The Curse of Betrayal

by Taylor Lavati

  “Wonderful,” I mutter. I fully engross myself in my food for the next hour and ignore everyone else.

  CHAPTER THREE

  sprinting disaster

  My next two classes are eye-opening and, at the same time, downright scary. First I have Powers—one word yet it holds so much, well, power over me. The teacher, Professor Nike, is cool, but I can tell I’m going to have to play major catch up in comparison to the other students. I have no idea what different powers are, what powers I have, and what to do with them. I’m absolutely screwed in this department, and the concept of failure makes me tremble inside.

  As I sit in class, the familiar feeling of panic creeps up on me. I try to breathe in and out, but my throat feels like it’s collapsing in on itself. I excuse myself to use the bathroom midway through class so I can just take a minute to myself.

  On my way to the bathroom, I notice a figure lurking in the shadows across from the door labeled W. I inch nearer, wanting to get inside the safety of the bathroom, when I recognize his face.

  “Cristos?” I question, trying to peek over at him. I can’t tell if it’s him or his brother, but by the fact that he’s not sexually harassing me yet, I’m guessing it’s the quiet one.

  “Oh, yeah. Hi.” His eyes swing towards me, and he drops his hood so his long, brown hair flows down to his shoulders. His hand comes up and tucks the loose parts behind his ear in a distraction, I’m sure.

  “How are you?” I haven’t seen him since the school dance in October of last year, but I know Cristos is friendlier with Ari than Ollie. Plus, we had fun at the dance, so I think that was kind of like a breakthrough for our friendship.

  “All right. How are you doing?” He meets my face only briefly before his eyes fall back to the floor.

  “Fine. What are you doing hanging around here?” He’s too old to be a student, so he has to have another reason. Maybe he’s just hanging around to see Ari or something.

  “I help Ari teach sometimes. I was overdue for a vacation.” He chuckles, but it’s awkward and feels forced.

  “Well, I hope to see you around.” I smile over at him and hope that he knows I’m genuine. I really do want to forge a friendship with him. I feel like he can give me a look into Ari’s head. Plus, despite his quietness, he seems nice enough.

  “You’re good for him, you know,” he mutters as he replaces the hood over his head.

  “What?” I try to make sure I heard him correctly.

  “You and Ari. You’re good together. He’s happy.” He meets my eyes for an extended moment, so I know he really means what he’s saying. I can tell he’s trying to pull for his best friend—or whatever they are to each other.

  “Thanks, Cristos,” I say in leaving as I swing open the door to the girl’s bathroom. I quickly spray some water on my face and on the back of my neck to relax. I glance at my reflection but quickly walk away. When I exit the bathroom, Cristos is gone.

  After that wonderful class, I rush to my next period where I spend the entire hour taking extensive notes on every single word the teacher utters. This class is about creatures, the good versus the bad. I figure I need to know this kind of stuff, so I make sure to write down descriptions, powers, and how to kill them. A bit extreme—I admit, but the shit is scary and crazy, and I’m not ready for it.

  Professor Ortean teaches about creatures, but the whole time I take notes, I try to figure out what type of creature he is. He has this white gold hair that falls past his shoulders and down his back in a long braid. It’s almost like a horse’s mane, long and thick yet so beautiful and flowy. His eyes are a strange reddish orange. I thought my mother’s violet eyes were exotic, but his are downright bizarre.

  After he dismisses class, I head out the doors from Valhalla Hall towards Ares Training Center, which is located towards the center of the campus in front of the dining hall. Instead of heading right in, I pause outside the doors and wait for Kara since we share this class together. I’m afraid to go in there alone. So I wait and wait and wait…

  After a minute or two, her blonde head pops out of the crowd walking around campus, and I rush to her side.

  “Hey.” I hate to say it, but I’m definitely using her as my crutch at this new place.

  “Hey, let’s do this.” She links her arms with me and leads me inside towards the locker rooms. We get through the large metal doors, and the room is exactly like any normal high school gym. There are long rows of top and bottom lockers, half of them swinging open the other half, shut with combination lockers attached.

  Kara leads me to the back of the room, near another exit to the gym. She grabs out a lock and stakes her claim on a top blue locker near the door. “You should grab the one next to mine.” She points over to the one directly adjacent to hers.

  “I didn’t bring a lock. I didn’t know we had to.” I feel like an idiot for not coming prepared. I just shrug because there’s nothing I can do about it now.

  “No prob. I got an extra for Lisa since she forgets like every single semester, but you can take it.” I look at her, contemplating whether I stick the stake in my coffin now just to piss Lisa off or take one for the team and go locker-less until I can buy one.

  Ultimately, I take the lock really diving head first into my new strong personality. “First come, first serve. And all that,” Kara mutters to herself as she hands me the dial.

  “Thanks!” I pull her into a long hug that probably means more to me than she understands.

  I put the combination around the locker hole, making sure to take the paper with the combination off of it and shove it into my backpack so I don’t lose it. I take off my new high boots and tuck them safely in the locker. I exchange them for my pair of bright blue sneakers. I just got them for myself before coming to school with my Christmas money so they’re super fresh and clean.

  “Hey, guys,” Kara says as she bends over to tie her shoe. Lisa and Megan decide to show their faces as we’re just finishing up.

  “Hey!” Megan comes over to my side, swaying from side-to-side. She reaches forward a little like she might hug me but then leans back on her locker, unsure. I smile at her, wanting her to keep her distance from me. I don’t need Lisa to have yet another reason to murder me, and stealing her best friend is definitely a no-no. I already stole her lock.

  “Where’s my lock?” Lisa drawls out, reaching her hand out towards Kara, waiting with a little flick to her wrist. Oh no. She taps her pointed shoe on the floor like she expects first class service. Just that annoys the heck out of me. Why does she deserve a locker combo without remembering it herself?

  “Ryder didn’t have one so I gave it to her.” Kara meets Lisa’s daunting face head on. I know Kara’s a tough cookie, and unlike Megan, she will stand up for herself and me, apparently so.

  “How nice of you,” Lisa mutters. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a brand new lock, complete in its packaging and all. She meets my gaze as she rips the plastic to free the lock. “Good thing I bought one this year.” She smiles over at me, full teeth and all. I grimace, wanting to run for the hills.

  I look down at my feet and realize my shoe has untied. Immediately, I bend over to tie it and distract myself so Lisa doesn’t melt me like molten lava with her fierce eyes.

  “I can’t wait to see Prof. A,” some girl in the column next to us says to her giggling friends. The comment grabs my attention.

  “Shut it, bitches. You’re no match for Magdelina,” Lisa yells over to them, laughing. She looks over at Megan, and they clap hands, laughing at their inside joke. I look between them, stumped by the conversation.

  “Who’s Magdelina?” I face Kara as I ask the question. But she ignores me. After shutting my locker, I lean up against it as I wait for everyone else to finish changing for class.

  “Wait ’til you see her. She’s drop dead gorgeous. She teaches this class with Prof. A. They’ve been hooking up for like ever though so don’t get your hopes up,” Lisa gushes, obviously wanting to be this Magdeli
na girl. Her resume gets larger and darker as I mentally add gossip queen to it.

  “Hmm…” I mutter to myself unsure of what it all means. We start heading towards the gym once Megan and Lisa are ready. Kara grabs me by the elbow and pulls me back behind the other duo who walk ahead of us.

  “I should have warned you. I’m sorry.” Her voice is laced with regret, but I’m too angry to really think of it. She didn’t think to tell me Ari hooks up with our other teacher.

  “You think?” I cross my arms over my chest and pout. I know I shouldn’t take it out on her, but the thought of Ari and some other girl hooking up infuriates me. I thought he only loved me? This doesn’t make sense at all, and for some reason, I deny it.

  We walk through the double doors of the gym, and I’m struck by its size. There are dull bleachers pulled out and lined up on each side of the center court, leaving a vast area of emptiness down the middle. The orange-ish colored floor has multi-colored lines going in parallel lines around it. There are racks of various balls and instruments along one wall while the others are bare, only clad with various banners and signs hanging down them.

  I spot Ari almost instantly, standing at the far end of the gym talking with a group of meat-head guys all juiced up on adrenaline. I smile at the fact that he’s only with guys but don’t let it get to my head. Kara grabs my arm again, pulling me along with our group to the bleachers while I linger. I feel like this has become a trend the entire time I’ve been here.

  Ryder getting dragged around by Kara while zoning out completely.

  “Hey, it’s the new girl.” A blonde haired kid, I definitely should recognize, comes over to us. He sat with us last night at dinner. Not Shane. Not Carter. The other one! Damn-it. Kara whispers his name into my ear, knowing I’m struggling.

  “Hey, Mikey!” I plaster a smile on my face and giggle to myself. Kara laughs at me knowing she just saved my butt.

  “How’s your first day going?” He takes the seat next to me and swings his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close for a squeeze. He really is attractive but I have to admit, I have enough on my plate in the love department.

  “It’s okay.” I try to focus on the girl’s conversation instead of Mikey. Trust me—I note his arm and how it never leaves my shoulders even as the class gets started. I don’t get the butterflies I’m used to with Ari or the love I feel from Ollie, but it’s not cold.

  Everyone sits on the bleachers, staying on the right side of the room. Ari moves into the middle of the room but inches near us, getting ready to start up class. He surveys the room, looking from person-to-person before his eyes stop on me. I meet them head on, loving the attention he’s giving me, if only for a brief second. I have to hold back a smile when he narrows his eyes playfully at Mikey’s arm around me.

  I swear he takes a step towards us like he’s going to start a fight. Cristos shows up right on time and stands on Ari’s other side. He places his hand on Ari’s forearm and grounds him so he can’t move.

  Cristos’ eyes meet mine, and I nod to acknowledge my thanks. He’s dressed less formally than I’ve ever seen. He has on basketball shorts and a grey tee with some high tops for shoes. It looks awkward on him since all he ever wears is slacks and button up tees. Although when I saw him in the hall, he had a hoodie on over his top.

  Then this jaw-dropping, stop-in-your-tracks-to-stare, sinfully beautiful girl walks in. She all but throws herself at Ari in front of everyone, and I’m guessing this is Magdelina. Gag me. She stands next to him and rubs his back before dropping her hand below the waist. I swear to god, she rubs his ass before giving it a nice pat like a coach to a football player. I see red but refuse to move in my seat, not wanting to make a scene in front of my peers.

  “Hello, class,” Ari, or shall I say, Professor A, starts class. “Today we are going to do fit tests and see where everyone is at. Then we’ll break up into groups based on skill and go from there. Mag will start with the sprinting, and I’ll start with strength. Then we’ll go into coordination and flexibility.” Mag—he calls her Mag, really?

  “I’m Professor Magdelina.” She has a sweet, southern charm to her voice but it doesn’t fool me. She’s pure evil from the gleam shining in her dim eyes. “You guys can call me Magdelina or Mag, like dear Aristeus here.” I swear she meets my stare as if daring me to do something. How does she even know who I am? I keep my cool—more so thanks to Mikey’s arm tightly wound around me, grounding me onto the bleacher seat than anything else.

  “Let’s get started!” Ari barks, breaking up the little powwow and moving towards the weight room located off the gym. Magdelina saunters off towards the lines on the floor with a flock of puppy dog eyed boys behind her. I hope they keep her interest so she doesn’t focus on what’s mine.

  My first stop is the weight area. Magdelina separates us based on where we’re sitting so I’m stuck in the second half, who all head over to Ari. Luckily, Kara and Mikey are both in my group since they’re sitting on either side of me so I’m not completely alone. In fact, I’m happy we’re not with Lisa since god knows what crude remarks she’d be saying about Ari right about now and her best friend Magdelina.

  I can’t handle another girl ogling him in my presence. This year is going to be extremely testing of my temper, and already, I can feel myself teetering on edge. I need Ollie to cool me down like only he knows how.

  “Do you have any powers yet?” Kara leans over towards me, whispering in my ear as we walk to the other room.

  “I don’t know. It’s sporadic, but I’ve broken stuff by accident.” I explain to her, not knowing if I can even do anything.

  “You’re farther along than me,” she mutters, taking my arm in hers.

  The room is scary looking with metal tools all over the place. There’s some familiar weight equipment, like barbells and free weights, but for the most part, it looks medieval. In front of me is a large rope dangling down from the ceiling with Ari standing directly below it and Cristos to his left.

  First up to bat is a slightly overweight girl with pixie cut hair and electric pink eyes. She steps up to the rope and grabs onto a knot about a foot above her head. She starts working her way up, her legs never even touching the rope.

  “We have to do that?” I angrily whisper to Kara, not believing it’s even possible. My eyes swell until they’re large puddles of disbelief.

  “Yup. Pure torture.”

  We wait until it’s our turn and Kara gets up first, after a shove from me towards the rope. I could swear Ari laughs from his position as he calls her name. My eyes find him as he stands below the rope with his little clipboard in hand looking all professional.

  Kara glances back towards me for a second before starting her way up the rope. She climbs that thing using her arms only. She makes it about half way up before she starts to sway, and the rope swings side-to-side. She uses her feet to propel her up towards the ceiling the rest of the way. She gets to the top, rings the bell, and then floats down to the ground effortlessly.

  She rubs her arms as she jumps the final foot or so, and I smile over at her, proud. I rush to her side and give her a big hug. “You were great!” I praise her job well done.

  “Eurydice Mason,” Ari signals my turn. I gawk at him since he used my full name but focus on the activity at hand. I rub my hands together, trying to give myself a mental pep talk. It’s not working since I’m going berserk, but oh well.

  I stand underneath the way too thin rope and grasp onto the knot above my head which is probably only around five and a half feet. I try to pull myself up, but I don’t have any upper body strength at all—it’s not like I worked out at home. I let out a frustrated breath before trying again and getting nowhere. I look behind me to Ari, pleading for help. He makes a gesture like pushing a button in which just baffles me further.

  But then I remember when he explained how to sprint when we were in the Underworld. Turbo boost. I try again facing this nasty, annoying, frustrating rope. I start attempting to
pull myself up and then put it into over drive, mentally. I tell myself I can do it and then push myself to. I start going knot by knot, slowly but surely, my legs dangling underneath me lifelessly.

  I don’t know how long it takes since I try to stay focused on my adventure up to the top. I just count each knot until I get to fifty and the rope ends. I ring the silver bell and then freeze, not knowing how the hell I’m supposed to get down from here. I lower my head and look towards the ground where everyone looks like little baby ants.

  My stomach flip-flops at the height, and I almost let go of the rope as I mentally go mad.

  I’m going to die. I’m going to fall to my death right in front of Ari. How do I get down?

  I close my eyes and face forward, needing to breathe and take my hysteria down a notch. One breath in, one breath out. One breath in, one breath out.

  Instead of losing control like the old me would and giving up, I lower myself down the rope. I count the knots backwards. Forty-nine…forty-eight…forty-seven…

  All the way until I can touch the ground. When my feet hit the solid floor, I let go of the rope. I look around me and see that I’ve made it down alive. I’m alive! I smile, not caring about how long it took or if I did it right.

  The room has gotten pretty silent which sends an eerie chill up my back. I walk over to where Kara is standing as I rub my throbbing shoulders which are most definitely shot and will be quite sore tomorrow if I had to guess.

  “What?” I ask her when I’m only about a foot away.

  “You’re strong as shit.” She has these vast eyes as if she just discovered I’m some secret Hulk.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You went up and down that rope not using your feet in like five minutes flat.” She tugs my hand and drags me out of the weight room.

  Before we exit, I catch Ari’s eye as he winks at me, a proud smile on his face. I don’t know what I even did, but apparently, it’s a big deal, and I did pretty damn good. I smile back owning myself as I follow Kara out of the room.