Olympia High

Arianna finished rustling around in her backpack, and finally gave up on finding her chemistry notes. She'd have to get them from one of the other Athena's, or else Mrs. Harrison would make her life living Hades...Literally. She'd never seen it before, but she'd heard from some of the gossip prone Aphrodite's that teachers took disobedient students to a place where they never saw sunlight again. They called it Hades. Just like everything else in the backwards school, it was nick-named after an object of power and/or importance from the Greek myths. All the kids were sorted into clubs of a sort, where they took certain classes depending on their ranking.

The different groups almost never saw each other, a plot probably concocted by the teachers to make sure that the powerful children didn't start to run the school. Not everyone there was gifted in the way their god suggested, like Tara, one of the Artemis's, had the gift of fire. Arianna wasn't really sure what her gift was exactly, and all she knew was that she needed objects made of silver to channel it. So far, that was her necklace. Not even the other students knew she had it, as all jewelry what so ever was prohibited throughout the school, as was practicing their gifts. She squinted against the shine of the pristine marble floor, still a little slippery from the recent cleaning. Her eyes were the same dim blue that all Athena's had, whether it was natural...Or not. The hallway was emptying quickly, and unless she wanted to get left behind (Again), then she'd have to get a move on. Cramming some lose papers into the bag, she shoved it hastily in her locker with a rather loud, CLANG.

Jay's black hair laid almost spiked but not quite, it was short but not too short; ending around the tips of his pointed ears. He turned his dull blue eyes to his bag, as he searched it for his binder. It couldn't be THAT hard to find a huge plastic thing in his backpack, I mean, seriously. He glanced around the busy hallway, to check if anyone was looking in his direction. Nobody was, as usual. Muttering a charm under his breath, the large paper contained flew into his hand satisfyingly. Thin, skeletal fingers ran themselves through his thick black hair, setting it out of the so carefully gelled position it was in. He was going to have to fix that later, but not now. The halls were alive, literally. One locker chatted to another as if it were nothing, as if the kid enabling that couldn't get suspended. She or he was probably a Zeus though, and special accommodations where always being made for them. A pair of serious Hades walked down the pathway, discussing depressing matters, and knocked Jay to the side as if he didn't exist.

Arianna winced at the cold metals loud noise, and looked around if anyone had noticed. Her waist long black hair fell in a curtain around her lean frame, hiding a uniform gray sweatshirt underneath. What was up with the school system? She shuffled along in the corridor, taking as much time as possible before she had to go to class. Unlike the popular stereotype for Athena's, she did not actually enjoy classes. Not. At. All. She made herself linger in the hall ways, not caring when people pushed and shoved at her, making room for their own agendas. Part of her intelligent nature shown through as she quoted under her breath, "Everyone has their own battles to fight; remember that." She had no idea who had said it, whether it was the ma-jong dynasty, or the ni-pow. Frankly, Arianna didn't care. Pulling a thin, spidery finger past her ear, she swept back a few stands of hair from her eyes. One was covered, one was cleared, creating a private, leave-me-alone kind of feel.

Jay sighed as he was shoved into the locker. Again. "mf!" he grunted, and then just stopped trying "forget it.." he spat under his breath and waited until everyone had left the hallway before continuing his walk to his classroom.

Arianna spotted an ideal opportunity to delay her assent to class, and guess what? She took it. Walking with a slow, loping gait, she made her way over to the last person in the hall apart from her. She practically drifted, trying to make it look as realistic as possible. She was just...Who cared? This guy wasn't going to ask for answers. He looked lonely enough as it was, with is almost dull eyes, that barely gave off the spark of light. His hair...She grimaced at its simple complexity. Did he just wake up or something? Ew. Just ew. Her hair had fallen in her face again, uncovering the blue highlights that lay buried deep in the strands. She'd had a mischievous Hectate do that for her last year, with just a little gifted help. Of course, such things were completely against school regulations. And yet...? Who cared if this guy saw her with it? He was nothing, and she was an A+ honor student. Who do you think the board would listen to?

He sighed, not really noticing the girl as she passed. Why would he? There were a hundred other people he didn't want to talk to. Right now, Jay just needed to get to class, as soon as possible. If Ms. Harrison got him, then...He'd heard she was actually a fury in disguise, but what did he know? It was just something people had made up for gossip, most likely.
"Hey," She said plainly, her voice chiming hollowly in the empty hallway. She could almost feel the eyes of her classmates on her from inside their classrooms. "I'm Ari. You?" She had learned not to give away things without a price these last few months here. Nothing was free, and if you gave anything, at all, even your name, then... you're doomed. Especially your name. No matter what the teachers did, there were always going to be those students who used their gifts to play tricks on others. The only catch was usually they had to have something that the person willingly, or not, gave to them. Let's just say that Arianna had lots of experience with that, coming from one of the poorer families. Lots.

He nodded "Uh..Jay" he said, a bit cautious. Was he telling the truth? If so, what kind of name was Jay? She saw them often enough, flitting by the windows of dull classrooms, though seemingly only she noticed them. Arianna could never figure out how other students could miss the flash of vibrant color in an otherwise color-less room.
She shuffled her feet uncomfortably against the cold marble, and craned her head towards thew direction of her next class. Briefly turning back, she asked slowly, forming each word with exact precision, "What class do you have next? I've got Chemistry," She paused, unwilling to continue. Her darkened blue eyes laid in shadow behind a veil of black hair, obscuring part of her vision. Arianna resisted the urge to tap her foot impatiently.

"What house is mine?" Jay questioned, disgusted. "What are you, a stalker..?" he asked again flicking his black hair out of his face. Why did he keep doing that? It was completely distracting. Not that he looked good or anything. I mean, Arianna had just met the guy, and you should never judge a book by it's cover. Yet, the more she read, the more curious she got. This guy, 'Jay', was mysterious, for sure. "I live about two miles that way." he pointed with his finger towards the front of the school, north. "IF that was even what you where asking.." he muttered, hauled his backpack up and started to walk for his last class

She rolled her eyes dramatically, pulling on Jay's shoulder to get him back. "No, I meant what house are you. Not where you live! I'm an Athena...?" She trailed off, her tone showed she was convinced he was an absolute idiot. Perhaps just clueless, but still. Why did he live out of school? Such things where almost unheard of, and yet every now and then, a rare one like him came along. It was SO unfair. She had to live in a cramped dorm room, full of odd ends and little quirks that one could never quite figure out. They were noisy at the best of times, and deafening at the worst. And that was the ATHENA dorms. She could only imagine some of the party house's dorms. Jay didn't seem like he was in the petty, flirting Aphrodite's, nor the serious Hade's, not even the power-charged Zeus's. He looked sun tanned enough to be a Demeter, but there was an intensity to his eyes that she had never seen in any of them.

Most people were classified by power levels, but if you looked like an Athena, and then were an Athena, no questions asked. You couldn't have houses building alliances with each other, even if they're only based on looks. No, the school board would never allow it. That's why Arianna was assessing what he looked like, since she had no way to figure out his talent.

He shrugged and brushed her hand off his shoulder "I'll tell you what I am, I'm late!" he retorted, prickly at the sudden question. Jay plopped himself on the ground, and dropped his sea-green backpack next to him on a checkerboard patterned tile. Oops, maybe I shouldn't have said that, she thought uneasily, It must have offended him.


She sniffed reproachfully, and continued her bright and cheerful act she'd been putting up. If she could have, she'd have smacked him upside the head by now, and been to class. Not that Arianna wanted to face it, but her teacher was going to get grumpier by the second, and a minute or so had already passed."Yeah, well me too," She replied, and put her bright orange backpack on her other shoulder so that it dangled back and forth with her breathing.

Jay nodded; finally seeing her pick up her backpack was a relief! "I'm Jay, who are you..?" he asked, still confused at why she was talking to him. He totally has short term memory loss, She mused in her head, but her eyes where focused little pinpoints on her target. He didn't talk much, and after school he always went outside to study around a small pond. He could see it now- bright blue and surrounded surrounded by lush green grass- he spent most of his time there.

Jamie walked past the cheerful girl she had saw earlier. She didn't like the Athena's, acting all smart. She was a Zeus. She had long white hair and green eyes. "Hey," she called to the girl. What was a Zeus, of all people, doing wandering the empty hallways? Not that she'd get in trouble. They never did. In the mind of Arianna, who had started to figure out the wiles and ways of the sneaking school board, it was all just a plot to make them hate each other. Well, it wasn't going to work on her. But her resolve slackened, and a small trickle of intense dislike streamed through. She was an Athena, a house renowned for their talent at keeping their cool; Arianna couldn't imagine was Jay was feeling right about then.

Jay turned his attention to the girl walking by and nodded, but a feeling or anger flooded over him as the bell rang. Other teens streamed through the hallway, making a solid person wall. It was time to go.

She blinked under her long eye lashes and replied, "I said it already, I'm Ari." Arianna cocked her head to the side. Why did he have such a bewildered expression on his face? Was it really that odd to talk to someone outside of your house here? (She's new) From his mop of hair she had to guess he was Poseidon, and also the weathered appearance of his of skin added to the affect. Just like she had her eyes, each house had their own way of saying, 'this is me.' She turned her head to the side, letting down a sweep of black around her eye; again. It was one of those stuck up, I'm-better-than-you Zeus's.

What was she doing there? They almost had a whole section of the building to themselves, and such a tightly knit community, that it was a one in a million chance one so much as glanced at you. Everyone seemed to be in awe of them and their powers, which were rumored to be mega-strong, but Arianna didn't buy any of that. She wasn't really impressed by a group of self righteous jerks. But, better safe than sorry, so she took a step forwards and held out her hand in greeting. This, rather than just approach people, like she regularly did, there was a conduct for the higher ups in Olympia high, one she hadn't completely deciphered yet.
Jay nodded "Do you want to eat lunch with me?" he asked, while waiting patiently for her reply. Then, the obvious, ground shaking thing that all guys think when they do something stupid, came to mind. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Did I seriously just do that? The age old saying was one unfamiliar to him, as Jay avoided all confrontation with his own kind, if possible. His icy blue eyes displayed his nervousness, but his body remained rigid, in its own, calm world of beyond-caring. Jay brushed some of his loose falling hair back into place, something he had seen Arianna do at least a few times already today.

She blinked, completely surprised. That had come out of nowhere, hadn't it? Sure, she had batted an eye lid or two, but nothing big. It was obvious though, that this guy didn't meet many girls, being as reclusive as he was. She didn't have any seating arrangements this lunch anyways, she thought, as she ran the mental calculations in her head. It wouldn't hurt anyone, except possibly him. So, why not? She nodded, noticing his pink tinged skin, and refraining from letting loose a girlish giggle. It was kind of pathetically funny, how uncomfortable he was around people. Arianna was used to awkward social situations, as half her house hadn't the decency to say 'please' and 'thank you.' It wasn't their faults that Athena's were usually socially inept, but it annoyed those who weren't. Like Arianna. Constantly. The teenager nodded, keeping her dim, but intelligent blue eyes on his face, taking in every detail. Every weather worn patch of skin, and each pitch black hair that fell in front of his face.

"Brilliant.." he whispered under his breath; he had hoped she would have said no, or in this case nodded no. After all he never ate lunch anyways and now he would have to. Jay would much rather be outside by the pond reading...Alone...by himself..Why?! What he had asked surprised him even as his tan skin started to glow a bronze-copper shade of orange as the sun skipped through the window. It was high noon, and his stomach was beginning to rumble. What had he had for breakfast? A banana, or something small like that. He shook his head dejectedly, and glanced again at Arianna.

She was turning towards the lunch room, when he started to glow. It wasn't all that unusual, she guessed, but what kind of power was that? Though, it was a very private question to ask what they had to bring them to Olympia High but Arianna didn’t really care. The only thing she was apprehensive about is that one snippet of information required another. How was she going to tell him that she didn’t exactly...Know what her power was? She’d have to deal with that when it came up though, so she might as well put it out there. Arianna bit her tongue, trying to find the right moment to ask him, and then finally questioned, "Why are you…" She was lost for words, and stumbled into one that almost worked. "Glowing?" Maybe he hadn't realized he was, but she sure had. A couple of other students were staring as well, their eyes fixed on his light-radiating skin.

He looked at his skin and the bronze aura that surrounded it. Quickly Jay pulled his sleeves down. Idiot! It was one of the rather odd after affects of his ‘Gift,” People called it. Yeah right- like when he disappeared for 3 hours on his birthday, and no one could see him? Gift. "Oh...That’s nothing...” he shrugged with a sigh. Every time he even so much as put out a spark, people stared, just like Ari was now. "I actually don't eat...Lunch...But you can…Sit with me?" He proposed, trying to break the awkward silence in between them.

Arianna nodded, still curious about Jay's powers. Why was he so secretive? She grabbed his wrist and pulled him roughly, leading him through the sea of people that separated them from their goal. "Come on!" She urged, tugging harder on his now-pulled-down sleeves.

‎"Hey!" he grunted as she yanked him through the crowd. Jay tripped over his own sneakered feet clumsily, and yanked his bag after him. The dark blue patterns on the pockets seemed to swirl with his erratic movement, even though it wasn’t really his choice. He just let her pull him, and tried to hang onto his backpack. They must have been some sight, an adventurous Athena and awkward Poseidon crashing down the hall ways together. What if, he blushed, some one thought they were together? Like, “Together”?

Arianna reached the safety of her own locker, decked out in the same bright orange as her backpack. Muttering under her breath, she used a short charm for memory, as she had, yet again, forgotten the combination to her locker. And she didn't want to go around looking for it, while they were pressed for time as it was. Had she seriously just cut class? Arianna thought it would have been more thrilling, and she'd be feeling that insatiable hunger for more of it, like they always described in her books. Depositing the dead weight on her back, she spun on her heel and faced Jay. "So, you never told me...What is your power?" Her normally indifferent gaze bored into him, with a curious blaze

"I'm a Poseidon" he said, not explaining anything. Jay straightened himself up and looked around at the bleak hallway. The crowd was starting to thin out, funneling towards the lunchroom. He flipped his greasy black hair out of his eyes, and stared in wonder at the walls. There were no windows, none. He needed a portal to the outside world, some way to connect with outside. Jay had to get out. Now.

Arianna finished stuffing her things in her locker, and pulled out a crumpled paper bag- lunch. Doing a less elaborate turn than the first time, she faced Jay. Seeing his slightly panicked expression, she tilted her head to the side. "Jay? What's wrong?"

‎"What do you mean?" he asked honestly, not exactly sure what she was talking about. Jay shoved his backpack up a little higher on his shoulder and shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. Obvious signs of nervousness.

“Well,” Arianna assessed him, using something her psychology teacher, Mr.Barrir, had taught her. “You’re shuffling your feet, and in denial that something is wrong, going by your body language. You lifted your backpack up higher, which shows you where uncomfortable with the way it was and tried to change it.” She finished her speech with a smug grin on her face- quite self satisfied. That’d totally be at least a B+.

He smiled "Well, judging by your...umm..speech, you seem to know your facts." he said with a shrug. "I’m fine; don’t worry." Jay sighed, "I don't eat lunch, I read, I keep to myself..." he said "Can we go back to the windows now?" he asked, looking back longingly towards the big glass windows. They faced the mountains and the ponds, the water, the grass everything lush and green in the school, mostly. Ok, yes, there are some little planters with miniature trees in them, but I don’t think they really count.