Mortals meet demigods

Jocelyne Teagen

Hello there. I'm Jocelyne Teagen. I'm a senior at Woodcreek High School. I have green eyes, curly, brown hair, small feet, a crooked nose, and a perfect olive skin tone. I pair this with average height, a dress, my necklace from my dad, and, obviously, me! The necklace is important, 'cause, well, my dad left. But I want to meet him. He gave the necklace to my mom to give to me when I turned 13, so that I can find him. He had a little riddle to go with it: 

Follow the 3,

To the place hidden from view,

Seen by those who're blessed.

Run like the wind, to escape the evil.

The traveller's child pursued. 

A hero's adventure ends at a haven.

A haven for heroes,

One shall rest. 

Weird, right? I read that riddle every day, trying to figure out what he's trying to tell me, trying to figure out the language it's written in (that I am miraculously fluent in!) and waiting for the moment when "the 3" will appear. A girl can hope, ok? 

I read the riddle again as I waited for the bus. That riddle is the only thing I can read easily and the only thing that stills me. When I got to school, Miranda was waiting for me. My best friend calls herself my "messenger from the true populars." IDEK. 

"Hey, Jocelyne. There's a new kid coming today. Pyper Mae. Friends with that Valdez idiot." Oh gods. (Yeah, you heard me! They revealed.) Anyone who's friends with that disgusting Leo Valdez is a true idiot, peasant, cockroach, etc. We strolled down the hallways, with the intent to pass by Valdez's locker. 

Typically, there's always an empty locker next to Valdez's, but today was a different case. There was already a lock hanging there with a painted red feather print. Valdez and the new kid weren't there so Miranda and I walked to my first class. Unfortunately, the idiot is in my homeroom. Always has been, hopefully will not always be. To break my day, Valdez was laughing and talking with this hot chic. She was new so I could only hope that she was not Pyper. That would be bad. 

"Oh gods, Pypes! I didn't know you were catching on! Ooh, ooh, I got a new one. 'Today at the bank, an old lady asked me to check her balance. So I pushed her over,'" Valdez said excitedly. 

"I hope the old lady was Tia Callida." 'Pypes' replied. 

Valdez cracked a smile. "You bet it was. She had it coming!" 

"That has to be her. Pyper. Look at her hair. It's so choppy, ew. And is that a bird feather? What the actual hell." Miranda whispered. I nodded, even though her hair looked really good. She had no makeup on, and she was beautiful, in a natural way. Pyper was wearing a white shirt with a red flannel jacket tied around her waist. She hod navy ripped-jeans and blue Converse. There was something about her that just screamed, "listen to me!" And there was also something about her that yelled, "try me, and I will beat you to the ground." Definitely not someone to prank. As long as she doesn't know it's me.

"ALRIGHTY MUFFINS! TODAY WE HAVE A FEW GUESTS!" Coach Roza belted. It's his favourite pastime, making kids go deaf by screaming when it really isn't necessary. "AND THEY ARE DEMIGODS! BECAUSE TODAY, MUFFINS, WE START COMBAT TRAINING! ALRIGHTY, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE SO COME ON UP!" Seriously, I would love to keep my hearing. Kyle Martinez stood up. King of the populars. He revealed his godly parent, Apollo, when the school found out. He ran a hand through his amazing black hair and smiled. 

"If you say so, Coach." I felt my jaw drop. That smile, with his beautiful green eyes, and a perfect tan. His honey-like voice filled my ears.

Across the bleachers, Pyper rolled her eyes. She whispered in Leo's ear. "Hey, stupid! What the Hades are you doing? Think you're all high and mighty?"