The Sun And The Star | A Richie Lipschitz Adventure

1

Richie faced the worst decision of his life, and he was certain he was going to mess it up.

"I can't do this."

He said to Jason Jepson, the stunningly beautiful son of Apollo, who stood across from him. But it was Danny - one of Jason's halfsiblings - Richie chose to focus on.

He was pacing behind Jason, which only made Richie more nervous.

"Stop moving, Danny," said Richie. 'I can't concentrate.'

"Sorry, dude," said Danny. "This is just so stressful."

"You gotta choose," Jason said to Richie. "Those are the rules."

Richie frowned. "I'm the son of Hades. I don't live by most rules."

"But you did agree to these," said Caitlyn, another child of Apollo. She twirled a cherry lollipop in her mouth. "Are you a demigod without honour, Richard Lipschitz?"

Danny kept pacing. "To be fair, I don't think this task requires any actual honour."

"Quiet!" said Richie, running his hands through his hair. What if he made the wrong choice?

Would Jason be disappointed in him?

But studying Jason's face, Richie saw only anticipation. The good kind. Jason was ready for whatever Richie would say, and no matter how this ended, Jason would still think just as highly of him.

What did I ever do to deserve him? Richie wondered. He asked himself that question a lot.

"Okay, I've made my decision," said Richie.

"I might explode," said Danny.

"The world might end," said Caitlyn, now holding the lollipop at her side, her eyes bright with anxiety. "Like, actually end this time."

"So," said Richie, "if I had to choose.."

'Yes?' prompted Jason. 'You would choose ...?"

Richie took a deep breath.

"Darth Vader."

Jason and Caitlyn groaned, but Danny looked like Richie had just given him a Ferrari as a birthday present.

"Dude!" Danny screamed. "That is the best answer!"

"It is the worst answer!" said Caitlyn. "Why would you choose Vader when Kylo Ren is right there?"

"I was hoping for a deep cut," Jason mused. "Maybe someone like General Grievous or Dryden Vos."

"Hold on," said Richie. "I just finished watching all those movies yesterday. I can barely remember what happened in the prequels at this point." He paused. 'Were those all actual characters in Star Wars, or are you joking?"

"Don't distract from your truth, Richie," Caitlyn said. "Darth Vader? You'd go on a date with Darth Vader?" She crunched on her lollipop. I've lost all joy, Richie. All of it."

"Welcome to my world." Richie joked. He caught Jason grimacing - a brief flicker of one, but he still caught it.

"This is a safe space," said Danny. "No judgement allowed for our answers, remember?"

"I take it back," said Caitlyn. "It's an all-judgement space."

"You're very quiet, Jason." said Richie. "Especially as the number one Star Wars fan in the group."

"I'm considering all the reasons why you'd give that answer," he said. "You might be onto something."

"He's powerful," said Richie.