Return of the Titans

CHAPTER EIGHT

I've never been decapitated before.

And it sure as hell wasn't going to happen now.

I was saved by two things: one, the thrower had poor aim, and the discus embedded itself into the wall of the elevator. (Yeah, the throw was so powerful, it dug through straight metal.) And two, Jay tugged on my arm, pulling me out of the discus's trajectory before it could implant itself into my neck.

"Dumb kid," Jay grumbled. "Must have been a jock. They do stuff like this." He gave me a once-over when he noticed my lack of reaction. "You okay?"

I didn't hear him. It was now my turn to be scatter-brained as I gazed, mouth agape, out into the hallway.

It was like how you would think the beginning of a normal day of school would go down, with complete and utter chaos. Teachers chugging down coffee laced with vodka, and kids scrambling to get to their next class, backpacks barely hanging on their shoulders and papers scattered. But I've never been to any school, so this was a first for me.

And although I had a major lack of understanding of what a school was supposed to look like, I was pretty sure that kids with goat legs were not a part of that.

The hallway was clogged with kids of all ages, ranging from early pre-teens to maybe mid-young adult. They all were busy, whether it was screaming at each other to get out of the way, or throwing random objects at one another's heads. Someone had thought that exploding a party popper in the middle of it all was a fun, yet a cruel joke. Confetti burst into passersby's ears and hair. I thought that the discus was just an accident, but apparently it was just one of many as another was tossed down another hall. It was swiftly met with a pained cry.

And did I forget to mention the animal parts? Jay and I seemed to be the only people who were, well, people. From the torso on down, there were kids walking around with hairy goat legs, or just went all out and had the quarters of a horse. From the chest up, they were completely normal, though whoever had fatefully caught the discus must not have been. But you heard me right -- this school catered to horsemen and goat dudes.

Jay wasn't as shocked as I was. He had taken off his helmet and stuffed it back into the trolley. He bumped me with his hip to knock me back down to earth. "What, never seen a centaur and satyr before?"

"It's not that." Of course, it was that! Some of the guys didn't even have shirts and don't even get me started on the kids that were part goat. Their fuzzy legs covered any extremities, but it was still weird seeing them clamber around in nothing but red polo shirts. A few of them had bite marks in theirs. "It's just...I've sort of met these guys before. It's complicated."

"Oh no, I totally get it," Jay said as we left the elevator. "We've got a few hybrids 'round here. But don't worry, these aren't those guys. You said they were lions, right?"

I nodded. "But they walked and talked like a person. You know what they are?"

"Kinda," Jay said. "I only know the simple stuff. Who you want to talk to is Benjamin. He's your hookup to that sector."

Benjamin. He had said that name earlier. I wasn't paying enough attention to notice, but I was now. Was he speaking of a teacher here? Someone whose expertise in that field could help me in some way? I doubted a student would be able to help me, but then again, Jay was.

I was so lost in thought that I nearly lost Jay in the carnage. I snapped out of it just to see his head disappear into a throng of what must have been teenage satyrs. Their acne was revolting and so was their eating as one downed an entire bean burrito in one gulp. His friends erupted in applause; I hurried my pace.