Body, Mind and God

Chapter 31: Athelia

Yes, it's an update. *Squee!* This, I have to say, is dedicated to my little sister, Kate (@percabethjackson72). She just came home from prizegiving, and SHE GOT TOP IN HER YEAR LEVEL!!!! She won Excellence in Literacy, Mathematics and Religious Studies, as well as a Meritious Achievement Award, Culture Award and Top in Grade 7!!!! I'm sooooooo proud of her!!!!

Chapter 31: Athelia

After Isibel had left, it had been a mad dash for the bus. If she was late home, she would cop it, big time. She winced, thinking about how much trouble she was in. Her Mom had been screaming at her, not a first, but not a regular occurrence. Then her Dad had joined in. That had never happened before, and, frankly, had scared her. She had being tiptoeing around them all morning, and their lack of acknowledgement had been both a blessing and a curse.

The bus ride home was uneventful. So was the rest of her afternoon. Athelia had been confined to her room, for punitive purposes, and was amusing herself by testing the limits of her and Athena's powers. So far she had discovered her Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with her mind, and telepathy, which she was using to her delight to keep in touch with Izzy. Her Telekinesis wasn't physical, so much as mental. Athena had explained to her that most forms of Telekinesis were physical - you had to feel your surroundings and move the object with a figurative muscle. Athelia's was mental. Just concentrate on that pen flying into your hand, and voila!

Dinner had been a quiet affair, with nobody talking, except in loaded glances. Athelia had escaped to her room as soon as she could. Too soon, apparently, because moments later her Mom was yelling up the stairs to come back down and help her sister with the dishes.
"Trying to skive off, Lia?" Jen asked sweetly.
"Trying to see less of you, Honey." She replied in an even more sugary tone. 
"Well if you could actually get into a university program, you would." Jen said. Athelia rolled her eyes, outwardly. But inside, that one hurt. It was a sore spot for her that the universities wouldn't take her until she was 18..
"You know, you should take the dog for a run after this." Athelia said casually, before poking her little sister in the side. 
"Are you calling me fat?" Jenny yelled in a cry-baby voice, hoping to get Athelia in trouble.
"Insinuation, one could argue, isn't the same as calling someone that, but obviously isn't not calling someone that." Athelia said smoothly. It worked. The confusing, but true sentence had it's desired effect. Jen shut up. Dishes were awfully quiet after that.

Finally escaping to her room was a relief, until Athelia realized she hadn't made any plans with Isibel about seeing Diana. She quickly jumped into Izzy's head.
'Hey Izzy.'
'Hey Lia.'
'We need to go see Diana soon. It's almost sunset.'
'Not a problem. Meet you on the corner of Elmswood and Islington?' A block from Di's house. Perfect.
'Sure. I just have to get outta here first. Give me ten.'
'Kay. See you there!'

Pulling out of Isibel's head was a relief. There was so much darkness in there at the moment, and Athelia didn't know how to deal with it. She pondered several ways she could help her new friend, dismissing them almost as soon as they came.
'Maybe, Little Guarder, you should focus on how to get out of here.' Athena suggested.
'Oh, yeah, sorry. Umm... I could climb out the window. Except I'm on the second floor and there's no trellis, tree or balcony. I could fly out, but I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad are checking on me regularly. There's no chance of teleporting?' Lia asked the godddess.
'No, no teleporting, Athelia.' Athena said sadly. 'That's Hermes power.'
'Is there any way I could be in two places at once?' She asked jokingly. Surprisingly, there was.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

'So, I just step into my mirror and back out?' Athelia was double checking the instructions.
'Yes, Athelia. But don't forget to drag her back out with you.' Athena sounded completely confident about this. Athelia was convinced it was an elaborate prank.
'I'm trusting you on this.' She told the goddess, before closing her eyes and stepping into her mirror. Yep. Into. It was just like stepping outside on a warm day. There was a change in temperature, for sure, but only slightly, not enough to make her curse any extremities. She opened her eyes and came face to face with her reflection. It had worked! Athelia took a moment to look around inside the mirror. It was her room, just flipped. A whole mirror universe, she was willing to bet.
~Hey.~ Her reflection said, bringing her attention back to the girl in front of her. Athelia smiled.
~Hey yourself. Are you ready for this?~ 
~Hardly. I'm about as ready as you are.~ But her reflection held out her hand for Athelia to take anyway.  This time, both girls stepped through the mirror. The transit back into the real world was a rough one, and both of them ended up on the ground.