beside Perseus. Beaming into the crowd as though he’d just accomplished something majorly important and big, though I couldn’t, for the life of me, even begin to guess what that might’ve possibly been.
And when the dorky guy in front of me made his way down too, I was surprised to see him greeted by a series of cheers and claps and even a couple wolf whistles along with a catcall or two. Then, just a moment after that, cheerleader girl turned to me, placed her hand right on my knee, and in her thick British accent said, “You’re new ’ere, right?”
I nodded, even though I didn’t really need to since she only paused for a second before she was talking again.
“I can always tell. But don’t worry. Eventually all of yer questions will be answered. Every single one.
But only eventually.” She eyeballed me again, adding, “And not ’til yer ready.” And before I could even respond, she was gone.
That radiant glow practically drifting behind her as she made her way down the stairs and onto the stage, smiling and waving at those of us still left sitting in the stands. Her gaze meeting mine and holding for a moment as she thought: Just chill. The right person will find you and show you the way. And then she turned toward dorky guy and whispered in his ear.
I gazed all around, wondering just exactly who that right person might be. Were they on the stage? In the stands? Or maybe even somewhere else entirely? And how did those people standing on the stage even know it was their turn to head down? I mean, it’s not like I’d heard any summoning-type thoughts or any long list of names shouted out. Somehow, it just seemed as though everyone knew exactly where to go, when to go there, and what to do once they arrived.
Everyone seemed to know just exactly what was going on — and just exactly what it meant.
Everyone had a purpose.
Everyone but me.
To me, it all just seemed like a confusingly random, completely unrelated string of events.
But then, after watching a little bit longer, I realized that it might not be nearly as random as it first seemed, because everyone on that stage shared one thing in common.
One majorly big thing that the rest of us lacked.
They were all glowing.
Their bodies radiating the most beautiful, shimmering, deep green glow.
While the rest of us left sitting in the stands were made up of the varying shades of the ghostly pale spectrum.
I held my hands out before me and examined them closely just to make sure I wasn’t missing something.
But despite seeing a manicure desperately in need of a do-over, it was pretty much business as usual.
Slim fingers, small knuckles, a freckle or two, but no glow in sight, not even a hint.
Once the stage was pretty much full, everyone around me stood in applause. And not wanting to appear totally clueless, I rose along with them. Jumping to my feet and covertly readjusting my blazer and smoothing my skirt, it wasn’t long before it was over and I was merging along with the crowd once again, directing my question at anyone who might be kind enough to answer when I called out, “So — where to now?”
Hoping someone might be willing to pitch in and help out a newbie in need — give a little push in the right direction, or even the general direction would do — since I was beginning to feel even more clueless than when I first arrived at this place. And so far, nothing I’d seen resembled anything school-like, nor did it make the least bit of sense.
“We go to our assigned place, and you go to your assigned place,” the guy before me said, glancing over his shoulder long enough to tack on a not-so-polite-sounding“ Where else?” that immediately made my cheeks flush bright pink and my lips clamp tightly shut.
I took a deep breath (and no, I no longer had to breathe, but some habits really do die hard) and did my best to keep to myself and just shuffle along with the rest of them. My mind spinning with questions, wondering: Where the heck were we going — why was everyone acting so quiet and obedient — not to mention, just exactly where were these supposed friends my parents swore I’d find — the ones with common interests — the ones who liked to goof off and have a good time?
And the more I looked around, the more convinced I became that as far as schools went, this had to be the weirdest one of all.
And as far as the students went, well, they were weird too.
And there was just no getting around it — the whole thing was giving me a major case of the creeps.
I continued to gaze all around, desperate to find someone, anyone, that I might be able to talk to, someone who might be able to clue me in to where we were all heading — and what I was in for once we got there.
But — nothing.
Most of them wouldn’t even look at me, and the few who did merely smiled politely then quickly looked away. And it left me feeling so lonely and homesick, it felt like I had a vise shoved deep into my middle — one that was clamping down on my insides.
Still, I kept moving, placing one foot in front of the other, ignoring my worst fears, while trying to stay hopeful and bright (or at least appear that way), and to just allow myself to see where it led. But deep down inside, I was anxious, nervous, and more than a little scared, and all I really wanted was to head home, slip into my PJs, and curl up on my bed with Buttercup by my side.
The day I’d been dreading, the day my parents swore would open up a whole exciting new world, providing all of my favorite things, like art classes, and literature classes, and foreign language classes, and maybe even classes on singing, and acting, and dancing, and fashion design, and horseback riding too — the day that was supposed to make me forget all about my old life and happily embrace my new one — well, it was turning out just as I feared: It was awful.
Nothing at all like they said it would be.
And it was pretty dang clear that when it came to these sorts of things, they really didn’t have a clue.
Nothing they’d promised could be found on the agenda — or at least not my agenda.
From everything I’d witnessed so far, this school was chock-full of bizarre rituals and bizarre glowing people who said bizarre things I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. And any forced excitement that I may have started my day with, well, it was quickly snuffed out and completely obliterated by my absolute certainty that I didn’t fit in.
Would never fit in.
And most certainly and positively, did not belong Here.
There had to be some other place better suited for me.
And not only was I sure of it, but I was determined to do whatever it took to find it.
After everyone disappeared, and I mean seriously, just took off in what seemed like a gazillion different directions, I decided to take cheerleader girl’s advice and try to appear like a person who was just chilling. But the truth is, it was a total fake out. Because inside I felt all nervous and twitchy and more than a little humiliated to be standing there, all by myself, looking so lost and clueless like that.
Like a complete and total failure on my first day of school.
And I knew that anyone who saw me would agree it was true.
I plopped myself down on an elaborately carved wooden bench, acting as though I was just minding my own business as I took in the water-spouting, stone cherubs that lined the fountain before me, when what I was really doing was trying to decipher just what that cheerleader girl meant when she claimed the right person would find me and show me the way.
Did she mean like a guide?
Like a counselor or guardian angel of some kind?
And if so, was I supposed to do something to let them know I was Here? Ready, willing, and able to get this
