The Child of the Sea

School

"Chloe!!!" My best friend—sorry, accomplice—comes barreling towards me. His name is Palas Madrid Partida (don't ask, I have no idea what his parents were thinking), and we've been partners in crime since grade school.

"Hey Palas, what's up? You only sprint towards me like that when there's something juicy going on," I say.

"Christopher got into a fight with your sister," he blurts out, breathless.

"Oh come on! The school day hasn't even started yet!" I dash towards the sophomore lockers, where Madyson is holding JayJay back and Christopher is standing there looking smug.

"Jay! What happened?!" I run to her.

"Ask him! He's got some serious... something going on with him!" she snaps. I look at Christopher, and then I recoil. As I blinked, I saw Christopher with not two, but one huge eye in the middle of his forehead.

"See! Chloe can see it, and Palas knows exactly what I'm talking about!" Jay points at him, and as I turn around, I see Palas visibly grimacing.

"Palas! You saw that, right?" Jay demands.

"I honestly didn't," Palas says, but the lie is written all over his face.

"I don't know what's going on, you sisters are real crazy," I turn back to Christopher to see him with a very smug look on his face. He also has two eyes again. I am so confused. I ball my fist, grab Palas' hand, and march down the hallway. After getting to the end, I turn to him.

"Why did you lie?" I demand.

"Lie? I didn't lie."

"Oh, stop trying to kid yourself, it was very obvious you could see that Christopher had one huge eye in the middle of his forehead!"

"Okay, look, Chloe, let's just say I was scared of provoking Christopher, okay? Isn't that relatable?"

"I guess..."

"Thank you. Now, we're running late for the first period. It's Math, right?"

"Right," I say. "Let's go."

Sometime Later...

Is it just me, or is something seriously weird going on? It's the end of the school, and both Christopher and Palas are acting strange around Jay and me.

I walked home with Palas since Jay and Madyson went to a coffee shop to do homework.

As we walk, I can't shake the feeling that something is off. Palas is quieter than usual, his eyes darting around as if he's expecting someone to jump out at us. I decide to break the silence.

"Okay, Palas, spill. What's going on with you and Christopher?" I demand, stopping in my tracks and facing him.

Palas sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Chloe, it's... complicated."

"Complicated how? One minute he has one eye, the next he doesn't. And you saw it too, don't deny it."

He glances around, making sure no one is within earshot, then lowers his voice. "Alright, fine. There's something you need to know. Something about our school, some of the people in it, and the world at large."

"Like what?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"Like... have you heard about Greek mythology, Chloe?"

"Like Zeus, Hades, and all that stuff?"

"One, please don't throw names like that around lightly, and yes. Greek mythology is real, and I wouldn't be surprised if others are real as well. With mythology comes supernatural beings, and some of them go to school with us."

I blink, trying to process what he's saying. "You mean... like monsters?"

"Basically. Monsters are the only beings that come to normal schools to spy on demigods. Well, other than other demigods and satyrs, of course."

"Like Christopher?" I whisper.

"Yeah. Christopher is a Cyclops. And I'm kind of your protector. I'm a satyr."

My mind races. "And what about me? Jay? Madyson?"

"Madyson is normal, as far as I know. But you and Jay... you're a demigod. Children of a human and a god. That's why Christopher is here. Monsters can smell demigods from a mile away."

I take a deep breath, trying to absorb this information. "So what do we do now?"

Palas shrugs. "We go to school, try to keep our heads down, and avoid getting involved in any monster fights."

As we continue walking, I can't help but feel like my life just got a lot more complicated. And somehow, I have a feeling that this is only the beginning.