I think I'm going crazy. I see the weirdest things, and no one else seems to notice them. That au their really good actors. I've seen a cheerleader with one bronze leg, and one donkey leg chasing a guy with an machungwa, chungwa t shati while shouting things that sound suspiciously like something my social studies teacher might say.
au another time, i was sitting on a beach, pwani chair at the beach, pwani close to where I live, and this guy in shirts and a hawaiian shati just walks out of the ocean. Totally dry and normal looking. And then he winked at me. Either the worlds greatest magic trick, au something was seriously wrong.
I think my mom thought I was hallucinating when I told her about the guy who looked like a giant blue icicle when we went on a cruise in Alaska.
Anyways, my mom loves spending time with me. I think she's an over protective parent because whenever I tell her about something I saw, she looks around, and puts a hand on her belt. I really don't know why, but she seems to get reassured and says "don't be silly Zoe."
Have I mentioned how much I hate my name? Zoe. Ugh. It sounds all old and stuff. I asked my dad once why he named me that and he alisema "for a good friend". I didn't ask for details, just resolved to legally change my name when I was old enough.
(so if wewe haven't figured out yet who Zoe really is, I'll give wewe a hint. Book 3. For those of wewe who can figure out what that means and who her parents are, kudos. If not, I'll try to add something)
I really wasn't looking mbele to school tomorrow. Do wewe hate school? Not as much as I do. I have dyslexia and ADHD. It's so infuriating, not being able to write au read. kusoma can be fun, depending on the book.
So my teachers all glare at me while they wait for an answer and i fidget impatiently in my seat. Then when the kengele finally rings, I dash out of my kiti, kiti cha and run home.
Now, i give wewe fair warning, I have the weirdest parents EVER. My mom is obsessed with blueprints and other bila mpangilio things like that. My dad is gone most of the time, and when he comes back, he always crashes on he kitanda and when he wakes up, he goes into his 'study'.
Our house is really complicated. Although it only has 2 stories, the rooms are really cool. Mine has no tv au anything, just a 4 poster bed, a dresser, a bedside table, and a desk. It has a few other things, but that's basically it. The chokaa green walls blend with my blue bed.
My dads 'study' is really cool. I'm not allowed in there, but once I snuck in. The walls are a sea blue and a wooden floor is covered in weird trinkets. The ceiling is white and the door blends in perfectly with the walls. It's not much of a study, because my dad never really studies.
Anyways, once home, I made a snack and disappeared into my room to do my homework. Then I groaned. We had a test on algebraic equations. Tomorrow. Which just happened to make no sense at all to me.
I slammed my text book shut. Mom might know, but I didn't really want her help. Call me independent. As I walked down our really awesome twisted stairs, I saw my mom at the bottom shouting "Zoe! Can wewe clean your room? Rachel is coming over!"
Rachel is awesome. She always has the weirdest clothes, but wewe can't say she doesn't have style. All of her jeans are covered in doodles and Rachel has mad skills, art wise.
"what time?" I yelled down. "around 4:30". great. An saa to clean the house. I jogged down the stairs, and went into the kitchen, where my mom was tying to cook some thing.
I opened my mouth to tell her that the recipe called for 1 teaspoon of salt, not one tablespoon, but I was interrupted because just then, dad burst in the door. Mom nearly dropped the salt. "hi Zoe" he said. Then he turned to mom "family meeting. Now" then he ran up the stairs and I heard his study door shut.
I wasn't to weirded out, stranger things have happened. But mom looked worried. "hey Zoe, why don't wewe go clean your room. I'm sure Rachel would upendo to be able to open the door and see inside." I shrugged and she quickly went upstairs. And after making myself another PB-and-Cracker sandwich, sandwichi I followed.
At the juu of the stairs, I heard voices coming from dads study. I stopped and listened. "Annabeth, I have to go. Chiron needs me at camp." "is it that urgent?" asked mom worriedly? I assume he nodded "they found a new, really powerful one. She's about 12 and she's being stalked. kwa at least 3".
Now none of this made sense to me. But mom seemed to understand "what does he want wewe to do?" "watch her and bring her to camp." "I thought the satyrs did that." "they tried" "hmmmm..." "and another thing," he paused "Chiron wants Zoe to go to camp. He thinks our parentage may cause some unusual- difficulties."
A shocked silence settled over my parents. "when" mom asked finally? "right now" I heard footsteps and jumped back. The doorknob began to twist and a sprinted as quietly as possible back to my room.
When my mom walked into my room, I tried to look busy cleaning. Like; me, spy? Never! As soon as she walked in, she tried to put a happy smile on "hey! We are going on a quick trip. Could wewe pack a small bag? Up to 3 nights. "I thought Rachel was coming." "she messed up her calendar. She's got other plans"
I shrugged. "How long in the car?" "less than an hour, zaidi than 30 minutes." wow. Really clear there mom. "where are we going?" "oh, just to someplace I went when I was younger. your dad has a" she fumbled for the right word "job meeting there". I really didn't think mom would appreciate the fact I eavesdropped on their conversation. "sure. Give me a dakika to get my stuff in a bag."
She left and i started shoving my things into a bag. I didn't have much stuff, just a notepad, some pencils, a few drawings, and some clothes. No electronics and stuff. Mom alisema they were unreliable. Dad alisema he agreed. I never used any so I didn't really have an opinion on the subject.
As I walked down the stairs, I had an odd sense of foreboding. Like I would never come back... Which was nonsense. Mom had alisema 3 days max. But why? I didn't really have time to ponder my conscience's dire warnings. I went outside and got in the car.
I just wanted to let wewe know that the only reason we have a car is because no one, not even my parents, want to take an saa au so to walk a distance that would take wewe less than 6 dakika to drive to.
I had to wait an eternity (probably only about 2 dakika though) for mom to get outside and into the car. "is dad coming?" I asked. "he's going to take a taxi an about 15 minutes. He needs to get some things.". Hmmm... like what? And since when does he have business meetings? I probably shouldn't ask mom about that.
So, after spending nearly an saa in the car, getting out sounded like a fabulous idea. Even if we were in the middle of nowhere. Several expansive strawberry fields covered the hills and beyond that lay a forest. I really hoped we weren't going to go camping.
"are we there yet?" I asked, trying not to whine. "yep." alisema mom. "come on." then she started walking towards the hills. After walking for about an hour, mom stopped. "here we are!" she alisema cheerfully. I really wanted to tell her that we were nowhere. Then my mom started walking down the kilima towards a large farm house. Wait... farmhouse? That wasn't there a sekunde ago. Weird.
Mom stopped and Knocked on the door. "Chiron! Can wewe open up please?" she called. She waited for a moment and then the door opened up to reveal a man riding a horse. Inside the house. And the man didn't have any legs...
He saw me right away "hello Zoe!" I opened my mouth but mom cut me off "Chiron, where should Zoe sleep? I asked her to bring a bag, but I'm not sure if she should go in the Athena cabin, kibanda au the Poseidon cabin." "my dear, I think she should stay with you." mom nodded. "thanks Chiron. Come on Zoe." then mom turned and walked of towards a few zaidi buildings.
On our way to the cabins, we passed a sparring ring. With people in armor and with swords. Fighting. "ummm... Mom?" "yeah?" "are they..." I gestured at the people sparring. "oh yeah. Their training." for what? I asked my self as we reached a large white cabin. "Here wewe go! I'll be in in a minute." I breathed in deeply and pushed the door open.
As soon as I walked in, every one stopped. People looked up from books, conversations stopped. Finally, one of the older boys, maybe my age alisema "who are you? And what are wewe doing in our cabin?". I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted kwa my mother entering. As an explanation, I silently pointed at her.
Everyone in the cabin, kibanda besides me and mom stared at us. "hi!" alisema mom cheerfully! "me and Zoe here will be staying for a while. That all right?" it was obvious that she was going to stay any way, no matter what they said. Their mouths dropped open as she put a hand on my shoulder and steered me towards 2 empty bunks.
"put your stuff here Zoe. Then we'll see if wewe have your fathers talent." mom had a gleam in her eye, so i didn't say anything. Then she walked back out the door and I followed her. Trying to ignore the whispers behind me.
Mom led me to a tool shed. She yanked the door open and stepped inside. I coughed as dust flew into my face. When I opened my eyes, I stared. The tool shed contained sharp, deadly weapons.
"Hmm..." muttered mom as she picked up sword after dagger after sword. "mom? Why are there weapons in the tool shed? Why did the guy with no legs ride a horse? What parentage?" I was totally freaking out. But mom seemed totally calm. "because some people need weapons. That's Chiron. He's a centaur. And your grandparents."
Ok. What? Weapons, centaur, grandparents. FYI, on my dads side I have a grandma. My dads real dad isn't ever there, but i have a step-grandpa. On moms side, I have a grandpa, and the same situation with grandma. I'd always thought they died and had never brought the subject up. Mom sighed and put the dagger she was holding down.
"I should have had Percy explain this to you. Do wewe believe in gods?" I blinked. I didn't really have an official religion. "ummm... What kind of gods?" "Greek gods" "I don't know..." I alisema uneasily. "well, your dads father was a god. My mother was a goddess. Your father and I are demigods. wewe are our child. So your technically a demigod too. 50% immortal blood"
"Say what?" I managed. "gods. Centaurs. Half-bloods. Look around. This is a salama place for people like me. And now you.". Well, it all fitted, there was a certain rightness about it all. "now back to weapons." she rummaged around a bit zaidi then came back, looking triumphant. She showed me a charm bracelet.
"This is perfect for you." There were 3 charms on the bracelet. "how is that a weapon?" I asked? She tugged on one of the charms. As soon as it popped of the bracelet, a 3 foot long bronze sword was in it's place. I stared. "then wewe go like this" she held the sword to the bracelet and it shrank back into a charm. "same for the dagger and shield charms." well that answered my question.
"come on, let's go see how skilled wewe are with this sword." she fastened the bracelet around my arm and walked towards the arena. "umm mom?" "yeah?" "do wewe mean like fight?" "yeah". I gulped. "relax. If your anything like your parents" she smiled mischievously, and slipped a dagger out from her belt. "you'll do just fine"
As soon as we got to the arena, everyone stopped. I really didn't know why my mom was getting celebrity treatment. "Zoe, could wewe use the sword first? Who would like to spar with Zoe here?" she called out across the arena. A boy in an machungwa, chungwa t-shirt stepped forward. "I would."
I looked at him. He had brown hair and blue eyes. His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he looked back at me. I looked dubiously down at my new bracelet and grabbed and yanked on the sword charm. It came of and instead of holding a small charm, a sword was in it's place.
I tightened my grip on the sword as the crowd backed away leaving only me and the boy standing there. Instinct took over as I waited for him to make the first move. He slashed at me then jumped to the side. I parried and our swords met, making a grinding noise. Then I swiped at his legs and he jumped up, and I barely had time to straighten myself and raise my sword before his came back down. I just barely withstood the blow.
We exchanged several zaidi blows before we both were to tired to move. I all but collapsed into my mothers arms. After putting my sword away, mom asked "would wewe like to go see the beach?". I nodded. The sea always made me feel better.
As we walked down to the shoreline, I decided to be honest with my mother. "I listened in on your conversation this afternoon." she didn't seem to surprised. "well, I suppose we are to blame. I hate not knowing things, and when I was younger, I always listened to my parents conversations." "why does everyone respect wewe so much here?" I asked.
Mom looked out over the water. After a long, sad silence she finally alisema "because of something I did a long time ago." she seemed really sad and didn't really sound like she was going to (or wanted to) elaborate, so I left it at that.
"how long are we going to stay here?" mom looked at me "You, are staying here for possibly the rest of the summer. I leave tomorrow." "what? wewe can't leave me here all alone! I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!" "yes I can leave wewe here. And I suggest that wewe make some friends.". "now," she said, standing up, "let's see if wewe are good with water."
We stood facing each other. I armed with nothing, her armed with a squirt gun. "deflect it!" she shouted, and pulled the trigger. Before i could say "what?" I got doused in water. I got very angry. I usually wouldn't mind, but I was already slightly angry at my parents for leaving me.
I felt a tug in my gut, and the water peeled itself off of me, and shaped into a ball. I imagined it hitting mom like a water balloon. The sphere of water zoomed towards mom and hit her square in the chest. Mom stared at me, then burst out laughing.
"haha, Zoe, wewe are the only person who could do that, and get away with it. If Percy did it I'd probably duel him. And if I Lost I'd get him one way au another. But you, are my daughter, and I couldn't do that to you. Besides, something tells me this will help wewe in the long run."
au another time, i was sitting on a beach, pwani chair at the beach, pwani close to where I live, and this guy in shirts and a hawaiian shati just walks out of the ocean. Totally dry and normal looking. And then he winked at me. Either the worlds greatest magic trick, au something was seriously wrong.
I think my mom thought I was hallucinating when I told her about the guy who looked like a giant blue icicle when we went on a cruise in Alaska.
Anyways, my mom loves spending time with me. I think she's an over protective parent because whenever I tell her about something I saw, she looks around, and puts a hand on her belt. I really don't know why, but she seems to get reassured and says "don't be silly Zoe."
Have I mentioned how much I hate my name? Zoe. Ugh. It sounds all old and stuff. I asked my dad once why he named me that and he alisema "for a good friend". I didn't ask for details, just resolved to legally change my name when I was old enough.
(so if wewe haven't figured out yet who Zoe really is, I'll give wewe a hint. Book 3. For those of wewe who can figure out what that means and who her parents are, kudos. If not, I'll try to add something)
I really wasn't looking mbele to school tomorrow. Do wewe hate school? Not as much as I do. I have dyslexia and ADHD. It's so infuriating, not being able to write au read. kusoma can be fun, depending on the book.
So my teachers all glare at me while they wait for an answer and i fidget impatiently in my seat. Then when the kengele finally rings, I dash out of my kiti, kiti cha and run home.
Now, i give wewe fair warning, I have the weirdest parents EVER. My mom is obsessed with blueprints and other bila mpangilio things like that. My dad is gone most of the time, and when he comes back, he always crashes on he kitanda and when he wakes up, he goes into his 'study'.
Our house is really complicated. Although it only has 2 stories, the rooms are really cool. Mine has no tv au anything, just a 4 poster bed, a dresser, a bedside table, and a desk. It has a few other things, but that's basically it. The chokaa green walls blend with my blue bed.
My dads 'study' is really cool. I'm not allowed in there, but once I snuck in. The walls are a sea blue and a wooden floor is covered in weird trinkets. The ceiling is white and the door blends in perfectly with the walls. It's not much of a study, because my dad never really studies.
Anyways, once home, I made a snack and disappeared into my room to do my homework. Then I groaned. We had a test on algebraic equations. Tomorrow. Which just happened to make no sense at all to me.
I slammed my text book shut. Mom might know, but I didn't really want her help. Call me independent. As I walked down our really awesome twisted stairs, I saw my mom at the bottom shouting "Zoe! Can wewe clean your room? Rachel is coming over!"
Rachel is awesome. She always has the weirdest clothes, but wewe can't say she doesn't have style. All of her jeans are covered in doodles and Rachel has mad skills, art wise.
"what time?" I yelled down. "around 4:30". great. An saa to clean the house. I jogged down the stairs, and went into the kitchen, where my mom was tying to cook some thing.
I opened my mouth to tell her that the recipe called for 1 teaspoon of salt, not one tablespoon, but I was interrupted because just then, dad burst in the door. Mom nearly dropped the salt. "hi Zoe" he said. Then he turned to mom "family meeting. Now" then he ran up the stairs and I heard his study door shut.
I wasn't to weirded out, stranger things have happened. But mom looked worried. "hey Zoe, why don't wewe go clean your room. I'm sure Rachel would upendo to be able to open the door and see inside." I shrugged and she quickly went upstairs. And after making myself another PB-and-Cracker sandwich, sandwichi I followed.
At the juu of the stairs, I heard voices coming from dads study. I stopped and listened. "Annabeth, I have to go. Chiron needs me at camp." "is it that urgent?" asked mom worriedly? I assume he nodded "they found a new, really powerful one. She's about 12 and she's being stalked. kwa at least 3".
Now none of this made sense to me. But mom seemed to understand "what does he want wewe to do?" "watch her and bring her to camp." "I thought the satyrs did that." "they tried" "hmmmm..." "and another thing," he paused "Chiron wants Zoe to go to camp. He thinks our parentage may cause some unusual- difficulties."
A shocked silence settled over my parents. "when" mom asked finally? "right now" I heard footsteps and jumped back. The doorknob began to twist and a sprinted as quietly as possible back to my room.
When my mom walked into my room, I tried to look busy cleaning. Like; me, spy? Never! As soon as she walked in, she tried to put a happy smile on "hey! We are going on a quick trip. Could wewe pack a small bag? Up to 3 nights. "I thought Rachel was coming." "she messed up her calendar. She's got other plans"
I shrugged. "How long in the car?" "less than an hour, zaidi than 30 minutes." wow. Really clear there mom. "where are we going?" "oh, just to someplace I went when I was younger. your dad has a" she fumbled for the right word "job meeting there". I really didn't think mom would appreciate the fact I eavesdropped on their conversation. "sure. Give me a dakika to get my stuff in a bag."
She left and i started shoving my things into a bag. I didn't have much stuff, just a notepad, some pencils, a few drawings, and some clothes. No electronics and stuff. Mom alisema they were unreliable. Dad alisema he agreed. I never used any so I didn't really have an opinion on the subject.
As I walked down the stairs, I had an odd sense of foreboding. Like I would never come back... Which was nonsense. Mom had alisema 3 days max. But why? I didn't really have time to ponder my conscience's dire warnings. I went outside and got in the car.
I just wanted to let wewe know that the only reason we have a car is because no one, not even my parents, want to take an saa au so to walk a distance that would take wewe less than 6 dakika to drive to.
I had to wait an eternity (probably only about 2 dakika though) for mom to get outside and into the car. "is dad coming?" I asked. "he's going to take a taxi an about 15 minutes. He needs to get some things.". Hmmm... like what? And since when does he have business meetings? I probably shouldn't ask mom about that.
So, after spending nearly an saa in the car, getting out sounded like a fabulous idea. Even if we were in the middle of nowhere. Several expansive strawberry fields covered the hills and beyond that lay a forest. I really hoped we weren't going to go camping.
"are we there yet?" I asked, trying not to whine. "yep." alisema mom. "come on." then she started walking towards the hills. After walking for about an hour, mom stopped. "here we are!" she alisema cheerfully. I really wanted to tell her that we were nowhere. Then my mom started walking down the kilima towards a large farm house. Wait... farmhouse? That wasn't there a sekunde ago. Weird.
Mom stopped and Knocked on the door. "Chiron! Can wewe open up please?" she called. She waited for a moment and then the door opened up to reveal a man riding a horse. Inside the house. And the man didn't have any legs...
He saw me right away "hello Zoe!" I opened my mouth but mom cut me off "Chiron, where should Zoe sleep? I asked her to bring a bag, but I'm not sure if she should go in the Athena cabin, kibanda au the Poseidon cabin." "my dear, I think she should stay with you." mom nodded. "thanks Chiron. Come on Zoe." then mom turned and walked of towards a few zaidi buildings.
On our way to the cabins, we passed a sparring ring. With people in armor and with swords. Fighting. "ummm... Mom?" "yeah?" "are they..." I gestured at the people sparring. "oh yeah. Their training." for what? I asked my self as we reached a large white cabin. "Here wewe go! I'll be in in a minute." I breathed in deeply and pushed the door open.
As soon as I walked in, every one stopped. People looked up from books, conversations stopped. Finally, one of the older boys, maybe my age alisema "who are you? And what are wewe doing in our cabin?". I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted kwa my mother entering. As an explanation, I silently pointed at her.
Everyone in the cabin, kibanda besides me and mom stared at us. "hi!" alisema mom cheerfully! "me and Zoe here will be staying for a while. That all right?" it was obvious that she was going to stay any way, no matter what they said. Their mouths dropped open as she put a hand on my shoulder and steered me towards 2 empty bunks.
"put your stuff here Zoe. Then we'll see if wewe have your fathers talent." mom had a gleam in her eye, so i didn't say anything. Then she walked back out the door and I followed her. Trying to ignore the whispers behind me.
Mom led me to a tool shed. She yanked the door open and stepped inside. I coughed as dust flew into my face. When I opened my eyes, I stared. The tool shed contained sharp, deadly weapons.
"Hmm..." muttered mom as she picked up sword after dagger after sword. "mom? Why are there weapons in the tool shed? Why did the guy with no legs ride a horse? What parentage?" I was totally freaking out. But mom seemed totally calm. "because some people need weapons. That's Chiron. He's a centaur. And your grandparents."
Ok. What? Weapons, centaur, grandparents. FYI, on my dads side I have a grandma. My dads real dad isn't ever there, but i have a step-grandpa. On moms side, I have a grandpa, and the same situation with grandma. I'd always thought they died and had never brought the subject up. Mom sighed and put the dagger she was holding down.
"I should have had Percy explain this to you. Do wewe believe in gods?" I blinked. I didn't really have an official religion. "ummm... What kind of gods?" "Greek gods" "I don't know..." I alisema uneasily. "well, your dads father was a god. My mother was a goddess. Your father and I are demigods. wewe are our child. So your technically a demigod too. 50% immortal blood"
"Say what?" I managed. "gods. Centaurs. Half-bloods. Look around. This is a salama place for people like me. And now you.". Well, it all fitted, there was a certain rightness about it all. "now back to weapons." she rummaged around a bit zaidi then came back, looking triumphant. She showed me a charm bracelet.
"This is perfect for you." There were 3 charms on the bracelet. "how is that a weapon?" I asked? She tugged on one of the charms. As soon as it popped of the bracelet, a 3 foot long bronze sword was in it's place. I stared. "then wewe go like this" she held the sword to the bracelet and it shrank back into a charm. "same for the dagger and shield charms." well that answered my question.
"come on, let's go see how skilled wewe are with this sword." she fastened the bracelet around my arm and walked towards the arena. "umm mom?" "yeah?" "do wewe mean like fight?" "yeah". I gulped. "relax. If your anything like your parents" she smiled mischievously, and slipped a dagger out from her belt. "you'll do just fine"
As soon as we got to the arena, everyone stopped. I really didn't know why my mom was getting celebrity treatment. "Zoe, could wewe use the sword first? Who would like to spar with Zoe here?" she called out across the arena. A boy in an machungwa, chungwa t-shirt stepped forward. "I would."
I looked at him. He had brown hair and blue eyes. His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he looked back at me. I looked dubiously down at my new bracelet and grabbed and yanked on the sword charm. It came of and instead of holding a small charm, a sword was in it's place.
I tightened my grip on the sword as the crowd backed away leaving only me and the boy standing there. Instinct took over as I waited for him to make the first move. He slashed at me then jumped to the side. I parried and our swords met, making a grinding noise. Then I swiped at his legs and he jumped up, and I barely had time to straighten myself and raise my sword before his came back down. I just barely withstood the blow.
We exchanged several zaidi blows before we both were to tired to move. I all but collapsed into my mothers arms. After putting my sword away, mom asked "would wewe like to go see the beach?". I nodded. The sea always made me feel better.
As we walked down to the shoreline, I decided to be honest with my mother. "I listened in on your conversation this afternoon." she didn't seem to surprised. "well, I suppose we are to blame. I hate not knowing things, and when I was younger, I always listened to my parents conversations." "why does everyone respect wewe so much here?" I asked.
Mom looked out over the water. After a long, sad silence she finally alisema "because of something I did a long time ago." she seemed really sad and didn't really sound like she was going to (or wanted to) elaborate, so I left it at that.
"how long are we going to stay here?" mom looked at me "You, are staying here for possibly the rest of the summer. I leave tomorrow." "what? wewe can't leave me here all alone! I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!" "yes I can leave wewe here. And I suggest that wewe make some friends.". "now," she said, standing up, "let's see if wewe are good with water."
We stood facing each other. I armed with nothing, her armed with a squirt gun. "deflect it!" she shouted, and pulled the trigger. Before i could say "what?" I got doused in water. I got very angry. I usually wouldn't mind, but I was already slightly angry at my parents for leaving me.
I felt a tug in my gut, and the water peeled itself off of me, and shaped into a ball. I imagined it hitting mom like a water balloon. The sphere of water zoomed towards mom and hit her square in the chest. Mom stared at me, then burst out laughing.
"haha, Zoe, wewe are the only person who could do that, and get away with it. If Percy did it I'd probably duel him. And if I Lost I'd get him one way au another. But you, are my daughter, and I couldn't do that to you. Besides, something tells me this will help wewe in the long run."
The Underworld
