Selena's Side

My best friend is a demigod. Or that's what she claims.

Now you might already start to think that I'm a Mary-Sue kind of person, but I'm not. I'm not even close. I live with my mom because my mom and dad are divorced. I don't get that good grades in school. Mom is always at work from 5 to 11. I'm usually home alone. To me, my life is a total bummer. Miserable. Except for Katerina. She always understands no matter what.

Anyway, it all started at gym. We were playing dodge ball. Everything was normal. My BFF, Katerina Miller, was obviously out first since all the stupid people on the other team always aimed at her first. I kind of felt sorry for her because it must hurt being hit by like 50 balls.

Katerina had been my best friend ever since third grade when I saw her sitting alone at lunch. We'd stuck together from then since we looked like sisters. We both had dark hair and were tall and tan. Anyway, we were twelve and sixth grade was especially hard for Katerina. All the teachers in our school (especially Mrs. Maxwell, the reading teacher) always tried to make fun of her. Not to mention all the teasing she gets in the hallways. The freaks. I felt sorry because it was probably because of her dyslexia and ADHD.

Weird things had been going on ever since I was friends with her. I kept on having illusions that monsters were attacking Katerina. Except, they seemed real. For example, in fourth grade, there was a new transfer kid. During recess, he turned into this huge giant that tried to eat her. But somehow, she managed to stay alive. Everything that I saw seemed real but happened so fast that I had no proof that it actually happened. Sometimes it happened while we were in class and Katerina actually destroyed something. But she would just snap her fingers and manipulate the teachers that something else happened. I figured out that either it was my imagination going wild or I was hallucinating.

It was a perfectly average and typical school day until this huge, big dog came crashing into the gym. Glass shattered all over the floor and I saw an alarmed look cross Katerina's face. The dog was as large as a bus and was drooling slobber. It's short fur bristled. It's beady red eyes were trained on Katerina and it opened its mouth in a growl to reveal sharp canine teeth.

I guessed I was imagining things again until a piece of glass flew toward me and cut my leg. I flinched in surprise.

"Aw. What a cute poodle!" I heard a snobby girl squeal.

Poodle! They call that a poodle! I thought. That's about the size of the Yankee Stadium!

"Kat!" I rushed over to her. Her eyes were fixed on the huge dog. She slowly reached to something at her side. It was that charm bracelet she always wore. She tapped it and two daggers appeared in her hand.

"What the -"

She ignored me and leapt forward. The dog charged, and she did a perfect somersault and landed on it. It tried to shake her off, but Katerina stayed on, only swaying a little bit. Then she sliced downwards and cut the monster. The dog howled before disappearing into golden dust. I saw her breathe a sigh of relief. She was safe. Wait. Let me rephrase that. She was safe for now.

"This is not over yet. This is just the beginning, half-blood," I heard someone rasp.

"Hello, Mrs. Maxwell," a student said.

Mrs. Maxwell!

The woman that was standing in the gym doorway did not look anything like Mrs. Maxwell. Mrs. Maxwell had gray hair, a wrinkled face, and always wore long skirts and long-sleeved blouses. Instead, this woman's upper body was normal, but her lower body was like a snake. It was covered in sleek, shiny scales.

Katerina whirled around and curled up her lip in a sneer. Katerina sneering is creepy enough, but her sneering even wider made it ultra-scary.

"You," she spat. "You were here all the time?" I heard a hint of surprise.

"Yes. It was me all along." The snake-woman hissed and drew out two swords. "Now, die, half-blood."

The snake-lady moved at lightning speed and slithered across the gym floor. Katerina jumped out of the way just in time before the lady slashed at the air. She growled in frustration.

Suddenly, the sprinklers came on. I watched in awe as my best friend controlled the water to douse the woman. It wasn't enough but it did stop the monster long enough for her to run away. The snake-woman was gaining on her fast. Katerina stumbled over a piece of debris and fell. I felt rooted to the spot. I didn't want my friend to die. Then, I unfroze.

"Don't touch her!" I yelled as I launched my dodge ball. It hit the monster smack between the eyes and she spun around dizzily.

Katerina figured out what was going on soon enough and lashed out with her daggers. A second before the weapons even touched her, the former Mrs. Maxwell burst into flames. She scowled and cursed in a language I had no idea about.

Then I noticed the total chaos that surrounded us. It turns out that the fire the monster had exploded into had spread around the gym. The computer teacher rushed into the room and snapped pictures of Katerina. Kids were running around in circles and screaming their heads off. Teachers and students poured down the hall into the fire exit.

"Come on. We're leaving." I grabbed Katerina's wrist and pulled her along with me. She tried to resist, but I dragged her even harder.

I stomped down two whole blocks and yanked open my front door. Then I pushed her inside, locked the door, and sat both of us down on the sofa in the living room. Hard.

"What is going on?"

"Um...Well..."

"What the heck is going on?" I repeated. "You better tell me. What was that...thing pretending to be Mrs. Maxwell? Was there even a Mrs. Maxwell? Tell me the truth or else...," I threatened.

"You saw?" she gasped. "Selena, you saw?"

"Of course I did!" I shouted. "What did you think I was? Blind? Tell me what happened. Why did that dog attack you? And what about before. You know. In fourth grade. How come whenever I'm with you, crazy things happen?"

"Well...You see..."

"Let me say that again. Why did she call you a half-blood or whatever that is? And why did she try to kill you? How did you control that water?" I demanded.

Katerina hesitated.

"Why -" I started again.

I was cut off by the sound of a ringing doorbell.

"I'll get it," Katerina said quickly. She got up from the sofa as if it were a hot branding iron.

I slumped and heard her open the door. She ushered a boy in. He had blond hair and electric-blue eyes.

"You're late," she scowled.

"What is going on?" I screeched. "For the last time, tell me! Gosh! What is wrong with you? Why is this...person here? I should just punch the living daylights right out of you -"

"So this is the 'best friend' you've been talking about?" the boy asked dryly.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "It's none of your business."

"Selena, please," Katerina sighed. "Just sit down."

"Don't tell me to do anything! This is my house!" I yelled.

"Selena!"

"Don't tell me!"

"Selena Martinez, will you just shut up and sit down for one minute!" she roared.

Now, Katerina barely gets mad. I've never seen her so angry before. She looked furious and terrifying while her sea-green eyes bored into mine.

I was stunned and obeyed immediately. She glared at me and I glowered back at her. We stared at each other before my eyes teared up and I blinked.

"You lose!" she crowed. "I win again!"

I started laughing at the triumphant look on her face. She joined and soon, we were clutching our sides.

"Can we get focused?" the blond boy asked.

While we struggled to our feet, I heard him mutter something about how he would never understand girls. I decided to ignore that.

"Okay. First question. Who is this person?" I pointed to the boy standing in the middle of my living room.

"My cousin," Katerina answered. "Zach Hale."

"What were those creepy things back there?"

"A hellhound," Katerina replied uncertainly. "And a dracanae."

"A what?" I was confused.

"A dracanae," Zach explained, "is half snake, half female. It's a monster, obviously."

"Thank you, Mr. Encyclopedia. I wasn't talking to you." I still wasn't sure about this.

"Third, why did she call you a 'half-blood?"

This was the question that Katerina was stuck on. She looked at Zach for help, but he seemed just as nervous as her.

"Well...," she finally said. "I'm not really allowed to explain...Especially since you're a mortal..."

"Whoa. Whoa. Slow down. A lot," I said. "I'm still processing this. What do you mean 'I'm a mortal'? Are you different or something?"

"Kind of."

She glanced at her cousin.

"Shoot for it," was all Zach said. "She can see through the Mist."

Katerina swallowed before turning back to me. "You know about the Greek gods, right?"

"Yeah. Aren't they like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades? Stuff like that? Anyway, what do they have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Don't throw the names around like that," Zach told me warningly. "They have power."

"Fine."

"Well...Can you name a few heroes that had gods as their parents?"

"Um...Let's see...Theseus, Perseus, and...oh. Hercules," I said while racking by brain for more.

"Exactly. Those heroes are called demigods or half-bloods."

"But why?"

"One of their parents are one of the Greek gods. The other is mortal. They're half god, half mortal."

"Okay. What does that mean?" I was puzzled

"Well..."

"We're ones too," Zach blurted quietly. "Katerina is a daughter of Poseidon and I'm a son of Zeus."

The moment he said that, Katerina gave him a glare. He cringed a little.

My friend was the daughter of an ancient Greek god? That was impossible. But...Still...

Oh. My. God. I thought silently. Wait. Correction. Oh crap.

I really need a Beta-Reader. Anyone, please volunteer.