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I stared down Aphrodite and her fake positivity as she looked at Zoey and me with a sickeningly sweet phony smile. I straightened up in my seat, and she then gave a mean look to the others around. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You're not," Erin said in a flat town, and Shaunee smiled, tilting her head.
"Yeah, we were just discussing the best way to take out the trash." Shaunee almost sang.
"Well, you'd know all about that," Aphrodite chuckled and looked back to Zoey and me. "Zoey, I should have mentioned something to you earlier, but it must have slipped my mind. I want to issue you an invitation for you to join the Dark Daughters in our private ritual tomorrow night. Just like I gave to Percy." She then looked at me and smiled. "I know it's unusual for an invitation to be given to a fledgling so soon, but Neferet already gave her full support for it. Oh, Percy, I forgot to mention that it will be in the Rec Room." She then flipped her hair before walking back to her table.
"Hag bitch from hell," Shaunnee growled, watching Aphrodite leave.
"Well, shit," I said with a chuckle and looked at Zoey. "Seems like we'll be busy tomorrow."
"Do we have to go?" Zoey asked, and I nodded as I thought about it.
"Well, I do," I answered and picked at my spaghetti. "Neferet and my mentor signed off of my invitation. So if I decline, it will be obvious that something is off."
"Bull poopie," I heard Zoey mutter, and then it clicked.
"Your mentor is Neferet?" I asked, and she nodded. I nodded back and sat back.
"At least we'll have each other," I said, and she looked at me confused. "You can't say now if Neferet is your high priestess, and she signed off on it."
"Yeah," Damien said, agreeing with me. "She'll expect you to go."
"Can't I just tell her I'm ready for…. For whatever they want me to do and ask Neferet to be…. Like excused from their full moon ritual thingie?" Zoey asked, and I nodded, and Stevie Rae spoke up.
"You could, but then Neferet will tell them, and then They'll think you're scared of them." Stevie Rae then looked at her food. "That's worse than standing up for them."
Damien reached and patted Stevie Rae's hand, "Honey, you got to stop beating yourself about that."
Stevie Rae gave him a thank you smile, and I went back to eating, completely zoning out as I didn't have anything to add. I started to think about my family once again, smiling to myself. Annabeth probably had a cabin counselor meeting with the other cabin counselors and Chiron. I half wanted to call Chiron and see if I could sit in. I mean, I was a cabin counselor; I just eat dinner at 8 am and not 8 pm anymore. I almost went to ask someone for their phone, so I could call back home when I heard Zoey ask about the symbols on our uniforms.
"So, what do the different symbols on our uniforms mean?" Zoey asked and then pointed to Stevie Rae. "You told me about ours, Nyx's Spiral. Damien and Percy have the spiral as well, which means they are…." Zoey paused and then smiled and continued. "Third formers. Yet Erin and Shaunee both have wings, and Aphrodite had something else."
"You mean the cob stuck up her skinny anus?" Erin muttered, and Damien shook his head.
"She means the three fates; the three fates are the children of Nyx. The six formers all wear the emblem of the Fates, with Atropos holding the scissors to symbolize the end of school."
"And for some of us," Erin continued gloomily. "The end of life."
Everyone got quiet, and I cleared my throat, knowing that the silence was going to get uncomfortable. "Then, of course, Shaunee and Erin wear the fourth former symbol; The Wings of Eros-"
"The love God," Shaunee said, gyrating her hips in her seat.
Damien frowned and continued my explanation. "The golden wings of Eros represent the Fourth Former class, not because they are the Love class," Damien gave a pointed look to Erin, who pouted, "but because the Wings represent their continues moving forward."
"What's the fifth former symbol?" Zoey asked, and I spoke up as Erin and Damien shared glares at each other.
"Nyx's golden chariot pulling a trail of stars," I said, and everyone looked over at me. "The chariot shows that the fledgling has continued on their journey, and the stars represent the magic of the two years already passed."
"I think it's the prettiest of the symbols," Stevie Rae said, looking at Zoey. "Those Stars sparkle like crazy."
"Wow," Erin said, looking at me and smirking. "Didn't know that Demigod boy was such a good student."
"I am not," I said very flatly, which caused Damien to choke on his drink. "Before I got her, I never got higher than a C on any of my assignments."
"Demigod?" Zoey asked, and I looked at her with a kind look. "That's the second time that was brought up. Are you a demigod? Neferet tried to explain to me about that world, but it's-"
"Confusing?" I finished for Zoey, and she nodded. I smiled and nodded, "You'd be right. I was born into it because Posideon fell in love with a mortal woman from NYC, and I'm confused the more I learn about that side of myself."
"Your dad is Posideon?" Zoey asked, and I nodded.
"Yep, and Nyx decided that I needed to have an Affinity for Theater on top of my ability to control water and things made from water." I simply said and chuckled a bit. "It's why I'm here instead of NYC."
Zoey just stared at me, and everyone looked amused, and Stevie Rae spoke up, standing up. "Uh, y'all, I think Zoey has a lot of stuff she needs to process," I noticed how thankful Zoey looked and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Plus, she looks beat, so we're going to our room. I have to study for that Sociology test, so I probably won't see y'all until tomorrow."
"See ya," Damien said with a smile at Zoey. "It was nice to meet you."
Stevie Rae and Zoey gave their goodbyes, and the rest of us went back to our dinner. Damien and the Twins talked about the cute guys at school, and I started to feel a bit curious listening to their conversation. After a while, I stood up and told the three of them I was heading to the dorm to sort things out for tomorrow. I wished them a good day to call back earlier, which caused the twins to roll their eyes and Damien to laugh as I walked back to my dorm room.
The following day Damien and I compared our schedules over breakfast,t and we both discovered that we had the first period together. So he led me around after we finished breakfast and took me to where my new "locker" was located in the back of the room. I instantly sorted my books and notebooks sitting in the empty seat behind Damien. I pulled out the vamp sociology textbook and started reading where I remember my previous class left off. The last thing I remembered was something about Circe and Antipoe giving me a knowing look. This led me to tell my entire class how she turned me into a Ginnie pig. Would I have to do that again? I was about to ask Damien where they were in vamp soc when he spoke up, looking at the front of the classroom.
"Zoey! Over here!" He called over, and I noticed just how full the class was.
"Hi," Zoey said as she sat in the empty seat next to Damien and looked at both of us.
"Are you ready for your first day?" Damien asked, and I saw uncertainty flash across Zoey's face, and she smiled.
"Yep!" She answered, and as if on cue, before I could give some "not needed" advice, Neferet came into the classroom.
"Good Evening! I've been looking forward to beginning this unit. Delving into the rich sociology of the Amazons is one of my favorites." Neferet exclaimed with just as much excitement that Antipoe did when starting the unit on greek vampyres. I suddenly remembered Annabeth mentioning the Amazons to me during our "Learning about the past to plan for the Future" sessions. Is this going to be contradictory? Is it going to add things? What am I to believe? Maybe it's a mix of things. I mean, Circe was definitely a vamp, but she still turned 13 year old me into a Ginnie Pig.
When I pulled myself out of my spiral, Damien and Zoey were walking back to her seats, and Neferet had a small smile and then grabbed her textbook and leaned against her desk. "First, what pieces of the Amazon tradition do we still practice at the House of Night?" My hand immediately went up, excited that I actually did know something. "Yes, Percy?"
"The bow of respect, our fist over our heart, as well as the forearm handshake are Amazonian traditions," I answered, and I heard mutter something in a positive tone.
"That's correct," Neferet said and then looked at the rest of the class. "Now, what perceived notions do you have about the Amazon Warriors." I put my hand up but was a bit late as she called on a girl close to the front.
"The Amazons were heavily matriarchal, as are all vampyre societies." She said, and I nodded, making a quick note to compare the notes me and Annabeth took to these ones.
"That's true, Elizabeth, but when people discuss the Amazons, legend tends to add an additional layer to history," she looked directly at me and smiled. I guess she saw my recognition. "Percy, as a demigod, you probably understand what I'm talking about. Care to explain?"
I nodded, and the whole classroom was on me. At least it was Circe. "Well, like most strong women figures from ancient Greece, like Lady Artemis's Huntresses, the Amazons were thought to be man-haters."
Neferet nodded, and everyone seemed to have fixated on "Lady Artemis" instead of what else I said. Neferet then continued with her lecture as everyone turned away from me. She was a great teacher and reminded me of how Chiron taught Latin. Her lecture was easy to follow, and I enjoyed learning more about Penthesilea than I had enjoyed with any other historical figure. It wasn't like when I forced myself to learn about King Henery in my World History class. There wasn't anything forced about it. It was sooner than I expected when class was dismissed. Neferet called Zoey's name, so I walked over to my locker- okay, it was basically a cubie, but it was the closest thing we had to a locker. So locker, I called it.
When I got back, Neferet gave Zoey a concerned look, "I see the stitches have almost completely dissolved. That's excellent. Does your head hurt at all?"
It took Zoey longer than I would have thought for her to answer the question, but then again, it was only her second day. She probably had a lot on her mind.
"No, my head doesn't hurt at all." She said and had a small smile.
"Good! Well, you three better go before you're late. I believe Professor Nolan has just begun working on monologues." Neferet said, and I walked with Damien and Zoey waiting for Neferet's comment to hit Zoey.
"Wait," there is was, "How did she know I was going to take Drama? I just decided this morning." She asked, and I smiled at her.
"Vamps are super intuitive, meaning they know the way too much all the time," I answered and then chuckled a bit. "Especially when they are high priestess."
Suddenly I heard an Okie twang call after us, and Stevie Rae rushed up. "How was Vamp Soc? Did y'all start the Amazons?"
We nodded, and Zoey started Talking with Stevie Rae.
"It was cool, plus Percy knew so much, which was interesting to listen to his explanations," Zoey said, and Stevie Rae looked like she just found a new study partner as she looked at me. "Also, I had no idea that they cut off their right breasts to keep them out of the way."
"Shows their dedication to their craft," I commented, realizing I sounded a lot like Annabeth.
"They wouldn't have to worry about that if they were as flat as me," Stevie Rae said, sighing.
"Or me," Damien said with a dramatic sigh, which caused me to laugh.
Zoey and I were still laughing at Damien's comment when we got to the Drama room. Professor Nolan locked her eyes on Zoey and me and just started oozing energy. Oh, this was going to be fun. That was all I remember thinking as she introduced herself with the most prominent Texas accent.
"Percy! Zoey! Welcome! You both can have a seat anywhere," She then walked over to me and stroked her arm out, so I shook her forearm firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Percy. I can't wait to see just how your gift truly manifests. Cassiopeia explained to me that it's almost like a siren call, where everyone seems captivated by your performance."
"Yeah," I said, nodding, remembering the first time Cassipopia made us read a monologue. "That's an accurate description; also being able to pick things up relating to theater quickly? During our musical unit, we had to learn to tap dance and well…." I said, trailing off, and Professor Nolan nodded.
"I see, fantastic!" She had the biggest smile then motioned for me to go sit. "My door is always open for you, but I'm afraid I must start class."
I walked over with a pep in my step and sat next to Zoey, who smiled at me. I smiled back and set my bag down, and Nolan immediately got to work. She reminded me of Apollo, with how much energy she had. I sat back and wondered what monologue she would have me perform. When her voice almost echoed through the room, explaining that she thought we would do well with seeing a monologue performed. When she stepped aside, a fifth former who looked a hell of a lot like a Clark Kent without glasses stepped out. I felt my face get a bit hot- ignoring the fact I started to blush, looked over and saw Zoey and the girl next to her staring at the upperclassmen with wonder. Perhaps this was just the effect this guy had on people.
"Perfect timing as always, Erik," Nolan said, and she addressed the glass. "As some of you already know, this is Erik Knight, and he won last year's worldwide House of Night monologue competition, the finals which were held in London. He's already started a buzz in Hollywood and broadway for his performance in our production of West Side Story. The Floor is Yours, Erik."
Nolan stepped out of the way as we all clapped, and Erik took center stage. He radiated confidence addressing everyone before he went into his monologue from Othello. His voice was strong and echoed through the room. The way he kept his emotion through each line was incredible. I could watch him all day. Did I really think that? I blinked a bit and managed to see Zoey and Erik lock eyes with each other as Erik concluded his lines. He smiled at Zoey as Nolan started to clap for Erik as he bowed and left the room. I watched as Zoey looked over her shoulder as he went. I shook my head but looked up as the girl next to Zoey spoke up.
"He's so fucking hot," She said just above a whisper, and Zoey's attention snapped to her.
"Doesn't he have a girlfriend?" Zoey asked, and the girl sighed.
"Only in my dreams," She said but then got a bit more serious. "There is a rumor that he and Aphrodite used to be a thing, but I've been here a couple months, and they haven't been a thing while I've been here." She tossed Zoey and me some monologue books, and I started to look through them. I let them have their conversation as I opened the book about Monologues for men. It opened to a monologue from "As You Like It," and I read it over a couple times before deciding that it was the one for me. Cassiopia really did teach me well. Maybe Tulsa's not going to be that bad.