Legend Of Perseus: The Missing Bolt

~Chapter 7~

It was mid-May, and all the students at Yancy were heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a field trip. The idea had been brought up by a teacher, Mr. Brunner, who taught Latin and Mythology. He had talked to the principal back in February and secured permission from the museum for the trip.

Now, I wasn't an idiot. The mist never affected me in any way, so I noticed really quickly when two teachers were replaced in the middle of the year. Mr. Brunner had come first, taking over as the History teacher. Later, the Math teacher was replaced by an old woman named Mrs. Dodds.

Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard, always wearing a frayed tweed jacket that smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had an awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, making him the only teacher whose class didn't put students to sleep.

Mrs. Dodds, on the other hand, was a little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had arrived at Yancy halfway through the year after the previous math teacher had a nervous breakdown. I kept an eye on both teachers and later started watching a boy named Grover who always stuck close to me for some reason.

We were all grouped in threes for the field trip, and I ended up paired with Nancy and Grover. I suspected that the Principal and Mr. Brunner had something to do with it, but I didn't really care. I sat with Nancy, who held my hand throughout the entire bus ride, leaving me a bit confused about the situation. However, I didn't object and let her hold my hand. Grover sat across from us, needing the space for his crutches.

When we arrived at the museum, we were led inside to begin the tour. About an hour later, we stopped in front of a carving while Mr. Brunner continued talking about Greek funeral art. A girl started snickering about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and told her to shut up. It came out louder than I intended, and the whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner paused his story.

"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?" I simply shook my head.

"No, sir." Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele.

"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?" I looked at the carving and nodded because I recognized it.

"That's Kronos eating his kids," I began explaining. "Kronos ascended the throne after defeating his father Uranus, the Primordial of the Sky. Before killing his father, he was warned by Uranus that he would be dethroned by his own son in the same manner Kronos had dethroned him. To avoid this fate, Kronos swallowed each of his children as they were born. The last child, Zeus, was spared because Kronos's wife, Rhea, handed him over to some mountain nymphs as soon as he was born, to be raised in secret, and gave Kronos a rock instead. After Zeus grew up, he confronted Kronos, gave him a mixture of mustard and wine, forcing Kronos to regurgitate all his swallowed siblings. Along with Zeus, they came to be known as the Olympians, and the first Titanomachy began, resulting in the gods imprisoning all the Titans, whether innocent or not."

"Mr. Jackson, you sure know your history," Mr. Brunner said, clearly shocked. The other students were also surprised. Nancy, on the other hand, looked proud and smug as she held my hand. "Full points, my boy!"

"Thank you sir." I stated. though of course everything I had said, was utter bullshit and the real story was that Uranus actually loved his children and had passed the throne to Kronos before going to sleep. Like his father Kronos was a beloved king who loved his children though was betrayed by his youngest son, Zeus. who manipulated his siblings using his powers to change their memories.