I said anymore foolish things today, I'm sure she'd smack me upside the head.
I stayed silent. Maybe if I acted like I didn't hear what she said, she'd back off.

"You actually think that?" she asked incredulously. I hung my head, ashamed of my own naiveté. She didn't stop there.
"Maeve," she lectured, "I have watched those teachers ignore out of fear for two years! They're this close," she held her left index finger and thumb impossibly close to each other without letting them touch and then peered through the space.
"THIS close, Mae," she shoved her hand in my face, almost poking my eye out.
"You see it?" the gap got even smaller as her hand trembled with anxiety and fear.
I nodded, but that wasn't enough. She pinched her fingers together. I swear only individual atoms could fit between them now.
These guys were going to take action soon.
"THIS FUCKIN CLOSE, to selling you out for freaking everyone out all the time!"
Here we go again.
"I know, Erma," I grumbled. "I get that they're scared of me. I get it."
"Then act like it!" she snapped, slamming her fist on the bench top.
Umm, what?
I felt annoyance surge at her bossiness. Who did she think she was? I asked her that, and she shrank back suddenly, as if she remembered that she was talking to the resident curse of Ascinder High.
"I'm only trying look out for you," she defended. I cut her off before she could continue, feeling more and more irked by her sudden urge to direct my safety.

"Bullshit!" I spat. She shrank back again, fear in her eyes as that odd rumbling rose in my ears again.
"You didn't give a damn when they were ignoring me before, so how come you wanna be besties now, huh Erma?" I demanded.
She bit her lip and stared at her hands, which were balled in fists in her lap. She looked guilty, but I didn't stop.
"You haven't said more than 5 words to me before today and all of a sudden you're my friend? What," I inched closer to her face menacingly, watching how she steeled herself beneath my heavy gaze, trying her hardest not to flinch. She was trying her hardest to be brave.
Pathetic, a slithery voice wound its way around my thoughts. It was cold and sent chills down my spine. Just like all the other mortals.
I blinked slowly, surprised at myself. That thought was a little uncalled for.
"one tremor was all it took, right?" I chuckled humourlessly.
She sighed sadly, but I wasn't buying it.
Suddenly it hit me – I'm formidable now, and awe-inspiring. I'm the shit. It only made sense that at least somebody would swallow their fear and leech off my newfound star power before it ran out. This was high school after all. Enhancements didn't absolve you of your own asshole tendencies – it amplified them.
I glared at her, disappointment gnawing at my insides. I really thought that I'd made a friend, finally. I guess Erma was just a really good social climber. It was so sad though – she didn't look the part.
I continued all the same.
"You were just waiting for me to be worth your time?" I asked savagely. She shook her head in shame.
"It's not like that, Mae," she began. I sucked my teeth at the nickname. She winced at my sudden iciness.
"Then what is it like, Erma?" I asked unhappily. "If you're just a social climber, then say so. Don't come and act like you give a damn about me all of a sudden. Hardly anyone cares at this school, so I won't care if you're just another one of them."
That last part was a lie. If she was lying to me, I knew it'd burn like acid, no pun intended.
She fell silent and I followed, waiting for her answer.
Erma sighed again. I raised my eyebrows at her, giving her the universal 'I'll wait' expression. I pursed my lips, which are already thick to begin with and crossed my legs, feeling upper-class pettiness flood my entire body.
I'm only 5'5", so it didn't have much to fill.

She bit the inside of her cheek.
"Look," she began. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm still scared shitless of you."
I snickered. That was obvious.
"and I kinda was hanging out with you to acquire some street cred." She winced at the last words, trying to get them out as gently as possible.
I sighed at that, knowing I was right all along. It really was too good to be true.
I silently packed my bag.
"Wait, Maeve," she pleaded. "Please don't go! It's so lonely!"
"You have other friends," I reminded her dryly. "Find them."