I ran through the forest, panting. The swarm of something behind me was gaining. I hid in a temple. "Apollos." I thought, knowing because of my knowledge of Greek mythology, which I had studied for a project in fifth grade, two years ago. The statue of Apollo inside slowly creaked toward me. I was cornered.
Ahh! I woke up in my bed, staring right into cam newtons eyes. Whoa! Oh. Just in my room, with all the panthers posters and jerseys. After a moment to catch my breath, I went down stairs and poured myself some orange juice.
"Hey mom" I said, when she came downstairs. "Get lost again?"
"Almost!" She said pouring herself some as well."I'll never get used to this house" she said.
" I got used to it when we put the panthers stuff in my room!" I said.
"Yeah, well, your lucky I'm a multimillionaire now that I'm the CEO of Chase. Isn't it time for you to go to School?
"Oh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me."
" No problem! See you tonight at your football game!"
"What about my soccer practice and basketball game?"
"I'll only be able to see the football game, and your going to have to walk to your practice.
Yeah, I was kind of disappointed about that. I'd read books about how people's parents. Never seem to have time for them because they work extra for more money 'cause they're poor, but the problem is, really rich people never seem to have time either, they're always managing their business.
As I walked down the street toward Hamm Middle, something didn't feel right. It was probably nothing, but I didn't like it. It felt like something was watching me from the Orange leaved trees. At school, I sighed, exasperated. Matt Graber was waiting for me.
"Hey, Ben! Why did the annoyingly handsome person cross the street to the school? Because he was scared his sister's ghost would come and get him!"
"I go to school because it's the law, Matt, not to get away from Kate's ghost, so why don't you just shut up!
"The 6- year old sister walked into the lake. Then she tripped and she never wo-." said Matt in a sing-Songy voice, before his father interrupted him.
"Matt, what are you doing?" Says principal Graber.
"Oh, uh, just... Telling Ben good luck on his football game tonight! Bye dad." Matt said.
"Ben, if he bothers you again, just tell me." Said the dark-haired principal, looking at his son run hurriedly toward the school.
"Thanks, Mr. Graber."
"Anytime, Ben. I'll talk to him later. If he talks to you like that again, just tell me, and I'll see what I can do."
"Ok Mr. Graber. See you another time." I said, turning and walking into the school. I got to my locker and sifted through the piles of junk, looking for my history book. I accidentally dropped it when I finally picked it up, and it opened to the page about Apollo, the God of the sun, my favorite god, and in my opinion, the best looking god in the entire book.
His blond hair almost the exact same color as mine, the fact that he was a crack shot with a bow, just like I was with a hunting rifle, and his good looks, if I was any God, I would be him. In fact, we look so much alike, it's hard to believe I'm not related to him.
After picking up my history book. And walking to my eighth grade science class. Dissecting frogs wasn't as gross as it usually was, because my mind was on the dream that I had that morning.
I've thought about Apollo a lot lately, I thought, half heartedly picking out the frogs lungs with my tweezers while my lab partner, Dan, wrote observations down in a notebook.
Kate had had blond hair two. Our mom had black hair, so it must have been from dad. Dad, who ran away when I was one and too young to remember him. Kate said that he had run away after she was born, but came back two years later. Then, after I was born, ran away and never came back. Not even for Kate's funeral. Mom said he knew, but either that's not true, or he didn't care. And I've never known mom to lie.
"Ben!" Shouted Dan, obviously not for the first time."Stop squishing the lungs!"
I looked down, surprised to see that the lungs looked like a bunch of root-beer foam.
"Ben, now we have to get a whole new frog! Why'd you squish the lungs?"
"Sorry," I mumbled, taking off my safety glasses and walking over to Ms. Johnson, the science teacher.
"Ms. J, I need a new frog." I said.
"Alright, but this is the last one." She said, handing me a new one.
Luckily, I didn't have any tests that day, or I would've failed them. But I walked past my house when I got there, and almost a block more before I realized what had happened. When I turning around I heard a hisssssss
coming from the bushes next to me, and all of a sudden, a women with green skin and two snakes tails, slithering out behind her came out, her forked tongue flickering. She had a trident in one hand, and a net in the other.
I'd seen this monster before but only in history books. It was called a Scythian Dracenae, but it was a Greek myth, something that didn't exist. As it hissed again, I turned around and sprinted back to my house and locked the door.
"Mom? You here?"I shouted.
"Yes, Ben, what's wrong?"
"I saw a Dracenae, one of those snake ladies, mom. I wasn't hallucinating! It had a trident and a net and was going to kill me but I ran here. Mom," I said, noticing the look on her face,"Do you believe me?"
"Yes Ben, and..." I could hear her muttering something. It sounded like "Eighth grade... Always eighth grade... Help me apollo, I can't believe I'm going to have to do it..."I can't believe this is happening, but I have to take you to... A new place..."
"Mom, what... Is going on?"
"Ben I'll explain on the way, but right now, I have to take you to... A new place."
"Mom, what place? A school?
"No, Ben. A camp. Camp Half-Blood."