"Ruby, you're a giant kraken! Don't you think you can aim a little bit higher than… 'Normal Teenager'?"

Staring into the bathroom mirror, Ruby Gillman's head sank down in morose fashion. Upon seeing this, Chelsea yanked her around with a delighted squeal.

"Oh, my cute little floppy baby guppy girl!" Leaving off playing with the despondent wallflower's face, she leaned her sublime features closer. "You know what you need?"

"Great hair and a mermaid tail?" Ruby mumbled from between squished cheeks.

"Ha! No."

The teenage dream leaned forward, smile beaming bright and sharp.

"You need to slap a bitch!"

Ruby's brow crinkled in confusion. "Huh?"

"C'mon, I'll show you." Grabbing her by the hand, Chelsea led them out into the hallway where the entire student body was glued to their handheld devices, devouring the latest gossip like seagulls wolfing down baby turtles. Blue eyes scanned the crowd until alighting on one girl in particular, upon which her face lit up.

"Watch," the mermaid whispered before marching over to stand in front of the unsuspecting teen.

Noticing the gorgeous new transfer student approach wearing a blissful smile, the kid perked up at once. "Hey, Chelsea!" she gabbled happily. "What's…?"

Without hesitation, Chelsea drew back an arm and slapped her hard across the face.

*SMACK!*

The sound carried over the commotion of chatter and phones, causing everyone to snap out of their trances. As the whole student body watched, Chelsea stood over her victim, who had slumped to the ground. She then crossed her arms and roared with eyes blazing, "I heard what you SAID!"

Stunned, disbelieving, the traumatized teen held one hand to her cheek and stared up at her persecutor in shock. For a moment silence reigned, so you could have heard a single tweet drop.

That's when Chelsea smiled, face lapsing into sunshine and warmth once more.

"Just kidding!" she laughed. "I know you didn't say anything. I just wanted you to know what would happen if you did."

So saying, she turned and strolled off.

Observing all this with horror, Ruby took up step behind that baffling temptress. Looking over one shoulder she saw the sobbing teen nurse her stinging cheek, grief etched into every square inch of her body. The kraken rounded on the mermaid. "That looked like it really hurt!"

"Oh, no," Chelsea waved a hand dismissively. "The fat of her cheek cushioned the blow, I barely felt it." Before Ruby could protest further, she brightened and stepped back to place both hands on Gillman's shoulders. "Oh, here we go. See that wannabe over there?"

Ruby looked where indicated to find a preppy fashionista authoritatively lecturing to a gaggle of followers while scrolling through her phone's feed.

"Okay, your turn." With a gentle nudge she sent the bewildered kraken stumbling forward. When Ruby turned back wearing a questioning expression, Chelsea just gave her a confident grin. "You got this, Ruby Gillman!"

By this point Ruby wasn't sure what to think anymore. Her head seemed to be in a whirl. No one else was commenting on what Chelsea had done. Not even the teachers. Either they were ignoring it or, in some strange way, they all condoned the attack. Like it was… normal.

Is this it? Is this what I've been missing all this time?

Bewildered and a little scared, she found herself shuffling toward the pack. The alpha of the group flicked a glance at the timid teen's approach, and when it became apparent Ruby was looking at her, she quickly scanned the other girl's out-of-touch outfit. Candy-pink lips curled in contempt, mascara-covered eyes narrowed viciously, and she spat in a voice dripping with scorn, "Uh, what do you want, Goodwill Girl?"

They were all staring at her now. Feeling a lump of self-consciousness rising in her throat, Ruby chanced a glance back at Chelsea, who merely waved her on excitedly.

Well, here goes nothing.

Coming back around, the young sea beast took a deep breath, raised one long-fingered hand and…

*WHIP-CRACK!*

Blood and teeth spattered against the lockers, and an eyeball went rolling down the hall.

Chelsea and Ruby burst into an unoccupied classroom and slammed the door behind them. "Oh, that was INTENSE!" the redhead gushed, brimming with excitement. "I think her head did a full 180!"

"I… I can't believe I did that!" Ruby stood blinking while the mermaid danced around her. "It hardly seemed real!"

"Oh, it's real! Don't worry, I recorded the whole thing." Chelsea rifled through her phone until a video came up. She held it before her accomplice's face with giddy triumph. "See?!"

Ruby watched the episode play out and felt her gorge rise, face taking on a greenish tint.

"Did you see the way her eye exploded in its socket?" Chelsea idly flipped back through the video, a dreamy smile creeping up her face. Biting her lower lip, she clenched both hands and closed her eyes, twirling about with a delighted squeal before rounding on the other girl. "That was so unbelievably HOT!"

Ruby just stared at this remorseless character slack-jawed, arms dangling limp as a dead squid.

"Actually…" The beauteous siren inhaled deeply and let it out with a sigh. When her eyes opened, they glowed with a mysterious allure. "Are you as turned on as I am right now?"

When Ruby didn't respond, Chelsea mimed for silence with a wink, then hurried back and locked the classroom shut. At this the befuddled kraken finally perked up, and when the mermaid swung around to lean back against the wall wearing a sultry smile, she managed to stammer out, "Uhhh… Ch-Chelsea? What are you doing?"

"That really was the hottest thing I have ever seen," the redhead purred. She pushed off and began advancing upon her classmate.

"Umm…!" Ruby started to back away, head darting around in sudden panic. The sight of this exquisitely attractive creature giving her bedroom eyes proved even more disconcerting than the involuntary mutilation from before. Acting on instinct she swung her backpack around and held it up as a shield. "Chelsea, this was a bad idea from the start! I… I don't think you're right for me!"

"But I am wrong for you…!"

Apparently logic held no effect on mermaid brains. Flowing red hair, a face that could launch a thousand ships, and that body…! Faced with all this, Ruby remained rooted in place, peeping out from behind her backpack like a shy mouse. Which only served to stoke the siren's hunger all the more.

Reaching out, she took the flummoxed kraken's face in both hands until they were practically nose-to-nose. "Let's get this party started," Chelsea declared in a husky whisper.

Twenty minutes later, everyone at school clutched their ears as a tremendous roar caused the whole building to quake. Things only got crazier when enormous tentacles came bursting out of seemingly every wall, tearing half the school apart and sending panicked teens running for their lives.

As people raced screaming past, the classroom door swung open and Chelsea strolled out covered head to foot in translucent goo. "Phew!" the mermaid declared with no regard for how she must look. "Thought I was gonna drown in there!"

A mass of twitching giant tentacles could be glimpsed briefly behind her. Deep, satisfied groans made the ground rumble, causing Chelsea to smile in satisfaction. "Well, better go take a shower. Although…"

Raising one arm, she sniffed experimentally, then smiled. "Know what? Think I'll walk around smelling like this all day!"

She then tossed her slime-drenched locks, slapping a fleeing student soundly across the face in the process to send him sprawling, before pulling out her phone.

"Hey. Yeah, that was me. I gave her the Vibrator Tail. It worked like a charm. Uh-huh… oh, really? That is so cool!"

Squelching with every step, she slid casually through the screaming masses without a care in the world.

FIN.