Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

An Apt Metaphor

May 3

     I spent the next week studying for the AP exams. My teachers fell into two camps on homework. Some of them, like Odin and Saga, gave us more homework than ever to try to prepare us for the exams. Others, like Forseti and Mimir gave us no homework, saying we'd be busy enough studying. Only my ASL class had the same amount of homework as usual.

Halfborn complained about it one Monday over lunch. "I spent three hours doing homework every weekday last week. That should be illegal."

Jack nodded in agreement. "We already go to school six and a half hours a day and here they are giving us more work we don't even get paid for."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Do you have any idea how valuable your education is?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "The only class worth taking is Dance."

"Valhalla High doesn't offer a dance class," Sam responded.

"Exactly," Jack replied. "It's not worth it."

     "Then why do you attend school?" Sam challenged.

      "To get my diploma," Jack said. "That piece of paper is valuable in this economy."

     "Your diploma is more than a piece of paper," TJ said.

     Jack raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it's also composed of some printer ink."

     "It's more than that," TJ insisted. "Your diploma is a material representation of the years you've spent being informally socialized. It's the physical emblem of thirteen years of learning in a state-sanctioned program. It's not just a piece of paper — it's the experiences that led up to you receiving it."

       "Say what?" Jack said.

        "Informally socialized?" Mallory repeated. "Physical emblem? State-sanctioned? TJ, don't tell me you got this from another podcast."

     "It was free," TJ said. "Besides, Odin dared us to listen to it."

    Mallory facepalmed. "I'm pretty sure you're the only person who took him up on that."

     "He's not," Sam said. "I listened to it too."

      "Good for you," Mallory sniffed, "but most of us have better things to do."

        "Like trying to avoid getting your face blown up in a video game?" Halfborn said with a grin.

       "That was one time!" Mallory replied, her face turning as red as her hair.

        "It was pretty entertaining," Halfborn said. "Sometimes when I'm sad, I just recall that afternoon. . ."

      "I don't know whether to get you to shut up with a kiss or a punch," Mallory retorted.

       "Healthy relationships," TJ noted.

       Blitzen signed something about the importance of communication in relationships. "You know what, though," Sam said. "Even if we don't have a dance class, we have a lot of options for advanced, accelerated, and AP courses."

      "Not to mention fashion," Blitzen added.

      "AP is torture," Mallory groaned.

      Sam folded her arms. "Then why are you taking it?"

      "So I can complain about it," Mallory replied, blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

    I couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. "I can't wait to get the exams over with," I said.

      "Me neither," Alex said. "When they're over, I'm going to have a bonfire and burn all my notes."

       I blinked. "Where are you going to have a bonfire?"

      "Thor's two sons, Magni and Mothi, host a bonfire every year," Alex answered. "Everyone burns their papers and celebrates the end of the school year."

       "I usually just recycle mine," TJ said, "but the party is good fun."

      "Yeah, you should come this year," Halfborn said. "Why didn't you come last year?"

     "He wasn't here last year, you idiot," Mallory replied.

    "Oh yeah," Halfborn said.

    He smiled sheepishly at me. "You should come this year."

     I wriggled in my chair. "I'm not sure if Magni and Mothi will invite me."

      "Nonsense, they invite practically everyone," Jack said.

    I had a fleeting memory of the huge Halloween party sophmore year. Practically the entire school had been invited, while I languished at home, watching Netflix and handing out Snickers bars to children. It had been depressing — especially the next day when all anyone would talk about was what a great time they had. I didn't want a repeat of that. "And if they don't invite you," Alex said, "I'll take you as my plus one."

     "Is that allowed?" I asked.

     Alex rolled her eyes. "If you haven't noticed, Magni and Mothi aren't very big on rules."

    I laughed, but it was one thing to flout the rules and quite another to implement them. Magni and Mothi might not take so kindly to me being there as my friends thought. Alex must've noted how hollow my laugh was because her two-colored eyes were bright with concern. As we walked back to class after lunch, she asked me about it. "Are you nervous about going to a party?"

I considered her question. I hadn't gone to many parties. Mostly, I'd been excluded from them and while that was one of my fears, her question brought up a different set of them. What if I made a fool out of myself at the party? What if I tripped into the fire? What if someone made fun of me? "I guess so," I said. "The thing is . . ."

I trailed, off looking at my shoes. Alex tugged my sleeve in concern. "What is it?"

I chewed my lip. "You might not understand bring so cool and everything"

"Please," Alex said. "I may be amazing as can be, but I've faced my share of bullies."

Her eyes flickered when she said that and I squeezed her hand, thinking of the tears of brutality and isolation I had faced. My mother had supported me all the while; Alex hadn't even had that. "I'm just nervous," I said. "I'm not the type of person who gets invited to parties. What if I mess something up?"

"It will be fine," Alex promised. "We'll probably keep to the corners of the party and let the popular people take the spotlight. The party will be big enough for us all. Think of how school is divided into classes; parties are like that. There are too many people for everyone to pay attention to everyone else."

"That's an apt metaphor," I said.

"Excuse my poetic language," Alex said, "but I am the metaphor."

I laughed and kissed her on the cheek before we returned to class. If Alex was a metaphor, she was more than an apt one; she was the best one.