Cupid or Stupid?

Chapter 1

I was bullied all throughout school in the Deities realm. Even when I wasn't in school, I got my share of dirty looks. But my not so popular self still managed to make a couple of friends. My own lil circle.

First day back at school. I had a feeling that this year is gonna be a crazy one or at least it better be. I only have one year left before the Council determines whether I stay or be banished. Personally, I would prefer the Deities realm since they aren't wiping my memory or anything. Imagine walking the human realm knowing the Deities are always watching you. Literally. I shudder at the thought.

I was about to leave my locker when my friend showed up late... again.

Dagithens is always like this. She does live in the Underworld after all. I wanna say the Underworld is a very far location. She is an only child of Hades and Persephone. She has power over shadows. She is an aristocrat who was forced to go to Olpyami by the Council. She is a bit of a rebel but nowhere near a delinquent. She got stuck here because her parents wreaked havoc all over Gron during their high school days. As rulers of the Underworld, they're just the kind of Deities with that kind of reputation. The Council is also known for their stubborn ability to hold a grudge anyway. So of course, poor little miss Dagithens has to pay for their folly.

"Hey wait up!" I heard Dagithens shout while she was running down the hallway. "Sorry I'm late... again."

"Its alright come on. Get your books and lets go. Luckily we have the first class together."

"Yea no kidding."

We walked in to see Meluse calmly beckoning us toward her and the empty seats.

Meluse is the current reincarnation of the muse Melpomene. All 9 muses are simply reincarnated at the end of their cycle. Why? Nobody knows. Or well I don't anyway. Their mission is relayed to them when the time is right. Meluse has always been a sweet girl but things just don't go right with her. Everyone treats her like a bad luck charm so she ended up with a passive personality. She walks around with an aura of elegance and a conceited ego. She thinks she is better than everyone else and we love it. Its how she became a part of our crew.

"You're lucky I care enough to reserve your seats every year." She muses.

I respond, "Definitely. How would we survive without you?" Meluse chuckles.

"I even managed to get the extra seat just for our special buddy the Mailman. As per usual. He's lucky first days don't have a lot to miss out on. No matter what you say, I still would absolutely hate having to go to the human world... every... single... day."

"Hey!" I snap back, "I am stuck going everyday too! Its pretty embarrassing having him as my ride everyday."

Dagithens interrupts our playful bantering. "Ok ok ok. Calm down before you get us in trouble with the teacher when they get here."

"Ha! You're just lucky the teacher is late too or you'd already be in detention!" I put her in her place just like that. I love teasing her. She goes into this super shy withdrawal when she knows I'm right.

"Settle down students! Class has begun." A tall woman with short spiked hair and pointed ears entered the classroom. "Forgive me for my tardiness. There were complications within the teacher board this morning. I was not originally to be your teacher. But your teacher had an unfortunate accident and is recuperating at the hospital for at least a month. If you students do well, I will become more than a substitute teacher. My name is Vanya Alfirineth. To you, I am Ms. Alfirineth. This is Herbology class, but I am not easy to please. I will be teaching you more than herbs. I will be teaching you about nature, how to respect nature, and how to utilize nature. Questions?" She stood at the podium with an imposing look on her face as if daring the students to challenge her.

There was a slight pause. Only few students could look back into her eyes. I was curious about something though. I steadily raised my hand and heads turned towards me. It was so intense it felt like everything was happening in slow motion.

Ms. Alfirineth looked straight at me. "Yes Mr. Rosaceae?"

"Well um... I was wondering, you seem like a tough teacher. Why are you here instead of Gron? Also, how did you know my name already?"

The whole room seemed to intensify with shock. I'm guessing my question wasn't the kind they were expecting.

Ms. Alfirineth seemed interested. She cocked her eyebrow as she responded to my question. "Ooh, the rumors aren't wrong. You are an interesting student." Rumors? What rumors? Is it my inability to produce an ability? "You are correct in a sense. I do qualify to work at Gron with a higher salary. Although because I work my students hard, I chose to work here. Just because Gron has higher performance doesn't mean that Olpyami can't have a decent education. Also, the bigwigs over at Gron need a reality check. They haven't accepted gender equality at all. Women get lower pay and are treated like dirt. They discriminate on other races that aren't Deities. Just because I am of Elvish descent does not mean I am a bad person. Forgive me for ranting. The people working at Gron just seem to rub me the wrong way."

She sighed and turned toward the Cloudboard. She was taking out her Cloudquill when I interrupted her.

"Hey, you still haven't answered my last question."

"Oh my apologies. Its nothing alarming. I simply took the liberty to try to learn the names on the roster on my way here. Who I match the name with is completely my guess based on my intuition. Although, I have heard of you before from other teachers so you were easier to guess."

"Ah that explains it. Thank you for answering honestly."

I am just glad that is over and class can start. I wonder what the other teachers say about me. I hope they aren't still talking about that one incident when I petrified Athena using Ademus' powers by accident. Accident or not, me and Ademus thought it was hilarious. Although we both got a stern talking to by his Mom, Medusa. She went on and on and on about how much trouble we could've been in. She forced us to take lessons from her on how to unpetrify people. She even made us unpetrify Athena personally so we could say sorry. It took a long time and many mistakes. Athena got mad at us because by the time we unpetrified her, the man she was helping had lost his reputation and died already. I think she said his name was Napoleon... Bonaparte? I'm not sure anymore.

She wrote her name and date on a corner of the Cloudboard before starting the lesson. I love the way the Cloudquill writes. It engraves a dark brown writing into the Cloudboard without even touching it. Every classroom is only allowed one Cloudboard and Cloudquill. Class was only slightly tense during the whole class period. She talked about what she will be teaching such as the magical properties in a plant but not how to make potions with them. She even gave us homework already.

Sigh. This is gonna be a long day.