Ansel
"Man, you're a weirdo," Amira said as I followed her.
I shrugged, "I'm fifteen. Can we move on from that?"
Amira laughed and patted my back, somewhat complex, causing me to almost fall. She was a lot stronger than she looks.
"I don't mean that. Well, that is weird, but what's weirder is that you chose my cohort over the literal King's. Let me tell you, anyone would have died to join them."
"Even you?"
Her laugh died down and was replaced by a small chuckle. "No, I have no need to be with them."
I was going to tell her that she was a hypocrite, but just as she went ahead. We continued walking until we arrived at a small table located all the way in the back of the left side. It was the only small table I had seen in this dining room. Weird, I thought. Sitting at this small table were two familiar faces and two new faces. Returning to her upbeat attitude, Amira began to introduce me.
"As promised, we have one new member. Everyone, this is Ansel Nephus, our new member. Please get along with him. Ansel, you know Peter and Alea. Oh, you should probably thank Peter for getting you here. He made a deal with me that I couldn't refuse. Pay up, Peter. I held my part of the deal."
Amira placed one hand on her hip and stretched out the other, demanding payment. With a sigh, Peter said, "Yeah, Yeah. Steak Diner."
As he shouted those words, he held his plate up. A strong wind suddenly hit Peter in seconds, and a steak dinner appeared on his plate. I looked between the plate and the ceiling. Nothing was visible in the ceiling, yet I sensed something old and powerful flying in it. I wanted to question this, but I remembered something at the scent of steak. I need my payment as well. I quickly snatched it away just as Peter was handing his plate to Amira. Unexpecting this, Amira promptly turned to me with a deadly glare. But this was one battle I couldn't back down from, not just for my pride but for upholding a deal.
"Oi rookie, what are you doing with my steak. I'm sure you know I'm the leader, yet you dare take the steak promised to me," Amira said in a low but deadly tone.
I could feel the cohort's eyes on me, wondering what would happen, but no one made a move to intervene. Clearing my tone, I said, "Promised to you? But I was promised a steak from you. Don't you remember?"
At my words, Amira snapped out of her anger and flinched. But I didn't let her recover,
"You're the leader, right, so you have to honor your word just like Peter did. He paid his part of the deal, and now you're paying your part of our deal. So thank you so much, leader."
I smiled at her as I took a bite of the steak. I expected her to jump at me, but then she did something I hadn't expected. She began to cry and ran to Alea.
"Alea, he stole my steak. He's the devil. Oh, my poor steak was taken by a devil."
Was she really a daughter of Posideon? Maybe the children of Poseidon were easy criers; that was kind of funny. Unknowingly, a smirk appeared on my face, causing the cohort to burst into laughter. Alea, shaking her head at me, turned her attention to Amira, who was clinging to her.
"C'mon Amira, you're the leader. Don't act like that. Besides, it's your fault for trusting Peter when he mentioned that you could use steak as a deal breaker."
Alea glared at Peter while he looked away from her. So Peter was the one who told Amira to use the steak in her deal? Well, it made sense. He did know my love for steak, but there was no reason. Hearing Alea's words, Amira gasped as she turned to Peter. As the wise man he was, Peter began to slide away. But Amira was faster. She placed a hand on Peter's shoulders and then turned to the boy sitting across from Peter.
"Levi, make Peter's workouts double as difficult. Have no mercy."
"My pleasure," Levi said with a hint of excitement. Peter met my eyes, seeking help, but there was nothing I could do. Peter had dug his own grave. I looked away and slowly began to eat my steak. With things calming down and justice being made, according to Amira, she continued introducing everyone.
"Ansel, this is Levi, son of Ares."
Well, that explains the physics. Levi had a muscular build, mostly from years of working out. He wasn't huge, but he wasn't lean, either. His body was in the middle, but he still looked strong enough to crush me. His most notable feature was his maroon-colored eyes. This was the first time I had seen someone with maroon-colored eyes. It wasn't a color any normal human would have; maybe this was something unique to demigods. I thought That was cool, as I was reminded of my pale gold eyes. I might have stared too long at him because he snarled at me.
"What?"
"Um, sorry, I've never seen maroon eyes."
"back at you, Goldie. Your eyes are strange even in this world," Levi said, smirking.
Then he looked at me more intently, examining every aspect of me. Then he slammed the table, causing me to back away.
"Damn it, you're far weaker than I am, but yet you killed the Sphinx and got an offer from Enzo to join his cohort. It's embarrassing."
He glared at me more intently and then at Peter. He nodded his head, coming to some kind of conclusion.
"Both of you will be put in my dangerous but effective workout regimen to become stronger."
He smiled as Amira agreed with him. It seemed like she wasn't letting me off the hook, too.
Besides Levi, a boy with ash blonde hair and green eyes began to laugh at Peter and me. This appearance was also unique, but what was more exceptional was the tattoo he had on his chest near his heart. It looked like a grim reaper design on his beige skin, which was odd for someone his age to have but who am I to judge. From his tank top and messy hair, you would have thought he had just gotten up. He suddenly stood and offered me a hand to shake. He was certainly more friendly than Levi. I happily shook his hand, but that's when I realized my mistake. The moment I did, my steak disappeared. Somehow, the boy had my steak on his fork.
"That's Charlie, son of Hermes, god of thieves, trickery, travel, messages, and stealth. So be careful with your belongings and check the mirror before you leave your dorm," Amira said, glaring a little at Charlie.
"Sorry, sorry. Here, my bad, Ansel. A little joke has never killed anyone before, right," he said childishly.
I laughed, surprising him.
"Man, I could imagine the amount of pranks you could do. So, have you ever drawn a mustache on someone," I asked, genuinely curious after hearing Amira's words.
Getting over his surprise, Charlie grinned diabolically.
"That's armature work. One time I-"
"Nope, stop right there," Alea cut in.
She turned to Charlie and motioned for him to sit.
"Honestly, we can't have two pranksters. So don't encourage him, Ansel."
Charlie gave me a wink, clearly ready to discuss future pranks. I grinned at him but was suddenly attacked with a forehead flick.
"You really are a weirdo. Who gives up a chance to join a powerful cohort just for steak," Alea exclaimed.
I shrugged and returned to eating my steak. Shaking her head, Alea motioned for me to sit between her and Peter, who seemed to recover enough to speak.
"Sorry, Ans, I thought no one would have gotten you, so I asked Amira to let you join us. But when I saw Enzo wanted you, I tried to stop Amira, but I was too late."
He gave me an apologetic smile and scratched his cheek, a habit he had when he was sorry. I am thankful for him; if not for Peter, I might have ended up in Enzo's squad. Which, in all fairness, wouldn't be wrong. However, somehow, just from this introduction, I felt at peace.
I waved away Peter's words, "It's alright. Besides, I got a steak. If you are sorry, explain to me how to order food."
I still couldn't see a serving place to get food or a person serving me. Not to mention, I didn't understand how food magically appeared on Peter's plate.
Peter grinned as he handed me a clean plate.
"Alright, hold the plate up and just say your order. You can only order one main dish and dessert," Peter explained.
"Are there things I can't order," I asked. But before Peter could answer, my mind was racing with what I wanted.
"There is no limit, but your dish can only have three things."
That was enough for me to know my order.
"Steak, Pancakes, and rice," I ordered happily.
Anticipation swelled inside me as a gust of wind hit the plate. The cold plate suddenly felt warm. Lowering my plate, my eyes practically shined with excitement. The once-empty plate was now filled with my order.
"The food is brought to us by wind spirits hanging in the ceiling. They also clean the dishes and tables when we're done, but don't go overboard. If not, they'll make your life impossible," Peter explained, but I wasn't listening as I began to dig in.
Dinning had been otherwise uneventful. It was much easier to chat with the people in cohort two than to talk to anyone in the mortal realm except Alicia. While eating, my mind drifted to my first mortal friend. Wow, that was such a strange thing to think about. I wondered if Alicia had heard about the car crash or if she was worried about me not being at school. I felt sorry that she would wait at my locker just before the first period for us to walk to class. I was worried about her, but at the same time, I was happy here.
It was my first time making friends, and it started a conversation with me. The people in this cohort didn't even once bring up the fact that I was fifteen. It seemed they didn't even care that my entrance to this world was abnormal. When dining ended, everyone headed off to their dorms. Well, everyone except Peter and I decided to walk around the hallways. We didn't have much time to talk in the morning, so now seemed like the best time to chat.
"So, did you believe everything," Peter asked.
I thought for a moment about his question; although it was simple, it was surprisingly hard to answer. The truth was I didn't really, despite every bone, brain cell, and thought told me it was true. Maybe it was my overwhelmed brain coming up with excuses.
"Well, Alea made it hard not to believe everything," I said, rolling my eyes.
Peter laughed at my exaggeration but gave me a wary smile.
"I'm sorry, my sister can be rough with her words. She doesn't usually interact with anyone outside our cohort, so sometimes, she speaks bluntly as if she were talking to someone in the cohort. Sorry," he apologized.
I waved away his apology. It wasn't like Alea did anything bad; in fact, maybe her blunt words were the reason why I could accept everything. Something, however, that Peter said caught my interest.
"Sister? So, does that mean you're a son of Apollo? But I thought your dad was mortal."
Peter shifted uncomfortably as if the question were somehow taboo.
After some time, he spoke, but his voice was raw and detached.
"No, I'm a son of Athen, the goddess of wisdom, Warcraft, and craft."
That explained a lot. Peter would sometimes speak as if he were an old man who had lived thousands of years, but the truth was that he was the child of the wisdom goddess. It also explained why he was crazy smart. Yet when he said those words, I got the feeling that something was wrong, as if Peter himself didn't believe his own words. But before I could question him about it, he continued, except his voice had become soft with emotion.
"Alea and me are, in mortal terms, step-siblings. By some twist of fate, Alea's mortal mother and my mortal father ended up getting together. I think they got together because of their shared hatred of us. Alea's mother despised her, so they somehow fell in love when she met my father, who despised me. I suppose I should be thankful for their shared hatred since it led me to find Alea. At first, we were hesitant to speak to each other, but when we realized we were the same. We stuck together, watching each other's back like brother and sister. So when our demi aura manifested at seven, we ran away together. We were on the run for four months, and after a bad accident, Noelle brought us here."
I listened carefully as we walked up the stairs to the fourth floor. It felt like I was finally meeting the true Peter. It was, just as Peter said, a twist of fate. I wondered if it was a twist of fate for him to have met me. I pushed the thought aside because I didn't want to know the answer. I was just glad to have met him. There was a lot I wanted to ask, and I think Peter must have known that. That's why he had asked to walk, probably to give me time to ask questions more comfortably. While I enjoyed Alea's company and was thankful for her answering my questions, there was a line between us as people who just met, so I couldn't ask anything. With Peter, there wasn't such a line. But my next question would really push that thought. Something had been on my mind since I started walking with Alea and her parting words.
"Pete, this might not be my place to ask, or you the right person to answer, but Alea… she's not well-liked well-liked here, is she?"
Because I went through the same thing in middle school, I could see through the hidden atmosphere. It became evident when I met Cohort 2. Everyone, besides cohort 2, hated Alea. The thing that bugged me about this was the why. As far as I could tell, Alea was friendly and went along with jokes even when directed at her. We arrived on the fourth floor, where thirteen doors formed a 'U' shape. In the center was a much smaller fireplace like the one in the dining room. Peter guided us to the fireplace and sat down. His eyes were fixed on the fire as he began to speak.
"You're right. It's not my place to answer, but I will do it anyway anyway."
"Why," I asked.
"Maybe because I'm hoping you're different from the rest of the school. Or because you're part of the cohort. Or maybe because I feel guilty that you ended up in this cohort that I need to explain."
I didn't understand but kept quiet, allowing my silence to answer for me. I focused on the fire, watching the flames dance freely without restraint.
"Alea is special even among demigods. She was born with a powerful power that no other child of Apollo has possessed. Flames. Something that isn't part of the domain of Apollo. All throughout history, his children have never possessed this power."
Peter took a deep breath as the crackling of wood echoed off the walls. His voice became heavy with emotions.
"That was until Alea was born. For the first time, a child of Apollo had been born with powers relating to flames, except it was not a blissful power. That power has ruined her life and caused her so much pain and misery that not even the gods could have planned for her. Her flames are chaotic, powerful, and…free. Just like these flames, when they're unleashed, they dance freely without restraint."
"But shouldn't Alea be able to control them," I asked.
Even just sitting next to this fire was hard enough. Peter placed his hand just a few inches away from the fire, seeming unfazed by the heat.
"That's the thing she can't. Well, it's more like she doesn't know how. She can't ask Chiron how or any of her siblings or her father, who is a god. But what she had learned was that it react to her emotions. The flames come out of her when she's angry or sad. But the cost of learning this was high…too high. When she was young, around five, Alea got angry at her mother, and the flames came out, burning their house down. Alea's mom left the house before anything happened to her, but Alea… stayed in the house and came out like nothing happened. When we arrived here, some kids decided to break something precious of Alea's, causing her to cry, and the moment she did…the training ground they were down was burned, leaving a hole in the ground. Again, Alea simply walked out of the flames like nothing, except this time there were lots of people there to witness."
Inches away from the fire, Peter's hand suddenly curled into a fist and was thrown to the ground. The impact didn't have any force, but it probably spoke to how Peter was feeling.
Confusion, hatred, pity, sadness, anxiousness. All these emotions were laced both in his voice and his fist. I could tell, not because of some power but because of my time being an outcast in mortal schools. I was like a shadow in those schools, only listening to the conversations of others, never speaking, and understanding how people talked and felt. That's why I could understand the emotions Peter was feeling. It was probably hurtful for him to be talking about this.
He slammed his fist down again.
"It's not fair; she didn't choose to have these powers, but people began to avoid her like the plague after that incident. No one wanted to talk to her, train with her, or befriend her. They would talk about her even if she was present; the bashful things they said about it should have been enough to break anyone. But Alea didn't. Instead, she tried to control her powers for the sake of them. Noelle was helping her, but Alea figured out a method for herself. It's a disgusting method that I despise. She decided to hide her emotions. When she felt pain, she bottled it up. When she was sad, she never showed it. When she was angry, she simply didn't acknowledge it. When people realized this, they began to call her the curse child, her more famous nickname, The Phoenix of Ruin."
The phoenix of ruin… was a cool nickname, but I doubted that is not what they intended it to be. This explains why so many people looked at Alea with disgust and anger. It also explained her words just before we entered the dining room. She probably thought I would have reacted similarly when I heard the rumors. Except I wouldn't believe them. I had met and talked to her, maybe I hadn't seen her power, but I would have still loved to get to know her more.
Peter had been quiet, probably allowing me to think, but my mind wasn't on Alea and her power; it was on why Peter felt guilty about me joining. He had said that this story would clarify, but if anything, it just gave me Alea's life story. Realizing I had been quiet for too long, I cleared my throat.
"I don't care about her being a phoenix of ruin or anything, but man, is she bossy and rude. I mean, who forehead flicks someone they just met-"
Peter's laughter caused me to stop and laugh. It was such a normal thing, which was odd to have something normal.
"I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to Alea like that. It's nice and nice to call someone rude and bossy. Which makes the fact that you came to this cohort a bit less wrong. I bet you're wondering why I would feel guilty about you joining, right?"
I wondered if the children of Athena could read minds. I nodded to confirm his words.
"Cohort 2 is a special group that was first created by Noelle. Alea told me you got to see her picture, so you know she was queen. But anyway, the reason she created this cohort was because each one of us is defective. Every member of this cohort has something that makes them defective or, more significantly, demigods that are shunned away, outcasts for a better term. While everyone has flaws, ours are more defective, making us outcasts towards the rest. I'm really-"
I cut him off with a small laugh that caused him to look at me since we had started talking.
"Then there's nothing for you to be guilty about. I'm right where I should be. If you haven't heard, someone at the age of fifteen coming to this world is unheard of. I would say that it is very defective. Besides, being an outcast isn't anything new to me, so if I were going to be an out, let's let's be outcasts together. Although I'm curious as to why you're Mr. Perfectperfect."
Ever since I met Peter, I had the impression that he had no flaws. So, it was odd hearing that he was placed in a cohort of defects. It made you question if you really knew your friend. Hearing my question, Peter suddenly stood and pointed to a door with the number 4 and a drawing of an owl. For the first time, I looked at the doors surrounding us. The door beside the one Peter pointed to was labeled number 2 with a peacock. And besides that, one was the middle door, centered perfectly with the fire, labeled number 1 with a lightning bolt. Next to door number 1 was door number 3, with a drawing of a trident. All the odd numbers were on the left, and the even ones were on the right. I slowly began to walk around each one, taking in their symbol and number. Peter joined me and explained what they meant as we passed them.
"Each one of these is called a dorm house. These rooms are where we sleep with our siblings. The symbols on the doors are meant to represent each Olympian, even the ones that don't have children, such as Lady Hera and Lady Artemis. It's out of respect for them," he explained, detailing the symbols chosen.
Finally, we arrived at door number 3 of the Athena Dorm House. Peter stared at it, but for the first time, I couldn't tell what he was feeling. It was almost like he had put on a mask to hide his emotions.
"You asked why I'm in cohort two…well, it's because I've been disowned by Athena," his voice just like his face was emotionless.
I stared at the owl, unsure of what to make about these words. Peter had told me before that he had a rocky relationship with his mother, but now learning that his mother was a goddess and disowned him, well, that's…painful. His father hated him, and his mother disowned him. All he had was Alea, maybe the last thing he was keeping…no he had his cohort. He lowered his head as if ashamed by his own words. But a question came to mind when I watched him.
"So what," I repeated my thought.
He looked at him, unsure of what to make of my words.
So I continued, "I don't know if this would mean anything to you, but my mom cared for you as if you were her son. So if Athena doesn't want you, my mom will adopt you."
We stared at each other for a minute and then burst out laughing. Our laughter echoed through the walls and probably into the rooms, but we didn't care. We just continued laughing until we couldn't, just like Mom had said.
As we laughed, something in the background caught my attention.
"Hey, what are those two rooms," I asked, already walking towards them.
Peter followed closely behind. The one on the left had the number 13 with the helmet symbol, while the one on the right simply had the letters 'CR' placed on the door.
"Door 13 was a new door built when Noelle became queen. The Hades Dorm House," Peter explained.
I titled my head, confused as to why it was new.
"Didn't Hades always have a dorm house? Isn't he, you know, the eldest of the gods?"
It seemed odd not to have a dorm house for the eldest of the gods; it was rude, actually. I blinked, confused as to why I was beginning to get angry about it.
"Before Noelle, there had never been a child of Hades. Hades is the ruler of death; some find it a bad omen to have his name on the same floor we all sleep in. I wasn't there, but according to people, when Noelle was first claimed as a daughter of Hades, people wanted her out of the school. She went through a lot of discrimination and pain. People hated her for her lineage, but Enzo always protected her. Even though everyone was horrible to her, she still protected them against Kronos. So, in order to show her that she was accepted, they build her a dorm house."
I nodded but couldn't help but be disgusted. So, they were willing to accept only until someone showed their worth. I wondered if Noelle had really forgiven them. She sounded like such a selfless person…like a hero. For some reason, pride began to swell in my chest, but I didn't understand why. Maybe I was more of a demigod than I thought. I shifted my gaze and looked at the door with the letters' CR.'
"What about that one?"
"That one is called the Common Room, where all the children of unclaimed and minor gods stay. The minor gods don't have a room yet, but after the Titan war, Chiron began planning for a new floor for the children of the minor gods. But then you know Noelle died, so a lot of people lost motivation to build. So everyone is cramped here…including you until you're claiming."
I see, so this is where I'm staying. Well, at least it's a room, I told myself, trying to comfort myself. Feeling my eyes get heavy, I decided it was time to sleep. I still had questions, but my body wanted to rest for now, even though I had been asleep for a long time. Peter must have felt the same way because he had begun to say goodbye.
"I'll come by early morning for your classes. Inside must be your stuff for tomorrow, so make sure you have them ready."
With that, we said our goodbyes. I stayed outside a bit longer, watching Peter enter the Athena Dorm. I wondered why he could still sleep there if he had been disowned, so I decided it was best to ask another time.