Ansel
I followed Alea through the school, first the ground floor, consisting mainly of classrooms, a dining room, and Chiron's office. The second floor was similar, filled with classrooms and a meeting room. Now, the third floor was actually surprising. Inside of their being rooms, there were three fully equipped gyms. I stayed on the third floor a little longer, looking through the glass walls of the gyms and watching some kids put away equipment. Everything about this place screamed rich private school. At the end of the hallway was an open balcony covered by shade. My body moved towards the shade, wanting some comfort. I could feel Alea's gaze on me all the while she was showing me around. It wasn't like she was judging me; I knew all too well what a judging look looked like. Her gaze was more like curiosity as if she had found something fascinating. She followed me to the balcony and stood beside me as I stared at the open field. Under the shade, I relaxed my mind like a cold towel on my forehead. Organizing my thoughts and everything I learned, I still needed clarification. I pulled on my hair in frustration, letting out a loud scream. To my surprise, Alea didn't react. Instead, she let me have my moment. I glanced at Alea and then said the first question that came to mind,
"So what's with the shirts? Peter said it's some kind of uniform, but shouldn't all of you be wearing the same color."
She raised an eyebrow and frowned. She looked confused, which was to be expected. Except when she spoke, it wasn't at all what I thought.
"What a uniform?"
Now, it was my turn to frown and raise an eyebrow at her. Who doesn't know what a uniform is, I thought. When I think of it, Peter has always asked weird questions like that. I decided it was easier to explain than to question her.
"It's a set of clothes that a school requires students to wear; normally, everyone wears the same thing."
She tilted her head and thought for a moment before nodding.
"Weird custom for mortals-"
Like Peter, she had said mortal as if she weren't one.
"Going by what you said, some of us have similar T-shirts because they identify who our parents are. As for the color, well, it's based on our parents' preference."
That explains why some had similar shirts and others had different ones. No matter the age, some had the exact same age as others. But why would our parents decide on it, and how? I doubted most parents would gather together to discuss something like that. However, something about how Alea phrased their parent was bothering me. Noticing my confused look, Alea frowned.
"Did Chiron not explain everything about our parents," she asked. Shaking my head, Alea sighed.
"You at least know about the Greek gods right."
I nodded.
"Well, what was the gods' favorite pastime?" She waited for me to answer. I racked my brain, trying to remember. After some point, a common theme came to mind.
"They had kids with mortals," I answered confidently, puffing out my chest.
Alea rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, "Ding ding ding, correct? Now, for the next question, what would that mean if the gods kept their old habits and were in a school dedicated to them?"
I rolled my eyes. This girl sure liked to joke around. But taking her question seriously, I began to think over everything: Chiron being the headmaster, this school's obsession with weapons, and the images of Greek heroes hanging from the wall. Suddenly, everything came together perfectly like a puzzle.
"Demigods," I answered, feeling my mouth dry. Then, filled with panic, I began to disagree with myself.
"That's impossible! There's no way we're… I'm a demigod!"
I looked at Alea for answers; her face hardened. She stepped forward and poked her finger into my chest as she spoke.
"Is it? Tell me if you weren't a demigod. Then how did you kill the Sphinx, use demi aura, or survive a car crash without any injuries?"
She had backed me against the side of the balcony railing. She was so close that I could feel her coconut shampoo. Suddenly, assaulted with questions, my mind lacked answers.
"I… don't, but…wait, how do you know about the car?".
Alea flinched at my question as if remembering something terrible. She backed away and looked, but she didn't meet my eyes.
"I heard from Peter… I'm sorry about your mom," she said quietly.
Maybe she thought I would feel down remembering about the crash and how I left my mom. But I wasn't; I waved away her concerns. She probably thought I was heartless.
"My mom isn't dead; she's too stubborn to die. Besides, she promised me that she'll live," I spoke confidently.
Maybe it was just my mind trying to convince myself, but somehow, deep down, I could feel that my mom was alive.
"I just needed to leave here and go see her," I spoke out loud, airing my thoughts not to Alea but to myself.
Just as I was looking forward to some sort of future, Alea's reply caused me to panic.
"You can't go back."
When I looked at her, she looked far away. My words failed me as I tried to ask why. Maybe it was the fear of knowing the answer I had already guessed.
"You're a demigod, meaning half god. Whether you choose to believe it or not, you are, and monsters aren't going to wait for you to believe."
She fidgeted with a silver bracelet while grimacing at her own words. I didn't want to ask, but from the looks of it, it seemed like she had to find out the hard way. I was thankful for her warning but wouldn't change my mind.
"Peter went to school with me, so it is possible to go to the mortal realm," I retorted.
I thought she would have gotten angry at my retort, but instead, she nodded.
"That's right, Peter did. He studied both in your school and here, constantly passing through realms like other kids. But two reasons why Chiron allows them. First, they're trained to use weapons to defend themselves if any monster attacks them. The second is because they can perfectly conceal their demi aura, making it harder for monsters to track them. You, on the other hand, aren't trained and can barely conceal your demi aura."
There it was again, that word demi aura. Hearing the word again, I began to think it was necessary.
"What that? Is it what those hippies keep talking about?" I cut in.
The word rolled around in my head as if I knew the answer. But I had never heard of it before, and my body felt tingly just from hearing it.
"It's what you used to kill the Sphinx. It's an ethereal power born to us because of our godly parents' divine power. It allows us to be born without our bodies breaking apart because we are half and half. It's also what allows us to use our parents' powers."
She hesitated and added, "This school is meant to be a place for us to master our demiaura and powers and train. It's also the safest place for us to be in. No monster can get into the school grounds."
Somehow, that was the part I found hard to believe when this school had its gates wide open. I quickly understood her explanation about demiaura because I had experienced it. The ethereal glow I was using when fighting Ms.Robinson was otherworldly. I looked at my hands, trying to bring forth the dark lavender glow I had used, but nothing happened. It was as if I had imagined it. Noticing my eyes on my arm, Alea spoke.
"That time you fought the Sphinx, your emotions must have brought out demi aura, but you won't be able to call on it without proper practice. Here, let me show you."
Before she could demonstrate, I stopped her.
"Er, could you tell me who your parent is?"
She blinked blankly at me, then she gave me an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I'm not used to giving these tours to someone my age. Um, never mind. To formally introduce myself, I am Alea, daughter of Apollo."
Why not, I thought. Even if she told me she also had a second head, I would probably believe her. A smile crept in as I thought about meeting someone with two heads. Indeed, they had to have someone like that in this world. Before I could think of the benefits of having two heads, a karate chop hit my head. My hands went to my head, feeling the stinging pain.
I glared at Alea, "What was that for!"
Alea's face contorted into disgust. "You were looking at me with a creepy smile just now. It was honestly creepy. Whatever you were thinking, stop."
I was ready to retort, but then something changed around Alea. Some kind of black-and-white light began to cover her body like a second skin. Then, it concentrated on her right arm, leaving the rest of her body. It moved like flames engulfing someone to her left arm. I could feel the intensity and the power coming from the light, threatening to kill me. I stared at the black-and-white light with curiosity. Although I could see and feel the energy, I didn't understand. But I wanted to learn more about it. Now, correctly looking at the divine power captured my attention like a TV screen. My eyes followed the light, but then a question came to mind when I thought about the differences between the one I used and the one Alea used.
"Why is yours black and white? Mine were d-"
I stopped mid-sentence when Alea suddenly dismissed her demi aura and waved her hands frantically in front of my face. I raised an eyebrow, letting my face ask my question.
"Umm, mortals have traditions, right?" Alea asked with a mixture of uncertainty and confidence.
I nodded.
"Our demiaura has a unique color that only we can see, so it looks black and white to everyone else. The color is meant to represent us in some ways. That's why a tradition for us demigods is to only tell the people we absolutely trust the color of our demiaura."
It's an odd tradition, but I shouldn't talk bad about someone else's traditions. Remembering everything I had learned, I repeated it.
"To go to the mortal realm, I must be skillfully trained and learn to control demi aura. Then I could go back with my mom and continue to live there."
Alea looked at me more intently as if trying to make a joke from my words. This was probably the first time in a long time that someone had looked at my features and not judged me. It was somehow weird and awkward. Somehow, it made me more aware of my appearance, especially with my horrible bed hair. Feeling her piercing gaze, I looked away from her. When she spoke, however, she looked away and stared at the vast green land.
"Yes, but I don't get it. This school is meant to be our sanctuary, where we can live without being judged or hated. We're demigods. We tend not to make it past twenty-five and die in the most gruesome ways. The time in this school is the only sense of peace we can obtain. Don't you… don't you want that? Even though it's difficult, don't you want to know who your father is?"
"No," I said flatly.
For the first time, my tone had gone sharp and cold. Maybe it was the fact that I learned my father is a god that made me answer like that. If he really is a god, then why would Mom suffer alone? Why not help out? At least some form of child support could have helped us. I had no lingering attachment to that man, even if he was a god. I thought that a slight pain had come from the back of my head.
I looked at Alea and asked, "Don't you want to see your mom."
The moment I said those words, I immediately regretted them. Alea turned to look at me with a fiery glare, almost as if she wanted to melt me with your eyes. I knew I had hit a sore spot.
"No. Usually, when we become seven, our demi aura emerges, causing us to lose control of our powers and cause unexpected things. Mortals can't make sense of it, so they label their own children as freaks and cast them out. That's the norm. So no, I'd rather die here than return."
Her voice was cold and detached like she had lost her humanity. But behind those steel honey amber eyes, I could make out the pain and hurt she felt. She wore a mask of hatred beautifully, but as someone who was more a mask of difference, I could tell. Her words hit me like a truck. If the norm was for mortal parents to hate their demigod children, then why didn't mom. It was safe to say that Mom didn't hate me. I remember her words to Peter, 'I wished to keep him with me longer.' The sadness and thankfulness I felt caused my chest to tighten. I looked at Alea, but her gaze was on the setting sun. Her cold and detached eyes slowly lifted from her as she stared at the setting sun.
When she finally turned back to me, she said. "C'mon, there's one more place I have to show you."