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I was in my seat by the time the bell for Science rang, and was so preoccupied by what had happened that I didn’t realize that everyone had already taken their notebooks and were looking from the problem about speed and velocity on the screen to their notebook with a confused expression.

“Sophie, why isn’t your notebook out?” Ms. Nolan asked as she walked past my lab station.

“Yea, I’m getting it out, I didn’t realize that we were doing this now!” I laughed nervously, and brought out my Science binder.

Not even really paying attention to the problem, I jotted down a random answer that seemed to match some of the words onscreen.

I took out the sheet of paper that Pom had given me and spread it out on lap. I had decided out in the hallway that Pom was definitely not a janitor, but he couldn’t be a kidnapper, like I feared. What kidnapper would want us, first of all? We were your average (mostly) run-of-the-mill students who had never appeared on TV, or anywhere that could put both our first and last names for the world to see. We weren’t even upper crust or wealthy – no kidnapper would get much ransom for us.

And last of all, what kidnapper walked away from the victim? How did he know that I wouldn’t just run away and not follow his request?

But who was he then?

The door suddenly opened loudly, and a janitorial lady was standing at the doorway, her hands on her hip and a tight smile on her face.

“Hi,” she said with a nod toward Ms. Nolan. “I need Sophie, Morgan, Anna…” she flawlessly read each name from the list. “I’ll return them to you in a few minutes.” The class oohed and remarked on how we were probably in trouble.

I caught of a glimpse of the label on her arm, and read, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, the words Olympus Jan before she turned away.

What could it be? Why would they be calling us out in the middle of class?

I walked toward her and felt Morgan walking next to me.

“Do you know why we’re going outside?”

“No, not really,” I said, feeling shaky. I didn’t know why I felt so much fear, but it welled up inside of me just pounded around in my mind, telling me to step away from the lady in the janitor’s uniform. My palms began to sweat - not in buckets, but rather in sticky little raindrops that made my harms uncomfortably moist and sticky. I rubbed them on the rough fabric of my jeans, hoping it would relieve some of the clamminess, but my hand just came back up, feeling like it had been dunked in a jar of warm honey.

It’s bad news, really, she is. Please step away, Sophie. Please, I beg of you. It was a voice that wasn’t my own. It wasn’t even a memory of a voice – it was something totally new, a soft but sweet sound, like a river of honey or a perfume of flower nectar.

But it made me feel calm at the same time, because it suddenly made me realize that something bigger than I was, something that was bigger than my life, was happening. I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t know anything yet, even, but I knew there was a life-changing moment coming. It wasn't a rather profound sort of revelation - it more like forgetting something at home and realizing it halfway to school - stupid, thick, and heavy.

This day must really be a dream. How bizarre is this? I mean, I meet two creepy janitors in one day, and all then…I just get these weird…feelings.

I didn’t have any more time to reassure myself that everything was just a dream, because then the classroom door closed behind us, and we were alone in the hallway, except for the fading echoes of my footsteps in the corridor.

“Okay, Pom botched all this up.” she spoke to me directly, first.

Everyone looked at me curiously, and all I could do was shrug.

“My name is Isa, not short for Isabella,” she added, looking directly at Ramsey as she said it. “I’m a messenger for Olympus, and Pom was training underneath me. I trusted him, but he totally messed up.”

“Wait, when you say Olympus, do you mean…?” Morgan, to my right, asked as she finished.

“Yes, Morgan Vanderberg.” She bowed her head toward him slightly, like a sign of respect. “You may know me better as Iris, the rainbow goddess.”

“I imagined you more hippie-ish,” Ramsey piped up from where he was standing. “Like, with rainbow necklaces and tie-dyed gowns instead of those white kinds – okay, I’ll stop now,” he trailed off when he noticed how tense the atmosphere had become.

Isa, or rather Iris continued, this time, almost uninterrupted. “I was always thought of less serious than my more important,” she sounded almost spiteful, “godly brothers and sisters. After all, I was the rainbow goddess, I was supposed to be the messenger of the gods, my rainbow was supposed to be the bridge from the mortal world and Olympus, but that cursed Hermes –“ her eyes darkened a bit as they passed Hailee as she looked around the small semi-circle we had formed, “that Hermes eventually took my pride and my job. Now I’m treated as no more than Hera’s servant.”

“Why are you dressed like a janitor if you’re a rainbow goddess though?” Abby asked, politely.

Isa’s eyes narrowed. “You always acted like I was inferior to you,” she muttered so lowly that I barely heard it. “These are our new uniforms. Several thousand years ago, before Zeus left Olympus, he said that Apollo had heard that janitors were the way of the future, and so we were stuck with these bland uniforms. I wish I had my gown back, I feel so lowly wearing this.”

“I’m terribly sorry about that…but why did you bring us out here?” Ava, to my right spoke up. She then trailed off, mumbling something about failing the science quiz again if she wasn’t in class.

Isa took a deep breath, probably to calm herself. “Okay. From now on, I will address you like equals, but eventually, I must defer to you.”

Puzzled, we all stared at each other around the semicircle.

“It was no coincidence that in Murphy’s class today that you spoke about Greek mythology, and all 15 of you suddenly felt a some kind of strong impulse or emotion. To some of you, it might’ve even seemed natural, which means that the reawakening must have taken place a while ago. Zeus,” she bowed to Gavin, suddenly. “Excellent story about the children you fathered. Gods know many you’ve fathered while in your mortal bodies – Hera will certainly give you an earful when you all become fully reawakened.”

She turned to Cassidy and got down on one knee. “Hera, Queen of Olympus, goddess of family, birth and family. I welcome you back.”

Both Cassidy and Gavin looked at each other, then at the woman who had kneeled at their feet. “Okay, I don’t know who paid you to do this, or if this is some teacher’s version of April Fools’, but this isn’t funny, Miss Isa,” Cassidy said with more force than I’d ever heard her use before. I knew she was bold and didn’t fear speaking her mind, but this was almost at a whole new level – she’d never spoken that way to authorities before.

The janitor got up from her position and brushed away the dust from her pants. “None of you will believe me today. But I have to do my job, and one day, you’ll thank me.” She sniffed, disdainfully, as if we were peasants and she was some queen.

It seemed like her attitude, her words, and her actions all contradicted each other, and I didn’t know what to think. Just keep watching…maybe we’ll find out.

Before any of us could protest, she started up her weird speeches and welcome-backs with the rest of the group, starting with Ethan. Her eyebrows shot up for a second, then she offered him a stiff nod.  “Poseidon, how low you’ve fallen, picking this runt for your reawakening. But excellent story about mermaids – you always did love those creatures, for some reason, even in your godly form.”

Then she turned toward me, and I kept steady eye contact with her. I was strangely calm, and had been throughout this strange ceremony, for some odd reason. But instead of kneeling in front of me, she turned to Morgan and made a small curtsy. “Hades, surly and moody as ever, I see. But keep an eye on your queen this time.” He made a small noise in the back of his throat. “She runs away from you every time, thinking she’ll change history. You know, don’t you, Lord Hades? We’ve known for a while that you’d finished your reawakening, sooner than any of the other gods and goddesses.” she nodded, satisfied when she finished.

I turned to Morgan, and his face was unreadable. “What is she talking about, Morgan?”

He turned to me, and gave me a cold look. Even as quiet and sometimes unsociable as he was, he had never given me any of the usual airs or looks he’d given others. I shrank back a little in fear. “Every time,” he whispered, almost to himself, then turned back to see who Isa had gone to next.

“Demeter,” she said with a smile to Anna. “You’ve made a beautiful choice – she looks worthy, a maiden of the harvest.”

Ramsey received Dionysus. “Another runt, Dionysus? This one doesn’t look like he could hold much wine.”

“Oh yea? Well, I can hold a lot of water!” he shot back, his voice almost a squeak. We all tittered nervously.

We weren’t sure what Isa was capable of, and if she was truly a goddess like she said, she could make him into a rainbow-colored Ding-Dong or something. Instead she smiled, as if remembering an inside joke. “You said that last time, too.”

After Ramsey, everyone started to speak up and get bolder.

“Why am I Apollo?” Austin had looked surprised and was mockingly outraged.

“Wait, why am I his twin?” Kyle had said a minute later, when Isa revealed who he was. The two started elbowing each other and laughing.

She moved onto the Abby and her eyes narrowed. “You always pick the beautiful and youthful ones, don’t you? At least this one looks like she’s attuned to the world around her. The last one was just shallow, and that was all she was.”

Abby shrugged. “Can’t help the choices my goddess-y nature makes, I guess,” she said with a smile.

Then she turned to Ava, and her expression became unreadable. “Athena…I would’ve picked a different one, someone with looks this times, but you’ve always valued the brain so much more. I’ll hold my tongue with you, because you always did whip out a spear whenever you felt threatened or angry.”

Ava just shrugged, looked at Anna, standing next to Abby, and the two shared a knowing smile and a laugh.

Then she looked at Hailee. “You,” she breathed and growled at the same time. “I almost wish I didn’t have to say this to reawaken you, but I swore on the River Styx to Zeus two thousand years ago.” She took a deep breath, then began again, through gritted teeth, “Hermes, patron of thieves, merchants, writers, and other travellers. Apparently the messenger of the gods.” And she left it at not, saying no more no less, about Hailee. She didn’t even make a biting comment about the gender, which I was sure she would’ve done with anyone else.

She arrived at Oliver, and her whole entire face changed. “Pan, not again! You picked a conscientious, health-nut again, didn’t you?” She turned to us, laughing. “Does he talk about organic food a lot?” A few of us nodded, but mainly we were startled by her sudden change in attitude. “Back when I was first removed from my post as the gods’ messenger, Pan was the one who came to me, and reassured me that I was still important, and if I wasn’t, I could always eat organic, because it’s what has kept him alive for so many thousands of years. “ She turned back to Oliver, who looked so confused and nervous. “It’s been two thousand years. Glad to see you’re still around.”

I looked around the semi-circle and saw that Aiden, Bella, and I were the only ones left, who had not been given a goddess (or god). Isa went over to Bella first. “Hestia,” she greeted warmly. “You’ve never done me any wrong, and you’ve always welcomed me back home. Thank you, goddess of home and hearth.” She acted like she wanted to give Bella a hug, but at her wary look, she drew back.

She looked a little hurt, but composed herself and moved on to Aiden. He looked at her strangely, but showed no other emotion otherwise. "Ares, I guess you picked a good one. Don't make him mad with violence though - good things never happen." Aiden just nodded.

Then after a deep breath, and said, “I’ve gotten all twelve Olympians, haven’t I?”

The people who were supposed to represent the twelve looked at one another, nodded, and in a resounding unison, said, “Yes.”

She took another deep breath, then walked over to me. “Hello, Persephone.” And then the images burst into my mind – flowers, fields, beautiful meadows. Fair-haired nymphs and dancing girls with flowers woven in their hair, singing a strange, foreign melody. But at the same time, it was so familiar to me. Then the shock of falling,

down

down

down

into blackness. Hades’ chariot, stygian iron, black as night. The dull and dank Underworld, and the souls, they looked so human, but whenever a slender hand – mine, that hand was mine – reached out to touch them, they would shrink back or go right through.

I realized that this must have been what everyone in our semicircle might’ve gone through. The images hit with such a strong impact at first, but then they became familiar, so familiar, and you knew they were yours, all you had to do was reach, just a little further, reach and grasp them.

I sighed, then looked at Isa. “Hello, Iris.” And the voice that came out of my mouth sounded softer, yet louder than my own. And then I knew everything she had been telling us was true. In fact, I think I’d known the moment she started talking to Morgan.

A sense of peace stole over me, and even Isa’s sharp words couldn’t take it away. “Girl, I must warn you. You and Hades are a tragic story, different than that of the other gods. While the others have slumbered for two thousand years, Hades had been constantly been searching for his queen. And every time he finds you, you run away from him, either to your mortal lover or to your death. Every girl tries to change history. This two thousand year chase must end. And it will end with you. Make the right choice, Sophie Claire.”

Then she exited without any drama, just walking away and out the door, to the Avagle of the keys on her belt. They gleamed silver under the hallway light, and that was the last I saw of her before she was out the door and simply…gone.