Dawn

I started dozing at the droning noise of Mrs. Derpenzer's monotonous voice. I mean, really, you can't get any more boring then learning the history of Shakespeare and his plays. And besides, I learned this, like, two years ago. Although the memories were a little bit fuzzy.

I cracked open an eye, surveying the slowly-ticking clock. Tick, tick, tick, tick.

I groaned. At this rate, it was going to take forever for History class to end and I'd be dead by then, either from the boringness or from the glares of some of my geeky but violent classmates, their eyes telling me to suck it up or I was going to be murdered at lunch.

I pulled open my binder and pretended to be hard at work, taking down notes of one of Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar. At least this one had a slight entertainment factor—not-so-interesting names. I mean, really, Brutus and Cassius?

"Ms. Cooper!" Mrs. Derpenzer's voice cut through the air like a whip. I jolted, banging my kneecaps against the bottom of my desk. There were a couple of giggles coming from the popular clique. I mentally cursed as I glumly asked, "Yes?"

"Would you like to tell the class the name of of the two main conspirators against Caesar?"

I blinked. That was rather easy. "Brutus and Cassius."

Mrs. Derpenzer looked at me suspiciously with this hungry gleam in her eyes that made me want to throw up. "Yes," she said somewhat grudgingly. "You are...absolutely correct."

I breathed a sigh of relief as the History teacher told us to turn to page 27. I zoned out again, half of my mind in the class (the better half) and the other half (the rebellious side) somewhere over the rainbow.

After a couple more slow, torturous minutes, the bell rung. I shot to my feet, stuffed my books and papers unceremoniously into my already-like-a-nuclear-bomb backpack. I wouldn't be doing my History homework tonight. Oh, well, I already had a B in History, which wasn't bad by my standards, so why bother? I could easily make it up.

I went to my locker and shoved my History stuff into the mess of a locker, pulling out a math textbook and a couple of sheets of crumpled homework out of it. I headed reluctantly to Algebra, caught up in the wave of chattering students.

Forty-three torturous minutes later, I stumbled out of algebra class, my ADHD brain swimming with algebraic equations and math problems. I was never the best one at math, and I was pretty much failing the course already.

The whole of seventh grade stampeded out for recess, hooting and hollering and pretty much making a huge ruckus.

One of the popular clique I mentioned earlier sauntered up to me. Even though Helena was a whole head shorter then me, she had another two feet of attitude. "Hi, Dawn," she said real sweetly. "Do you care for a makeover?"

I stared at her in disgust. "Are you insane?"

"No!" she screeched.

"That's my answer," I flashed back. "No. Way."

Helena regained her composure and smiled at me, all innocent-like. "You really could use some makeup. But then," she giggled, "you would probably look like a raccoon that's wearing miniscule amounts of mascara."

Her stupid friends cackled behind Helena, who was laughing at me as well. I glared at her. "You will shut up before I get angry," I warned. "And when I get mad, bad things start happening."

Helena smirked at me, an idiot wearing a bunch of mascara, lip gloss, nail polish, and blush. "Like what?" she cooed. "What will you do to me? Hit me upside the head?"

"I'll steal your make-up kits," I suggested. Helena's eyes widened in horror. "Y-you wouldn't!" she gasped. I sneered, knowing that I had found a weak spot. "Oh, yes I would. And there would be nothing you could do about it."

Helena stepped back. "Okay, okay! I won't give you a makeover!" she wailed. "Just don't steal my make-up!"

I rolled my eyes and walked away the scene. That's the thing about popular girls. They can't stand to have their oh-so-lovely make-up stolen from their sight.

Instantly after I had taken care of the whole make-up business, Joey and his gang of bad boys pounced on me. Literally. I went sprawling onto the blacktop.

"Hey, punk," Joey leered. "How's your day been goin'?"

I gritted my teeth. "Fine. Will you tell your idiotic thug to let go of me?"

Joey laughed, a harsh guttural sound that made it seem as if he had sand in his vocal chords. "No. Danny has been waiting all year for this."

A muscular boy cracked his knuckles, evilly grinning at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I suggest that you let go of me right now!"

Joey laughed again. "Please, Dawn. You're wasting your breath here."

"You're going to be suspended or expelled," I spat.

Joey eyed me with this manic glint in his eyes. "I very much doubt that. Vincent, loosen your grip just a little. I want her to see what's happening to her precious school."

My heart plunged into my stomach as I peeked over the guy who was holding me. My eyes turned as big as quarters. "What are those kids doing?"

The whole school had been herded together into one huge clump. There were a circle of demons around them. The monsters had flaming hair, burning red eyes, one bronze leg, and...a donkey leg. What were they, some sort of mutated vampires?

Helena flashed a cheeky smile at me. "It's my turn for suggestions, half-blood. I suggest that you don't move or else..."

Her hand turned into talons that looked deadly sharp. She pressed it against the neck of the nearest human being. "Or the boy dies."

Vincent pushed me back down again, effectively cracking my head.

"So you see," Joey whispered. "All you have to do is die, demigod. Then, the rest of the seventh graders will not be hurt."

I glared at Joey. "Who are you? What are you?"

Joey smiled. His teeth...were not teeth, but fangs. "That is not important."

He motioned towards Danny, who stepped forwards with one fist raised. "Good-bye, demigod..."

That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.