They called her Doomflares. A stuck-up witchy little bitch who had spent two years tottering ghost-like around college thinking she was way better than everybody else. Powdery pale white skin, glossy raven hair, a litany of metal band shirts, lofty platform boots and those ever present black flared jeans.
The end of year exams had pretty much concluded and the gaggle of popular girls lounging on the grass along the riverside were thankful that they'd never have to set eyes on the gothy little skank ever again.
Except they did... Striding nearby the girls and towards the river on her way home from college for the last time. She was surely destined for some fancy university far from the decidedly mundane environs of the moderately sized southern English town that they she'd grown up in. Doomflares had exited the rear entrance of the college which led to a short cut along the river to the moderately busy town centre.
Despite the hot summer conditions, Doomflares was outfitted in her usual get-up with the addition of a tatty leather jacket. Her straight centre-parted black hair rested upon slightly hunched leather-clad shoulders. Under the jacket Doomflares wore a black t-shirt emblazoned with the words 'Electric Wizard' beneath a depiction of a demon. The black denim trousers were slim fit up top, but then billowed out by the time they reached her feet. In contrast to the usual chunky Bride of Frankenstein platform boots she wore, Doomflares had gone for a sharply pointed and spectacularly shiny pair of black stiletto boots. Only the pointy toes and spike like heel were visible beneath the broad cuffs of the jeans. In her left hand she carried a black shiny buckled leather satchel akin to something Van Helsing would keep wooden stakes in. Admittedly, the hot grass affected her lofty high-heeled canter somewhat, but the tottering goth seemed utterly unperturbed by the watching group. Just another gaggle of fake tanned airheads in bikini tops and short-shorts. So what...
As usual, Doomflares' heavily powdered face was almost corpse white. Her lips were painted a gothy purple and she wore a pair of big circular black sun glasses with chunky frames. The shades conveyed a sense of laid back arrogance that rendered her facial expression inscrutable. So much so that the popular girls detected no change to her glacial manner when she realised that she was on course to where the five girls and two topless buff college boys lounged with bottles of cheap white wine and paper cups. Her nonchalance enraged the popular girls.
The popular girls had never had any real interaction with Doomflares, but her manner was always frosty. A ghost of a sneer seemed to pass across her face whenever she encountered them. It was clear to all that Doomflares was a proud loner. Following her own path, she obviously couldn't care less what people thought of her. As much of a joke as the popular girls believed Doomflares to be, the sheer gall of her arrogance enraged them beyond reason. How on earth could she hold herself in such high regard?
Doomflares was actually a number of years older than most taking their A-levels at the local college. For reasons unknown Doomflares had rocked up at twenty three and was twenty five upon graduation. This made the self-possessed metaller quite the mature older woman in contrast to the eighteen to twenty year old students who took courses during the day. Perhaps those extra years had affected her outlook on life and popularity, but you wouldn't necessarily know it to look at her. Doomflares looked twenty at most. A pretty round(ish) face rendered sharp by cosmetics and a little on the short side, Doomflares was likely out of shape in comparison to the five toned and tanned popular girls, but her outfits kept her well covered up. The popular girls could only speculate on what lay beneath the faΓ§ade.
What happened next was the combination of a chance encounter, alcohol fuelled cruelty and a devil-may-care level of excitement born of all five girls graduating from college and preparing to move on. Perhaps if Doomflares had changed direction then the girls would've hurled a few insults her way and left it at that. But arrogant to the end, Doomflares wasn't going to change course in fear of a few airheaded bimbos.
The most dominant popular girl (Tammy) stood and wandered over to where Doomflares was walking. Tall, tanned, blonde, conventionally attractive and sporting only a pink two-piece bikini, the other girls followed her and the boys watched with bemused curiosity. Tammy spat out a few petty insults and attempted to block the loner's path. Inscrutable as ever, Doomflares ignored the goading and walked around her. This seemed to push the Tammy over the edge. Perhaps it was the expressions on the faces of her somewhat underwhelmed accomplices who had arisen and slowly followed. Finally, she allowed the goth to pass, but the woman took just one step before Tammy tripped her from behind. Doomflares' spike heels clicked together and then she was down. Sprawled out on the grass in mute shock. Tammy wasted not a second. Down she went. With a powerful knee pinning Doomflares at the small of her back, the aggressor yelled at her nearby friends,
"Who wants to see her in a bikini?! Get her boots and jeans off! We're gonna strip the witch!".
There was zero hesitation from the gang. Forward they pounced. For the first time Doomflare's glacial cool began to crack. Still she said nothing, but her pinned body began to wiggle wildly. Her fists pounded the grass and her high-heeled booted feet kicked, but there was no moving the stronger girl. The others were on her in a second. Shrill laughter and squeals rang out as they fought to grab a leg. The boys stayed seated, but looked on with glee.