Born to be a Leader

Part 2;

Chapter 5

Training

"Wake up!" I heard Sky yell from the bathroom, her voice sounding muffled, she must be brushing her teeth.

I sat up in my bed, and hit my head on the top bunk.

"Ouch!" I mumbled, rubbing the swelling bump with my thumb. Locks of my newly green hair fell in my face.

"Training day!" She cheered, after spitting her toothpaste filled saliva down the sink.

I yawned subconsciously.

"Go down into the main hall for breakfast!"

I got out of bed while stretching my arms. I headed over to the trunk to get my clothes. I took out a black pair of shorts and a pink tank top, the same material as a jersey.

I was the first one down in the main hall. I opened the tall double doors and entered the large room. My jaw dropped. There was no floor. It was see through, and it wasn't just glass. There was no floor at all. I could feel I strange force keeping me up in the air, not solid, yet not as thin as air, it was as if I was standing on a very powerful fan, shooting air up so fast that it made me float.

When I looked down, I could see the ground thousands of feet below. We were in the sky. My stomach churned.

Another group of kids entered, laughing and hitting each other playfully.

Finally, my bunk entered, all talking about some boy they found cute. I saw them point in some direction, but I couldn't see exactly who they were pointing at.

"Hey Jessica!" Said Rita, her orange hair pulled up into a bun.

"Hey..." I said awkwardly, my stomach still full of butterflies from the height.

It didn't end up mattering, our conversation was cut off by a booming voice. "Breakfast is served!" It announced, as food fell from the ceiling. I caught a pancake in my right hand, and a live lobster in my left.

Breakfast was delicious. Food from the gods really was as good as they say in the movies.

As we exited the main hall to enter the training room, my stomach started fluttering again, but this time it wasn't from the height.

The training room was a huge room with different contraptions on tables and markings on the floor.

A unfamiliar voice startled me. "Good morning. I am Athena, and I will be training you." Athena's voice sounded confident and old, like how a middle-aged woman sounds.

I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but was just as puzzled as everyone else to find that no one was in the room.

"I'm a goddess. I am not present in any room that a human can enter. For now, I am present only in your minds" The voice stated clearly.

I heard some sounds of comprehension among my roommates.

"I am the goddess of wisdom and combat strategy. To replace me, you will have to have highest rankings on your test and your battle. The test constitutes of three riddles. For each riddle correctly answered, you will get one point. You will each participate in three battles, each battle won will give you one point. Today, we will be working on battle strategies, tomorrow morning you will do your test. Understand?"

This was a all an awful lot to process. I managed to mutter, "Understood".

The battle strategies introduced by Athena were difficult. There was one where I had to stand still and act like Sky's punching didn't hurt. Another strategy was to lick the opponents foot, which Danielle did not appreciate. There were also great strategies, such as lifting up the enemy's foot and then kicking the other leg, making them off-balance and causing them to fall.

By the end of the day, my muscles were the most sore they've ever been. They ached.

When we returned to our room, Sky made an announcement. "Girls, we have become great friends over the past two days, but tomorrow, one of us will become a goddess. The rest of us will have to stay here for the rest of the year and go to school. We'll learn Greek and how to become a nymph. Then we'll go off to live on Olympus, working as servants to the goddess. Let's just promise each other one thing; whoever becomes Athena will not treat the others badly, and the rest of us will respect Athena."

"Deal." We all said as one. I realized that even though we had only known each other for a couple of days, we had all become best friends. We all loved each other, like sisters. Tomorrow morning, one of us would leave, and the rest of us would stay, continue to be friends. We would laugh late at night, tell each other everything, have fun.

I suddenly didn't know which one I would rather; become Athena or be with these girls, the only group of people I seemed to fit in with. I lay awake thinking.

Chapter 6

The Test

I didn't sleep that night. When my alarm went off, I shut it off faster than it had started. I got up and pulled on a black tank top and a big pair of grey sweatpants. I put my green hair into a tight ponytail. Today was going to be a long day.

I went down to the main hall with Sky and Danielle. Even when all the delicious food fell from the sky, I still wasn't hungry. I managed to stomach a piece of toast.

When we returned to our room, it had transformed into a classroom, with twelve desks, one for each of us. at the end of the room, where the bathroom usually was, sat a woman with long, multicoloured hair. Her face was ageless, one of those faces that could've belonged to a teenager, or a middle-aged adult. Either way, it was beautiful. I instantly knew it was Athena.

"Welcome! This is the riddle section of the test. You will each get three pieces of paper and a pen. I will say the riddle aloud, and you will answer it on paper. Any Questions?"

The room was silent.

"I'll take that as a yes. Now, everyone sit down."