Gregory woke me up at 3 AM. He came banging on my hotel room door. I wondered who it was that thought it was a good idea to interrupt my slumber. This was the first time I got to sleep as early as 9 PM because usually our training goes deep into the night.
"Lenette! Lenette!" Greg said as he banged on my door.
"You've got to wake up. We're gonna be leaving soon." Greg continued. He was growing impatient of waiting for me so he ripped the door off its hinges. I was just stepping out of bed when he ripped the door off like it was put together using bubble gum.
I wasn't in my morning coat yet so he saw me in my pyjamas once again. Just like the first day we met. He had his hazel eyes fixed on me and my blue eyes were fixed on him. He was so handsome, his height and delicate muscular features were so attractive and what made them all the more visible was that he wasn't wearing a shirt!
"Lenette, you know what this reminds me off?" Greg asked me. I'm sure if he could blush he would have been red all over.
"The first day we met?" I answered
"Well yes and also, how beautiful you looked. The weird things you said about dark chocolate and keeping me forever." Greg said. He was still looking at me. I had hoped that after about four months, he would have forgotten about all that but it turns out, his memory is as impeccable as his good looks.
I could tell that in that moment, Greg wished he could have me all to himself, there and at that instant but there was no time.
"I wish we had more time but you have to get ready. We'll be leaving in an hour's time." Greg said as he walked out of the room holding the displaced door and placing it back as he walked out. He was still looking at me.
I got ready and went downstairs. The whole gang was there. Christopher was dressed in his usual trench coat and white shirt combo. Anne was dressed for the first time in something normal. She wore a blue crop top with a pair of jeans shorts which showed off her fair thick thighs and amazing curves. Christopher was staring at Anne from the time she came out of the elevator. Carly came from her room last. She looked good, she had her hair in a ponytail. She wore a purple shirt and a leather jacket over it and wore a pair of blue jeans. Greg was already outside when we all got to the Lobby.
"I've already packed the car with everything we might need for the trip. Now, who wants to drive?"
Everyone was quiet. I was in a foreign country so I was ineligible to drive. Even if I was, I wasn't legal yet. Anne had never driven a car in her life-yet she denies that she is a princess-, Christopher never had to learn to drive because he had his vampire-like demon speed. The only candidates left were Carly and Greg and neither wanted to drive so, they decided to leave it to chance.
"Game of rock, paper, scissors?" Greg said
"It's on." Carly said like it was the most important battle of her life.
It was an intense battle. The face-off was intense. The tension was so tense you couldn't even cut it with a knife. Their glares were so sharp, I almost got cut looking at them.
They said in unison, "ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!"
They both threw their plays. Just then, they were silent for a slight second. Their emotionless faces began to change in opposite directions. Carly jumped up and down like someone was flogging her. Gregory, as calm as ever walked to the car. He had played paper and Carly played rock. Gregory had won the game and wasn't driving. Carly was so pissed she lost the game that she almost threw one of the spare tyres right through the car boot as she loaded it in.
"Alright guys, I think everyone is ready for this trip across the entire state of Virginia." Greg said as he closed the door behind him. He sat at the edge of the door. Anne sat in between Greg and I. Christopher had called shotgun- he claims it was just for the sake of it but we all think it's because he's beginning to like Carly more than he's willing to admit. So we set off for the Empire State Building which was the gateway to Olympus, just like in that movie I watched as a kid.
The Trip started off pretty boring. We barely saw anything of any interest and very few people were around. Back in the UK, there were people everywhere. We took the highway because we were making a cross country trip. We estimated our arrival time to be a week if we don't lose focus.
After about an hour or two of silence in the car, Christopher decided to break the ice, "So, what is the point of this week long trip in this terribly slow contraption to see Uncle Zeus?" Christopher asked the question we all forgot to ask.
Greg was silent for a while.
"Zeus, owes me a favour and I'm hoping to cash in that favour for an army capable of standing toe-to-toe with a demon army." Greg explained while staring out the window at the plain.
"Well then why didn't you ask my father? I'm sure he would have been more than happy to lend you his army." Christopher.
"I already asked Uncle Hades for two favours; allowing me to train there and you coming with me on this trip. The latter was really difficult. He was really reluctant to let his son come." Greg said still unable to make eye contact with any of us in the car. He still fixed his eyes out the window.
"Okay, now I know for a fact that you're lying. My father has never showed the slightest concern for me. He didn't even come to me physically to tell me to join you on this quest, he just appeared in my fire place and sent me here. He's never…"
"Because Uncle Zeus banned him from speaking with any of his offspring." Greg interrupted.
"What do you mean?" Christopher was confused.
"I wasn't supposed to let you know about this but when I went to the underworld, he told me how much he missed talking to his kids. Zeus banned all the gods from communicating with their kids because he was unable to keep his own in line and I had to kill…" Greg stopped before he got any further. Things were getting really serious.
"Who did you kill Greg?" I said. This was the first time someone other than the two boys uttered a word. We were all too afraid to get in the middle of such a heated fight.
"It's nothing." Greg shrugged the question and went back to looking out the window.
"Greg. Greg! Tell them or I will." Christopher threatened to let the cat out of the bag.
"There's no need for any of them to get in the middle of this. If Lord Drago-Smith hasn't told Anne, then he doesn't want her to know and as for Lenette, she just found out about the demon world just under half a year ago. Carly doesn't belong to a high ranking family so this matter doesn't concern her." Greg said. The tension in the car was now more than the 'rock, paper, scissors' game. Christopher saw the intelligence in the last statement that Greg said. The car was back in silence.
Just then, everyone in the car jerked forward. We came to a stop.
"What happened?" Everyone asked.
"I'm not moving this car, until we settle this stupid case. Now tell us Greg, who the fuck did you kill?" Carly had snapped. I think it's because of what Greg said about the high ranking demon family thing.
"Yeah, I agree Greg. Tell us." This was the first thing Anne said ever since we set off.
"Now you're all ganging up on me?" Greg felt attacked. Even though he knew he could take all of us easily, he didn't want to fight anyone. He cared about all of us too much to do so. No matter how much he protests I knew that he liked Anne, Carly and Greg bonded one day over a private training session- we all wonder what they did together-and he and Christopher practically grew up together. I like to think that he and I had a special unspoken relationship.
"Okay. Fine I'll tell you what happened. Let's get to the first pit stop get something to eat and check-in to a Motel then I can tell you." Greg said. This time he was looking at us. He looked sincere. He was ready to tell us.
"Okay I can live with that." Carly said as she sparked the car again and drove towards the nearest restaurant.