Ericson High: TWD AU X Male OCs. (Ron keffer and Gabriel Rogers)

Chapter 5: History class and lunch

I'm sitting at my desk, glancing over my notes one last time. Mr. Lee walks to the front of the room, holding a stack of papers. He looks like he means business, and I can feel the tension in the room rise. Luckily clem was next to me which boosted my morale.

Mr. Lee: *serious* Alright, class, listen up. Today's the day—your Greek Mythology projects are due. These presentations are part of your mythology test grade, so I hope you're all prepared.

I can hear a few of my classmates whispering to each other, probably hoping they don't have to go first. I feel a bit of that nervousness too, but I've practiced, and I'm ready.

Mr. Lee: (looking around the room) Let's not panic. I'm sure you all did great work. Now, to get us started... Ron, why don't you go first?

My heart skips a beat, but then I take a deep breath. I knew this was coming, and I've got this. I stand up, grab my tablet, and the props I brought—a toy lion and a hydra figurine—and walk to the front of the room. The class is quiet, all eyes on me. It's go time.

Me (Ron): (confidently) Thanks, Mr. Lee. Hey, everyone! So, today, I'm going to talk about Heracles and the 12 Labors he had to complete...

I jump into my presentation, feeling more confident with every word.

I'm at the front of the class, holding my tablet and props, ready to dive into my presentation.

Ron: Alright, so Heracles had to complete 12 labors, each one tougher than the last, as recompense after Hera drove him insane and tricked him to kill his wife and children. Here's how they went down:

The class started to pay attention.

Ron: Heracles' first labor was to Slay the Nemean Lion: First, Heracles was sent to kill the Nemean Lion. This wasn't just any lion—it had skin so tough that no weapon could cut it. Heracles had to wrestle it with his bare hands and eventually choked it to death. Then, he used its own claws to skin it and wore the lion's hide as armor. Pretty intense start, right? Labor 2 was to Slay the Nine Headed Hydra: The Hydra is a nine headed human sized land snake that hid in the swamps of Lernea. Here's the tricky part: every time Heracles cut off one head, two more would grow back! He brought along his nephew Lolaus, who used a burning torch to sear the necks and stop them from regenerating, but the last head was immortal, Heracles couldn't find a way to kill it, so he buried it alive under a huge rock. Labor 3 was to Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis: For his third labor, Heracles had to capture the Ceryneian Hind, a sacred deer with golden antlers. This deer was so fast, it took him an entire year to catch it without harming it—because it belonged to the goddess Artemis. Labor 4 was to Capture the Erymanthian Boar: The fourth labor was capturing the Erymanthian Boar, a huge and dangerous wild boar. Heracles chased it into deep snow, where he was finally able to trap it and bring it back alive. Labor 5 was to Clean the Augean Stables: This one sounds gross, but it's actually pretty clever. Heracles was ordered to clean the Augean Stables, which housed thousands of cattle and hadn't been cleaned in years. Instead of shoveling it all out by hand, he rerouted two rivers to flow through the stables and wash them out in a single day. Fun fact, he tried to get paid for it; not only did it not happen, but it was disqualified from his labors.

The class was bewildered.

Ron: Labor 6 was to Slay the Stymphalian Birds: The next task was to deal with the Stymphalian Birds—dangerous creatures with metallic feathers that they could shoot like arrows. Heracles used a pair of bronze castanets, given to him by Athena, to startle the birds into flight, and then he shot them down with his arrows. Labor 7 was to Capture the Cretan Bull: For his seventh labor, Heracles had to capture the Cretan Bull, a wild beast that was terrorizing Crete. Heracles wrestled the bull to the ground and brought it back alive to Eurystheus. Labor 8 was to Steal the Mares of Diomedes: Heracles then had to steal the Mares of Diomedes—these were man-eating horses! Heracles tamed the horses by feeding them their owner, King Diomedes, which calmed them down enough for him to lead them back. Labor 9 was to Obtain the Girdle of Hippolyta: The ninth labor was to obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. At first, Hippolyta was willing to give it to Heracles, but then Hera, always causing trouble, stirred up the Amazons into thinking Heracles was attacking. A battle broke out, but Heracles managed to get the girdle. Labor 10 was to Capture the Cattle of Geryon: Next, Heracles had to capture the cattle of Geryon, a monster with three bodies. This labor took him to the edge of the known world. Heracles had to fight Geryon, as well as a two-headed dog and a fierce herdsman, but he eventually brought the cattle back.