Hand of the Goddess ✔️

Chapter 1: The Encounter

I can't take this anymore.

She lies on her bed, numb from hours of crying. Her pillow is damp with tears. Music blasts from her earbuds, but she isn't listening to the song. She feels her heart beat to the cadence of the drums and vaguely tunes into the garbled lyrics. Just a few minutes ago, she had been sobbing loudly, her body shaking with hurt. Now she was tired, with enough energy only to softly weep on her bed.

She reaches for the tissue on her nightstand and blows her nose. At last, she could breathe again.

Jessie purrs next to her, snuggling his soft body against her. For the first time today, she smiles. Her cat always knew when she was upset. He licks her arm, soothing her.

Everything's gonna be alright. They might not be now, but I'm strong enough to feel better again.

She checks her phone for the time. 11 P. M. Once again, she would be crying herself to sleep. And even when she was asleep, she would still be anxious. Her sister had told her she spoke in her sleep, muttering a trail of no's as if someone or something was chasing her.

To say that she had a shit day at school was an understatement. It was just her luck that math class was the first thing she had to sit through every day. Why don't you just end my suffering and send me to hell already?

Now, some may argue that with the right teacher, math could be fun. But her class was mind-numbingly boring. The worst part was, she didn't understand a thing that came out of her teacher's mouth. Between her lack of sleep and the monotonous voice of her math teacher, she was on the verge of dozing off. She gives into sleep without a second thought and math class fades away with reality as she enters the dream realm. There, she was no longer a teenager faced with the everyday problems of school. There, she was a knight fighting a dragon, clad in metal armor.

"Nicole," the dragon roars, "are you paying attention?" The beast lets out a stream of fire, which she blocks with a shield.

Of course, I am. Now shut up and let me kill you. She pulls out her sword and pushes forward, stabbing the dragon. But her sword is no match for the monster's impenetrable scales.

"Nicole, wake up." The dragon was starting to sound a lot like her math teacher. "This is math class, not your house. WAKE UP."

What is this math you speak of? I need to rescue the princess. She stabs the dragon again.

The dragon sighs. Slowly, his face morphs into her math teacher. "How many times do I have to tell you to WAKE UP? This is the third time you've fallen asleep in my class. I think it's time to call your parents."

Horrified at the strange combination of her math teacher's head and a dragon's body, she jolts awake only to face the devil himself.

"M-Mr. Hertz," she stutters, adjusting her glasses. Heaven have mercy, this is worse than hell.

He stands there, crossing his arms. "Did you enjoy your nap?" Not this again.

She sighs, getting her rehearsed apology prepared. "Sir, I apologize for interrupting your-"

"No excuses," he said. "I didn't take on this job to deal with WORTHLESS children like you. It's my job to TEACH, not to babysit or act as your nanny! It's not only that you fall asleep in my class. Somehow, you aren't even able to comprehend the SIMPLEST of mathematical concepts. I mean, you must suffer from mental retardation."

Tears prickle her eyes. Don't cry. Not in front of this pathetic excuse of a teacher.

He smirks. "Aren't you gonna say anything? This is the real world, sweetheart. You've had to leave the class more than once. And I bet this has happened with every other class, given your poor performance in all of them."