Oh, Fates, weave a story of demigods for the Muses to speak of! A story of special humans, a legacy of ancient times! Will they be remembered as glorious heroes or infamous monsters?
CHAPTER 1: DANTE
Dante Angelos slowly sat up in his bed, glaring at mankind's worst enemy: the alarm clock. He threw his hand onto the snooze button, and was about to lay back down, when his head snapped up. It was May 13th. He'd almost forgotten. It was his last day of going to school then by next week, it'll be graduation. He had no choice but to forget his comfortable bed and face the last day of high school. "Alright" he said to himself, slapping his face lightly, "let's do this."
Dante got out of his bed and looked around the room; a little messy with clothes on the floor, a dark brown dresser with a small flatscreen on it, one black desk with his laptop and walls were painted light gray. On the walls were some posters of Star Wars villains and some characters from Assassin's Creed. Yup, he's a bit of a nerd, but that's cool nowadays.
He hauled his body out of bed so he could get dressed in his school's uniform, consisting of khaki pants, a navy blue, collared shirt and a choice of shoes, which in this case are some black Nikes. Dante went over to the closest mirror to make sure he didn't look too bad. The top of his black hair was a little messed up since the back and sides were cut off more, but not too bad. His emerald green eyes looked worn out, mostly due to too much overnight studying. So a normal morning look for a seventeen year old young man.
Dante walked down the hallway as he cleared his throat when getting into the kitchen, "Morning, Aunt Sofia." Dante looked at his aunt that morning; her brown hair was tied into a ponytail and wore more comfortable attire as she was cooking some pancakes for breakfast. Sitting at the dining table in a highchair was Dante's cute toddler cousin, Estelle, looking just like her mom, but with more pancakes in her little mouth and dressed in a Hello Kitty onesie. Dante rustled her hair, "Morning, Estelle. Hungry as always."
Sofia gave him a bright smile as she handed out a pancake, "Hope you got an appetite like your little cousin." Dante gladly took the pancake but placed some bacon strips in the middle to then fold the pastry like it's a taco. He told his aunt, "Always. Now I just have to wait for Miss Sunshine to get out here."
Dante's aunt responded, " 'Miss Sunshine' woke up earlier than you, Mr. Bedhead. She's in the shower, so best eat up. Since you two will be done with school, now you won't have an excuse to work in the restaurant." Dante's family had been running a restaurant called "The Italian Quarter", their apartment was actually just above the restaurant itself. Dante sighed, telling her, "Why do I have the feeling you'll ask me to help out even when I'm in college?" His aunt gave a warm smile telling him, "Well, Estelle is too young to legally work so you two gotta pick up her slack." Dante looked to his young cousin as she playfully stuck out her tongue as if to say "Sucks for you".
"I take it Uncle Paul is downstairs already?" Dante asked with his aunt responding, "Yup, I'm making breakfast and he's down in the restaurant making lunch." A new voice entered the conversation, one he knew too well, "Good, after these exams I'll be in need of a good lunch." Entering the kitchen was his twin sister and it showed. Same black hair but reaching past her shoulders, green eyes, school uniform but was wearing black, calf-high sneakers. "Come on, Dante, sooner we get there, sooner this high school thing can be over with." Dante's sister made her own pancake taco as Dante shoved the rest into his mouth and washed it down with apple juice. Their aunt walked over, placing kisses on their cheeks, telling his sister, "Vanica, you still got to take those finals; fail and not only will you not graduate, but won't get my special cake I'll be making tonight."
Dante chuckled as Vanica sighed loudly, "You drive a hard bargain, Aunt Sofia. With any luck, I can get a C on these." Dante headed out with Vanica to the stairway heading downward. Since it was the last day, Dante knew Vanica wouldn't need a backpack, just a pencil, which was sticking out of her right pocket. Meanwhile, Dante grabbed an empty red backpack as they walked out to their family's restaurant for a quick stop.
"Hey, Uncle Paul, got those orders?" Dante shouted. Their restaurant had décor that consisted primarily of Italian motifs, such as exposed brick, pictures and flags of Italy, grapes, etc., with one wall dedicated to the Angelos family, showing members through the generations. It was a decour that stuck out in a city full of Cajun, French, Spanish and fast food themed restaurants, which Dante admired There were only about four employees who work there, currently getting ready for the day by setting down chairs from the tables and one guy, Steve, cleaning out some drinking glasses at the bar. Dante would head to the back kitchen to see their uncle, the smell of fresh food being cooked and prepped.
"Hey, my graduating niece and nephew!" The two were given a big bear hug from a man in his early forties, salt and pepper hair covered by a hairnet, wearing a white shirt, apron, jeans and a pair of clods. Paul Russo, the man who married their aunt, and the man who was Dante's father. The restaurant legally is owned by his aunt Sofia since it's been in the Angelos family, but their uncle helps run the cooking and staff while his wife does finances and takes care of the kids. Dante and his sister were then let go and were given two brown bags, "Alright, Dante, first orders of the day. One BLT and one spinach with mushrooms sub."
Dante placed the bags in his backpack, "Thanks, Paul, your favorite customers will enjoy these for sure." Dante's sister checked the time on her phone, "Crap! Let's get going, this order's to go, remember!" Vanica wasted no time in rushing out the kitchen with Dante following in suit, "See you after exams, Uncle Paul!" yelling his goodbye and rushing after his sister.
Vanica was always faster than Dante, he was following behind as Vanica rushed through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. Even at such an early hour, the city was hustling and bustling with the sound of street musicians playing jazz, cars honking at anyone breaking a traffic law, and Vanica's laughs as she crossed a walkway in the nick of time, leaving Dante behind when the light turned red. Dante stopped to catch his breath, checking the time on his own phone, "Twenty minutes….? We have plenty of time!" he yelled out of frustration, knowing his sister was long ahead of him. "I'm so ready for today to be over."
Dante sped walk to get to school, he could make it in five minutes if he wasn't distracted. Unfortunately, something did get his attention. He heard the cries of an old woman, "Get away you fiend!" Like any good citizen should, but also needing to get to class for his exams, Dante followed the cries towards an alleyway where he witnessed the crime in action.
He saw an ragged, old homeless woman he knew as Ethel being cornered by a guy who looked to be twenty-two in typical biker attire with the leather, spiked accessories but yet his hair was dyed white and stood up like Einstein. Dante noticed Ethel holding a brown paper bag in her arms, holding it like it was her baby. A conflicted look showed on Dante's face, he would lose valuable time getting to school, else his absence results in an automatic F, all the overnight studying for nothing. On the other hand, he knew leaving an old woman at the mercy of a hoodlum would bother him for the rest of his life. Taking a deep breath, he went in.
"Hey, buddy!" Dante yelled, trying to get the mugger's attention, "You really like picking on old ladies? That's just pathetic. Picking on homeless old ladies, that's worse." The biker-themed mugger turned around, showing Dante a lot more piercings than he would have liked to see from anyone. He stood his ground as Ethel's mugger spoke in a threatening tone, "What could you do? So take my advice, kid: walk away. See, this woman has something I want and you have no reason to get in my business. So," he walked up closer, Dante could tell the guy was taller than he was already, probably seven feet tall, towering over him, "what will you do, little kid?"
Ethel's mugger couldn't tell, but Dante's heart was racing. He was terrified yet he kept a calm composure. He looked around, maybe there was something to hurt this giant of a man, a David and Goliath type situation. He did see a brick and beer bottle when coming down the alleyway, one of those would be a good weapon but Dante wanted to just scare off this punk, not put him in a hospital because he bashed the criminal's brains out. He looked past the guy to see Ethel, her expression was that of complete worry, as if she's going to have a heart attack if he left. Dante took a deep breath, no word to his opponent, all Dante did was turn around.
Dante could hear Ethel's mugger turn around, his knuckles cracking loudly. However, Dante quickly picked up an empty beer bottle, saying to himself, "Please don't let me hit the old woman." Putting as much force and power into his throwing arm, Dante chucked the glass bottle at the thug. The bottle managed to hit the menace's head dead on, rather than wincing in pain, Dante saw the guy turn around with a really angry expression on his face that told him "You're dead meat!"
Dante stood his ground, heart feeling like it'll explode as the criminal charged at him like a bull. He had no idea how he'd explain being late for finals. "I got into a fight protecting a homeless woman from a criminal." He knew it sounded good on paper, but not a good excuse unless you're a student with a cold. He thought maybe broken bones would be a better persuasive argument. However, he heard a loud "THUD!" He watched the stranger hold the back of his head, some blood flowing onto his hands. Dante wondered why when he saw right behind the guy was a brick covered in a little bit of blood. Who threw it? Dante was surprised to see that it was Ethel, holding another brick like a baseball pitcher.
He chastised the man who tried to rob her, "Best you leave, sunny. You're surrounded by two fighters who know how to hit your big head." Dante witnessed this elderly woman he knew for a year now, become a badass than the victim she was not too long ago. He saw Ethel winking at him and announced, "After all, this money wasn't just for me, but for my dear dog too."
Dante watched Ethel pull out a silver dog whistle from her brown paper bag as she chuckled loudly, "I bet he's hungry too!" With a deep breath, Dante heard the whistle go off very loudly. The noise even somewhat harmed the mugger with it's high pitched noise. After she stopped, Dante heard Ethel's pet coming down the alleyway. "You better run, man."
Moving to the side, Dante saw Ethel's pet, a large, three year old rottweiler, running in. Ethel's dog came in fast, barking like a little demon, teeth bared out like a wolf and the look of a killer on his face, letting Dante to chuckle at the fact he was being saved by a dog and an old woman. With the small beast coming fast, Ethel's mugger began running with her dog on his heels, figuratively and literally. Dante laughed as the dog only got the brute's right boot, but thanks to the thick material, didn't puncture his leg.
Dante watched the stranger ditch his boot in a desperate attempt to escape. Guess it was better to lose a boot than the whole leg, he would have done it too. The man struggled to undo a lace, letting Dante hear his desperate cries of fear, and slipped off the footwear, sacrificing it to the dog. Once freed, Ethel's mugger ran for it, running in New Orleans. Ethel's dog gripped the black boot and shook it around like a hunting dog with a dead rabbit.
Dante bent down to pet Ethel's dog, scratching his ear while his rescuer made happy noises with his mouth full of a boot and his tail wagging. "Good boy, Spot!" Dante cooed, then he turned to Ethel, "You really came to my rescue, Ethel. You and Spot. "
The old woman flicked her hand at him to say, "Oh it was nothing. I'm glad there's a good hearted young man like you in this city of sin." Giving a small smile Dante replied, "True be told I was a little afraid. That guy was huge, and I'm six feet and an inch tall. Some hero I am, huh?" Just as Dante was petting the rottweiler, he felt Ethel's elderly hand on his shoulder, comforting him, "Least you did something. Playing safe is a coward's doing." He turned to dig in her bag, "Let me see, where was that thing?" Dante had no idea what Ethel was looking for but he chose not to ask of a woman with so little.
Ethel asked Dante, who was still searching in that bag, "So, I saw your sister rushing by. She said she was in a hurry to school." Dante soon gave a look as if Spot suddenly bit his butt, "Oh shit! I got to get going!" Dante stepped back from Spot and searched through his bag, taking out one of the sandwiches and tearing it in half, "Thanks for the help, I'm sure you and Spot would like a little something from the restaurant. I'll tell Josh half of his order went to charity, he'll understand." Dante split the half between Ethel and Spot, giving them each a quarter of the sandwich.
Spot jumped up and grabbed his portions, much to Dante's surprise. He was afraid the dog would have eaten his fingers too. When presenting the sandwich quarter to Ethel, the old woman pulled out a set of bracelets, "Oh here they are!" She exclaimed to Dante. She presented them to him, making Dante very surprised, "Here, dear, you've earned it."
Dante examined the jewelry, having depictions of fire in the black metal and on each one was a small red gem. "Ethel" he replied, "I'm flattered but these are too much. You should sell them, it could be good money." Ethel gave Dante a death glare that reminded him of his grandmother when she got mad, "you'll take them and like them." Dante could only accept the gifts, albeit with a nervous smile as Ethel slipped them onto his wrists. The sandwich piece was then taken and Dante's heart relaxed when seeing Ethel's glare disappear into a kind, elderly smile.
The youth wrapped the sandwich back up and placed it back into his bag, "Enjoy the sandwich, Ethel. Spot, keep her out of trouble." Dante then ran out of the alleyway and towards school, his day only just beginning.
CHAPTER 2: DANTE
The exams were now over, Dante left his last class, which was world history. Dante cut it close upon arrival, showing up for his Spanish class covered in sweat like he ran a marathon. Needless to say he was sent to the back for the bad odor he gave off from the run. Now his last class was over, and he couldn't have been happier. Next on his to-do list, deliver those sandwiches.
Dante walked to a part of the school which acted more like a small farm. Blocked off by a large boarded gate to keep the animals in, Dante looked at the three greenhouses, and the large wired gate that divided into three sections. One contained enough space for about fifteen different kinds of chickens roaming around, coming in and out of their coop; another was large enough for a small brown calf; the third had a small barn with tarp over the top as it had three lambs baa-ing and jumping around. Dante remembered the fun times of them all first showing up for the beginning of the school year and how many fights happened over that time. "I definitely won't miss you chickens after I'm gone." He told the birds, only for one to cluck at him.
He looked around and found his customers. Working in the garden was Rebecca, a girl his age with flowing blonde hair, tanned skin and green eyes which Dante always said looked like grass than his emerald ones. Next to her was Joshua, her own twin brother with similar features yet he found it strange Rebecca's sibling had darker skin, like he worked in Florida all his life. Dante announced to the two, "Rebecca, Joshua, lunch has arrived. Courtesy of the Angelos family."
"Alright!" Rebecca took off a pair of gloves as Dante pulled out her order, the six inch BLT sandwich. Joshua looked at Dante with a confused expression and rightfully asked him, "I asked for a footlong sandwich, how come this is half of it?" Dante gave a nervous smile, explaining, "I ran into Ethel and Spot on the way here and gave them half of it…sorry, man. I figured they needed it more." Joshua rolled his eyes at him all while Rebecca was scarfing down her sandwich, speaking, with her mouth full, "You can't be mad at him for helping a homeless woman and her dog, brother. People might get the wrong impression that you don't care."
Dante watched Joshua roll his grass colored eyes and ate into his own sandwich. Dante pulled out his own lunch, a spicy chicken sandwich he got from the cafeteria. He didn't mind eating a chicken in front of the others as he dug in alongside the other twins. He noticed Rebecca looking at his wrists when she asked, "I didn't know you were into jewelry. When did you get those?" She stared at him with wow, holding his right wrist up when Dante explained, "Ethel gave them to me. I tried turning her down, saying it'd be better to sell them for a good profit, but she insisted I take them as a reward for coming to her rescue this morning. A jerk tried taking whatever spare change she had and he backed off, albeit after a brick hit his head. That's why I was almost late this morning for my first exam."
Dante noticed Joshua examining his bracelets too, but his expression seemed more worrying than dazzling like his sister. He told him, "Oh…how nice of her." What made Dante a bit unsettled was that Joshua wasn't looking at him when saying that, rather his gaze was still on the jewelry around his wrists. Feeling rather uncomfortable, Dante needed to change the subject; he asked both of them, "So, are we still up for our graduation party next week?"
That question was what Dante needed as Rebecca replied to him, "Yup! Lots of food, a big cake, different kinds of drinks, granted our family will be there but I'm sure we'll all have fun." Dante replied to her, "Well, it's not everyday we have fun at your family's place. I'm just glad they like me and Vanica. But don't worry, I'll be sure to bring something there. Maybe that cherry and lemon cake you like so much." Just saying those words made Rebecca's eyes light up with joy as she stared at him, causing Dante to chuckle. Rebecca told Dante, "Having that cake will be the second best thing to happen next week. I know a place that sells really sweet cherries, I can pick them up for you tomorrow." He replied to Rebecca, "Sounds like a shopping date."
"So" he asked the two of them curiously, "what are your plans after our big party? Surely you two got accepted to a great university." Rebecca looked too busy to answer with the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, so he looked to Joshua for his answer.
Joshua finished his lunch when telling him, "Well I'm heading to a university out of state after graduation. I doubt my dear sister would cut it though. Don't think you've met the prerequisites for it." Rebecca gave off a sort of offended look, retorting, "Eh? You don't think it'll cut it at your fancy out-of-state university?" Dante watched Joshua basically mock his sister, "Trust me, Rebecca, you wouldn't like a place like New York, both the state and city. I think staying in New Orleans is more your speed. Or maybe Baton Rouge, but not where I'm going. Besides, you know what you want to become, so you don't need to go to New York for it."
Dante looked to Rebecca as her previous pouting look shifted to a warm smile. Her green eyes shifted to the livestock the school kept for their FFA society; the little cow taking in the sun, the sheep playing around, the chickens being jerks, then told the boys, "Yeah, yeah, don't need to travel out of state to study agricultural science. After all, our family does think I can run the family business better than you." She playfully stuck her tongue out, which made Joshua sigh in annoyance, asking rhetorically, "What are you five?" Rebecca just laughed in a playful and mocking way to her twin when she looked at Dante, asking him, "What about you, Dante? Do you and Vanica have any plans for after graduation?"
The future…that was a dangerous and nerve-wracking word for a young man like Dante. After spending his whole life in school, working in the family restaurant, he felt too preoccupied for what he'd want to be. Most people would want to be a doctor, scientist, actor, or maybe take up something in business for a decent job instead of a career. However, Dante…had no clue.
He blew a soft raspberry with his lips to respond, "Well, there's working at the restaurant all summer getting tourist tips, but then…maybe university here in New Orleans or make the trip for Baton Rouge to study semi-abroad. Other than that…no idea. Let's just say high school never really prepared me for college like many think. All I can hope for is that something will say 'Hey! Your destiny is this!'"
Dante stood in silence with the siblings for a few seconds, hearing only the sounds of students leaving off campus and animals playing around. He even felt one of the lambs pulling in the back of his shirt through one of the openings. "Hey, stop it, Bob." Dante pulled away from the fence as the sheep gave a baa-ing noise as if telling him "Hey I was eating that." Joshua told Dante, "I got to meet up with someone, so I'll see you around, Dante."
Dante was then left with Rebecca as her brother went off. He stared into Rebecca's eyes telling her, "Hard to believe high school is practically over for us. I know many students are glad it's over, but part of me will be sad that we won't be together much. Always found fun here with you and some of the other guys."
Rebecca sighed when she told Dante, "Whatever happens, I think we can all agree we need to help each other out if something happens. We've come together this far, why let college get in the way? A little distance shouldn't be a problem; we've been friends since middle school, sure we had a few fights here and there but we got past them, but look at us now. So, let's agree that no matter what happens, we can always find a way to help each other out." After her speech, Rebecca gave Dante a warm smile that would melt the coldest snow. Dante couldn't help but form a smile, Rebecca always found a way to calm him down and make him smile. He took a deep breath when telling her, "Yeah…I can agree on that plan."