“What a cold bitch.”

“Not wanting to hang out with us? Can you believe her?”

“I heard she’s paying for her degree by selling herself.”

“Her? With that mousy face? Who’d be interested in that?”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

I know I’m not the most outwardly social person. I tend to keep to myself and spend most of my free time reading, rather than going out to party with others. Practically the definition of introvert. I’m sure if you looked up introvert in the dictionary you’d find a picture of me. Dark brown hair, glasses, and I always dress in a subdued manner. While I have some flashy hobbies, I keep my private life separate from school.

Even the one physical trait that you would think screams individuality, my heterochromia, is subdued. One hazel eye, with the other eye a green that’s so dull you have to be nose-to-nose to really see a difference between the two irises. Back when I had friends I would joke that it was a “main character” sort of trait, but all it really does is put me at risk of perjury when filling out official documents that don’t leave enough room when stating eye color.

Maybe this quiet nature is what led to them targeting me? I honestly didn’t expect a clique like this to form. I had decided to attend a small Catholic university in Maryland, since it was convenient to both my family and my part-time job I had. Naturally, with my background and personality sticking out is the last thing I want to do. It probably wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s just become an ingrained habit at this point.

But a group of girls in the Art History program, probably still used to being top of the social hierarchy in high school, decided I stuck out in my own way. The rumors they began to spread regarding my character were immature, but in the strict social setting of this school they took root and began to sour relationships with my other classmates. This of course was compounded by the fact that I did not live in the dorms, refused to talk about my part-time job and quite frankly chose to ignore people trying to get to know me better. Yes, I suppose I could be rude at times, but I’m not obligated to tell you my life story.

Of course, I’m not going to act up and complain about how they’re treating me. Of course not. I have obligations. Doing anything that could get me in trouble would jeopardize my clearance, my job, and possibly even my freedom. Not only that, acting against these girls in a visible way would just be embarrassing. It’s already bad enough that a group younger than me is getting on my nerves this much, but losing any sense of decorum I have would just be kind of sad.

So, even though they’re blatantly spreading rumors about me, within earshot even, I keep to myself. I’ll be the better woman. Once class is over, I have my part-time job to go to at the archives. My pride and position won’t let me work against them openly. But the collection of grimoires I have access to give me other options.