Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. And so, accordingly, I do not own any works credited to that name. (Or to related names. i.e. Uncle Rick.)
Previously on More Than A Mortal:
Now that everything was done being organized, I went downstairs to find a trash can. I found a circular white one, about as tall as a nightstand, and placed it beside my bookshelf.
The rest of the day was spent painting the wall that I had refrained from placing much against. My bean bag was easily moved, so I moved it across the room for the moment. My bed didn't take up much of the space against the wall, as only the headboard was against the wall, so I was able to paint above it. Almost all of my paints were paints I had gotten from, like, Home Depot and such, for painting your walls, because that was my favorite place to paint. At our old home in Massachusetts, I had painted all the walls of my own room, some of Jay's with designs he had me do, some of Mom's, and several other rooms throughout the house. And the paint worked on canvases, too, so why waste it?
Before I started to paint, though, I changed into my painting clothes. They were a pair of light sweatpants that were a light gray color, and a light tank top of the same color. They were also covered in paint stains. I had gotten them specifications for painting, so I didn't really care. I tossed the pajamas I had been wearing next to my bookshelf, on the side the armoire was. I'd have to bring up one of those plastic hampers for carrying laundry. It's what I usually used to hold dirty laundry. I didn't need a special hamper, when I could use one that made taking my stuff downstairs to wash easy.
When I was finally done, I knew it was late, because I had had to turn on my fairy lights what seemed like forever ago. It was the middle of October, so I knew it wouldn't be too too late, but it would still likely be late. I put my dirty brushes in an empty cup and set it on my end table, to be washed at a later time. I threw out the paper plates I had used into my trashcan, glad that I had thought to put a bag in it. Once everything else was put away, I stepped back and surveyed my work. I had painted a weeping willow tree, with flowering vines hanging down from it. The view was as though you were under the tree, and could see all the vines that hung down inside. And weeping willows were large, so it was as though you were just under the edge of where it's branches hung down. It looked very realistic.
Now done with my room, I left the paint to dry and went downstairs. I entered the kitchen, hearing Mom and Jay in there. "She lives!" Mom exclaimed, and I laughed.
"You were up there all day, Lee. We thought you might have died." Jay told me.
"I was painting." I said.
"I can tell." Mom said, reaching out a hand and brushing a spot of dried paint on my cheek. She retracted her hand and passed me a bowl. "I made potato soup. And I don't think you've even eaten anything since that rest stop six hours before we got here yesterday." I accepted the bowl, and added bacon bits, shredded cheese, and sea salt.
I sat down beside Jay at the counter that was the wall between the dining room and kitchen. The door to the living room, which held the second floor staircase and the entrance to the hallway that held the doors to the downstairs bathroom, laundry room, and master bedroom, was at the corner of the dining room. It was one of those larger doors, like you'd usually see between a living room and kitchen. Mom sat on the other side of me. "I was painting my wall. I've got one wall done. I don't know what else to paint yet." I said.
"Already making the place home, huh?" Mom asked.
"Might as well do what I love." I said with a shrug, taking a bit of the soup. Mom's potato soup was one of those thicker soups, and when you added bacon bits and shredded cheese, it tasted like potato skins. "Speaking of, where'd my drums end up?"
"There are four rooms on the second hall. One of them is Jay's bedroom, another the music room. The other two will end up guest rooms if we can think of nothing else to use them for." Mom told me.
"You'll have to paint all the rooms, Lee," Jay said, "but do the guest rooms with more neutral designs.
"Totally planning on it." I said with a grin. Mom laughed.
After dinner, I took a shower, luckily the second floor bathroom was a full bath, and not a half bath, and went back up to my room. I slipped on some pajamas, tossed my painting clothes with the other dirty clothes, and went to bed.
I woke up at six to my alarm. Even though I took a shower because I was covered in paint last night, I took another. I usually took showers in the morning. When I got back up to my room, after blow-drying my hair and brushing my teeth and stuff, Lydia had just arrived.
She came up to my room and went straight over to my armoire, stopping first only to admire my wall mural, and chose an outfit for the day. She handed the clothes to me, and I went behind my dressing screen to get dressed.
The clothes she had chose for me to wear were a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt. The t-shirt was a dark green Dropkick Murphys shirt with the hems cut off, which not only made it last longer, but also made it a pretty off the shoulder shirt. The name of the band was written in an old looking don't, around a three leaf clover with an anchor on each side. She had also made sure to grab me undergarments.
Once I was dressed, I hung my towel over the top of the dressing screen and grabbed my leather jacket pulling it on. Lydia sat me down at my vanity and braided my hair. She then picked up my makeup kit and put a little mascara, eyeliner, and pink lip gloss on me. A more natural look definitely worked better for me.
"Shoes?" Lydia asked.
"The rack at the bottom of these stairs are all mine." I told her. Mom had put it there sometime last night while I was in the shower, and set out my shoes. I had my own rack, because I had a lot of shoes. I had my favorite pair, my black steel toed combat boots, on the top of the three shelves on the rack, while most of my other shoes all went on the bottom two shelves; a pair of thin gray sneakers, a pair of gray running sneakers, a brown pair of wedges that were maybe four inches tall, with straps and buckles crossing the tops rather than a normal shoe top, three different pairs of flats, two pairs of flat sandals, and a black pair of flip flops with a half an inch heel. Along with my combat boots on the top were a tall pair of black boots that reached just under my knees, and my dance shoes. For dance shoes, I owned a standard pair of skin colored ballet flats and a pair of skin colored full body footundeez, which could be worn instead of the flats.
Lydia chose my combat boots, which I was grateful for. "Kiernan's driving me, I've almost saved enough for my own car, so I'll be able to drive myself without having to borrow his car soon, but I'll see you at school, okay?" Lydia told me, giving me a hug. I hugged her back and told her I'd see her at school.
My backpack was downstairs, having been in a box, so I just grabbed my phone and put it in an inside pocket in my jacket, grabbed my dance bag, and went downstairs to the kitchen. Mom and Jay were in the kitchen, and my bag was too, sitting by the counter.
"Oh, Lyric, I've got a surprise for you. It's in the garage." Mom told me. I raised an eyebrow. "Just go look in the garage."
I exited the kitchen and went to the little foyer by the front door, going through the door to the garage. My jaw dropped when I saw it. It was my motorcycle. Somehow, it was my motorcycle. I had know I probably would not make the thirteen hour drive up on it, I hated even having to drive in a car that long, and I had sold it before we moved. And I knew it was my bike because of one, the license plate that said 'LEE08', and two, the keys were sitting on the seat, and they had the same little Sun and Moon I'd painted on the top of my keys.
I ran back into the kitchen and hugged my mom tight. "How did you get it? How'd you get it up here?" I asked, stepping back. Mom laughed at my excitement.
"I hired the guy to buy it, then drove it up in the back of my truck on one of the trips up." She told me.
"Thank you!" I hugged her again, and she hugged me back, laughing.
"Now, you two have school to get to. It's six forty five. So, get going." Mom told Jay and I. I gave her one last hug before slinging my backpack over my shoulder and heading back out to the garage, stopping to grab my helmet from a box in the living room first. My helmet was just plain black with a visor that could be pulled down to cover my face, it didn't need to be anything fancy. The braid Lydia had out my hair up in fit nicely under my helmet. I put my dance bag in one of the side compartments of my bike.
I followed Jay to the school, easily memorizing the route. It wasn't far, just fifteen minutes away. When we got there, Jay found a spot to park his car, and I found a spot a little ways down.
When I parked, I noticed a group of guys hanging around the car in the spot beside the one I had parked in. Kiernan was there, and so was Lydia, but she was probably waiting for me.
"Are you one of the new kids?" One guy asked.
"Nice ride, dude." Another said. They thought I was a guy. Had they never seen a girl with a motorcycle before? I'd noticed a few in the parking lot, but they must've all belonged to guys.
"You could sit with us at lunch." One of them said as I stepped off my motorcycle.
I pulled off my helmet and they all gaped at me, seeing I was a girl. "I'm good. I've already got a place to sit." I told them as Lydia came over to me.
"You look totally badass, girl." Lydia said to me as I unzipped my leather jacket. I thanked her, pocketed my keys, and we walked into the school.
We first went to the office, to get my schedule, which listed my classes, as well as where they were.
Lyric Warren Tucker
7:16 - 8:06 Art Room 31, Lannen Building
8:12 - 8:58 Study Cafeteria, Lannen Building
9:04 - 9:04 - 9:50 Physical Education Room 01, Field House
9:56 - 10:42 Math Room 48, Lannen Building
10:48 - 11:34 Science Room 57, Lannen Building
11:40 - 12:26 Lunch Cafeteria, Lannen Building
12:32 - 1:18 English Room 63, Lannen Building
1:24 - 2:10 Music Room 13, Roseworth Theatre
Lydia explained the numbers of the classes and how they indicated where in each of the buildings they were.
"That's actually really helpful, thanks. Do we have any of the same classes?" I asked.
Yeah, we have study, which I usually spend in the library, and we have gym, math, science, and everyone in the school has the same lunch. Like I said, it's a small school." Lydia told me.
"Thanks for the help." I said.
"You're welcome. Now, I suggest you choose a locker on the first floor. You can stop there on the way up for art, and then come here after music since it's so close to the parking lot." Lydia suggested. I thanked her and she said she had to get going to go meet someone before class.
I ended up choosing a locker as close to the doors as I could. Most of the lockers were down one hallway, as apparently most people decided they didn't need lockers so the school didn't have many, but there were a few against the wall that the front doors of the Academy building were on. I chose one of those, and the office gave me a lock and code, after I filled out a little card. There were three across, two down, in the middle of the wall between the door and another wall, centered, and it seemed that all but the top middle one had been chosen. So I chose the top middle one. They were all dark green.
The only reason I wanted a locker was to put my helmet in it, so it would be easy to stop by in the morning and afternoon. Also, the buildings were all close together, as well as the parking lot being right beside the Academy building. Once I had put my helmet in my locker, I went upstairs and found my art class. I was kinda early, so I sat at a desk halfway to the back, in the center of the room. The desks were tables that seated two.
A few minutes later, a girl stopped beside me. She was average height, and she had brown hair and brown eyes. She was also wearing a ton of makeup. "You're in my seat." She told me. I pulled out my earbuds. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jay sit in front of me, but at the seat diagonal to mine, and turn around to watch.
"Who are you?" I asked. She looked taken aback that I didn't know who she was.
"Chelsey Dare, and I rule this school, so get out of my seat or I'll make your life a living hell." She told me, putting her hands on her hips. I didn't say anything about the fact that the seat beside me was empty.
"It doesn't seem like there's any sort of assigned seating, and I don't see a name on the seat." I told her. Jay stifled a laugh.
A moment later, Kiernan entered the room, and Chelsey practically ran to him. "Kiernan, make that bitch get out of my seat." He walked over and sat in the seat in front of me, beside Jay. He looked at me once, before turning back to her.
"My sister would kill me." He told her.
"Who cares what your sister thinks?" She asked.
"Me?" Kiernan said. "I live with the girl. I'm not going to make her mad at me just because her new friend sat in your seat." Chelsey pouted and sat somewhere else. I turned to look at Jay as he spoke.
"Looks like we have the same first period." Jay said.
"Yeah, looks like I'm stuck with you every morning." I told him. He pouted and I tuck my tongue out at him. I saw some girls giving me glares. Did they not realize I was his sister?
Class started when the bell rung a few moments later. The teacher started to speak.
"Alright, we have two new students today. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"
I stood first. "I'm Lyric Tucker." I said. I sat back down, and Jay stood.
"I am Jay Tucker, and Miss Distant over there is my little sister." I stuck my tongue out at him, and he stuck his out at me as he sat down.
"Having finished our last project last Friday, we're starting another today. You'll get to know your partners that I've chosen, and you'll create a portrait that captures the essence of who they are, using any medium you choose. This project is due this Friday, and no, personal information is not required to be shared. This project will also be done after school, excepting today's class." The teacher announced. There were multiple groans, people wanted to pick their own partners. Hell, if I could choose my brother, I could have a portrait done by tomorrow. "The pairs are as follows: Chelsey Dare and Jade Leigh, Chase Walker and Jay Tucker, Lyric Tucker and Kiernan Ashton..." I tuned out after that. When the teacher was done, Jay left to find his partner, and Kiernan turned around to face me.
"So, your name is Lyric?" Kiernan asked.
"Yep." I said.
"That's a pretty name." He said.
"Lydia said the same thing." I told him.
"So, this project is taking place after school. We're neighbors, so it shouldn't be too hard to meet up. What time are you free?" Kiernan asked.
"You can come over around four." I said with a shrug.
"What's got you held up so long?" Kiernan asked.
"It's about a fifteen minute drive after school, and class starts at two thirty and ends at three thirty. Another fifteen minutes to get home, and I'll need to take a shower." I told him.
"Class?" Kiernan looked confused.
"I've got contemporary today, lyrical tomorrow, taekwondo Wednesday, team tryouts Thursday, and if I make the team, practice on Saturdays as well." I said. "Except Saturday, which is eight thirty to nine thirty a.m., classes start at two thirty and end at three thirty, and I've got a ten to fifteen minute drive home, after which I need to take a shower."
"Sounds fun." He said.
"You have anything holding you up?" I asked.
"Nah, just football practice in Friday, but that's when we turn in the project." Kiernan said.
"Jay's trying out for football on Friday. They're letting him because he wasn't here for the original tryouts. He's good though. I'm going, to watch him." I said.
For the rest of the period, I listened to music with my earbuds, and Kiernan played on his phone. We were going to start the project after school.
I spent study in the library goofing off with Lydia, and stuck close to her in gym as well. As it turned out, Kiernan was in both our math and science classes, and Jay was in our science.
We were both in advanced math and science classes, which meant taking classes with the seniors rather than the juniors, so that was why.
So there's the second chapter. Any thoughts, opinions, feelings yet?
Super huge thank you to anyone who takes the time out of their day to read, review, favorite, or follow any of my work! I really do appreciate the actions.