Chapter 10
Quiet Life
A Percy Jackson and the Olympians fanfic
Author's Note
A cozy room. shy-twinee is lying on the sofa staring up at the wooden ceiling. Enter Rhea and Hestia.
Rhea: *to shy-twinee* Once again, you are sulking. Soon (if not already) the dear readers will think you have mental issues.
Hestia: *nudges Rhea and whispers* Mother, please don't offend her. She is your friend. *to shy-twinee* If something is bothering you, you can always speak with us.
shy-twinee: I'm fine. Just sorting out my numerous fanfic ideas and wondering if I really do want to read all of the Harry Potter books.
Rhea: Oh, is that all? Well that's a relief! I thought you were being all depressed again.
shy-twinee: I'm not always depressed…I'm just, just random. Yeah, that's it! As a Cancer and INFJ, I'm very complex.
Hestia: If you say so, dear child.
Rhea: *to Readers* Special thanks to everyone out there who still bother to take precious time out of his/her busy schedule to read this story.
shy-twinee: Reviewers. You all are awesome and my heart is made very happy by the touch of your words.
Rhea: Okay…?
shy-twinee: What? I'm trying to be thankful in an epically deep sort of way.
Rhea: Okay then. *to Readers* Remember that shy-twinee does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Hestia: Please enjoy!
Exeunt shy-twinee, Rhea and Hestia from the room.
Hailey' Home (Hestia's POV)
5:30 a.m., still dark outside. Monday. First day of my life as a highschooler.
Firstly, I crawled out of bed. Next, I made the bed. Third, I made sure my school supplies (which were packed last night) were in order and inspected the outfit I chose to wear. After that, I tucked Pandora's pithos (in jewelry box form) in my purse, along with all the other necessities which belong in a purse.
Finally, I proceeded in getting ready as a normal teenager would…except not all teenagers are a clueless goddess who has to follow a 'get ready for school' list.
Isis's Home (Isis' POV)
Ugh…it's too early! I whined in my head. I put my vibrating alarm clock on snooze and returned it to its resting place beneath my soft pillow.
Five minutes later, the alarm vibrated again, preventing my body from relaxing and my mind from drifting back into a blissful sleep. Once again, I placed the alarm on snooze.
The cycle was repeated ten times.
Finally, I managed to get my lazy butt up and prepare myself for the first day of school.
Teeth brushed. Showered. Woke up the quads (and suffered an earful of complaining). Got dressed. Helped the quads get ready. Left my bed unmade.
Excited by the wonderful aroma of breakfast, the quads nearly ran me over in the hallway to reach the kitchen. Will had finished preparing our breakfast and was packing our lunch. He absentmindedly patted each quad on the head and handed her a plate of food and her respective lunch bag.
The six of us lived in a simple one-story house that was a good walking distance from my school (Heights High) and the quads' school (Grove Middle).
As I piled food into my plate, Will was making his way out of the door.
"Isis, remember to walk the girls to school. I'll pick them up at three." Without even a goodbye he closed the door.
A little hurt I told my sisters, "Get your things after you've finished. We leave in twenty.
Walking to School (Isis's POV)
Ari, Blair, Ali and Pepper chatted amongst themselves as I walked close behind them. I surveyed the area like a hawk, on the lookout for any of those monsters. Nothing suspicious ahead…or behind…or to the left…or to the right.
As a big sister, I probably should have been tuning in to the quads' conversation to ensure their discussion topics were within the boundary on their age group (according to Will). But right then and there, I didn't particularly care that they were gossiping about their previous classmates. The boy who had a mental breakdown after his parents' divorce…the girl whose sixteen year-old sister got pregnant on prom night…the twins being taken care of by their grandparents after their single father committed suicide… All those woeful situations occupied the backburner of my mind.
Of course, my full attention was dedicated to protecting the quads from the monsters. With no epically awesome combat skills and super magic powers, one may have asked me, "Well how do you expect to do that?" Obviously, my answer would be, "Well, you see…yeah, I've got nothing."
Within minutes we were standing outside of the large walk-in bronze gates of Grove Middle School. Will (being the distant, yet overly protective brother he was) taught me to wait at the gates until the girls made their way safely across the lawn, while eye-balling everyone that greeted them. He also advised that I snoop around a bit, just to catch the quads in case they ditch. Did I?
I most certainly did not. Seriously, if the girls were even late for class their teacher would have had Will on the phone in seconds. Turning on my heels, I jogged past the school and headed a few blocks down to Heights High.
No monster was in sight.
Walking to School (Hestia's POV)
While walking, I counted backwards from one thousand to calm my nerves.
The other deities on Mount Olympus (spying of course) must have been amused. Me, a goddess, fearful of being around a few mortals.
This morning, Mother did a good job in acting like a mother on a child's first day of school. She cooed at me, fused over my hair, and handed me my homemade lunch with tears in her eyes. She pulled me in a warm hug before letting me leave, before she started crying again. Smiling at the memory, I crossed the street and continued on my way.
"Good morning, Hailey!"
Recognizing my mortal name I spun around and stumbled over my feet, nearly dropping my backpack. I knew the voice, so I expected to see Aphrodite grinning at me. Surely the goddess of beauty was smiling but her outfit was, well…completely out of character for her. She was wearing a brown plaid dress with the hem an inch below her knees, short brown boots and white ankle socks. The other day, I was eyeing a dress like that at the mall, but Aphrodite said that I couldn't by it.
"So…what do you think?" Aphrodite said as she spun in a circle.
"Honestly, you look cute. But I never thought such an outfit was your style."
"I know, right? It's more suited for you, but for school I'm trying to be the girl that goes from geek to chic."
"Wait, so you're attending school with me?" I asked quite surprised. Aphrodite replied by nodding excitedly. "Do you know of anyone else who may be going as well?"
"Why yes. Yes I do. You'll see them when you see them." Aphrodite winked and skipped off toward the high school.
I sighed and followed her, thinking of the long road ahead.
Author's Note
A cozy room. Hestia is tending to the fiery flames in the fireplace.
Hestia: Dearest readers, you have successfully reached the ending of chapter ten. As always, shy-twinee apologizes for "not updating in eons." She hopes to try updating faster in the near future. Farewell!
Blackout.