"Miss Cordelia? Please turn this way," said our math teacher, and I turned toward her with exhaustion. Bianca Loroley (a piece of trash who, for some reason, chose me as her rival—blonde, green-eyed, your classic popular girl) laughed at the teacher's warning. As if staying still and being polite weren't hard enough, I had to deal with these nuisances too. My life was pathetic.
I rested my head on the desk again and closed my eyes. I needed sleep. I needed to sleep and hope that Amor Ciro (a.k.a. my mother) would save me from this woman.
A paper hit my head and I sat up, cursing under my breath, glancing around. Casper was staring at me with a mischievous grin and pointed to the note in my hand with his eyes. "Meet me by the bushes during lunch break?" I raised my eyebrows, hoping he understood that I was asking, "Why?" He was Bianca's brother and her male version, brain included.
He leaned toward Eden, who sat between us, and whispered something. I saw Eden nod reluctantly and slowly turn to me. "He says you'll find out then, but he's sure you'll enjoy it." His uncomfortable tone made me think there was more to it. Eden couldn't walk properly; he had issues with his legs and was constantly bullied by people like Bianca and Casper.
"Miss Ciro, Mr. Godden, out! I won't tolerate any more interruptions in my class!"
Oh, what a joke. Eden and I got punished, while Casper didn't. Because their mother was on our math teacher Mathilda's radar. Rumors were they were dating. The Loroleys had privilege.
I leaned toward Eden. "Need help?" I asked. He nodded calmly, stood up, gave a polite nod, and left the classroom. I followed him.
**
We were in the canteen's garden. Eden and James were on a bench, and I was sitting on the ground. James was a friend from another class who, upon seeing us get kicked out, had gotten himself kicked out too to join us. I sat cross-legged, a peach iced tea in one hand, a huge sandwich in the other, eating and talking at the same time.
"Eden becomes a completely different person around the Loroley twins, J. You wouldn't believe it. I don't get why he lets them bully him like this. Especially over something like this." James turned his curious gaze to Eden. We both found his behavior around the twins strange—Ed just wasn't like that.
"They're right because they're kids," he said, and we groaned in unison. I clinked my drink against James'. "I've got issues with my legs, I can't walk properly. I've come to terms with it. I don't even take it as an insult when they use it against me." He said the walking part with bitter sarcasm. "Forget the Loroleys. We've got a bigger problem. Our attendance is almost over the limit."
"My mom will take care of it," I said nonchalantly. Being Amor Ciro's daughter made things easier most of the time. Then I chuckled. "She's already proud I haven't been expelled from another school in over a year. That's reason enough for her to handle it."
I had ADHD, so following school rules was hard for me. I did fencing and taekwondo to help manage it, but it wasn't easy to burn off all my energy. I went running every morning before breakfast just to be ready for school.
Eden laughed at that. "I don't need Miss Amor's help, because I'm not the one constantly getting kicked out of class. You two are." He was right. James and I were definitely more rebellious. My condition was obvious, but James simply craved freedom. He hated school and its rules, but had an insatiable thirst for learning.
"Sorry, bro, but I refuse to submit to the rules of a prison that restricts our minds. They limit our learning and our thinking. And on top of that, they expect us to follow their dumb rules like that's not punishment enough. I won't accept it."
"You're right," I said, raising my drink. "To Leader James Dave and his freedom-loving ideals!" We downed our drinks with dramatic flair. I really loved my friend group and was sure I'd chosen the right people. Not even my ADHD could separate us—we'd never be apart under any circumstance.
"So why did you two get kicked out?" James asked after a short silence. "Mathilda likes your mom, Cor. Why would she side with Bianca and Casper?"
I slowly lay back and placed my hands under my head. "Don't you know? Mathilda is dating the Loroleys' mom."
There was a brief silence. "Well, didn't see that coming. They'll have two moms. That must be weird. Like, you need two gifts on Mother's Day. And when someone asks about your mom, you'd have to ask, 'Which one?' That's so strange." James was clearly using all his unnecessary brainpower again.
As usual, Eden was the voice of reason. "Are you serious? Dude, they only have one biological mom. Mathilda's just a lottery win. I don't even think they like her. Plus, Casper's homophobic. I'm sure he doesn't even know about the relationship."
"We're only thirteen," I said, sitting up. "We shouldn't even be talking about this. What we *should* be talking about is…" I leaned my back on James's legs and closed my eyes. "Casper Loroley wants to meet me in the back garden after lunch."
"What? Why?" said James. Eden sighed. "That's why we got kicked out. He told me to pass it to Cordelia. Mathilda caught him."
"Maybe he just wanted you two out," said James, clearly not too concerned. "Forget the Loroleys, Cor. Are you still seeing weird creatures?"
Ah yes, that too. I kept seeing weird monsters, and we'd learned they were from Greek mythology. In our group, Eden and I were atheists, but James believed in myths. He believed in ancient nonsense like Greek Mythology.
"I'm not a demigod, James. I thought we dropped this." He shook his head stubbornly. "You have all the signs. You really think this world came to be by chance? Your disbelief is nonsense and you know it, Cor."
"Oh, and the world being born from Chaos by Gaea makes *so* much more sense, right? Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Artemis—these totally believable tales." I opened my eyes and sat up. "Besides, my friend, I *am* seeing something. Blonde, green-eyed… thing."
"We see that too," said Eden, sighing. "Casper's coming. I'm so sick of this stupid school." Casper was approaching with that annoying grin. "Come on, I just want to talk," he said, his face taking on a pleading look. "Guys, back off. If they're stopping you from talking to me, Cordelia, just say the word. I can take care of it."
The Loroley twins always looked down on James and Eden, and Casper thought they were the reason I acted the way I did. "Go meow to your stepmom, Loroley. Cor said she won't talk to you," Eden muttered without even making eye contact. Bringing up Mathilda wouldn't end well.
"Stepmom?" he said. "My mom's straight, Godden. Can't say the same for yours though—do you even know who she is? Probably some whore who dumped you on the street."
"You're crossing the line," I said angrily, standing up with James at the same time. Loroley put his hands in his pockets and rocked on his feet. "I'm just saying the truth. Seriously, who abandons their kid like that? I mean, at least leave them at an orphanage, but just straight up—"
He couldn't finish his sentence because James lunged at him. Even with blood coming from his mouth, Casper kept talking. "Maybe a whore is better, huh? Maybe she didn't want to leave you—she had to."
James was about to punch him again when Bianca and her dogs entered the garden. We were near a ridiculous fountain built thanks to the principal's weird tastes, and—surprise surprise—as soon as they arrived, the fountain exploded. "My mom's gonna kill me," I said miserably and stood up.
Smiling, I said, "Bianca, can't live without your brother, huh?" I was still in my school shirt, tie, and pants. Bianca wore a skirt. I quickly braided my wavy hair and loosened my tie, unbuttoning the top buttons of my shirt.
"This isn't about you, Cordelia," she said with a sweet smile. I knew that devilish smile all too well. She was about to mess us up. "Step aside, please." As Casper groaned, one of the triplets behind her—Leon—walked toward James. Leo and Leonardo (who names triplets this stupidly?) were coming at Eden and me.
"Shit," I muttered. As if things weren't bad enough, a vision had started. I was burning with the feeling of a monster on the other side of the city. "Come on, ragazzi. Non aver paura." (Italian: don't be afraid)
Leonardo came at me. I turned slowly and kicked him in the face. Unlike these bullies, I was trained. They were nothing to me, but their numbers were a problem—and Bianca wouldn't come here with just these three. Leonardo fell, blood dripping from his nose, and I grinned. But Leo, seeing what I did to his brother, got angrier and came at me with full force. Idiot. When he punched at my stomach, I slipped aside. He was so caught up in his revenge that he punched air while I moved like water.
I could do this all day, but Leon was on top of James, and he needed help. Plus, Bianca was being too quiet—she had to act soon. I climbed onto the exploded fountain and scanned the area. James understood what I was about to do and smiled under his breath—he loved this part. Leonardo and Leo were right behind me, lined up like dominos. James had dragged Leon into place. Eden shouted, "Formation complete!" and I grinned. I jumped onto Leonardo's back, and before he could fall, I used Leo's shoulders, then Leon's, as stepping stones. They all collapsed behind me. I leapt over Leon and landed next to James and Eden, shouting with glee, "Adora questo!" (I love this!)
"Your Italian mode is still on, don't get cocky," Eden said and pointed at Bianca. "Mathilda's with her."
I could see Bianca and Mathilda—yes—but I also saw something else. "J," I whispered. "I'm seeing something."
James swallowed. "I see it too, Cor. That's a Good One."
Our brief joy was quickly replaced by shock. We were used to *me* seeing things. But this time, someone else saw it too. For the first time, Eden looked genuinely confused. "Wait—what? You can see it too? Did I really just find three people at once? Oh my gods."
"Okay, guys, I promise I'll explain everything. But first, we have to find someone. Lorance Lanse Cole. From Class D. Okay? TRUST ME, please. And try not to panic."
***
Hi guys. I'm Turkish, so I used translation when publishing this chapter. (I know English, a little. I can't write a story) I hope it's okay.
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Thx for reading, good bye!