Spyridon Stathis Boarding School for Young Demigods

Abe jerked into a state of wakefulness when he was addressed. He raised his head and looked at the new girl for a moment before realizing he must have been spacing out.

"Oh, yeah me and Zarek got what we could done, but anything you could add would be welcome." He replied, grinning and scratching the back of his head. He held out a hand in introduction. "Name's Abraham Anderson, you can call me Abe. I'm new here too, still getting used to things. I ran into some trouble in the halls, left me a bit out of it." Looking toward the smaller boy he added "It involved our friend from earlier. Hopefully things turned out for the best, though I may be in some trouble, depending on the schools' view on fighting..." He punctuated the last sentence with a shrug, hand still outstretched.
 
He was surprised to find the girl was in the grade ahead of him. True, it didn't seem like a large student base, but he had never been in mixed-grade classes before. Zarek explained as much, not turning away until Abe settled unceremoniously into the chair he had previously occupied. He was about to welcome his friend back, but found that the words died before they could be voiced. He was grateful for Kam, and let the two make introductions while he gathered his wits.

The combination of Abe's hangdog expression- before being taken over into his trademark grin- and the cuts on his arms alarmed Zarek. At the last comments made by the larger boy, a deep crease of a frown formed between Zarek's brows and he leaned forward in the group, over his desk. "Abe, tell me you didn't fight that girl? She was kinda crazy and said some nasty things, but tell me you didn't fight her?" He hissed, eyes wide with worry. He hadn't known the other boy long, but he felt sure that Abe wouldn't pick a fight. The girl however, seemed to be spoiling for one and the thought of it made Zarek nervous.
 
"Kamila Blaise. I won't give you the bit about the tongue, just call me Kam and we'll get along fine. Probably," she smiled as she spoke, taking the offered hand in hers. When Abe mentioned fighting, her eyebrows raised a couple inches. "Fighting on the first day? Stathis'll have a fit," she told him, referring to the principal. "And a girl!" she exclaimed when Zarek spoke of it. No she knew was that crazy, besides her, and even then she waited until at least the second day before she did anything terribly cold-hearted.

"Depending on the circumstances," Kam began, "Stathis might let it slide, but he'd never let it go. I know from personal experience..." she trailed off, figuring she wasn't helping.
 
"What?! No, I didn't pick a fight with her!" Abe exclaimed, turning back to Zarek. "Some punks found her in the hall, roughed her up quite a bit. I tried to get them to back off, but they weren't having it. I get the feeling she wouldn't want people talking about it and I don't know much more myself, so you're gonna have to ask her if you want to know more." Turning back to Kam, he said "Well, hopefully I can explain they they were the ones who started it. Come to think of it, you've been here a while right? You know a girl with really long black hair? Pretty face, prettier voice. She comes off a bit cold... I'd give you a name, but I don't know it."

Abe was of course worried about getting in trouble with the school, especially on his first day. However, the circumstances surrounding this girl kept tugging at his mind. Why had those punks gone after her with such anger? How often did things like that happen? Is she going to be okay? On top of it all, Abe couldn't help but feel responsible, as his squabble with her in the class might have been the reason she was in the hallway in the first place. The way Abe saw it, the more he could find out about her, the easier it would be to remedy the situation. At least that's what he hoped.
 
Zarek relaxed visibly, blowing out a little puff of air. "I didn't think you would, but the way you guys got off, I had to ask. If anything I would think that she would have started it." Considering the situation for a moment, the younger boy turned to his Abe, "If that's the case, I think you may get off with just a minor reprimand. I mean, you were just trying to defend her, right?"

He raised an eyebrow at Kam, thinking about asking after this personal experience before pushing the thought from his mind. He didn't want to jeopardize his friendship this early on, and it seemed rude to nose into something she obviously wasn't comfortable speaking of. Everything in good time.

Instead, Zarek listened. He didn't know anything about the girl that Abe had stuck his neck out for either, besides the bad first impression. But he liked Abe, and if he had a thing for this odd beauty then Zarek was going to support him as best he could.
 
"I know of her, but I wouldn't know her. We're sort of two different types of cold. Hers is intentional, mine isn't," she shrugged nonchalantly, "as for any punishments, knowing how Stathis works, he might get suspended for a day or two, or he might just be watched closely, depending on his mood. Suspension isn't so bad. There isn't enough adults on campus to make sure you stay in your dorm, so they normally have a student do it, and they don't want to spend their time watching somebody," she paused, thinking.

"Since you're new he might give you just a stern warning and keep an eye on you, but it's a two sided coin, you know?" Kam gave them a supposed-to-be reassuring smile, hoping they didn't think of her badly for knowing so much about the disciplinary workings of the school, from personal experiences, no less. Luckily, though, it was then that the bell rang, and she had an excuse to leave. Standing up, she began gathering her things.
 
"Well, that's good to know at least." Abe said with a shrug, gathering his things as well. "It was a pleasure to meet both of you, hope to see you again soon. I guess I'd better head to the office and tell them about this before the next class starts." Shouldering his bag, Abe started off in the direction of the classroom's door.
 
Tossing his items into his bag as well, Zarek waved a goodbye to Abe, "Yeah, see you around."

Glancing around he caught sight of Kam as she was just about out of the door. Hurrying to catch her and hoping he wasn't too late, Zarek squeezed around the others filing out of the room, trying not to bump too many of his new classmates. "Kam!" he yelled, schedule clutched in his fist and getting terribly wrinkled. "I- uh- don't mean to be a pain," he looked away, a little embarrassed, "But can you tell me where this classroom is? I'd hate to be late." A cautious smile lit his face at the request, and he hoped that he wasn't taking her away from anything important. "If you have time, that is."
 
"Oh," Kam said, glancing towards her escort. He smiled and nodded, indicating she could. "Um, yeah, I guess." She looked at his schedule. "It's a group training class, basically showing off. But," she continued, looking at her own schedule, taped to her binder, "it's the same as mine. Come on. It says it's in a classroom, but half the time it's out in the field." Just in case though, she went to the classroom it was supposed to be in, and found the same note taped onto the door. "In the field."

"See? Told you," she smiled, leading him through the thinning crowd of students. Kam quickened her pace though, knowing already that the teacher didn't like her, and wouldn't appreciate it if she and a friend came late. They reached a group of students on the field just before the tardy bell rang, a taller teacher standing in the middle. "Guess you'll be seeing my power after all," she said, stopping at the edges.
 
Zarek eyed the man waiting on Kam warily, but when she let him out onto the field where class was about to be held, he couldn't help the trill of excitement. The prospect of seeing actual powers at work was like a geek's dream come true. He was grinning from ear to ear. "This is. So. Cool," he breathed, trying to guess at what the other students gathered would be able to do. He found it impossible to predict, but all the more fun for it.

"Kam, thanks for showing me out here. I know it was on your way and all, but I appreciate it all the same," He smiled, his eyes shifting to a green that could match the grass beneath their feet. "I'm really interested to see what you can do. Just... don't laugh because my powers are lame, okay?" The excitement of his voice belied the nature of his words. Zarek couldn't wait for class to begin.
 
"Mine aren't exactly cool either," she said, shrugging. Then the realization of her pun hit her, and she couldn't help but smile. Before she could uncharacteristically laugh, she began pointing out people she knew of, "That guy, he's a child of Ra and has a bighead, she's a daughter of Apotamkin, Native American, the girl next to her is a daughter of Juno..." and so on, though she only knew about two other kids. The teacher let the students talk for a few minutes while he sorted out the various students.

After a while, he shouted, silencing the kids in a second. "Who would like to go first? Miss Blaise?" he asked, without waiting for anyone to raise their hand. Last year, she had been unable to lower the temperature by one degree, and he probably planned on humiliating her again. She sighed, rolling her eyes. They took upon a colder tone, and her eyebrows came together in determination. Wisely, several of the students around her backed up. Looking towards Zarek, she said, "Get back, or face the consequences," her voice much icier than normal. And with that, she concentrated and released her powers.
 
The main office was easy enough to locate and Abe made it there with only a small amount of difficulty. The office was surprisingly busy for a school with such a small student body, the large young man was waiting until the tardy bell had rung before he was able to talk to the secretary, a plump woman who appeared to be in her early forties. As he explained what had happened earlier, the round woman's eyes widened and she immediately called for the principle. Apparently the son of Hermes that Abe had left conscious had arrived some time ago in a panic, and told a highly exaggerated version of the events that had unfolded. Of course the members of the disciplinary team had been dispatched immediately in search of a "wild-eyed giant covered in blood". Both Abe and the principle were surprised the large young man had made it to the office undetected.

However, once Abe had delivered the true story the principle calmed considerably. It seemed that this wasn't the first time that group had gotten into trouble, and a few staff members were of the opinion that Abe's actions may have been for the best in the long run. Indeed, the staff members were so impressed with Abe for not only going so far to protect a student, but also for turning himself in for his actions, that they let him off with little more than a warning. An escort was assigned to take him to his next class, but this was more to guide him around the unfamiliar school grounds than anything else.

That went better than expected. Abe mused to himself as he checked the paper in his hand again, which had his schedule printed on it. Group training huh? Wonder what that's all about...
 
Listening to Kam's murmured rundown of the lineages of is fellow student's lineages with interest, Zarek tried to remember them all and found it more difficult than he would have thought. He hadn't ever really stopped to consider just how many gods and goddesses the various new and old religions of the world might have. It was sort of staggering to the boy, and he was happy when the instructor yelled to gain the attention of the gathered crowd.

Zarek frowned when the instructor singled Kam out immediately. The look on the man's face was one that Zarek was familiar with: smug and self-satisfied, already convinced of the outcome and a sharp retort ready as soon as weakness or failure was detected. He'd seen that look enough from bigots as he went through his public school career and was surprised to find it here among such a diverse gathering.

"Good luck," he whispered as Kam stepped past him. He continued to move back to where the other students stood, taking a spot up front. The cold determination in Kam's eyes had been as inspiring as her words had been chilling; Zarek felt a rush of pride for this mysterious girl and found his fists clenched at his sides as if the tension in his own muscles might give her strength. He was rooting for her, and the smile began to return to his face as the temperature began to drop in that sunny field.
 
The temperature dropped exponentially, first one degrees at a time, the two, then four, then eight, and so on, until it was below the zero mark. Being late August, no one was dressed appropriately for this type of cold, and soon the students were shivering in their shorts and t-shirts. All except Kam. This was normal for her, the extreme cold. The dropping temperature soon leveled out, until it stopped completely. Low, dark clouds formed above the field, but before she could allow snow to begin falling, she forced herself to stop, knowing that here was where she constantly lost control of her powers. When that happened, people tended to get hurt. Instead of making it snow, she settled with turning the water molecules from gas to liquid to solid in less than a second, forming a human skull.

Sighing, she let go of her hold on the weather. Her other powers couldn't be shown here, so she gave the teacher a smile that said, 'I told you so,' tossing the skull at him, and moved back to where Zarek was standing. The temperature was still below freezing, but was slowly climbing back to a normal eighty degrees. All those hours of training had been worth it. Hopefully no one would bug her this year, and after that show, maybe they wouldn't.
 
Zarek was shaking. He couldn't be sure of it was the temperature or the awe of seeing Kam's powers in action, but both were equally as worthy of his tremors. Not that cool, she said. That was only the most amazing thing ever in the history of ever, he thought as the girl tossed an icy skull to the instructor who looked more than a little chagrined at the proficient demonstration. As Kam came to stand beside him, Zarek raised his brows in a silent communication of just how impressed he was.

With a look of mild disgust, the instructor seemed to forget Kam existed, studiously ignoring the girl as he read from a clipboard. "Who's Parsi?" Zarek's head snapped up, the color draining from his face a little. He didn't think that it would be so soon that he might have to demonstrate. He stepped forward with a little half-raise of his hand. "New, hm? You're up next. Let's see if there's any need for remedial instruction since you're so late in joining us," he intoned acidly.

It was on slightly shaky legs that Zarek stepped into the center of the circle of students. Kneeling, he took a shaky breath to steady himself and closed his eyes while he ran a hand gently over the grass, his touch feather-light and barely disturbing the blades before he dug his fingertips into the rich, black earth beneath. The rime of frost along the ground was quickly disappearing, becoming glistening dew that caught the light. The scene was peaceful, and a long silence stretched on as nothing seemed to happen around the boy. It wasn't long until some of the other students began to snigger and talk quietly.

Zarek's expression never changed from one of quiet concentration, his face slack and relaxed as he focused. Slowly, like images from a time-lapse documentary, tender green tendrils began to push from the ground beneath his fingers; too small to be seen at first, they soon grew and began to creep along the ground like kudzu, climbing up his arm like ivy. In short order, stalks had grown hip-high and were erupting into fragrant blooms in heart-breakingly vibrant colors. By the time Zarek dropped to both knees and slumped slightly, the little clearing resembled a tropical paradise; he stood shakily, his breath coming in pants as he staggered back over to Kam.

"Never did...like that...before," he whispered as he tried to catch his breath.
 
By the time Abe had been guided to the field, the temperature was already too cold for even his liking. He watched from the edge as the girl he had barely met stood alone, frost covering the ground around her and dark clouds gathering in the sky. However, just as it seemed the she was really about to let loose, she stopped, and the temperature began to slowly normalize. Abe let out a quiet chuckle as she tossed a frozen skull at the teacher. He supposed that coming to the school as long as Kam had, a few enemies were inevitable, and something about the tall, scowling teacher struck Abe as less than friendly.

As Abe started to walk towards the gathered student, Zarek was called to demonstrate his abilities. Quietly, so as not to disturb his friend's concentration, Abe came to a stop next to Kam, giving her a silent nod and a thumbs up, both as congratulations for showing it to the teacher and to let her know that things had turned out alright in terms of Abe's potential punishment. Returning his concentration to the boy kneeling in the grass, Abe watched in silent awe as he transformed the plain grassy field into a scene of wild beauty.

"That was awesome man!" Abe exclaimed when Zarek had staggered back, grinning and clapping his friend on the shoulder. "I had no idea you could do somethi-" "And who is this, showing up late and acting like he was here the whole time?!" Abe was interrupted in his praise by the teacher, who was by now fuming at the fact that both of his targets had performed perfectly. "Another new student eh? And it says here you don't even know where you got your powers from? Well lets see what you can do big guy!"

Grinning, Abe gave a jaunty bow to his friends "Excuse me a moment my companions, a demonstration of my abilities has been requested, it would seem." Abe lightly jogged to the edge of the field, where he had spotted a massive rock, nearly seven feet tall and apparently part of some sort of an attempt at landscaping. Bending his knees and placing both hands at the bottom of the rock, Abe tried to lift it, apparently straining to do so. He let out exaggerated grunts and contorted his face into a mask of strain. He kept this up for nearly half a minute. Some of the students had begun laughing, and the teacher looked to be at the end of his patience. "Just what do you think you're doing, big boy?" He shouted toward Abe, arms crossed and tapping his foot. "What, me?" Abe responded, still pulling at the rock. "Oh, that was just my warmup!" As if to punctuate his sentence, he lifted the massive stone effortlessly, holding it above his head with one hand. "Sorry to keep everyone waiting!" He said with a laugh, tossing the boulder from one hand to the other above his head, as if it were a giant beach ball. "I'd toss it to you as a souvenir like my friend there did, but I get the feeling you wouldn't have anywhere to put it." To finish off, the young giant grabbed the rock in both hands and let out a grunt as he hurled the rock into the air. The boulder flew nearly thirty feet above Abe's head before it landed with a loud thud near where he had picked it up.

Abe walked back to his friends, rubbing his arms with a look of mock pain on his face. "Man, I knew I should have stretched beforehand! You know what they say. Something about limbering up or something."
 
Regaining his breath and some of his strength, Zarek was glad to see Abe waiting next to Kam. It seemed that everything had gone well for his friend, and he was in a rather good mood for it. Staggering a bit under the force of the good-natured hand clapped to his shoulder, Zarek found himself with a somewhat embarrassed grin on his face. He'd never had anyone compliment him like that; it felt nice.

The celebration was cut short by the words of this objectionable instructor, and a scowl crossed the boy's face. Wishing Abe well, Zarek settled back to watch. He had a moment or two of fear for his friend as he struggled with the boulder- it was massive- and he glanced at Kam out of the corner of his eye.

This period of nervous doubt was soon ended when the larger boy began his showboating. Zarek found himself laughing and clapping along with the crowd as Abe tossed the boulder with effortless ease, and gave the giant a hearty pat as he rejoined them.

"If I ever have to move, I'm calling you. That was incredible!" The look on the instructor's face was priceless as the man tersely called out the next student to demonstrate.
 
Kam was smiling by the time Abe arrived, watching as Zarek made the plants grow. She returned Abe's nod when he did, not breaking her gaze upon her friend. It was amazing really. All she could do was cause fear and death, but he could create life. When he came back, she stood back as Abe clapped him on the shoulder, not sure how to congratulate people. "That was great," she said, and would have said more, but was interrupted by the instructor addressing Abe.

She had high hopes for Abe, guessing from his size his powers, and was almost crestfallen as he appeared to be straining. By now, the temperature was almost at normal, about seventy-five, and none of the students seemed to be shivering anymore. It seems that her five seconds of impressing the students had come and passed. When a couple students nearby began laughing, Kam shot them dirty looks, and instantly shut them up. Still, it didn't make all of them remain quiet, but several of them stopped laughing when he lifted the massive stone above his head. However, she couldn't help but do so as he said that he would toss it to the instructor like she had, but figured he wouldn't have a place to put it.

When he came back to the two of them, she went out on a limb and held her hand up in an offer for a high five, a smile upon her face. "You really showed him," she said as their instructor chose a freshman to show his powers next.
 
Abe's grin only widened as he rejoined his friends. "Ha, if you say so!" Abe replied to Zarek as he approached, giving a shrug. "I can't really do anything that special, just lift things and such. What you can do is amazing though, I bet you can grow all sorts of stuff!" When he reached them he enthusiastically high-fived Kam and replied, "Yeah, that guy was asking for it, singling out you two like that. By the way, your powers are pretty awesome too, didn't get a chance to tell you earlier. You guys can both change the world!"

Abe looked quizzically at Kam for a moment. "Actually, it might have just been me, but it looked like you were holding yourself back a bit. When the clouds started coming in I was expecting to see something crazy happen!"
 
Nervously, she put her hands in her pockets, not used to being asked a question like this. Rather, she was uncomfortable with it. But, not wanting to seem strange in front of her new found friends, she said, "The amount of concentration it takes to keep the temperature down that low and cause 'something crazy' to happen is to much for me. When I'm alone in a dark room or something, it's fine, but I can't actually see what's happening. If I break concentration while something crazy is happening, those around me might get hurt. If Zarek and you hadn't been around, sure, I'd have taken the chance, I've no love for these people," for a second, her old nature showed through, but she quickly swallowed it. "Sorry. That sounded bad. Sorry," she repeated, instantly wishing she hadn't said that. "It's my mom's side, I swear..." she trailed off, before quickly changing the subject.

"After next hour is lunch, want to sit together?"