Chapter 41
Lizzy’s fitful sleep on the morning after The Healer Challenge was rudely interrupted at eight in the morning by a loud banging in the bathroom. Before she could fully wake up and get out of bed to see what was happening, she heard something crash to the floor.
“What the fu-” Lizzy caught herself. If someone was in her room, the camera drone might have been activated. She popped out of bed, grabbed her silk robe, wrapping herself in the luxury of it, and searched the room for a weapon of some sort. She grabbed a dumbbell from under her bed and crept to the bathroom door.
Kicking the bathroom door open, Lizzy postured threateningly and yelled, “Whoever you are, get out of my room!”
“Ela! Calm yourself down.” A very familiar voice answered. “I figured you would be mad, but I didn’t expect this much hostility.” Athena laughed. “Ela, Ela, come check out my new room!” She led Lizzy through the opposite door of their now shared bathroom into her bedroom. She had a similar four-poster bed, but her walls were covered with posters of women’s soccer, hockey, and volleyball players, Greek Olympians, and one large painting of the Eiffel Tower over her bed.
Lizzy groggily took it all in, noticing the Eiffel Tower painting, “Not the Acropolis?”
“No, file mou. Athens is a powerful city, but Paris is the city of beauty and romance, don’t you think?”
“Uh, sure,” Lizzy had known Athena for basically her whole life and, before this morning, would never have described her as poetic. “That doesn’t really answer my question. But it doesn’t really matter. I thought you had had enough of sharing space with me after The Academy.” It hadn’t ended well.
“Oh, we were just kids, Liz. When they told me who I was paired with to share a bathroom and live next door to, I was thrilled.” With that, Athena gave Lizzy a big hug.
***
A young Lizzy Morgan sat on a bench in her academy’s locker room, staring at the floor. She was super stressed about the coming practical examination final. She knew that she would graduate, but she and Athena had scored neck and neck on all of their previous tests this year, and Lizzy’s mom had threatened an ultimatum if she failed to capture the top spot in her graduating class. Being forced to move to Europe, away from her cousin for high school, would be awful, but the frosty demeanor and emotional distance of her mom would be her true punishment should she fail.
The double doors to the locker room burst open, and a group of girls walked in, led by Athena, her greatest rival. The entire clique was laughing at a joke someone made before entering the changing area, but Athena shifted her attention to Lizzy quickly.
“Hey, L.L.! Where have you been?”
The nickname was always meant as an insult. Elizabeth became Lizzy, became Little Lizzy, became Little Liz, which ultimately became L.L.
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“Just getting ready for the final,” Lizzy answered flatly.
“How cute! But, you know what they say. If you aren’t ready already…”
“What? If I’m not already ready, then what?” Lizzy was tired of Athena trying to sound smarter than she was. Athen was a dumb jock. And a bully. “You do you, Athena. And I’ll do me. Got it?” Lizzy was tired of being pushed around.
“She’s cute when she’s mad, isn’t she, Penny?” Athena rhetorically asked one of her minions.
“Uh,” she answered. “Yeah?” Penny was confused about how calling Lizzy cute was an insult.
“Don’t worry, L.L. I’m sure today will go better for you than the intramural tournament. It would be hard to go worse.” Athena’s eighth-grade shit talk was top-notch. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, your mom called earlier. She says if you lose today, she will leave you and head to Europe alone. Oh, wait. She already did that.”
Lizzy stood up and punched Athena in the face. Athena had the same training, though. She grabbed Lizzy by the back of the neck and slammed her face into a locker. The minions all stepped back in horror. This was the first time Lizzy and Athena had moved past trading barbs and resorted to violence.
The sound of Lizzy’s face hitting the metal locker was loud enough to alert one of their teachers standing outside the locker room. She rushed in to see both girls bleeding from gashes in their faces, surrounded by a small group of shocked, on-looking peers.
“What is going on?” Mrs. Sullivan asked the group of teenage girls.
“Nothing, Mrs. Sullivan,” they all said, nearly in unison.
“This doesn’t look like nothing. But I can’t say it is unprecedented on finals day,” she said, mostly to herself, and pointed to the onlookers. “You all either get out of here or get into your uniforms! You two,” she said, gesturing to Lizzy and Athena, “come with me.”
***
Lizzy broke from the hug in shock. “I think we have a long way to go before we are huggy friends, Athena.”
“I guess that’s fair, L. But we were just kids back then, eh? I apologize for anything shitty I did, and I’d like the chance to show you that I am older and kinder and wiser and prettier and more thoughtful.” Athena smiled.
Lizzy let the insulting nickname slide for the sake of moving forward. “I see how you added prettier in there..”
“Well, truth is truth.” Athena quickly injected.
Letting the moment sit, Lizzy sighed. “Fine. I’ll give you a chance, Athena. Great job in the trial, by the way. For some reason, I expected more pushback on my plan.”
“Why? It was a good plan. I was happy to play my part.”
Young Athena would never have been able to admit that Lizzy had a good plan, much less follow her into battle. One day would not erase Lizzy’s opinion of the athletic All-Star, but it was a baby step in the right direction. “That’s good to hear, A. I’m glad our playing in the same sandbox isn’t disturbing everyone in the playground.” Yet.
“Why would it? You and I on the same team are unbeatable. Now, while you shower and get dressed, I’ll unpack the rest of my boxes, and we can go grab some breakfast and catch up! I’m excited to hear all about your life in Monaco, moving back to New York, and joining the Heralds there.”
“Sounds good,” Lizzy said. Athena was a much better ally than she was an enemy. So, for now, Lizzy would stay on her good side. But if ever the chance came to take her out of the competition permanently, Lizzy wouldn’t hesitate to take the shot.