Nashira didn't know how it came down to this. Sure, she wasn't the typical goody-two-shoes that Hearthstone Academy claimed to produce in masses every year but she didn't fit into the rebel category either.
She was loud, basically like an unleashed toddler high on all the sweets from the candy store but even she knew better than to sneak into Mr. Jentzen's office. That oaf could be dangerous to her reputation of a perfectly average middle-schooler.
A sigh left her. It was a mistake agreeing to Becky Meriwether and her ridiculous 'heist' scheme. Her company was more trouble than it was worth. Sharp canines, aware of all the gossip concerning fresh teens who were newly being transformed by one hell of a force of nature that was puberty—she was easily the 'it' girl on campus.
And Nashira certainly wasn't that low on friends to willingly seek out Becky on a rainy Sunday. A madman went out in this damp and everything uncomfortable weather.
She shivered in her tennis skirt, cursing herself for going tights-free that day. The flashlight in her hand wavered and she almost dropped it when static came from her Barbie walkie-talkie.
"You in?"
She assessed the dark hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible. A red light from the xerox machine pushed along a few dysfunctional lockers had given her nightmares to last a good few weeks.
"Area D, in front of the cafeteria. The vent is on which side again?" Nashira gritted out, reaching to open the double doors.
Inside, the smell of moldy cheese and tomatoes that probably rotted for months before being consumed by her schoolmates made her shudder.
"To the left, just before the kitchen window", Becky whispered back. "The screws are loose and the whole duct is a bit funky. Be careful."
Nashira held back a snort. Yeah, too late for that. The plan was theoretically very simple. There were five cameras in total, four in every corner of the main hallway and one over the door labeled 'Staff Only' in the cafeteria. To avoid those, they had opted for the broken chemistry lab window as the entry point and then through the gym and into the cafeteria through the showers.
The context behind three thirteen-year-olds hanging around school premises after dark was pretty barbaric. It was her own fault for texting under the table after multiple warnings. But the itch to let her bestfriend in on any and every littlest fluctuation in her life overcame the terror that was her teacher.
It was no wonder she was sent to the Principal's office and then detention afterwards and also had her phone confiscated for the day.
These were times when Nashira felt the innate need for a cooler mother who fought tooth and bone for her pride(in this case, her phone) instead of simply agreeing to whatever complaints made and hanging up hastily.
Nashira stood under the vent's openings, eyeing the rusty metal bars as if it had committed a first degree felony. How to scale the twelve foot to the ceiling was unknown to her. "Uh. . .help? How the duck am I supposed go get in the vent? The ladder's gone!"
Maud Howard, the tech guy—or girl—of their makeshift gang replied, "Stack a chair on top of a table or something. I don't know."
"And hurry up. We have a thirty minute lapse until Drunktzen returns!" Becky added.
Glaring at the walkie-talkie Nashira discarded it on the counter where cold spaghetti would be served the very next day before pocketing it again in fear of losing it.
Placing a hand over her hips, she gave herself a moment to calm down. This had to work. Her gaze traveled to a bunch of wire restraints that made up an untrustworthy fire alarm.
Padding toward the wall, she tugged hard at the coils, making sure they didn't come apart by the smallest bit of force. Satisfied with the result, Nashira hooked her fingers around the third and fourth junctures and her feet in the lowest two.
Like a monkey, she hung on and made her way up to the vent. Slowly but steadily. She imagined it was one of the trees back at the camp's forest or an equipment of the indoor jungle gym her mother's apartment offered. Only, there weren't any of her siblings to catch her in case she fell or a safety net, for that matter.
"I'm in the duct", she exclaimed gleefully once she had wriggled her frame into the cramped tunnel. She heard two excited squeaks in response. The sole reason they had been keen on her accompanying them was beacuse she was the smallest girl in their year. Not the most pleasant fact about her life.
Noting the faint thrum of the kitchen exhaust, Nashira crawled away from the noise. Occasionally, light poured in from the cracks that opened into classrooms but otherwise it was pitch black.
Did she mention her inexplicable fear of the dark? She wasn't sure if it was due to her parentage or just another one of those 'simply her' things.
There were so many things wrong with this but who cared about that? If she succeeded, Becky got back the sole medium of contact with her high-schooler boyfriend, Maud got back her month's work of coding and Nashira could listen to music in her cat headphones and get lost in the neon lights of her phonecase. On the other hand, one slip-up could earn her two months of detention and lunch duty—yuck!
She felt something sticky on her face and something crawling. Unsurprisingly, she shrieked, smacking her left cheek.
"What happened?" Maud's nervous question rang out.
"D'Ettore?" Becky gulped at the lack of reply, her own voice reduced to a peep. "Do you think she saw a ghost or something?"
"Don't be idiotic!"
"I'm—fine", Nashira gasped out, rubbing her face with her sleeves. Her face grew warm, "Ran into a cobweb."
Becky scolded, sounding disappointed, "Stop fooling around! Need I remind you that we don't have much time?"
"Gods, take a chill pill", Nashira huffed, continuing her venture down the rusty metal duct.
Finally her head bumped with the end of the tunnel and her fingers distinctly ran over the quadruple screws. Patting her pockets she searched for a coin until her fist curled around one that was larger than a cent.
A drachma?
That would have to make do. Twisting the coin over the screws, she did a little cheer as they broke free, one by one.
"Ladies and gentlemen", a smirk curled on her lips as she jumped down, adrenaline coursing throughout her body. "I've made it."
"Yes!" Becky and Maud's voices came entwined, followed by a clap that suggested a hi-five between the two.
"Alright", Maud focused on the server hooked to the office's CCTV. "Dean's key opens the fifth to the eighth lockers. Our phones should be in one of them."
"Oh, I know", Becky quipped, "The last two hold cleaning supplies so try the fifth and sixth ones first."
Nashira trusted her judgement, if only because of the fact that the girl had a startling record of ending up in Mr. Jentzen's office twice a week and still leaving unscathed. Figured, her dad was made of old money.
She tried the keys one by one—there were ten in the fat bunch, all the while swearing at the Dean for not numbering them. On her seventh attempt, the familiar click of an opening locker sounded.
It had many odd knickknacks: pencil cases, water bottles, notebooks, lunchboxes, make-up items, spare clothes from people who generously forgot them at school and never bothered to look for them. But their electronic devices were nowhere in sight.
"Any luck?" Becky asked, a hint of eagerness evident in her voice.
"Nope. Trying the next one. Maud, your info better be correct."
Said girl scoffed, "What makes you think it isn't? I can assure—"
Bright headlights flashed outside alongside the prominent blaring of a car horn. Nashira's eyes were blown wide and her hands started to shake even violently. The keys clattered to the floor.
"Maud!" she hissed.
"He's back early—Why's he back early?!" Maud squeaked, sounding hysterical.
"Oh, get a hold of yourself!" Nashira assumed Becky had snatched the walkie-talkie. "D'Ettore, you keep searching. We'll stall Drunktzen for as long as we can. When you're done, go to the pool area. The door to the greenhouses are kept unlocked. Get out from there, okay? Over."
Getting back to her senses, Nashira clamored for the keys and thrusted a random one into the locker labeled '6'. It seemed the Gods had heard her prayers when the door opened and she grabbed the three phones from the green basket.
She took a deep breath. Everything was fine. She just had to make her way out and then run as fast as her legs could carry her once exposed into the frigid night.
Creeping towards it, Nashira turned the biggest key into the mahogany door, pushing it open and cushioning the closing with her feet. Not the greatest idea.
The good thing about Hearthstone was that every room seemed to connect to each other instead of spilling into a singular hallway. The blue hue of the gymnasium greeted her. Nashira ran across the narrow passage that separated the kiddy pool from the Olympics-size one.
One door and she would be out. One door and she could finally reach the safety of her home and tuck herself away under her fluffy blankets. Steeling her mind, she pushed through, about to heave a sigh of relief when someone cleared their throat.
The lights were suddenly on and Nashira had to cover her eyes in order to not get blinded. The Principal stood in a burgundy T-shirt and jeans, the most casual she had ever seen him look. Behind him, Maud and Becky lowered their gazes, hands strictly behind their back akin to an arrested convict.
"Miss D'Ettore, care to explain the purpose of this midnight visit?"
Well, shit.
"Look, I didn't mean it!" Nashira exclaimed, pushing back down onto the brown seats of her mother's car.
Keziah D'Ettore was a real beauty. In fact, most of Nashira's features—her button nose, cat-like eyes, her sharp jawline and the milky complexion could be owed to the woman. The fourties hadn't given her face any notable change except for the subtle laughter lines in the corners of her eyes.
"What?" Her mother raised a brow. "Didn't mean to break into your school at midnight like a thief?" The car jerked as they parked into one of the empty spots outside Baskin-Robbins. "And all that for what, a phone."
Nashira threw her hands up, turning her face away. Her mother wouldn't understand, she never did. It was always like that. She could've vouched for her daughter but no, she had turned her back against Nashira. Numbers appeared in the grid-like pane of the shop, urging her to count them.
'1. . .2. . .3. . .4. . .5. . .'
"Nashira?"
'1. . .2. . .3. . .4. . .'
"Nashira."
'1. . .2. . .3. . .'
"Nash."
She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. What the hell was wrong with the world? What the hell was wrong with her?
Arms circled around her as she curled into herself. A hand soothed down her back, tracing various patterns, the touch being her only anchor to her consciousness.
"I know it's hard, baby. But you need to understand the magnitude of your actions."
Nashira couldn't bring herself to reply. So, she just listened. "You snuck off without alerting Jeremy and he was freaking out. I had to rush out of work as soon as I got the news."
Of course, that's why. Work this and work that, always the same excuses. Her lips quivered, "I'm sorry." She spat, "I'm sorry for dragging you out of your oh-so-precious work."
The embrace receded hesitantly. "That's not what I meant. Nash, you cannot just up and leave without company. You know there are dangers always lurking about. If not monsters, there are all sorts of mortal problems that a girl your age shouldn't face. All I'm asking for you is to be safe."
If anything, that made her feel worse. No, Nashira reminded herself, she was saying all that to throw her off.
Her mother went on, "When Jeremy called me saying you were missing, I felt like my heart stopped. I couldn't imagine a world without you. And I know I'm not always good at showing it but you are my topmost priority. And nothing will ever change that, you hear me?"
Now, Nashira's tears refused to dry. The air felt like walls closing in on her. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying incessantly that it wasn't another one of her episodes. Gods, this really wasn't the right time.
"Breathe, Nash", her mother's voice interrupted the myriad of thoughts passing through her head. Then, like a deadly calm before an unforgiving storm, there was nothing.
"Inhale." Following the example, she took a long breath, shuddering slightly. "Exhale", a part of the burden on her shoulders washed away with the breath. "Better?"
Her mother patted her back and Nashira still felt dizzy. She nodded nonetheless. The woman looked at her one with a serene smile and gave Nashira all the time to collect herself.
"So, will I be getting a punishment?" Nashira asked, breaking the silence.
Her mother chuckled, "You're lucky school ended yesterday. I discussed it with Mr. Jentzen's and the Meriwethers insisted it was their girl who roped you into this so you'll be left alone with a week of lunch duty."
Nashira groaned at the thought of serving cold porridge and rock-hard pizza all the while witnessing glares from the kids. Then, another thing popped into her head, "When do we leave for camp?"
The smile on her mother's face turned upside-down. Being a lawyer of the highest caliber and dealing with heinous criminals on a daily basis, the sheepish look didn't suit her at all.
"Mom?" Nashira probed. "I'm gonna make it in time for Capture the Flag, right?"
Her mother sighed deeply. "Chiron contacted me. He says it's best if we delay your arrival for the longest possible time." Nashira's face fell. "But, he says if you insist, he cannot stop you from returning home."
The sparkles returned to her eyes and Nashira could already envision another successful summer surrounded by orange T-shirts, tacky campfires, running through the strawberry fields and maybe even beating Clarisse's record time of scaling the Lava Wall for a change. She knew her hands itched to be around the Dunamis, shooting bullseyes one after the other.
"When do we leave?" She demanded.
Her mother laughed, petting Nashira's light brown hair that almost looked pink under certain lighting. "Easy there, champ. We still need to discuss it with Naomi. I haven't been able to get in touch with her for a while. She'll be driving you this time."
"Well, when are we meeting them?"
A tap to the car window and Nashira almost jumped out of her skin at the blonde boy pressing his face to the glass, fogging it up.
When he moved away enough, she threw the door open, smothering him in her hold. "Willy-pooh!"
"Never, and I mean never ever, call me that." But contradictory to his words, he returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. "I missed you, too."
She let go only to see their mothers exchange pleasantries with easy smiles. As far as she could remember, she had known Naomi Solace or Aunt Mimi since forever. It wasn't until Greek mythology and the inevitable topic of her father was thrown into play, did she fully understand why.
"Hey, between you and me, you don't hate the idea of being full siblings, do you?", Will asked, getting on his tiptoes as he was about a head shorter than her.
They weren't children of Aphrodite but everyone except the blind could notice the heart eyes they made at each other. What a strange situation.
"I've got something to tell you", her brother piped up again, this time as they walked through the automated doors of the ice cream parlor.
"A strawberry sundae with waffle toppings and an extra cherry, please", she replied when her mother asked for their orders, pinching the top of Nashira's nose as the woman left for the counter. She gave Will her undivided attention, "Spill."
"Two nights from today, I went to the skatepark around ours, you know the one beside the woods?" She nodded, he looked grave. "I smelled something funny–not shit, before you ask", he grumbled.
Nashira stifled a smile. "And you think it was a monster?" He gave a reluctant affirmation.
She knew better than to ignore even the most bizarre sounding things when it came to their reality. While she had been unaware of the awesome and simultaneously very, very dangerous world of theirs, maybe she would've pegged Will as a lunatic.
"But monsters this far south?" She asked to no one in particular. "Unless. . .they were looking for something."
Will bobbed his head up and down, fidgeting with his fingers. "Precisely, us."
An arm was slung over her shoulder. Nashira's heart was working overtime. "You kids catching up?" Naomi asked, taking her place beside her. "Oh, I completely forgot. There's this new dress I bought. I think you'll look gorgeous in it. I packed it with Will's things for camp."
Despite the grim revelation just moments prior, Nashira could feel her tense muscles relaxing. "Is it a sundress? Oh no, I'll wear it everyday now, auntie!"
They talked for a while until her mother had to leave for work. She ruffled Will's hair, gave him and Naomi a hug and when it came to Nashira, wrapped the girl in a warm embrace. Her mother left her with blazing cheeks from the onslaught of kisses to her face and half the heart to strangle a cackling Will.
They drove to her apartment and she shoved whatever things needed into a suitcase before changing her AC/DC merch for the Camp Half-Blood shirt.
The drive was going to be long and they'd probably stop at a motel for the night. With that thought, Nashira bade goodbye to their, in every non-snobbish way possible, butler and Buttercup, an american cocker spaniel.
The engine revved to life. With conversation flowing between the three of them and Taylor Swift playing in the background, they departed for Long Island, for another eventful summer at Camp.
I think it's very clear who Nashira's dad is :)
Let me know what you think of this chapter. Should I make them longer?