Olympus High: The Lost Gods (first five chapters)

Chapter 1

We men are wretched things.
―The Iliad, Homer

Jemma's heart did backflips against her chest wall as she chanted in her mind. I can do this. He's just a boy, nothing more. I can totally do this.

Actually, he was her lab partner. The fact that he was the hottest guy at Olympus High and she'd had a crush on him for as long as she could remember meant nothing to her. Absolutely nothing!

Adjusting the heavy box in her arms, she looked through the throngs of students making their way out of the school. When she spotted Joal at his locker, her heart took a stuttered beat. He was blond, stood several inches over six feet tall, and was built like the swimmer he was—lean, muscular, and altogether too good-looking. And his green eyes with sweeping lashes had broken more than his share of hearts, including her own.

She was about to lift her foot to take a step in his direction when Brooklyn slinked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. A crack in Jemma's damaged heart widened a bit.

Since when were they an item?

Joal smirked, glanced back at Brooklyn, and said, "Hey, babe." Then he shut the locker door. Turning to face her, he pulled her into his arms and said, "I only have a few minutes before practice."

"I only need a few minutes," she said, her tone teasing. "I'll make it worth your while."

Despite the insane urge for Jemma to turn and escape the situation, she took a deep breath and forced one foot in front of the other until she was standing beside him. "Joal?"

"Yeah?" he said looking down at her and narrowing his eyes.

"I wanted to make sure you remembered. We're supposed to meet in the library. You told me you had a few minutes to spare."

He raised an eyebrow, not speaking for a long moment. "And you are...?"

Her heart sank. Why am I not surprised? "I'm your lab partner. We've been working on our project together?"

"Jemma?" Brooklyn said, "Do you really have to do it now?"

"You two know each other?" Joal asked.

"Of course, silly," Brooklyn said. "Jemma's on my cheer squad. She's a flyer."

"It's due tomorrow," Jemma said, keeping her eyes on Joal, "...a week before the last day of school. This is beyond cutting it close."

"We wouldn't want you to lose your perfect four-point grade average now, would we?" Brooklyn said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"I thought we were already done," Joal turned and pressed a kiss at the base of Brooklyn's throat.

Brooklyn moaned. "Mm. Come on Jemma, couldn't you just finish it yourself? Do your cheer captain a favor?"

"We're nearly done," Jemma said, averting her eyes, "It'll only take a minute. I want to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"It's fine the way it is... uh..." Joal paused, his brows scrunching.

"Jemma," she said in a clipped tone.

"Right," Joal said as he turned to nibble on Brooklyn's ear.

Jemma wanted to pour an ice bucket over both their heads, instead, she looked away and said, "Forget it. I'll finish it myself."

"Thanks... uh..." he said, scrunching his brow.

"The name's Jemma!" she snarled and then turned and stomped away. Joal never ceased to amaze her. Jemma knew he wasn't stupid. So why couldn't he remember her? Was she truly that forgettable?