"Melody!" Melody's mom yelled. Melody ignored it, intent on her task at hand.

She was getting revenge on her 8 year old sister, Samantha. Yesterday, Samantha had eaten all of her starburst, Melody's favorite candy. Unfortunately for Samantha, she had left her plate of Oreos out.

Melody had carefully removed all of the cream, and was replacing it with mint toothpaste. What made this prank even better was that Samantha hated mint. Melody was just putting the last Oreo together when her mom called again.

"Melody!" She yelled impatiently.

"Coming!" Melody yelled back, finished with her masterpiece. She stood back to admire her handiwork. It looked perfect; the toothpaste looked exactly like cream. She grinned, and ran downstairs to the kitchen table, where he mom and sister were sitting.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?! It's noon!" Sarah exclaimed, seeing that Melody was still P.J's.

"Mommy, I got dressed when I woke up!" Samantha said pompously.

Melody snickered. "Hey, can I have one of your Oreos upstairs?" she asked innocently.

"NO! They're MINE and they're my FAVORITE!" Samantha shrieked.

Melody put her hands up in surrender and grinned. "Fair enough."

Samantha stuck her tongue out and raced upstairs. A minute later she was back at the kitchen table,

Oreo in hand.

Melody bit down on her lip to avoid laughing as her sister deliberately bit down on that Oreo…..

Samantha immediately started gagging and spitting. Melody cracked up laughing.

"What the heck, Melody?!" Samantha exclaimed angrily.

"Revenge is sweet." Melody said dramatically. Then she lost control of her emotions, and started laughing once again.

"Revenge for what?" Samantha asked, still angry.

"You ate all of my starburst, so I tainted your Oreos!" Melody explained.

"W-well, you just wait!" Samantha said lamely.

Melody pretended to tremble.

"Hmph." Samantha said irritably.

"Girls…." Sarah interrupted wearily. She was getting tired of their constant pranking and arguing. Well, Melody pranked, Samantha argued.

The girls stopped arguing, and looked at Sarah.

"Ma'am?" they said.

"Now, I called you both down here to tell you something. I will not be home tonight. I will be on a date with your soon-to-be father…"

"He's already my Dad! He's not Melody's though." Samantha added. She smirked. "At least I don't have to be with Melody when she leaves to be with her dad for the summer…"

"That's enough, Samantha. As I was saying, I'm going out, and have hired a babysitter…"

"Why? I can stay home by myself! I'm not a child." Melody protested.

"So, you'd stay home with Samantha?" Sarah asked, raising her eyebrows.

Melody frowned, and as she had no response, she looked away.

"As I was saying, he'll be staying over here, and I want you two to behave yourselves!" Sarah said firmly.

"Yes, Ma'am." Melody and Samantha grumbled.

Melody walked away to sulk for a bit in her room. She thought about what Samantha said. If only Samantha knew….

As it happened, Melody and Samantha had different fathers. Samantha's father was Sarah's fiancé, Adrian.

Samantha had been led to believe that Sarah and Melody's father had divorced, and he had custody of her in the summer. The truth however, was that Melody went to Camp Jupiter in the summer, and was, to everyone's surprise, the daughter of Apollo. She had been expecting to be the daughter of Mercury (Roman version of Hermes), actually. She acted like one for sure, with all of her pranks. It was probably because of the fact that whenever she was at Camp Jupiter, she spent most of her time with the Mercury kids.

There were some traits that the average Apollo kid would have though. Melody had an amazing singing voice, for one, and played multiple instruments. Her favorite was her guitar, but she still enjoyed the piano, flute, and violin. She also was very talented in sculpting, sketching, and painting. Occasionally, she would write, but she preferred to play guitar instead. Like most Apollo kids, she was extremely artistic and creative.

Melody couldn't help but feel a little but smug. It was her little secret, she had powers, and her sister was a mortal. Melody felt guilty about her smugness, but nonetheless, she still felt a little smug.

Melody decided to play on her guitar. She began to play one of her many favorite songs….Viva La Vida by Coldplay. As she strummed on her guitar, she began to sing the lyrics.

"I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when I gave the word

Now in the morning I sleep alone

Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice

Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes

Listen as the crowd would sing

"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key

Next the walls were closed on me

And I discovered that my castles stand

Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing

Roman Cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain

Once you go there was never

Never an honest word

And that was when I ruled the world….

It was the wicked and wild wind

Blew down the doors to let me in

Shattered windows and the sound of drums

People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait

For my head on a silver plate

I'm just a puppet on a lonely string

Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing

Roman Cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field…" Melody sang, her guitar and voice flawless. She finished the song, and smiled. For some reason she always felt calmer, and happier whenever she finished a song.

Melody heard someone knock on her door. She opened it, and it was revealed to be her mom. Sarah smiled warmly at her daughter. "You sounded amazing." She said. Lowering her voice, she added, "Your father would be proud."

Melody grinned, slightly blushing. "Thanks." She said.

"You're welcome. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be leaving in an hour and a half. And you still have to get dressed!" Sarah sighed.

"Alright Mom, I'll get dressed. Shoo!" Melody said teasingly. Sarah rolled her eyes, and walked away.

Melody quickly got changed into a blue tank top, and some skinny jeans. '

No need to dress fancily for a babysitter, right?' she thought.

Finally she clasped on her two favorite accessories….A matching treble clef necklace and bracelet, with a small silver skull at the bottom of the treble clef.

The reason they were one of her most prized possession was that her father had given them to her on her 13th birthday. Not only were they beautiful, they also had special abilities. If she tapped on the treble clef on the necklace, it would alter her singing voice to enchant her opponent, and cause them to fall into a deep slumber. If she tapped on the treble clef on the bracelet, it would alter her singing voice to heal whoever she was singing to. They were very useful.

She spent the remaining hour singing, playing, and listening to music.

As she was listening to Tennis Court by Lorde, her mom walked in, wearing a dress, heels, and was wearing her favorite perfume.

Melody tugged her earphones out, and sat up. "Leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah. The babysitter will be here in a few minutes. I came to say bye." Sarah smiled.

"Ok, bye mom, love you." Melody smiled back, and followed her mom to the front door, ipod still in pocket.

"Bye Samantha, be good! Love you both!" Sarah said, walking out the door, into Adrian's car. Melody shut the door, and sat on the couch.

"I wanna watch SpongeBob." Samantha said, taking a seat next to Melody. Melody shrugged. "Whatever." She said, turning the channel to Nick.

"I'M REAAADDYYYY!" SpongeBob shouted.

Melody chuckled, and started to watch it with more focus.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Melody got up, and swung the door open.

"Hello, are you the babysitter?" Melody said, inspecting him.

He had pointed ears, curly hair, tan skin, and warm brown eyes. He looked about 16, a year older than Melody.

"Yeah, that's me. Leo Valdez at your service." Leo Valdez grinned mischievously.