Disclaimer: You think I'm Greek? If I own Greek mythology, how old would I be, you moron?
Note: The story takes place in the 21st Century. The Greek mythological figures are normal employees working in a company called Olympus, or working somewhere else. They are normal people.
'Cos if this takes place in Ancient Greece and the characters were immortals and mortal it wouldn't be funny since the immortals can simply kill the mortals.
The plot of this story will be quite fast-moving. Don't like it? Don't read.
Effects of a Love Potion: Artemis' Misery
1
The young woman called Artemis was walking gracefully towards her new office. She was wearing a plain white shirt and a simple knee-length black skirt. Her long brown hair tied in a bun.
"Hey, Artemis," an employee called Jason greeted her.
She smiled. "Hey."
"Hey, Arty!"
"Good morning, Heracles."
As she was getting closer to her office, the employees with the higher ranks greeted her loudly.
"Mornin', Arty! How's our new HOD?" Hermes, the Errand Boy was pushing his trolley of messages. He took one out and handed it to her. "Here, a letter from Dad."
"Dad" is the pet name of the company's boss, Mr. Zeus, because he treats his employees like his own children.
She smiled kindly at him as she took it. "Thanks, Herms."
"Have a great day, Ms. Age-Oh-Dee!"
She continued walking, until a raised, big, closed fist got in her way.
"Hey, Artemis, here's the document I promised you yesterday," Ares said, giving her a filed document.
Ares used to be a soldier, but the military kicked him out for being way too violent and wild. Nevertheless, he still used military signs, although they're in a business company.
She took the file. "Thank you, Ares." He grunted in reply.
And, there it is! Her brand-new office. Her best friend, Atalanta, was her secretary, sitting behind a desk in front of her office.
"Artemis!" Atalanta rose and gave her friend a hug. "Congratulations! You're now the Head of Department!"
Artemis hugged her back. "Oh, I'm lucky to have you as my secretary!"
They finally released each other. Atalanta's smile shrunk by a couple of molars. "Well, now that you're HOD, you have to deal with rude, angry clients."
Artemis laughed. "Not all clients are bad, Atalanta."
"Someone wants to see you, actually, but take a look at your brand-new office first!" She pushed the door open.
The office looked excellent, it was enormous. Big windows overlooking the tall buildings, a big, white, modern-looking desk sitting in front, and behind and in front of it, black leather chairs, two light-brown shelves, and a stereo.
"A stereo! Oh, this is amazing!" she gasped.
"Yeah, I know." Atalanta chuckled. "Actually, Athena gave you that" - She pointed at the stereo-"'cos she didn't want it."
"Send my thanks to her, will you?"
"'Course. Have a great day, Arty!"
"You, too!"
Atalanta left and shut the door. Artemis looked around once more, before putting her stuff on where she wanted to put it.
She settled in her leather chair, opening Mr. Zeus' letter and reading it. It was congratulating her regarding her promotion. She put it in her drawer.
A few minutes later, a knock arrived at her door. "Come in."
Atalanta's head poked in. "Hey, Artemis, I know you're still trying to settle in, but this guy's from a hunting equipment factory wants to meet you. He's really stubborn." She added under her breath as a joke, "Just like you."
Artemis hadn't heard that. "Bring him in."
A moment later, a tall, muscular (and very handsome, but that time, Artemis would admit it, not even to herself) man in his twenties, like her, came in. He was wearing a black hunting jacket, HUNT U DOWN t-shirt and ripped jeans. Artemis lifted a brow at his messed-up short black hair and stubbles on his chin.
She stood up politely, acknowledging him. "Hello, sir. May I help you?"
"No, I help myself fine." He pulled the chair in front of he desk and sat on it without her requesting him to. She sat down awkwardly.
"Y'know, lady, I'm a representative of the Buck Hunting factory that supplies your hardware store's hunting equipment. We've sent you exactly 30 crates of rifles but your company claims that you got 28 instead."
Artemis blinked. "I believe whoever was in charge have counted wrong-"
"Oh, no, lady, you don't believe. You make sure."
"Now?"
"Now."
"Excuse me, mister. I've just got promoted, and I've got more important work to do. This issue can wait."
"But I can't, lady."
She was liking this guy less and less. He still have that confident look on his face. "One. I have a name. Two. Please have some respect."
He lifted a (perfect) brow. "Why should I?"
She felt a sudden urge to throttle this guy. Count from one to ten and take a deep breath, she told herself.
But when she was at five, she lost it a bit. "Gosh, I wonder why did they send you instead of a proper employee. With intelligence."
The young man's sharp eyes burned with rage. He looked around. "Judging from your stuff, you must be single. What's wrong? Can't get yourself a guy?"
Artemis gritted her teeth. "I stay single because I want to."
"Why? 'Cos you can't keep a guy?"
"No, because men are disgusting creatures. You remind me of the worst of them."
He looked like he was going to hit her with a chair, just like herself, only the other way around.
He opened his mouth to say something rude, but was stopped by a knocking on the door. Before Artemis could say, "Come in" a head poked in.
"Hey, HOD, your magz have ar - oh, sorry. Didn't know you were there, sir," Hermes apologized to the young man.
"No, it's alright," he said.
"You wouldn't say the same thing if it were a woman, would you?" Artemis muttered.
"If we exchange roles, you would bark at this guy, would you?"
"Umm, I'll just wait 'till you finish." Hermes' head disappear outside.
Artemis cleared her throat. "Anyway, sir, I'm gonna check with whoever's in charge as soon as possible. I'll send someone to report to your factory."
The young man grunted, and left without thanking her.
She followed him outside to get the latest issue of Time from Hermes.
"So, how'd it go?" Atalanta asked her.
"Nightmarish," she replied.
"Oh really?" a sweet voice sang.
Aphrodite popped out of nowhere and leaned on Atalanta's desk, causing her miniskirt to go up a bit. Artemis frowned disapprovingly.
"He seems to be just like you. Quick-tempered and sexist and stubborn."
"Have you been eavesdropping?"
"No. Anyway, male-female equivalents always end up being couples."
Artemis scoffed, "In your dreams, Dite, now get back to your work."
"Sometimes they would hate each other first, then they would fall in love! That is so sweeeeeet!"
"Aphrodite," Artemis said. "You know that I don't believe in love. And I'll be single for the rest of my life. I mean, you wait for a perfect guy to live with you, but he'll never come. When you think he did, you were wrong."
Aphrodite lifted a brow. "You think so, Artemis?"
"Yes," she said with a 100%-sure tone, "I do think so."
Marty's fast food restaurant
Lunchtime
Marty's was a fast food restaurant beside the Olympus headquarters. The food was okay, and lots of employees eat there during break time.
Artemis sat with Atalanta and their other friend, Athena, and Artemis' hot twin brother, Apollo. Aphrodite was supposed to be eating with her boyfriend, Ares, but he had to go somewhere else.
Actually, Aphrodite had a husband. His name was Hephaestus. He works at Olympus as well. He had ratty orange-brown hair and beard, and he was ugly and crippled. She hated him, so she goes out with Ares. She had been begging Hephaestus for a divorce, but he wouldn't agree.
So, the beautiful woman sat there, chewing on her French fries.
"Hey, there," the waitress, Hecate, said as she put down Aphrodite's lemon tea. "Where's Ares?"
"Went somewhere," she mumbled, as her gaze moved to Artemis, and remembered what she said earlier.
Hecate followed her gaze. "Artemis rejected someone again?"
"No. She declared she doesn't believe in love." She frowned. "I just wish I could prove her wrong."
"To make her fall in love?"
"Yeah. But it's impossible. How can we make someone like her fall in love with a guy?"
"It's possible."
Aphrodite turned to her friend. Hecate had several books about witchcraft and magic, once she claimed she had magical stuff like potions.
"It is?"
"Of course."
"Magic?"
"Yeah. I could make a very powerful love potion."
"A love potion," Aphrodite murmured dreamily. "It'll work?"
"Yes. I've tried it before. Artemis would fall madly in love with the guy."
Aphrodite's face suddenly lit up. "Screw that. I don't need to make Artemis fall in love! I've got a better idea."
Hecate seemed intrigued. "And that is…?"
She told her.
Hecate smiled. "Wow, that would definitely drive her crazy!"
"You can do it?"
"Of course. But you'll need to bring something."
"Tell me."
She told her.
"I'll ask Hermes to do it."
"Great. Meet me in the kitchen later."
"Dinnertime fine?"
"Cool."
"Well, then, I need to go now." Aphrodite stood up.
Meanwhile,Apollo had been congratulating Artemis about her promotion the whole time, at least, until he went off.
"What a concerned brother you have," Athena remarked.
"Well, he can be too overprotective and annoying sometimes." Artemis shrugged.
She checked her watch. "I'm sorry, Artemis, Atalanta, but I have to go. Mr. Zeus needs me." She stood up.
"Yeah, bye."
"So," Atalanta said. "How's your day as HOD?"
"Not bad, if that jerk from the factory wasn't so rude. At least, things change." She smiled.
"Things will change, Artemis, drastically," a voice said.
Artemis turned to see a melancholy-looking woman chewing on a cheeseburger. "Umm, do I know you?"
"I'm Cassandra. I used to go out with your brother."
"What happened?"
"Long story. You should ask him yourself. But I don't think he remembers me, so refer to me as 'the reason you sang "Heartless" by Kanye West all the time last month.'"
"Ah…" Artemis didn't actually know what to say about that. "Hey, did you say something about things changing drastically for me?"
"Yes…" Cassandra said dramatically, "You have to be prepared, Artemis, beware of the four always popping out of nowhere, haunting you."
"I beg your pardon?" Artemis gave her a weird look.
"Oh! Why does no one ever believe me?" Cassandra suddenly moaned to nobody in particular.
"That's not what I m-"
"Why? Why?" she demanded to the ceiling. Someone yelled to her to shut up, for heaven's sake.
"I knew her," Atalanta said. "I have no idea what happened between her and Apollo, but after breaking up with him, she's gone a little…" She twirled her index finger around her temple.
Artemis glanced back at the woman, who was singing the chorus of "Don't Stop Believing" in a really, really high voice.
She turned back. "I guess you're right."
Olympus HQ
A few minutes later
Artemis and Atalanta walked down the hall together, chatting excitedly as friends should.
Hermes trotted past them, and gave them a grin. They smiled back.
After Artemis entered her office, she realized she was sweating. She reached into her pocket.
Huh? She thought. Where did my handkerchief go?
Marty's fast food restaurant, kitchen
7.30 p.m.
"Here." Aphrodite gave Hecate Artemis' handkerchief.
The waitress stared at it for a moment. "That'll do, I think."
"Well, then come on!" Aphrodite urged. She was really excited for this.
Hecate put a glass of water and a container containing thick green liquid on the kitchen table. She dipped the handkerchief in the green liquid, and wrung it on the glass of water. Silver liquid came dripping from the handkerchief, and once it reached the water, it dissolved.
"What was that?' Aphrodite asked.
"Artemis' aura. So they can find her." Next, she took out a small, leather pouch from her handbag. She poured its contents, pink-colored powder, into the glass.
With a spoon, she stirred it. "The love potion is done."
Aphrodite stared at it. "Isn't that strawberry milkshake?"
Hecate scowled. "Don't insult it! This is an extremely powerful love potion that my ancestors created."
"Oh, sorry." Although she said it, it still looked like strawberry milkshake to her than a witch's magic brew.
Hecate carefully poured the potion into four coke drinks in a Marty's plastic cup, putting a straw in each. "Before we do this, I need to tell you that this potion is very powerful. When I was a fourth-grader, I tried this on a girl to a nerd, I put just a little more than this amount, and she wouldn't even let go of him. And…"
But Aphrodite wasn't listening. She was dreaming how this little prank of hers would drive Artemis nuts.
When she was finished, a mischievous grin crossed Hecate's angular features. "So, ready to do this?"
"Absolutely!"
They walked excitedly to the counter, with Hecate carrying the tray of coke drinks.
"So, which one?" she asked.
Aphrodite scanned the eating customers. Her attention became directed to two extremely fat men with neon blue and red Mohawk hairstyle. She giggled as she confirmed, "Those two."
She looked around again. This time it was an African-American young man wearing a hip-hop outfit, staring at the girls' butt. "Yeah, that one."
"One more left," Hecate said.
She was getting a tough time deciding right now, at least, until she saw the handsome young man, the guy that argued with Artemis that morning.
"That one."
Hecate lifted a brow. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
She shrugged. "Fine then." And walked towards the first two.
Hold on to your hat Artemis, Aphrodite thought, because your Roller Coaster Ride of Life is about to do a 360-degree spin.
Since half of chapter one is just an intro, there's one joke only (if it's corny, please forgive me, but don't flame). And I if I made a mistake in those business stuff, please inform me.
Review!