The crowd seemed to part. I don't know if they really did or if my impressive agility simply made it seem so because I could move in and out of places without hindrance.
I was nearing the dais. Cunningham was suddenly sweating. The endless badgering from the reporters didn't ruffle her feathers. Even the relentless bullying of the lawyers didn't make her raise an eyebrow. But one glance at me and was sweating through her silk blouse.
Heh! Hilarious.
I could nearly feel her warm blood on my fingers and it felt so good.
⎡Kyah! Wake up!⎦
Calypso's voice was urgent and filled with the power to attract. That attraction pieced me back together in less than a moment.
After feeling myself return back to normal. I was shocked and sickened by the thoughts I'd just had. I hated her, sure. I hated that she didn't fulfill her duties. I hated the neglect. But what I just felt, and what I just thought was more than simple hatred. Where was all of this vitriol coming from? It churned my stomach. I felt like I might pass out.
⎡Calm down, Kyah. You'll be okay.⎦
She was back to being the sweet Calypso that I knew. That was great because, at that moment, I really needed her.
What the hell was that? It was like I went from 0-1,000 in a heartbeat. I had no control over my own actions or thoughts. It was scary in more ways than one. With the changes that have happened to my body and soul, in addition to gaining access to Pandora, I was capable of doing some truly amazing things. If I wanted, I could be a true supervillain.
⎡What's wrong with me, Calypso?⎦
⎡Oh, dear. What are we going to do?⎦
⎡Calypso?⎦
⎡Oh! Sorry. I forgot you could hear my thoughts, too.⎦
⎡Do you not know what's going on with me?⎦
⎡I have an idea. But I can't say for sure. I'll have to investigate it.⎦
⎡So, what does that mean for me?⎦
⎡Just keep living your life. But try not to get too worked up. If I wasn't here, who knows how long it would've taken you to wake up.⎦
⎡I don't like this, Calypso. I felt like I wasn't myself. I felt like I was being controlled by a monster.⎦
⎡I'll be honest with you, Kyah. I'm unsure, too. There has never been anything quite like you in all of existence.⎦
⎡You mean a Futanari?⎦
⎡Oh, Goddess no! There have been a bunch of those. I'm talking about your dual divine sparks surviving and interacting.⎦
⎡Interacting? What do you mean? If you're talking about the golden and red lights, they're close but separate.⎦
She froze.
⎡Wait. What?! They haven't merged? Then how…why…holy fucking flying shit-sticks. This is bad. This is super bad. Holy fuck. Holy--holy fucking hell-blazers!⎦
I didn't know whether to laugh at her choice of curse words or if I should be more concerned with what it portended.
⎡Calypso? You're scaring me.⎦
⎡You're scared? How the heck do you think I feel?⎦
What was going on? Why would Calypso be scared all of a sudden?
"Let's take this to my office. Shall we?" While Calypso and I were staring at each other (me with confusion in my eyes, Calypso with fear in hers), Cunningham redirected the lawyers to her office while throwing me a cautious glance.
I didn't even spare her a second look. She no longer mattered. I was too busy trying to figure out why Calypso was acting in such an unusual way.
When Cunningham and the lawyers left, the rest of the crowd slowly started to disburse. That previously packed atrium was now like a ghost town. The only ones left were Calypso and me.
"Kyah?"
"Professor Andromeda?"
Scratch that. I turned when I heard the sweet voice of the loli co-ed.
She had a wide smile on her face. "Hey! I thought that was you. What are you doing here?"
"That's my line, Rhea. I'm a student here. This is sort of what I do. What are you doing here? Oh! And hey Simone. It's nice to see you again."
"Hey, Kyah. Yeah, you too." Simone's smile made her already beautiful face that much more outstanding. It should be a crime for someone to be so ungodly perfect.
Calypso quipped ⎡You're one to talk.⎦
⎡I didn't talk. I thought. And stop reading my mind, thank you!⎦
⎡If you don't want me to read your thoughts then stop thinking so loud!⎦
⎡How is that even possible?⎦
⎡I don't know. Will…maybe.⎦
⎡Will you be serious for once!⎦
⎡I am serious!⎦
"Kyah?" Even though we weren't talking out loud, our glances were giving it all away. Rhea and Simone were watching us like they could feel something was up.
〖Is there something going on between these two?〗
When Rhea's thoughts hit my mind, I calmed down. Was that jealousy I heard in her voice?
She's so cute. It's just like her to get upset over something so silly. I smiled. I really needed that.
Brushing aside her concern, I asked, "So, are you going to tell me what brought you here? Was it the circus?"
Surprisingly, it was Simone that answered. "No. That was an unwelcome surprise. I'm here because I was going to sit in on the Professor's lecture."
Ah. Simone wouldn't be the first to want to sneak into Calypso's lecture. A quarter of the people there aren't even students. They just want to ogle her. I glanced at Simone and remembered the other night. She was different from Sierra and Leinani. Sierra was a bit of a free spirit. Leinani was the grounded one. Then there was Rhea. Yeah…we don't need to go into that right now. But Simone was a bit of an oddity to me. She was friendly. But there was something piercing about her at the same time. It was like she could see through all the bullshit but pretended like she couldn't.
"You're quite astute, Kyah." This time, Calypso responded out loud. Of course, neither Rhea nor Simone knew what she meant. I decided to accept her words and move on.
Calypso continued, "Simone will be my future aide in the coming year."
I glanced at Simone. She was smiling but it was difficult to say just how happy she was about it all. She looked slightly disappointed, yet excited at the same time. It was odd.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, Professor."
Calypso rolled her eyes. "You're not going to get very far with the brown-nosing if you keep calling me that. I have a name, you know."
"Sorry. Calypso. I won't forget."
Calypso smiled. "I like you. You're quick on the uptake. Much quicker than this dunderhead over here."
I glared at her. "Did you seriously just call me that?"
She stuck her tongue out. It was like she was 5-years old!
She giggled. ⎡I'm glad to see you're back to normal.⎦
I nodded. I was still a bit put off by everything that happened. But with Calypso acting like classic Calypso, I felt a lot better.
"Thanks." Again, I responded out loud and the others didn't know why. But that was okay.
"Sorry to inform you, Simone. But the lecture got canceled on account of the news story."
She nodded. "I understand. That's not a problem."
"I know you're leaving this weekend. You're welcome to come another time. The lectures are only on Mondays. Sorry, but you'll need to make an extra trip down here."
"That's okay. Rhea said she wanted to come down to see Kyah anyway."
"Simonnnnnnnnneeee!" Rhea's face turned beet red.
Simone shrugged. "What? Is that supposed to be a secret?"
Rhea glanced towards Calypso. "I'm going to be a teacher here in the fall. What if someone finds out about me dating a student? I'll get fired before I even start!"
Simone shrugged. "You worry too much."
Before Rhea was could offer a rebuttal, Calypso chimed in. "Don't worry about it, Rhea. I already know."
Rhea's jaw dropped to the floor. "You…you know? Seriously? How? When? Did Kyah tell you? Just how close are you two? Are you like her mentor or something?"
Calypso smiled. "Actually, I'm an ancient goddess from a bygone era. Kyah is my divine vessel. Therefore, I have direct access to all of her experiences. The good and the bad. You're a very good experience. Don't worry. I won't tell a soul. Just make sure you treat little Kyah well. Okay?"
I nearly pissed myself. Was she fucking serious?!
⎡Just watch.⎦
That was all she said. Her voice was so calm and confident. I couldn't do anything but stand there while Rhea and Simone wrestled with the truth, which was suddenly, and quite nonchalantly, thrust upon them. The truth that gods and goddesses existed. How would they react? How could Calypso just drop that bomb on them like that?
This was bad.
This was very bad!