Chapter 2

Yui woke me up the next morning. I groaned and she continued to shake my shoulder. "Rose! You need to get up!" She cried, pretending to be exasperated. I peeked out at her from under the blanket. She then pulled said blanket from me and I squealed. Her laugh followed her out as she left me to get up. I did so, reluctantly.

After showering and changing into the uniform, which I was going to order pants for, I met her in the living room. She was telling Melissa about how she was going to do what she could to help the gods. I gave her a small smile, ignoring how my own stomach turned at the thought of going out there and helping. Such a bright personality. No wonder Zeus chose her to be a human representative.

I let Yui hold the conversation, seeing as I wasn't really in the mood. My thoughts from last night hung over me like a dark cloud. One part of me felt silly for letting them control my mood, the other part just wanted to curl back into bed. When we got to the auditorium, it was empty. Not that I really expected anything else, but Yui seemed surprised. We only had to wait a moment before we heard Yui's name being called, echoed by the sound of Balder falling. We turned to see the goof smiling at us from the floor.

Yui helped him up, greeting him with a "Good morning Balder-san!" He smiled. "I'm so happy you remembered my name!" He grinned at her.

Yui smiled back, "I'm relieved you came! I thought no one else was coming!" I rolled my eyes with a grin. It was easy to see Balder already had a small crush on her. "It's my first time attending a school," he began, "I'm so excited!"

He smiled for a second before it shifted to a frown. "Yesterday, you flew on Pegasus with that Greek god, didn't you?" Yui frowned back at him and I nodded. "Have you two always been close?" He asked, stepping a bit closer. I gave him a look. Obviously not? Where was he going with this? However, Yui answered him. "No. That was our first time meeting Apollo. He took us to see this place."

That seemed to please Balder. He stepped even closer with a smile. "Really? That was the first time? Then you met me first." His hand lifted, and I stepped up, somewhat in between them, a fake smile gracing my lips. "Well, she met you first. I met Hades first. That was kind of awkward." Yui sent me a grateful smile. Balder opened his mouth, but was, thankfully, interrupted by Apollo and…. The purple-haired Japanese god. He needs a name tag until I remember it…

"Good morning Fairy, Good morning Violet, Good morning Balder!"

I had the first true smile in hours on my lips as I cocked my head at him. "Violet?" Apollo grinned. "I told you I would come up with a nickname! You're as beautiful as a flower, but which one? I say all of them!"

He looked so pleased with himself, I could only shake my head and chuckle. Yui gave him a thankful look. Of course she noticed my mood. I gave her a small smile, which she returned tenfold.

We all chatted a bit longer, Apollo and I jumping on the stage to be more comfortable. During this time, I could feel the cloud finally fade away. So what if this seems cruel? It's not. How many people get this type of a second chance? Not many! Maybe I should follow Yui's lead. Do my best to help the gods, then let the cards fall as they may. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. There we go.

The bell chimed, and Balder looked around. "I guess we're the only ones after all?" He sighed. Apollo sighed, somewhat angrily. "Do they not understand? Don't they get it? Graduation is the only way out of this garden."

"Our entrance ceremony is today." Yui started. I interrupted her thoughts. "That's actually something I wanted to ask you about. Do you do it every year? In America, we only do it for like, the first grades in a new program."

"What do you do at an entrance ceremony anyway?" Balder asked, followed by Apollo and Tsukuyomi asking similar questions of confusion.

"Well, the new students all assemble, it's kind of a celebration. They promise to study hard together." Yui smile at us, then jerked her attention to Tsukuyomi. "You don't need to take notes!" She cried, and I just laughed.

Balder spoke up again. "In other words, is an entrance ceremony a contract ritual?"

"If you break your promise, will you be met with a terrible curse?" Was asked by Apollo.

"Will we need a sacrifice?" Tsukuyomi finished.

I couldn't help my laugh. That was such a cute, ritual thing to ask. Yui hurried to assure them it was okay while I tried to reign in the humor. I finally quit chuckling and smiled at them. This would be okay. This year was going to be my greatest yet, I swear it.

Apollo grinned at me, then looked to the others. "In any case, let's split up and convince everyone to attend the entrance ceremony with us! Let's do our best to graduate together!"

The grounds was quite extensive. I wandered just through the gardens for a good ten minutes before finally running into someone. I turned the corner around a hedge and brought myself up short. On a wooden bench, just staring out into the vast distance, was Hades. I smiled brightly and sat down next to him. He jerked his attention to me, eyes wide, then looked around quickly. Was he looking for an escape? I raised my eyebrow when he finally returned attention my way. I cut him off before he had a chance to object to my presence. "Hey, we were all waiting in the auditorium this morning. You ditched us." I decided to try and tease him. A hint of pink covered his cheeks as he closed his eyes. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I will not be attending."

"Seriously?" I asked, giving him a look. "I know this sucks, but you did hear what Zeus said, right? We all have to 'graduate' or we will be stuck." He turned and looked at me, most of his expression hidden by the curtain of his hair. "I have my reasons. Besides, my position is not one that can be easily replaced."

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously, that isn't true. If Zeus has been planning this long enough to have other gods helping him, I'm sure he has planned for others to take care of your position." He froze for a moment, then groaned and collapsed in on himself as if he knew exactly who would be covering for him. I chuckled and patted his shoulder.

Well, I tried to. He jerked from my touch and scooted down the bench, peeking out from between his fingers. I slowly lowered my hand down and frowned at him. "Um… Okay then. Anyway, are you going to come? We have a bit before it starts. We could use some help setting things up. Yeah?" I stood and waited for him. He didn't move. He didn't say anything. He just stared at me. I groaned. "You're being difficult. Now come on, Apollo, Yui, and…. Crap what's his name… Ugh, the purple hair Japanese god. Anyway, they're putting a lot of effort into this and we need everyone to participate." At least this time he responded, even if it was just shaking his head no. Give me strength… I reached out and grabbed his tie. Smirking, I pulled him to his feet. The threat of being choked was enough to get him to cooperate. He looked bewildered, but followed me, much to my delight.

I let go once we took a couple of steps. Hades kept about a foot away from me, but he continued to walk. I smiled at him. "Thanks for agreeing!" He shook his head, but I could swear there was a little smile behind his hair. We walked in comfortable silence. I saw him stealing glances my way, but I didn't say anything. I wonder if he was thinking about how we first met? That was such a strange way to wake up… but it wasn't unpleasant.

I spoke up after a bit. "So, do you have any idea who is taking care of the Underworld while you're here?" He turned his full attention to me and pushed his hair behind his ear. My heart skipped a beat. Those red eyes seemed to pierce my soul and demand answers to whatever he asked. I couldn't even imagine what it would do when he had his godly powers back.

He finally turned back to watch where he was going. I felt my cheeks faintly heat up and I made myself do the same. Finally, he answered me. "I believe Persephone is doing my job." Oh yeah… Persephone. Goddess of the Underworld. His wife. I ignored how my heart seemed a bit heavier. "Oh?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going. So what if he was taken? I still would like to be friends with everyone. Besides, they're gods. Totally off limits anyway dude. "She has been taking half my duties for some time now. Her days will have gotten longer, but at least she now has an excuse to avoid her mother."

His lips twitched in a fond smile before smoothing out. I smiled softly. "Well I guess that's a good thing. Will Zeus let you talk to her? Make sure everything is okay?" He shrugged. "Who knows what Zeus is going to allow." I left it at that, not really knowing how to respond. Thankfully, we were close to the auditorium.

When we got there, Yui seemed surprised for a second, then smiled brightly. "Hades, I'm so glad you came! Okay, let's get started!" The taskmaster then cracked the whip, and we moved.

It wasn't that I had a problem with cleaning. It was that the uniform was too stiff and definitely too short to do the job! I quickly walked to the stage, determined to fix one problem, and took off the jacket. As I was taking off the tie and vest, Yui came over, waving her hands. Her cheeks held a faint blush. "What are you doing?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I can't move in this thing. I never had uniforms going to school. And if we did, they would have been regular collared shirts, not this suit thing." She shook her head, Silly thing.

Thankfully, the white button up didn't show my bra. Of course I spoke too soon. Balder, the clutz, was walking by and tripped with the bucket of mop water. Of course I would be in front of him. Of course. On the bright side, I caught him and stopped him from bashing his pretty face on the ground again.

However, I completely scandalized, not only Balder (who quickly jumped out of my arms), but also Yui, Apollo, and even Hades. All various shades of red, all yelling and adding to a cacophony of sound. I could only laugh. Years of hospital gowns had desensitized me to my own nudity, so I didn't feel their embarrassment.

Finally, Hades took his jacket off and put it over my shoulders. I grinned at him and pulled the edges close. Yui spoke up then, "Why don't you go change? You have enough time before the ceremony starts." I shrugged, feeling like a dwarf in the jacket, and left. Not going to lie, I was a bit happy to get out of cleaning. Why Zeus couldn't magic the place clean, I don't know. Seems a bit silly to be making us do the work, but oh well.

On the way back to the room, I couldn't help but notice the pleasant scent of Hades' jacket. I had no idea what exactly he smelled like. It was just clean and masculine. I was broke from the small scent daze I was in when I came across a couple of the spirits talking in the hallway. I paused by them, smiling. They both looked at me, and I felt ice run down my back. Their eyes, their smiles… they were empty. "Hello there, are we going to be friends?

My smile became strained and I shrugged. "Uh sure?" The hell? Are we supposed to teach them about humanity too? Do they remember their human lives? Did Zeus bring them from heaven or somewhere? When they didn't answer, I just walked away. That was.. They didn't have their personalities anymore?

I quickly changed and hurried back, ignoring all the spirits along the way, ignoring my feelings about the soulless spirits. I made it back and walked up to Hades, holding his jacket out.

"Thanks for letting me borrow this. I don't think it got wet or anything."He took it with a small nod, and I got back to helping set the chairs up.

The ceremony was long and boring, as ceremonies tended to be. The only good part was Apollo's little speech to Zeus. Honestly, this dude was amazing.

"I hereby swear, we the students, enter this academy. I am shocked at how sudden this is. I am truly, truly shocked. Brought to an unfamiliar place, I do not know what will happen next. However, there must be a reason for this. Over the next year, not as gods, but as humans, we will study their history, culture, and love. And with our wonderful new friends, I promise we will all follow the academy's will and graduate. Representative of new students, Apollo Agena Belea… Let's do our best everyone!"

I'm not vain. I'm truly not. It's just… I got sick when I was 16. It was before I had cared about makeup or hairstyles or anything like that. I didn't realize how much I wanted to be like the girls at school, or in the magazines until I couldn't.

But now. Now I would be able to have fun. Zeus had given me back my dark brown hair. He had given me energy, and breath, and life. Even if I hated how he acted… I looked down at the bathroom counter, crowded with lipsticks, mascara, eye shadows, and a curling iron.

I do have to admit he's getting on my good side. Who would have thought he would set up a kiosk to get anything we needed?

By the time Yui woke up for the first official day of school, I had put on a full face of makeup and curled my hair. It might not have been great, but I was quite proud of myself. I smiled at Yui's reflection, before turning and hopping off the sink counter.

We quickly got dressed, and rushed to Thoth's class. The gods from yesterday were already there, leaving Yui and I to take spots in the back. Yui sat behind Apollo, next to Tsukito, I between Hades and Dionysus. I gave each of them a smile. Someone sat on my desk and I looked up into the blue eyes of Apollo. He grinned and winked at me.

"Hello, my dear Sunflower." I snorted a laugh. "I'm the sun god's sunflower? Cute." He went a tad red, but his satisfied grin stayed plastered on his face. He was just so adorable.

Thoth came in after that, and everyone, including the spirits in the class, hurried to sit down.

I'm not sure what I expected the first class to be, but it certainly wasn't the sex talk from the god of knowledge. The Human Reproductive System in all its glory. Guess it makes sense, since the gods could have literally sprung from Zeus' brain. The best part of the lesson was watching red creep up the back of Yui, Apollo, and Balder's neck. But when Thoth brought out diagrams, I had to bury my face in my arms to keep from snickering. Dionysus did not have the same luck. An eraser flew through the air and smacked him in the chest. He just laughed harder, but it made Thoth glare (pout) enough to let us out for lunch.

It was there that Balder's life was changed forever. I can honestly say I have never heard such an erotic moan from someone eating barbecue. Honestly, I blushed and had to look away. Dionysus laughed at my face and I flipped him off. I'm sure it doesn't have the same meaning for him, but it made me feel better nonetheless. We talked and laughed, feeling each other out with general conversation, and actually had a great time. It made going back to Thoth's lesson bearable.

I was too keyed up to sleep that night. After an hour staring at the ceiling, I hesitantly went to the living area. There was light shining from under Yui's door, so I knocked. I guess she couldn't sleep either. She let me in and we laid on her bed and chatted. She spoke about all kinds of things, like her brothers and friends. She told me story after story, obviously feeling homesick. I just listened, happy to have something to occupy my mind.

Melissa woke us up. We had fallen asleep on top of the covers, and were cuddling for warmth. Yui's face heated up, but I grinned. "Guess that means we're best friends now." Her embarrassment immediately changed to delight. I smirked. "Besides, I want to tease Apollo about sleeping with you."

She yelled at me as I ran back to my own room, laughing the entire time.

That day passed like the first one, much like the following days did. Until Thoth finally had his fill of "imbeciles" worrying about monsters and yelling. Honestly, I would love to see him in a freshman english class. That would be hilarious… Yui and I snapped our heads up as he stormed out of the classroom. I rolled my eyes, but followed Yui as she chased him out. Such a baby. I had a class that brought a substitute to tears before she finally left.

"Master Thoth!" Yui called. "Come back to class!"

Thoth's glare was impressive enough that I stepped back.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" He slammed his arm to the wall next to Yui. I stepped up, glaring, but he straightened before I said anything. I took a deep breath, but he didn't let me speak.

"All they do is nap and play around. They don't take this seriously. Further, some have never even shown up." He stared down, obviously upset and frustrated. "Listen, even as they do this, time still pass. If I can't get them to understand humanity and love in time, you will all be trapped in this garden forever." I frowned. He had a point...

Bells interrupted our conversation. It got brighter outside, and a breeze shook the trees. Thoth smiled softly and it changed his face. It made him seem more approachable… handsome… no. Please don't think of your teacher as attractive…

"Zeus must have changed the season. Perfect. Summer vacation will start tomorrow. Gather all the students before summer ends." I didn't have time to ask him how he knew that before he was striding off. Yui and I looked at each other then sighed. We certainly had our work cut out for us.