Divinity

"The axe wielding freak!"

Alexis

The break of an afternoon on a day we had unanimously decided to skip school found us playing cards while sipping the weak hot chocolates we had managed to make out of the one sachet we had found. And now we were questioning each other on the finer points of Greek mythology because, hey, we were a part of it.

"God no," Todd laughs. "I would never, ever, ever face Medusa. Leave that for people like Izek." He tosses his cards down on the table. "Three aces. Do I hear the wild call of money?"

   Luke grins and waves his hand of cards in the air. "Sort of funny, isn't it Todd, when I have two aces and you have three?"

   Todd looks at his cards. "Yeah, that is funny. Never took you for a cheater, Luke."

   Luke shakes his head morosely, "I'm sorry Todd," he stands up. "I'm sorry everyone!"

    He sits back down and pulls all the chips over to his side.

   Todd and Jasper groan.

   We were in the sun room. A big, windowy room with fans and small tables surrounded by plush electric blue chairs. Our group (Me, Sapphire, Luke, Todd, Jasper and sometimes Max or Jakob.) usually hung out here; our rambunctious laughter drove most other groups away.

   Todd, already crowned Hephaestus, was definitely a major character. Funny, a little inappropriate while being almost embarrassingly eager whenever he fancied a girl and alright looking, he was the best if you had a broken laptop. Believe me. A little eye batting was all it took for a complete replacement.

   Jasper, or Jasp as Sapphire and I liked to call him, hadn't had his Divine coronation for Dionysus yet and none of us wanted to be the one to put his hopes down but... How can a kind, polite, quiet guy become the god of wine, ecstasy, partying and being a total womanizing drunkard?

   Well, anyway. He could hope, I suppose.

   Todd grins and hooks me by the waist and pulls me to the table. "Is that fair, Al? That Luke gets everything?"

   Ignoring the double meaning, I make a sad face. "Not fair," Then I grin and ruffle up his carefully gelled brown hair that seemed to contain the industrial grease of a whole car. "I should have it!"

   "Then play some poker, lady!" He pushes me onto the chair next to him and deals me some torn cards.

   Jasper, on the other side of me, passes me a deck of cards under the table so Todd couldn't see, and I surreptitiously pick out the cards I needed to get a flush before I chuck it under the table to Luke.

   Sucks to be Todd.

   Sapphire sits on the table next to me, admiring my hand "That's great!" She exclaims, before putting her hands over her mouth guiltily. "Sorry Al!" She whispers through her fingers.

   I sigh dramatically, throwing the cards onto the table. "You ruined my chances of becoming an instant millionaire!"

   "How could you?" Jasper mutters mutinously as he swipes my flush off the table.

   Giggling, I hug her. "Whatever, Sapphire. I guess I'll just never be rich. Or a millionaire, anyway." Yes, because playing poker with some adolescent gods really did open up opportunities like that.

   "Just become a model." Luke suggests casually, his eyes catching on mine, and Todd latches onto the idea right away, as we all knew he would. Enthusiasm is annoying.

   "Yes! Alexis, a model! And we can be your agents!"

   "Mhm, I can imagine that!" I agree. "10 percent cut to me, 10 percent to my wardrobe, the rest to Todd."