It has been almost a week since Myrrhine started school and she hated it already. She had a ton of homework which she had to do, lots of things to memorize and at the same time help the imps with their work in the underworld.

She recalled the time she had too much free time and mentally complained of boredom. Now, she wished that time was back, but it was too late for that. She gave her daily reports to Hades even though her relationship with Hercules was not as strong as he wished.

One day, they were all taken to Athens's agora arcade. The biggest market/mall filled with all kinds of shops, restaurants, fad food places and many more. Dozens of people walked while currying bags and sacks with their latest investments.

Myrrhine had been there before a few times but avoided because of how many people it had. She was not fun of big crowds.

Climbing down the carriage, she joined her friends and the rest of the students who were around Parenthesis. He was the councillor and responsible for almost everything they did, from their class schedules to their field trips and many more.

He was a skinny man, dressed in a plain white toga with half of his chest out. He stood in front of the fountain as he spoke. "Welcome students to internship week. 5 days of immersion into the real world of work *in a lower voice* and a week off for the teachers."

Myrrhine rolled her eyes, immediately not being thrilled at all for this new plan. It was simply an excuse for the teachers to sit on their asses all day while the students worked. Worse was the fact that she actually had a job, a permanent one.

Thankfully, this internship would occupy normal school hours so she wouldn't have troubles with Hades. Plus, she had no homework for a week so she might be able to relax if she ended up on Tyche good side.

"Wow, a week in the real world," Hercules said, suddenly excited.

"I have often wondered what that might have been like," Icarus said.

"Trust me; it's nothing nice" Myrrhine commented, one hand at her waist as she stood next to Cassandra.

"She is right. You better keep wondering" the girl said, hands folded in front of her chest. "Parenthesis will give the 'inn crowd' all the great jobs, and we will end up enslaved in humiliating tragedy as usual."

"Sucks to be us."

The two girls gave a nod agreeing as Parenthesis took a scroll out with the names of the students and the shops/places they would work for the next 5 days. "Paris shall work for Panasonycles, the king of big screens" aka the man responsible for making shadow puppets for young kids.

"How fitting. Well then, off we go *his servants picked him up on their shoulders* what is that word again...work?" he laughed.

The heroes watched him being carried away, knowing very well that his servants would do all the work for him. That was the biggest and most unfair part of the school.

Parenthesis cleared his throat. "Myrrhine, our sassy student, shall work for Hades Funeral Home."

The girl blinked and cleaned her ear with her pinkie. "Come again? The what of what?"

Parenthesis looked at her, showing he was not in the mood to repeat himself and continued with the list of students. It ended up with Cassandra taking the information booth, Icarus working at Aphrodite's secret and Hercules at Gyro World.

Of course, Hercules being Hercules heard Hero and got super excited, only to be quickly disappointed once he has gotten to work. He was forced to work mittens, an aprons and the clothing of a sheep while throwing off some weird slogan.

Icarus was happy, surrounded by women of all ages who came to shop lingerie and special night clothing. Cassandra tried her hardest to enjoy the position, soon actually finding some joy behind it.

Myrrhine, couldn't exactly say she was at a similar place. As the name suggested, the shop was a gloomy one covered in black and dark blue walls. There were dozens of wooden coffins, some in colours of black and other were plain colourless.

There was simple inside, made from different kind of woods, and sometimes they even had pillows or some decorations.

The witch had to work behind a desk, helping mourning customers, mostly women, in choosing the proper coffin. It was hard since they kept crying and demanding the best, then turning angry at the prices and all she could do was listen.

It was as if she was back at the underworld, only with more physiological torture than usual. Yet, she had to endure this and truth to be told; she could. She worked for the Lord of the Dead after all.

Time passed, and the shop was finally empty. They had quite the customers, and Myrrhine made a mental note to tell Hades about it. He would be pleased to know of such a shop, maybe even feel honoured.

Or burn the place to the ground. Both cases worked for her. She leaned against the chair, eyes closed and hands behind her head, she tried to find some peace. Enjoy the time that she was free, her boss inside working on papers and no annoying widows that were making her so close in hexing them.

That was until she felt the presence of a specific demigod. Opening her eyes, she noticed a sad and angry Hercules marching across the plaza. Blinking, she realised something was odd, so she quickly stood up and jumped above the desk.

"I am off for a lunch break!" she shouted to her boss who replied with muffled words.

She didn't care much since she did her job, and it was close to lunchtime anyway. She wasn't that close to Hercules, but she did start to grow a soft spot for him somehow. Plus, she still had a job to do and couldn't return empty-handed.

"Herc! Wait!" she called, rushing to him.

"Myrrhine? What are you doing here?" he asked as he came to a halt.

"Well, I was about to go on my lunch break and saw you. What are you doing here? You should be working."

"Well...I am not...not anymore" he said and started to walk again.

"What happened?" she asked, grabbing his wrist.

She led him to the nearest tables and sat across from him. The boy handed his head and left out a sigh. "I just...I thought Hero world would be fun but...it was actually Gyro World. I had to wear this disgusting uniform, always had to say 'Make mine mitten', and worst was the fact that Paris passed by and mocked me."

The witch tapped the table with her black polished nails, immediately knowing it was Paris who made the cup spill. Hercules was a kind boy and tried his best, even though he was a klutz. He had a dream, and he was bullied for it, simply because he had not achieved it yet.

She hated seeing it like that, and she really made a mental note to make Paris pay. However, now she had to focus on her friend.

"And what happened?"

"Well...I eventually...I quitted" he admitted and stood up, walking away with his head down.

Myrrhine immediately followed. "Hercules, it is not wise to quit. Even if a job is terrible, you have to do what you have to do. Trust me" she said as she walked by his side even though she felt like a big hypocrite.

If she could quit the job with Hades she fucking would. After all, who would want to work there? Well, minus Pain and Panic. Yet, she couldn't even though being forced to obey Hades was more like slavery than an actual job.

"I don't know...maybe you are right. Maybe I shouldn't have quit" he said and came to a halt in front of a face statue of Zeus on an Ionic column that was on sale. He looked at the image of his father. "You wouldn't have quitted in my place."

Suddenly, the statue came to life, causing Myrrhine to pale and almost take a step back. She had seen crazy things alright, but that was all too new for her. The power of the gods was indeed all mighty.

"You bet I would!" the statue said.

"Father!" Hercules said, shocked at the sudden appearance.

Myrrhine blinked and looked at the boy and then at the statue. "Ehm...Herc...I better go," she said and took a sharp turn, ready to disappear.

She didn't know if Zeus knew who she was or not and it was better if he didn't. Her mother wasn't exactly famous in the world of the Gods, and she currently worked for the Lord of the Underworld, which made her position even worse.

"Hold it right there, Missy. Hercules, won't you introduce me to your friend?"

Hercules grabbed her wrist and brought her back. "Uhm father...this is...is Myrrhine," he said, kind of shocked.

The girl freed her wrist from his strong grip and rubbed it, feeling a bruise forming. "Your Lordship," she said, trying to sound respectful even though she never respected any God in her life.

"My, my, no need for such formalities. Glad to know my boy has such a pretty friend. Always charmed"

She felt weird and out of words, not being sure as to what say exactly. It wasn't every day she spoke to the statue that represented the king of the gods. The very same God that could strike her with lightning and turn her into ash.

Well, Hades could reach that level with his fireballs, but that was a different case with a different ending.

"Uhm...father...about what you said before," Hercules said, helping Myrrhine get out of the award situation.

"Ah, yes! You should have quit that job from the start. No son of mine is going to wear mittens. It's humiliating! I will make sure you get a job worthy of your pedigree!"

Hercules smiled awkwardly, realising people were watching them. Myrrhine wanted to turn into a snake and disappear but she couldn't. Not with all those eyes on her.

The very same night, she sat at her usual spot, eating a pomegranate. Because her soul was already in Hades hands, that gave her a free pass on the delicacies the underworld offered. She explained what happened today with Zeus as she tossed another seed into her mouth.

"So you tell me that Zeus will try to find a job for Jerkules?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

The woman kept her legs on the table and gave a nod, chewing on the seed. "Yep. He made it clear. Since he said 'worthy of your pedigree', I suspect it must be something with the other gods."

"Oh...this is perfect! This is absolutely perfect" the god said, grinning evilly. "And I have the plan that will ensure I get Zeus spot as ruler of Olympus!" he stood up, pointing the finger at the sky.

He looked around, expecting a clapping which didn't receive. Myrrhine was busy eating while the imps were staring. Realising what he wanted, they immediately started to cheer and clap for him, satisfying his big ego.

The Witch rolled her eyes, soon feeling a pair of golden ones on her form. Looking at the source, she saw Hades staring at her.

"What?" she asked, lowering her legs back to the ground.

"Well? Won't you clap for my magnificent plan?"

"First, I do not know of your plan. Second, I will clap once and if it happens."

Her words made him drop his smirk, his happy mood changing. "Hold on a minute. Time out *makes a time out sign with his hands* what do you mean if? Of course, it will. Do you have any doubts about it?"

She shrugged her shoulder. "Well, with the luck you had with your last 'take over Zeus place' plan, I have decided not to get overly excited."

Suddenly, the chair she was leaning disappeared into black smoke, and she landed with her butt on the hard floor. Coughing the mist away, she rubbed the sore spot on her tail which could bruise from such impact.

The ending of a smoke grey chiton came into her vision, and she looked up, seeing her 'boss' over her.

"When I say you clap...you... CLAP!" flames shot everywhere, almost covering him whole and burning the tails of the imps.

Myrrhine brought her hands forward, shielding her face from the intense heat. "Okay, Okay. Point taken. Geez, don't burn the place down" she commented, the last sentence in a lower tone.

"Now, was it that hard?" he asked as he offered his hand which she took.

He easily lifted her, using little too much force and causing her to fall against his chest. Her hands pressed against his toned chest and her cheeks flushed as she took a step back. She focused on cleaning her clothing, not answering his rhetorical question.