The Misfortunes of Being a Demigod

8 ~ Phillip Meets World

It seemed as though Phillip's curiosity intensified as soon as Argus waved goodbye. The boy who found shelter in the camp for six years felt completely abounded. He had nothing which resembled his home besides the two demigods beside him.

As Malia traces the correct bus route, she wonders what would have happened to Phillip if Connor or her weren't here.

He had already almost gotten hit by three cars, stole a bag of jelly beans with the excuse of "I thought they were free" - much to Connor's amusement, and attacked a stop sign which he believed was a monster in disguise.

"You can't trust those things." He had said, readjusting the sign in the ground and nudging it one last time just in case it.

Phillip had already put them an hour behind, so Malia had hoped for some short cuts in the route. Unfortunately, no such luck.

She casts a glance over her shoulder to make sure Phillip and Connor are behaving themselves. Much to her surprise, Connor is eating a handful of gumballs which he hacked from the machine and Phillip calmly smokes a cigarette.

After deciding on the route, she pays for the tickets and instead of giving them to the boys, she tucks them safely in her pocket.

She walks back towards the boys, leans against the wall and stares at Phillip, waiting for him to make his next move. He's trying to look less suspicious by smoking. But Malia knows he has something planned.

Suddenly, Phillip leans in closer and whispers to his companions, "That lady's looking at us weird. No! Don't look." He pauses. "Okay, look now."

The demigods turn their head to see a kind old lady knitting a sweater. Malia turns back to Phillip with a frown. "Seriously?"

"What!?" He replies. "She smiled at me."

Connor laughs. "Dude, she's like ninety."

"That doesn't mean she doesn't lift!"

Up above, bearing down the street like a bat out of hell, emerges the Blue-Line bus right on time. Phillip sky-rockets into the air, clutching his chest in fright. "Please tell me we aren't getting on that thing."

The bus is old with two stories. It's painted with chipped blue and rusted silver. The bus driver is frail and old, wearing a cowboy hat and dark sunglasses.

Malia and Connor step away from the wall as the driver opens the sliding door. Malia yanks Phillip by the jacket and hauls him into the line. He grumbles in response, not taking his eyes off the old lady who hobbles up the stairs.

"I say we go to the top." Connor suggest, gesturing to the next pair of stairs after they've climbed aboard.

Instantly, Phillip shrieks. "No way! In case of a fire, we must stay on the ground floor! It would be impossible to escape if we are all the way up there."

"Boo," Malia mutters, following Connor up the steps. "Have fun by yourself."

Malia sits down at the very back of the bus. A few more people had the same idea as the couple, scattering around the cabin in single clusters. There's much more room up here than down there and Malia's thankful Connor made the suggestion.

Connor plunks into the seat next to her and calmly buckles his seat belt.

Malia looks around at all the open seats before looking at the boy next to her. "Seriously? That's where you're going to sit?"

All Connor wants is some quality time with the girl he barely knows. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"

She purses her lips before deciding on shutting her mouth. If she's going to make it out sane after this trip, she's got to at least give the boys a chance.