The (Mis)Adventures of (Re)Becca Smellie

Chapter 9: Mentor

The sun had gone down by the time Bella pulled up to the front of an apartment complex a way's away from the campus. It was an older building compared to those around it, with red brick at the foundations and shuttered windows that looked freshly painted. The neighborhood was near the eastern edge of town and was closer to another University that only served alien races, though its reputation was less than ideal.

Valeria tensed up as they drove around the neighborhood, and even more so when she exited the car. Bella took her hand.

"Why are you so worked up?"

"I don't like these kinds of places. Why is a human living around here anyway?"

"Some people just love standing out," Bella responded with a chuckle as she rang doorbell number 8A at the front entrance.

As they waited, several groups of aliens about their ages walked by them coming to and from their campus. Bella didn't notice them, but Valeria did. She was on high alert already, so she noticed whenever their paces slowed down by even a millisecond, and she could hear their whispers amongst one another. Especially amongst the males. Two large white aliens with red markings and large round buck-shaped heads slowed their pace considerably to stare at Bella.

"Damn look at her! Have you ever seen a human that hot?"

"Man I would kill to get between those legs."

Valeria stood in front of Bella and hissed at them. "Wanna say that again fuckers?"

Bella turned around in surprise to see the confused male students staring at Valeria.

"What's wrong half-blood?" the larger one asked with a smirk. "Worried she'll leave you for a real deal like us? Tell you what, why don't you let her come with us for a night so she can see what she's missing? I'm not one to bet, but I'll wager that I can show her an even better time than you."

Valeria's chest heaved in anger. Her hair and ears spiked, and her retracted claws began to show in their full form as she hissed and crouched down ready to attack. Bella took her wrist and tried to calm her, but she wasn't listening.

"Val these guys aren't worth it!"

"Stay out of this Bella. It's not about you."

"It is about me!" she said and walked between them. "Just relax, please."

The guys smirked. "Aw that's so sweet. You need your little human to fight for you."

"Leave them alone," a female voice called out to them. It was a female alien with three eyes and dark green skin with light-colored spots. "Don't mess with her Dan. Don't you see that blue mark on her face? She's a head of the Ryu."

"Ha! The Ryu don't scare me. The only reason they're so powerful is because they're closer to the humans than us Guiles."

Valeria gave a devilish grin and laughed. "Oh man, you're a Guile? I knew I smelled burning shit when you walked by but I didn't think it was because I was going to incinerate your ass."

"You little bitch," he said dropping his bags to the ground and cracking his neck. Horns started to sprout from the top of his head. "Winner gets to take the human home. You're going to regret—"

Valeria didn't wait and flung herself at him, kicking him straight in the face to render him blind as he fell to the ground. She flung herself in the air and did a backflip before jumping back to Bella's side in a perfect landing as she steadied herself with one knee on the ground.

After a long minute, the alien called Dan groaned and stood up holding a large hand over the top of his face and eyes. "That was low even for a Ryu!"