Chapter 2

Lucky me, before I could walk into class, the tardy bell rang. I was mere seconds from opening the door when Mrs. Barren my biology teacher beat me to it. " Katie you're late again ".

" I'm sorry I was walking and--"

" Yes I know, someone tripped you and then you dropped your books, I think it's time for you to come up with a different excuse, don't you think ? And maybe stop gossiping outside class and actually get here on time" She stated, her eyes had stone cold glare that could scare off any gorgon.

My cheeks felt hot as I looked down with a small smile on my face.Mrs. Barren was my favorite teacher. Her class was the only class that I could pay attention to despite my ADHD, despite her occasional cold remarks.

" It won't happen again " I told her.

" Hopefully not " she said smiling. She continued back to the board talking about photosynthesis and how plants grew, all for a review on our next test. I didn't even need to listen, I knew all about it.

Being a daughter of Demeter made it easy when learning about plants and working with them. By the way did I mention my mom was a goddess? Yeah it was weird, the Greek gods are real and very much alive! I turned my focus to the window that faced the courtyard only to see the infamous stoll brothers setting up for another prank.

The two boys were carrying something in their hands and laughing. "The stoll brothers ", I thought rolling my eyes. Travis was older than Conner but Travis failed first grade so he was in the same grade as us. They were sons of Hermes who always had a habit of making trouble. As they got closer I realized their hands were covered in feathers. I just couldn't wait to see who they were going to prank this time. As they were about to enter the double doors Travis caught me eye from across the courtyard and gave me a wink, before entering the doors of the school building.

I rolled my eyes and stared out the window a little longer daydreaming of what plants I should add to my garden. Maybe gardenias? Or if anything hydrangeas would look really nice seeing as we have more acidic soil... My pure thoughts were interrupted when the sudden realization hit me. I hadn't been prank-ed in a while and the Stoll brothers would always prank me, and when they prank-ed me it was bad. The last time I was a victim, I came out of the girls locker room looking like a green alien. They put green dye in my body wash and to say the least, It was the first time I had missed a full week of school due to the embarrassment. The dye took a full week for it to wash off. A rumor was then spread that I dyed myself green to support my love for the trees, which was bad enough since I was already prone to being called a green freak.

I was not prepared for something worse than that. I threw my things into my backpack as quick as I could and stood up so I could find a safe place for me to hide out until the Stolls prank was over. My clumsiness got the best of me, I stood up too fast and my knees banged against the bottome of the desk, causing pain to shoot up both of my knees. A few snickers echoed throughout the class causing Mrs.Barren to stop her lesson and ask, " Katie is every thing alright?"

" Oh.. Um yes I think I'm going to throw up. " Before she could get a chance to answer, I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the classroom. My timing was a little off because as soon as I decided to walk out the bell rang, causing everyone to grab their things and ignore Mrs. Barrens final commands. Seeing as I was in a rush and the first one out of the classroom, I walked out as quickly as I could. Luckily me, a pile of vomit was waiting for me right outside the door. As I hurridly walked out, I felt my foot step in something soft and mushy.

" What the hell?" Before realizing what it was, my foot slipped out from under me, causing me to loose balance. I fell backwards, my foot slipping out from under me. I threw my hands down hopingto catch my fall, I did however, under estimate the amount of vomit that was on the floor. My hands sunk into a pile of warm pink mush and my glutes luckily were spared by the soft pile of throw up that was thankfully left for me. The vomit crept up between my nails and soaked my pants with a rotten stench. Thinking it was over, I sat there, more embarrassed than I thought I could ever be, too bad my day was only getting worse. My classmates gathered around me, their faces held a mixture of disgust and second hand embarassement.

The two brothers who had slipped my mind soon pooped into my vision. Together, they carried a bucket, Travis on the right while Connor on the left. Seeing the mischievous smiles on their face only fueled my anger more. How much worse could this get? As if in slow motion, the bucket they held slowly tipped over, not giving me a chance to react, the bucket reaveled to be holding a surplus of feathers which stuck to my skin like glue.

The small crowd that had slowly formed around me quickly got out their phones and started taking photo's while laughing their heads off. Travis and Conner were rolling on the floor with tears coming out of their eyes. And then there was me, sitting on the floor covered in nastiness. I smelled like vomit and I was humiliated. Anger surged through me and I felt like taking out my knife and gutting them like a fish,I also felt like throwing up myself but I was too mad to do that right now.

" WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?!?!" I yelled. The stench of vomit filled my nose, a small gag left my throat.

Travis got up from off the floor and managed to say between laughs ," You should've seen your face! This was the best one yet! ". He fell back on the floor with Connor and few other people dying of laughter.

Cher, Layla, and Jo came out from the crowd and helped me off the floor.Cher and Jo both grabbed my elbow trying to avoid the vomit that covered both my arms while Layla trailed behind us. Knowing the drill, we walked as quickly as we could to the girls locker room.

Once we were inside Jo asked " Are you ok ?".

" Yeah I'm fine, except the fact that I'm covered in someone else's vomit " I said sarcastically.

She ignored my comment and shoved me towards the showers. " Go take a shower while I'll get you some extra clothes from my locker ".S he said as she walked out of the locker room.

" Who did this to you?" Cher asked.

" Who else are the two biggest pranksters in this school? " I asked.

Jo rolled her eyes while looking at Cher, "Did you really just ask that?"

Chers cheeks turned red as she mumbled, "could be someone new for a change."

" Well I need to take a shower so If y'all can skiddaddle on over I'll be finished in a bit " I said. They sat on the benches in the locker room while I turned on the hot water and washed out the vomit from hair. Seeing chunks of leftover food leave my hair resulted in me throwing up in the shower. It wasn't pleasant.

After finishing I turned off the water and grabbed a towel. I peaked out to see that Jo had returned with some of her clothes.

" Here". She handed me a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with a turquoise top and brown cowboy boots.

" They might not be your style but they're the only ones I have ". I took the clothes and quickly changed and walked out of the locker room into the hall were the girls where waiting for me.

" Thanks for the clothes they fit perfectly " I said giving Jo a hug.

" No problem, I always keep some for an emergency " she replied.

" Don't worry Katie it's the last week of school, this whole incident will blow off and before you know it, Katie chicken girl will have been forgotten ". Layla told me.

"Katie the chicken girl?! Do they already have a name for me?"

Jo and Cher whacked Layla in the arm saying " You weren't suppose to tell her that!"

"I'm sorry it slipped!" Layla replied. "If it makes you feel better, it's not the most clever or catchy nick name."

" Layla is right, this whole incident will have been forgotten by the end of the week and everyone will forget about it by next year " Jo said.

" Yeah except the fact that I go to camp with the Stoll brothers, did you forget that?!?! They're never gonna make me forget ". I slid down the wall and sat down.

" Why do you go to camp with them?" Cher asked.

" Yeah we should go with you, it would be so much fun!" Jo said. Great, I hadn't even told my three best friends that I was a demigod; I wasn't planning to till next year at the end of senior year.

" Oh well the the thing is.. that it's for kids who only have one parent ".I had the worst excuses ever.

" Well my parents are divorced. " said Cher. She smiled a little, as if she enjoyed them being divorced . The weird thing was, I had known the girls since a few years ago. I had met all their parents except Cher's mom. Almost like she was dead, I shook the thought off. Better not ask her about it.

" I mean as in no longer living. " I said.

" Oh, I'm sorry Katie I know what it's like to miss your mom " Layla said. Her mom had died of cancer a few years before I had met her.

" Yeah well you could come.. but it wouldn't be the same without you all ." I was seriously hoping Layla wouldn't consider it, or I would have a huge problem on my hands.

" You're right I couldn't do anything with out all thee of you with me ". She wrapped her arms around our shoulders and pulled us in for a group hug.

" Wait the Stolls don't have a mom?" Cher asked poking her head out.

" No they have a mom but their dad died..getting bit by a snake when they were little ". I told you I have horrible excuses, but what else was I supposed to tell them? That their dad was a god? They would think I was crazy and probably ship me off to a mental asylum.

" Oh.. well I guess they do pranks to hide the pain. " Cher said.

" No they're just really stupid." I said. We all laughed and I turned to them. " Yeah but you guys can't tell anybody this OK? I don't want them to relive their whole situation. " I explained. What I really didn't want was them finding out I had been talking about them.

" We won't ." They answered in unison.

" Good ".

"Anyways, I called your dad while you were in the shower and he is coming to pick you up. That was about ten minutes ago so you probably should get going. " Layla told me.

" OK, well I will see you guys tomorrow ". I stood up and gave each of them a hug and walked to the office to see my dad waiting for me. He registered me out and we walked out to his pick up truck. I hopped in giving him an explanation of why Layla had called him.

"Those boys don't know when to stop do they?" he asked.

I sighed and leaned my head against the window, " No they don't and they never will ".