Body, Mind and God

Chapter 3: Diana

Chapter 3: Diana

Diana sighed as she got on the bus to go home. her day had only gone from bad to worse. For starters, her kid brother had come in and jumped on her this morning, waking her up a good ten minutes early. Yuck. Diana had a strong contempt for all thing male, her brother and father included, and it was often voiced. After she had sufficiently yelled at her brother, she'd made her way downstairs, only to find that the pig had eaten all her cereal. That wasn't all though. She also had to sit beside him on the bus, and he'd picked his nose the whole way to the elementary school. Gross. Once at school, she'd been repetitively scolded for her restlessness in class, and she'd had to put up with the despicable boys as well. Then she'd ran into Isibel, who she thoroughly disliked, and who was snotty the whole encounter. The only highlight of her day had been Sasha telling her about her party, and even that had been marred by the fact that Isibel was coming.

Di rolled her eyes as she sat down in the seat next to Athelia, plugging in her music automatically. Thank goodness Thalia was taking her out for coffee and study later. She desperately needed both, as well as the release from her testosterone filled house. As she scrolled through her play list she caught Athelia staring off into space, a look of intense concentration on her face, her most common expression. She pulled her headphones out and waved her hand in front of her friends face.

"Earth to Athelia. What's up?" Athelia looked around at her, startled.

"Oh, hey Di. Nothing really, I'm just trying to figure something out."

"Is it to do with Isibel?" Diana asked, doubting that Athelia would have noticed her strange behaviour.

"How did you know?" Ah. She had noticed. That was unexpected.

"She knocked me over today, like, literally ran me over. Something was definitely up with her. She seemed... Stressed." Di sounded derisive.

"Hmm. In classics she was asking me about Isis." Diana's face must have told her she didn't understand. "You know, the Egyptian goddess?" Di nodded, and Athelia continued. "And then she wasn't in history. Last I saw of her she was in the parking lot, getting in Ray's car." Athelia shrugged. "I'm trying to figure out why she would ask me about Isis. I have a hundred reasons, but none of them seem right." She sounded frustrated, Diana thought.

"I wouldn't have a clue." Di told her. "Time to change the topic. Thalia's taking me out for coffee and study later. You in?"

"You mean, coffee and gossip." Athelia corrected her. Diana laughed. "I'm sorry, I can't. I have to babysit Jenny." Jenny was Athelia's little sister who she looked after frequently, as her parents were social butterflies. "Maybe tomorrow? Only no study." Di smiled at this. There were only three days a year when Athelia would suggest not studying. Christmas, New Years Eve, and her birthday.

"Sure thing, Lia. See you tomorrow?" The bus was pulling up to her stop, and she stood up.

"Of course, Diana. See you!" And then that concentrating face was back on. Di stepped off the bus into the cold wind, thankful that none of the gross boys jostled her on the way out.

On her way home, Diana took a shortcut through the park. The cool greens that often calmed her were replaced by bright oranges and reds, which had the opposite effect. Hyped up by the vibrant colours, she raced home, leaving the front door open when she got there so she wouldn't feel trapped. She heard a noise upstairs, and yelled for her brother.

"Gruesome! You there?"

"Yaaaaaaaaa!" Gruesome - aka her little brother, Peter - jumped out from behind the living room door, giving Di one hell of a fright.