Zeus (The God Chronicles) (3 page)

I’d been battling to get off the phone the whole drive back to the apartment, and
had now been sitting in the parking lot going on fifteen minutes, listening to my mother speak in tones only dogs could understand. I imagined several people staring, wondering why I didn’t get out of the vehicle and go inside. The truth was there was no one around to stare. It was simply entertaining for me to be as dramatic as my mom.

Five minutes later she was finally convinced I wasn’t going to forget her completely
, and I was allowed to get off the phone—after I promised to call at least every other day.

I gathered my books and got out. It was somewhat disappointing to find the air outside was as hot as the air
in my car. I didn’t regret leaving the engine off, though; I needed to save all the money I could until I found a job, even if it meant being overheated.

As
I came through the door, I was greeted by Jessie.

“Why did you sit out there so long? Are you okay?
I was going to go check on you, but it looked like you were talking to someone. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

I guess I wasn’t imagining people staring after all.

“I was on the phone with my mom,” I explained. “Sometimes she gets a little long-winded, and I didn’t want to bother anyone with it.”

“No biggie,” she said, smiling. “So listen, we’re going to hit a totally awesome club on the Strip tonight, you in?” She plopped down on the couch and folded her legs crisscross style,
waiting for my response with anticipation.

“Oh
 . . . I, uh, I wanted to look over my books tonight.”

“Whatever!” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “What is it really? Why
don’t you want to come?”

“That’s really what it is,” I said apologetically. “Classes start in a few days
, and I think I might get called about the job I interviewed for. If I skip going over them now, the chance to do it before school starts might pass.”

“Are you like super excited about school?
” She studied me with curiosity.

“No! Yes? I don’t know,” I replied, laughing. “I’m here on a scholarship. I don’t want to lose it because of bad grades.”

“That, I can understand.” She smiled again as she got up off the couch. “I’ll go tell Jenny and Julie you can’t make it. They’re in their room getting ready.”

About an hour passed before the
beauty queens emerged from their rooms. Jessie was wearing a tight, red dress with matching pumps, her hair pulled into a curly side ponytail. Jenny had opted for a black dress much like the one she’d been wearing that morning, with sparkly pink belt and matching heels, and her hair was straightened perfection. Julie was wearing a blue, halter top dress and white wedges, her hair let down in loose curls.

“You all look fantastic!” I stared at them dumbfounded. If I ever decide
d to go out with them, I was going to have to get a new dress. Odds were I already had some awesome shoes, but I didn’t own any party dresses like theirs.

“Thanks, Karly,” Julie said
, opening the front door. “Are you sure you can’t make it?”

“Positive.” I waved as they walked down the stairs and then closed the door
behind them, locking it right away.

True to my word, I spent most of the night
combing through my school stuff. There wasn’t anything surprising in the textbooks, but the paint set I’d bought for Advanced Painting and Drawing was practically calling to be broken-in before school started.

By the time mid
night rolled around I was putting my paintbrush down so I could survey the background I’d finished. The painting as a whole wasn’t nearly done, but I was pleased with my work. The finished product would be a stormy sky over the desert. Right now it was a bunch of black and grey on canvas—like I’d spread ashes and soot across the canvas.

I’d been painting in the kitchen to avoid getting anything on the carpet and decided to leave my work there to dry. I pushed my easel into a corner where I thought it wouldn’t be in the way, and placed the chair back at the table.
Carefully, my brushes were cleaned and put away with the paint. The mess gone, I headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

The girls still weren’t home after I finished my evening routine, but I hadn’t really expected them to be. So I went to
sleep by myself again, feeling a little bit more at home than before.

Chapter Three

“Breakfast!” I hollered with my happiest voice.

My morning had started beautifully, and I decided to make pancakes to hopefully show my roommates I wasn’t purposefully staying away from them or selfishly eating them out of house and home. If they were willing to share their food with me, the least I could do was cook for them. Hopefully they would see it as a gesture of kindness and not hate me because I was disturbing their sleep.
As I was warming up the syrup, Jenny came out of her room.

“Wow! That smells divine!” She was wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts, her hair sticking up in every direction. Not far behind her was Julie, looking more or less
identical. I felt a little better about my own bedraggled appearance.

“I thought you could all use a good breakfast after your partying last night,” I said with a
smile, pulling out plates as they sat down.

“And it was some party.” Jessie yawned, announcing her presence as she came down the hall. “This is exactly what I needed this morning. Thanks, Karly.”

“It’s nothing, really. I mean, it’s your food anyway.” I put the dishes on the table and Jenny set them in their places.

“
Well, we don’t cook like this,” Jenny sighed in pleasure.

“Hey, Karly, I moved your picture last night
because I almost bumped into it. I hope that’s okay?” Julie asked, while pulling out some milk from the fridge.

“
It’s fine, I figured that’s what happened.”

“
It looks awesome. What will it be?” Jessie stood in front of the canvas, staring at it intently.

“A storm over the desert,” I replied. She nodded, continuing to gaze. After a moment, she turned.

“Do you need help with anything? Sorry, I spaced out looking at your work. I was imagining what it would look like with one big bolt of lightning stretching across it.” She shrugged her shoulders while her sisters chuckled. They all exchanged another one of their grins I didn’t understand, as if they shared an inside joke.

“No, I think we’re ready to eat
, actually.” I carried the pancakes to the table, cutting their glances short.

“I’ve got the syrup,” Jessie said,
grabbing it off the kitchen stove.

Once seated, we dug right in,
remaining silent as we savored the taste. After a few mouthfuls there was general thanks and compliments to my cooking, accompanied by exaggerated eye rolls and moans of ecstasy, which made me embarrassed. It was probably the best batch of pancakes I’d ever made.

“So
, tell me about the party,” I said after a few more moments of quiet.

“It was a ton of
fun,” Julie said through a mouthful.

“The DJ was totally rocking it all night,” Jenny added, after swallowing.

“Sounds like you had a good time.” I felt a little disappointed I’d decided to stay home. Now that I was finally getting over my nerves and feeling more comfortable with living here, I wanted to do something.

“We’re going again tonight, if you want to come,” Jessie said. “You need to
get out of this apartment! School starts tomorrow; come play on the last day of break. Please?”

I laughed at
her mock pleading tone of voice.

“I think I will,” I said
, after appearing to debate with myself for a bit. “I’d like to see what all the fuss is about!”

“Yay!” Julie leaned over and
wrapped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me in a one armed hug. “You’ll love it! You’ve never been to the Strip before, right?”

“No, I haven’t,” I admitted. “I could see it from the highway on the way in, but that’s about all my experience with it. You know, besides what I saw
in the videos my parents tried to scare me with.” We all laughed.

“You poor thing! We’ll show you everything tonight. Just wait, your mind will be blown!” Jenny grabbed a couple more pancakes as she spoke. “They do these shows at each resort every night. They’re time
d so you can walk down the sidewalk and watch them one right after the other.”

“
I don’t think I have enough money to do all of that.” I wasn’t super, super broke, but I doubted I could pay to see a whole bunch of shows, especially if I was roasting myself in the car to save gas.

“They’re all free, sweetie,” Jessie said. “That’s the best part. I think we should walk
one side on our way to STYX and then we can walk the other side another night—we won’t get out of the club until after the shows have stopped. Most of what we’ll skip is inside anyway. They aren’t as exciting. I mean, do we really want to wait in line to watch a movie about candy?”

“
No?” Confusion was setting in, as we jumped from topic to topic, but I wasn’t as bothered by it now. “Sticks is the club then, I’m assuming?”

“Yeah,” Julie piped up again. “It’s at this new resort called Tartarus.
I love how everything is named after stuff from Greek mythology—STYX is named after the magical River Styx. Tartarus is like the Greek Hell. It’s so awesome! Anyways, it’s been open for a year or two. One day it suddenly popped up and was ready for business. I think it holds the record for fastest construction job.”

“Like I said, sounds
fun!” Excitement bubbled up inside me. I was finally going to see some of the things the world had to offer!

“Does eight sound like a good time for everyone?” Jessie finished her food and began to clear her place, her sisters following suit.

“Sounds fine to me,” I said getting up to carry my dishes into the kitchen. Jenny and Julie agreed and excused themselves.

“What are your plans for the rest of
the day?” Jessie asked as we began to load the dishwasher.

“Well, I did get a voicemail early this morning asking me to come in for a second interview at the library. I need to go shopping for a dress now too
.” I laughed.

“Well, good luck with the interview, and I know a sweet place to go shopping if you’d like directions.”

“Sure, thanks!”

She gave me the instructions and then excused herself to her sisters’ room.

“We have a family phone call this morning,” she explained as she walked down the hall.

I washed down the table and counter and went to get ready for the day.

That night, at seven thirty, I surveyed myself in the bathroom mirror. I’d ended up buying a little black dress. It was definitely more club material than fancy dinner. I loved the cap sleeves and how it came to
slightly above my knees, but my favorite part was the back. It was ripped to create a kind of layered necklace affect. I’d paired the outfit with my favorite neon green heels and some silver jewelry. My hair was down in loose curls, sprayed with some mild glitter hairspray. I’d gone a little heavier on the makeup than usual, but not enough to make me look like a prostitute. Overall, I was pleased with my appearance. I hadn’t ever really needed to get dressed up for anything in the past, and it felt nice to pamper myself.

I was on cloud nine for the first time since I’d arrived in the city. So far, I really liked my roommates—despite the weird
, mind reading they always seemed to do. The apartment was cute, I was going out for my first real club experience, and I’d gotten the work-study job. Everything I’d hoped for was happening.

Jessie knocked on the door and let herself in after I
’d given the okay. She’d gotten ready before me, and her dress was a dark, midnight-blue with matching pumps. Her makeup, as well as the pendant on her necklace, matched the color too. She opted to wear her hair up in a chic ponytail this time, making her appear even more amazing than usual.

“Wow! You look fantastic, Karly!” she exclaimed. “I love the glitter in your hair
. It’s perfect. The boys are going to be fighting over you all night.”

“R
ight!” I rolled my eyes. “They won’t even see me next to you. I’m sure Jenny and Julie look amazing as well, and I’ll be pretty much invisible.”

“No, seriously
, Karly. You look great. Don’t let anyone tell you any different, not even yourself!” She smiled at me and turned to fix her lip gloss.

There was another knock at the door, accompanied by some light laughter.

“Are you guys ready to go?” Julie’s muffled voice asked.

“
Sure, be right out,” I called.

“Did you call a cab yet?” Jessie asked them.

“Yeah, it’ll be here any minute,” Jenny answered.