Hey guys! Kaufmanl here, welcoming you to the third and second-to-last installment of the "Mt. Olympus Junior High" series! If you've read the sneak peak of this story at the end of "Summer at Training Camp", you might want to just scroll through the first half, but there is some new content. Please enjoy and pleasepleasepleaseplease review!
Hermes
Brightwood is about ten times as fancy as MOJH was. For one thing, at MOJH, we had a cafeteria. At Brightwood, we have a dining hall. It's basically a glorified hallway, with a high, arching marble ceiling, and four long, wooden tables. They each seat about 100 students.
It appears friend groups have already been established, and it's easy to see who's who. Sitting at the end farthest from the teacher's table is the competition team, and judging by the wide berth everyone gives them, they're the popular kids. Next to them are the cheerleaders, followed by a group of muscular guys in varsity jackets that I take to be the football team. I sit down somewhere in the middle, with two other new kids and a whole slew of sixth graders.
"Hi!" One of them greets excitedly. "I'm Hebe!" Hebe's blonde curls bounce happily, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. She doesn't seem at all nervous, while everyone else looks confused and scared. "What's your name?" Hebe asks a boy sitting next to her. He looks about my age.
"I'm Aristaeus," He mutters, staring at his food.
"Are you going to eat any of that?" Hebe asks, the energy never leaving her voice.
"I'm a vegetarian," He replies.
"Oh," She says, "well, I'm vegan. Sometimes. When I want to be. I'm Hebe, did I mention that? Goddess of youth. Who are you?" She looks at me expectantly.
"Hermes," I reply. She gasps.
"OMG, I've heard of you!" She cries, "You're, like, the messenger guy, right?"
"Um, yeah. I'm the messenger guy," I mutter.
"What about you, Aristaeus?" She asks.
"I'm god of animal husbandry," He says.
"Oh. That's...interesting." Her perky tone never fades.
"I'm twelve," Hebe babbles, "I'm in sixth grade and this is my first year. I do show jumping. What about you? What grade are you in? What do you do?" Aristaeus and I look at each other, while Hebe keeps smiling, glancing back and forth between us.
"Ninth grade," Aristaeus finally answers, "speed racing."
"Cross country," I reply, "I'm in ninth grade, too."
"Oh, isn't this great?" Hebe squeals, "I have friends."
"Wait, what?" Aristaeus cries.
"Friends," Hebe repeats, "we're friends, right?" Aristaeus and I exchange a look. I glance back at the perky, energetic sixth grader and sigh.
"Um, sure," I mutter. Hebe squeals in excitement and jumps up and down in her seat. Aristaeus glares at me. Hebe continues to babble on for the rest of the night, telling us everything from her favorite color to delivering her first horse. Then, towards the end of the meal, a tall, slender man with a perfectly gelled moustache calls the room to attention. It takes me a second, but eventually, I recognize him as Alder Bracken.
"Welcome!" He shouts. There's a cacophony of cheering. "Yes, yes, it is exciting, isn't it? To our returning students, welcome home. To our competition team, congratulations on another National win. And to our new students, welcome to Brightwood Academy!" More cheering. I clap with the others, unsure of what to do. "Classes will begin tomorrow. Please get your schedule from the office before curfew. Which, as many of you seem to forget, is at nine o'clock!" He continues to brief of us on school rules, during which most people tune out. Then, he says something that seems to get their attention. "Now, for our new students, we have a Brightwood tradition to introduce you to." The room goes wild. People are cheering and laughing and screaming, while the new students look around nervously. Alder Bracken waves his arms, and the room breaks out in song.
Welcome to Brightwood, we're gonna have some fun
But first, all the new kids, take a plunge in the dung!
Wait, what?
Tradition, tradition, we've done it every year
It may be gross and smelly, but it's sure to get a cheer!
Everyone stands up, and the new students are herded out the door with the rest.
Maybe two months, or three months, who knows how old?
It's covered in bugs and flies and maybe a bit of mold!
"What are they talking about?" Aristaeus asks me. I shrug.
"It's tradition!" A passing girl tells us, before continuing the song.
You can muck stalls, paddocks, pastures but you'll never come close
To ever doing anything that's possibly this gross!
Okay, I'm rethinking my decision to come to this school.
Almost there, we're almost there, you're gonna have a ball,
This is all the stuff we clean from every single stall!
They lead us down the dirt path and around a wooden barn to the back, where the largest pile of horse shit I've ever seen sits, in all it's glory. And stationed above it, hanging off the roof of the barn, is something that looks a lot like a diving board.
...oh no.
Climb up there, climb up there, then make the fateful leap.
Falling for forever, until you hit the heap!
They push us towards a rickety-looking ladder and start herding us up it. The ladder quakes dangerously, new students suspended off of every rung.
Don't you worry, don't be scared, it will be lots of fun,
You don't belong at Brightwood 'till you've landed in the dung!
Before I know it, I'm standing on the roof, but for a much different reason that the last time I was standing on a roof. I'm pushed along by the other newbies towards the diving board, which can't be safe. I peer over the heads of the students in front of me, and catch site of Hebe whooping with joy as she falls into the pile of shit. The song has ended, and the students have adopted a steady cheer.
Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!
Then I'm being shoved onto the diving board, facing Mt. Horse Excrement. Someone grabs my winged hat off my head. I stare at the pile of poo below me, close my eyes, and leap. It takes about two seconds for me to hit the soft, warm shit. I join at least twenty other new kids, sitting in the surprisingly comfy dung heap. Hebe scrambles over to me.
"Isn't this fun?" She exclaims, tossing a handful of poop at me.
"Oh, yeah," I reply, "I love jumping off buildings into year-old piles of poop." Hebe grins from ear to ear.
"Me too!" She squeals. Suddenly, Aristaeus lands beside us, holding something.
"Here's your hat," He grunts. I take it from him and jam in onto my head, never having liked being without it.
"Aristaeus, isn't this great?" Hebe demands. Aristaeus sighs and nods reluctantly.
"Yeah, I guess it is sorta fun," He admits. Hebe squeals with joy.
"I love having friends!" She shrieks. Aristaeus looks at her, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face.
"Yeah," He mutters, "me too." Who knew jumping into a pile of horse crap could bring people together as well as it does?
Later that night, back in my dorm (after I've washed the horse poop off of myself), I take out a piece of paper and write my first letter.
Hey guys,
Britewood is weerd. I went shitdiving.
Frum,
Me
Artemis
"Good morning, students, and welcome to A.P. math!" Our teacher is far too enthusiastic for the first day of school. "My name is Mr. Giles, and yes, I am a satyr." He steps around his desk, his goat feet tapping the floor. Some gasp, a few students laugh, and one makes a goat noise. Mr. Giles rolls his eyes. "Clever," He says, "no one's ever done that before." A couple students laugh, while most stay silent. "Now, you are in A.P. math. Can anyone tell me what that means?"
"Advanced Placement," Athena calls. Mr. Giles nods.
"Yes. This is the advanced math class. Which means I expect you to work harder, do better, and learn faster than any other math class." There's a chorus of groans at this. "So, we're going to get started with a quick pop quiz." More groans, and a few angered cries of, "What?!" And, "But it's the first day!" Mr. Giles clops around the room, passing out tests. I take out my pencil and wait. Mr. Giles puts a test down on my desk, and I look down at it.
1. What is your favorite color?
2. Satyrs or centaurs?
3. Team Peeta or Team Gale?
4. How's your first day of highschool been?
Mr. Giles smirks at our confused faces.
"Go on," He says, "answer them." So I start writing. About two or so minutes in, Athena leans over to look at my paper.
"Ew!" She gasps, "Team Gale?" I roll my eyes.
"They have so much more in common," I explain.
"C'mon, Artemis," Apollo cuts in, "even Katniss is on Team Peeta."
"Eyes on your own paper!" I snap.
Mr. Giles spends the rest of the class briefing us on the curriculum and asking dumb math questions. Predictably, Athena answers them all. By the end of class, she's standing at his desk, and they're having a contest to see who can recite more digits of pi backwards. Of course, since pi goes on forever, neither of them can start. They find this incredibly funny, and so does Apollo. The three of them are in hysterics, while the rest of the class eyes them awkwardly.
Then the bells rings (thankfully), and we head to our next class, sword fighting. Our teacher is a tall, formidable-looking dryade who introduces herself as Mrs. Barker. She says we should all have significant enough training to take on one of the seniors, and then says that when she was our age, she battled six chimeras at once.
"By the end of the year," She barks, "you incompetent little worms will be warriors!" The class shrinks back while she yells at us. "Now pair up, and show me what you've got!" Then, as an afterthought, "If you've got anything." Athena and I cross our swords, while Apollo takes on Perseus. The room is filled with the clashes and clangs of blades connecting, while Mrs. Barker walks around, surveying us with an unimpressed expression. "Is this it?" She asks boredly, "Nine years of training, and this is all you can do?" She pushes Perseus away from Apollo, drawing her own sword and making a stab at him. In the blink of an eye, he's brought his sword down and knocked hers out of her hand. Her eyes follow her sword to the ground, and then she slowly looks back up at him. He cowers under her glare. Her lip curls, and I swear I hear a low growl emanate from her. "You!" She snarls, grabbing him by the sleeve. She then whirls around to face Athena and I. "You two as well!" She snaps, "Come with me!"
We follow her wordlessly from the room and out of the building to the football field. It's empty, save for us. We're alone with a furious maniac teacher. Great.
Mrs. Barker lets go of Apollo and turns to face us.
"Sssssssso," She hisses, "look what we have here. My master will be sssssssso pleased." Athena, Apollo, and I glance at each other, confused. "Ssssssssilly children. Ssssssilly, sssssstupid little children." Athena sets her jaw, the word "stupid" striking a nerve in her. "You got away from him, but you can't escape me! Ssssssee, he wants revenge. And I do to. Ssssso, we joined forces." Apollo gasps.
"Prometheus," He whispers.
"That'ssssss right," Mrs. Barker hisses, "conssssssider thisssss a warning." Then her body is engulfed with light, reminding me of last year's Nationals, when Macey Malone revealed herself. There's a blinding flash, and then Mrs. Barker returns. But instead of legs, from her hips branch the bodies of two, giant, snakes.
"Echidna!" Athena screams.
"Your father imprisoned my mate beneath Mt. Etna," She cries, "and now, Olympussssssssss will pay!"
"Think you can take us?" Apollo scoffs, drawing his sword. Echidna/Mrs. Barker lets out a high, cruel laugh.
"Why, yesssssss." With that, one of her snake-legs swings up and knocks us all back about six feet. I struggle onto all fours, trying to catch my breath. Echidna slithers forward.
"RUN!" Athena screams. We scramble to our feet, running for dear life. I bolt for the gate to the field, only to find it locked. I curse, slamming my foot into the wire fence. "Climb!" Athena orders, "Quickly!" I wind my fingers into the diamond-shaped wire and start pulling myself up. Athena and Apollo follow suit. Echidna slithers along behind us.
"You really think you can just run away?" She scoffs, slamming one of her snake tails into the fence. It shakes violently, then falls over, the three of us still clinging to it. We hit the ground with a thud, the fence collapsing around the football field in a rippling domino effect. I wriggle out from beneath the fence and pull it off of Apollo and Athena.
"Just asking," Apollo says, waving his sword wildly and making a deep cut in one of Echidna's tails, "but if Zeus imprisoned Typhon beneath Mt. Etna, why are you after us?" Echidna laughs and lunges at Apollo, pinning him to the ground and wrapping her long, black claws around his neck.
"Zeussssss will do anything for his little babiesssssss." She traces a claw around Apollo's face. "Sssssssuch a handsome little boy," She hisses, "shame." She prepares to draw a cut across his face.
"Get off of him!" Athena cries, bringing her sword down on Echidna' back. Shrieking in rage, she abandons my brother and turns on Athena.
"Oh, how sssssweet," She mocks, "protecting your little boyfriend." Athena blushes, but the rage never fades from her eyes. "Fine. I guessssss I could kill you, instead."
"Hey!" I shout, "Over here!" I pick up a piece of the fence and hurl it with all my might. It hits Echidna in the back, knocking her over. Once she's pushed herself up, she turns slowly to face me, rage boiling in her eyes. "Shit." She curls her lip and snarls, revealing a set of sharp, pointed teeth. "Run!" I cry. We dash towards the building, Echidna slithering after us. Once we reach the building, Athena instructs us to split up. We run in different directions, hoping to confuse Echidna. I race down a hallway, unaware of whether or not I'm being followed.
"Let'sssss ssssee how much Daddy really caressss about you?" Echidna's voice slithers into my head. I keep running. "Join usssss, Artemisssss. Get your revenge." I try to push her words out of my head. "Sssssilly little girl, alwayssss sssecond to her brother. Daddy alwayssss liked him more, didn't he?"
"Stop!" I cry, hitting a dead end and whirling around to face her. Without thinking, I draw my sword and throw it at her. It embeds itself in her stomach, and she doubles over, gasping.
"You...," She says weakly, "you...little...devil. You..." She slithers slowly towards me, clutching at her middle. She pulls the sword out of her stomach, and it makes a sickly squelch noise. My back is pressed up against the wall as she moves towards me, and presses her hands against the wall, trapping me. "You're...gonna...die...Artemissss." She reaches with one trembling hand towards my neck, extending her black claws like switchblades and sliding one across my neck, as if as a warning. I gasp, realizing now that every breath could be my last. "You'll...pay...for...thissssss..." I fumble desperately along the wall, my hands connecting with something cold and round. "Get ready...to die..." She reaches up, lays one of her claws on my neck, and prepares to make the fatal cut.
"AAAAAAHHHH!" I shriek, pressing down on the nozzle of the red cylinder in my hands. Foam sprays everywhere, the strength of the blast knocking Echidna off her feet and filling her mouth, as it sucks in her dying breath. Students pour out of classrooms and spot me, clutching a fire extinguisher. Buried beneath the white fluff is Echidna's dead body. Mr. Giles pushes through it and retrieves her, the bloody sword wound glaring red under the sea of white. He looks at me, then at the sword on the ground.
"With me," He says sharply, "now." Just then, Athena and Apollo round the corner.
"Is she dead?" Apollo asks, "Did you kill her?" His eyes fall upon the body in Mr. Giles's arms. "Oh." Mr. Giles sighs.
"You two as well," He says. We follow him to an empty classroom, and he pulls us inside. "Care to tell me why I found you holding a fire extinguisher in front of a dead body?" He asks me. We all start to talk at once.
"It was Mrs. Barker-"
"She took us out to the field-"
"You see, this summer-" Mr. Giles waves his arms, silencing us.
"One at a time," He instructs. No one talks, so I take it as my cue to speak.
"This summer, at training camp, I was kidnapped by Prometheus. He wanted to use me as ransom for his freedom. The boys found me, but Prometheus got away. Echidna told us she's joined forces with him. She wants revenge for Typhon being imprisoned beneath Mt. Etna," I explain. Mr. Giles eyes me suspiciously.
"Okay," He says slowly, "then where did Echidna come from?"
"She was in disguise," Apollo says, "as Mrs. Barker."
"You're telling the truth?" He asks skeptically. We nod. "Well, then, I'm going to take your word for it. This could be very dangerous. I'll alert Zeus. Until I get further word, you aren't to leave Olympus without official permission, understand? It sounds like we have a war brewing, and you're key players. Don't go near anyone who's the least bit suspicious. Keep your guard up. Make sure your armed at all times. Never travel alone. Got it?" We nod. Mr. Giles dismisses us and leaves for the palace, and we head back to the sword-fighting classroom to inform the other students that Mrs. Barker had an urgent meeting to attend, as instructed by Mr. Giles. They seem to buy it. At least, no one's complaining that she's gone.
"High school is...exciting, isn't it?" Apollo says, once we've sat down on the bleachers with the other students (no one wants to sword fight at nine in the morning unless they have to).
"No kidding," I reply, "One of our teachers is half goat, and the other one is half snake." Athena sighs.
"And it's not even third period."