Man, I wouldn't say I like running, but when it comes to monsters chasing after me. I have, too. Why am I running? It's because a couple of Stymphalian Birds are chasing me. They are throwing their metallic feathers at me. I'm doing the best I can to avoid them. How did they find me? Well, I was just casually walking to school until they showed up. I'm running for my life while trying to dodge their metallic feathers. One of them had already scratched my arm. It hurts like hell. Plus, it ruined my jacket. "You have nowhere to run, daughter of Hades." A nymphalid bird said. Another bird just screeched at her. "That's not a good phrase, Samini. It was supposed to be that you could run, but you couldn't hide. It makes more sense that way." Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they can talk, too. What a nice day. Nope, it isn't. Hopefully, the birds will get distracted, or someone can help me. Like anyone. Please... "Be quiet, Austria! You don't even know what you're talking about." Samini said. "Will the both of you shut up? We are hunting a demigod who had already escaped while you two were bickering. Thanks a lot!" The third bird said. Samini and Austria screeched at each other before saying, "Sorry, Vanis," I guess they might leave me alone this time. "Whatever, I smell another one that is getting stronger. It's even fresher than that demigod who smells like a rotten corpse and death." Hey! That wasn't nice. I wish they could rot in Tartarus for mocking my scent. I'll have them know that I don't smell like a rotten corpse or death. Do I smell like that? I checked my armpits. Nope, I don't smell like that. Even though it smells like sweat, I put on deodorant this morning. "Well then, let's find that fresh demigod," Austria said. "Yeah, I'm starving," Samini said.

I watched the Stymphalian Birds fly away. Whew, I'm glad that's over now. "Are you going to head to school? I checked the clock, and it seems you're pretty late." a voice said. It sounds like that person was behind me. When I turned around, I saw Velma floating. Velma Nith is my ghost friend. I met her when I was eight years old. She died by drowning in a pool when she was 15 years old. "Hey Velma, nice to see you here?" I said. "Good to see you too, Omisha. I would love to stay and chat, but your education is more important." Velma said. I sighed. She is right. My education is essential. "But Velma, I almost died today." Velma looked at my scratched arm. "Oh no, Did a monster attack you again?" She asked. I just nodded. "Which monster is it this time?" "It's a Stymphalian bird," I said. Yes, Velma knows that I'm a demigod. She's clear-sighted. "Damn, I don't know how you're going to explain this cut on your arm to the teachers." She said. "Easy for you to say, you used to be a mortal high school student. I bet making excuses was easy for you." I said. I'm a bit jealous. Mortals have much easier lives than I do. "True, but it wasn't that easy. Besides, I'm dead, remember? I'm a ghost. The fates have already cut my string. You're lucky even to be alive right now." Velma said

"Well, you are lucky to be an ordinary girl and not deal with monsters 24/7," I said. Velma just sighed. "Enough! You have a class to get to." I folded my arms. "And how am I supposed to do that?" Velma smirked at me. "Um. Hello! You are the daughter of Hades. So, why don't you use your powers or something? That's the most obvious thing you can do." She said. "But what if they see me? And you know very well that I haven't mastered them yet." Velma put her hand on her chin. It looked like she was thinking about something. I hope it's not something stupid. "I have an idea." "Oh really? What is that idea of yours?" I asked. "You will try to shadow travel to the Janitor's room. Since it's dark and no one will be able to see you. This plan will work 100%." Velma said. I swear upon Hades that my friend is crazy sometimes. "Umm... Velma, can I say something?" "Sure, you can. I promise I won't be mad at you, Omisha." "Good. You see. I know you are trying to help, but wouldn't a certain group make fun of me for being in a FRICKEN JANITOR'S CLOSET!" I shouted at the last part. Velma shrugged. "I'm sure you'll be fine. And you don't have to yell that loud, either. After all, you survived Freshman and Sophomore years, a couple of monsters attacking you, and dealt with a lot of bullying. Good thing Persephone hadn't tried to kill you either. And-" I interrupted her. "Alright, I get it. I survived many things, but I still get teased a lot." I said sadly. "Stop being so negative, Misha. Your negativity will get you nowhere. So, get your ass in gear. Head into the shadows and transport yourself. Unless you want to be called Miserable Misha by me forever." Velma said. I don't like that nickname. There's no way I'll let myself be Miserable Misha. "Out of my way, Velma. It's time for me to transport myself to Winfield High." I said with confidence.

"There you go. That's much better. Now, this is the girl I want to see. Meet you at the janitor's closet." Then Velma floated away. I took a deep breath. I walked to the shadows of the forest. It's been a while since I've shadow-traveled. "Shadows among the forest, the daughter of the dead commands you to open your doors and take me to Winfield High, which is the janitor's closet. Please and Thank you." I said. What? This is my way of Shadow traveling. I'm still learning how to use my powers. It started coming when I was four years old. Anyway, the shadows started moving in a circular motion. I'm assuming it's telling me to go inside. I hope to stay aware of the situation like last time. Wish me luck! Then, I stepped inside the portal.

Have you ever walked in a dark room before? A room that is so dark and you can't see anything. Yeah, this is what I'm experiencing right now. I'm relying on the shadows to take me to the right place. Hopefully, they will keep me from getting lost like last time. It was a total disaster. I heard some whispers around me. Yay! They said that I was almost at my destination. I'm so happy to be almost there.

~2 minutes later~

The portal opened, and I fell on the floor. Ow! That hurts. I feel even more tired, too. Ugh! I shouldn't have spent half of my energy running for my life. Aww, man! Suddenly, I heard someone laughing. I wondered who it was, so I looked around. Velma was looking at me. "Good to see you, Velma," I said. "Nice to see you too. Omisha, stop clowning around. You still have a class to get into." Velma said. I groaned but got up from the floor. I looked around the room to see a few messes. I've decided to clean it up. The janitor hates it when his room is a mess. I don't want to make him mad. He'll take me to the principal office if he's angry. The principal will call my mother.

As much as I love my mother, she can be earnest about my education. My mom would tell me and my siblings stories about her childhood. She would say to us about the times that she screwed up in life. She wants us to avoid making the same mistakes. That's why she wants us to try our best. I want to please her. Even though I'm a demigod, trouble follows me everywhere. At least I got through it. Anyway, I opened the closet door only to see the most annoying group in front of me. They are the Spectra stars. I wonder why they call themselves that, but it doesn't matter. "Well, look at what we have here. If it isn't Omisha Cadow walking out of a janitor's closet?" One of the girls said. "Wow, that's a pathetic way to come out. Get it? Coming out." Another girl with sunglasses said. While the leader just facepalmed. "Too bad the boys won't come to her. It is so gross since Omisha smells like sardines or rotten dead fish. I'm going to barf." The last one said. Hey! I don't smell like dead fish. I checked my armpits. Nope, I'm good. At the same time, the first two girls looked at the last one. "Sandy? Do you have to talk about boys right now? I swear that you are impossible." The girl with the sunglasses said. Sandy rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Valerie! It seems like you lost your mojo." Sandy said.

Valerie looked at Sandy. "No, I didn't. Unlike you, I have been doing a great job. I even got the losers to do my bidding." Valerie said with a smile. "Well, I have charmed every guy I've ever met with my good looks. They practically can't stop thinking about me." Sandy said. "So? That doesn't mean anything. You may capture every guy's attention, but I'm still better than you. I have great sculpture talent." "Oh yeah, nobody doesn't even want to look at you without your sunglasses." "So what? Even with my sunglasses, I'm the coolest person at school. You can ask Cassie." Cassie shook her head. Since the Spectra stars are busy, I'm just going to go. I started to walk away. I can hear Cassie growling. "You dumb idiots! You are letting our victim slip away from under your noses." Cassie sighed and facepalmed. "You two are evil sidekicks." It's too bad Valerie and Sandy were still arguing. I already left them. Thank the gods! I thought I would have been doomed. Maybe school won't be so bad today. Then I went to class as the bell rang. So, I went to my first class. When I got inside, my professor stared at me. She was folding her arms. "Omisha? Can't you see I was discussing with the class?" Ms. Agatha asked. "Umm... Not really; I thought everyone was quiet." I said awkwardly. "Not to mention, you are 2 minutes late. I can't believe my students are being like Zoya. I'm disappointed in all of you. And Zoya isn't even here yet. Omisha, sit down." Ms. Agatha said.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Isn't Ms. Agatha a great teacher? No? I didn't think so, either. I headed to my seat and sat down. I opened up my textbook and started reading. If I'm quiet, then Agatha won't come for me. Since I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now. Ms. Agatha continued her lesson about academic integrity. Yet, most of my classmates need to pay more attention. Their attention span is limited. I won't blame them, though. I have some advice for the teachers. If your students are no longer paying attention to you, it's your fault, and you are doing something wrong. You are boring, too. I'm curious if my half-siblings are having a better time at home. I'm a bit jealous that they were able to fool Mom into believing that they were sick and let them stay home. Trust me when I say I tried to do the same thing but failed. My mom caught me faking it and sent me to school. That's how I was stuck in Boring Town. It's a nickname for school. Several minutes later, a girl stepped through the classroom with someone. Wait.. that's not just anyone. It looks like a creature, but what kind of creature? I took a closer look and widened my eyes. It's a satyr. But.. What's a satyr doing here at Winfield High? I thought this place was for only mortals. Ms. Agatha grew annoyed at the person who interrupted her class. "Look who finally decided to join us, class. It's Zoya Unil. What's your excuse this time? I see that you dragged Willa into your lateness, too." Ms. Agatha said.

Zoya shrugged. "Nothing much had happened. All I did was miss the alarm and oversleep. My mom had to wake me up. Then I missed the bus. However, Willa gave me a ride to school with her double-seated bike. It's not a big deal. Right, Willa?" She bumped Willa in the elbow. Willa gave Zoya a look before answering. "Yep. It was no biggie. That's what friends are for." Yeah. I think that Agatha didn't believe them that much. 'Uh huh... What were you doing during this time, Willa? While your friend was oversleeping. It's quite strange that you would end up being late, too. When you mostly come to school earlier." Ms. Agatha asked. "I joined the Eco club last week. The Eco Club is a group of activists fighting to save the Earth from pollution. I woke up early to get together with my clubmates. We were cleaning up the trash that people often left. We are fighting to make the world a pollution-free environment." Willa said. Ms. Agatha was tearing up and clapped her hands at the speech. She shook Willa's hand. "That's great, Willa. I'm happy that someone at least cares about the environment and working to keep the earth clean. You earn a point. Everyone should be like Willa." Nope, I'd rather not. Not in a million years. I'm staying in the shadows where I belong. Thank you. "Willa, you may sit down. Zoya, you have detention." "What? Why?" "DETENTION!!!!" Zoya sighed. I almost feel bad for her. Since Ms. Agatha loves to give students a hard time, it wasn't my problem. It's good that I managed to get off Ms. Agatha's case for now. The school bell rang, which meant it was the end of class. I walked to my next class and sat down. I ignored my Algebra 2 teacher since she only reviewed Geometry. We only learned that last year. I didn't need a reminder, only to forget it again. So, I put on my headphones and closed my eyes.

While I was closing my eyes, there were a couple of glimpses of shadows in caves. It stopped for a moment. I looked around, wondering where I was. My body has probably fallen asleep, and I'm dreaming. In the dream, I was inside a cave. There was a shadow drawing something on the wall. I wondered what it was, so I went to take a closer look. The drawing still didn't make sense to me. What could it mean? I was about to touch the drawing when the Shadow spooked me when it came out of the walls. It was calling my name and telling me to wake up. "Omisha... OMISHA... OMISHA!!!! WAKE UP!" I opened my eyes. My Algebra 2 teacher was looking at me with his hands folded. I'm so busted, aren't I? He pointed at my headphones, which were still playing music in my ears. I put my headphones down. "Omisha, we don't sleep in the classroom." He said. "Yeah... My bad. I'm sorry. It wouldn't happen again, Mr. Greg." I said. "Good. And to make sure we prevent this from happening a second time. I'll need you to hand over your headphones." Mr. Greg said. "What? You can't take my headphones. They are my life." Mr. Greg ignored me and extended out his hand. "I don't care. Hand it over, Omisha Cadow." I sighed and handed it over to him. Goodbye, Headphones. We will be together again soon. I watched Mr. Greg head back to his seat to read his newspaper. 'Great, I'm bored now. You can come over to eat my teacher if you want to eat me. Maybe he'll satisfy your appetite?' I thought. Speaking of monsters, I spotted one walking past the window. It was a Laistrygonian giant. I looked at my classmates, wondering if they had seen it too. I noticed a green-haired girl was looking at it too. She must have seen it, unlike our classmates. I remembered that most mortals could not see monsters due to the mist. I'd like to know what the Laistrygonian giant is doing here. Maybe the giant is hungry.

I keep on watching the giant outside the window. I hope it doesn't spot me. If it did, then I would have been in trouble. Suddenly, the giant turned and looked at me. He smirked widely. I gulped. 'Oh fuck, I'm so dead. Not in a good way, either. Okay, Omisha. Just keep calm. It's just standing there.' I thought. The giant was running towards me. I cursed under my breath. What should I do? What should I do? A giant is about to break the wall. I don't have a weapon. I heard him say something about a Delicious Demigod—daughter of Hades. Master would be pleased. Who is the master? Then I saw that he rammed through the wall like a bull. It broke the wall. Most of my classmates had jumped in surprise. Mr. Greg wasn't doing anything as usual. I put my back against the wall. At the same time, the giant was smiling at me. Velma appeared beside me. "Uh.. Omisha, I have to tell you something." "Velma, I'm in a bad situation right now. A giant is inside my class. It's planning to eat me or something." I said. "No time for fighting. Something terrible had happened to your family. Did you feel it?" I was about to say no, but then a loud ringing came inside my ear, and my stomach twitched. No... They can't be... Dead... "I wish I could check on them, but I'm stuck." The giant was licking its lips at me. Eww.. that's so disgusting. Velma shrugged. "I don't know. Throw something at him." I have to think of something fast. Hmm... I saw an eraser on the floor and threw it at his eye. I bolted out of the classroom as Velma was following suit. "Seriously, an Eraser?" Velma asked. "It doesn't matter. It's better than getting eaten. Let's keep moving."

I kept on running while the giant was growling and chasing after me. I founded a shady place to shadow travel. I didn't have time to chant, so I just begged the shadows to open a portal for me to take me home. It was good that they did because I got away from the giant just in time. However, I felt very drained once I got out. Velma was already at the house and pointing at the dead bodies on the floor. I used every ounce of my strength to walk over to them. When I saw them, my quiet family on the floor, my knees gave up on me. I started to cry and mourn over my dead family. Velma was kneeling beside me. Her clear hand was on my shoulder. Even though we both know it would phase through, I'm glad she is doing her best to offer me support. "I'm so sorry, Omisha. I know how much your mom and half-siblings meant to you." Velma said. "What are we going to do, Velma?" I asked. "Well, I do know what you are going to do. You are going to survive. Yes, you are going to move on and not let their death affect you too much. Even if you want to give up. Plus, you have monsters to deal with, too." I nodded. "You're right. I'm going to survive for them."