Titanomachy: Descendents

Popeye and I walked slowly towards the school, and as we walked, she filled me in on everything I needed to know about college and Oli in general. From what I gathered, my vessel's body structure wasn't the only thing that was awkward about him; apparently he's very shy and doesn't have any friends other than the girl beside me. He was bullied a lot at his last school, not only because he was gay, but because he didn't believe in the Christian God. He was a follower of the Greek religion, and lived according to its rules.

Him and Popeye have been friends for years. She says she knew him since they were in primary school, but didn't talk to him until they were in secondary. "He's a really smart kid, but never shows it. He always told me that he didn't want being a nerd to top his list of insults. I still feel bad for him, to this day." She had said, eyes downcast. "He's a sweetheart and doesn't deserve all the crap these kids have been giving him."

The used to go to the same college, until Oli met his calling and transferred into Esher. It was custom for them to walk together, since her classes don't start until much later. Oli didn't like to be alone, and Popeye never wanted him to be alone. Their friendship was kind of like that -- she was always protective over him, while he was dependent on her to get through the day.

We stopped in front of the building. Halfway through the trip, she gave me a list of his classes and a map of the college, which I didn't look at it until now. It seemed simple enough.

The hard part is going to be finding the Chosen One.

"Well, good luck on your first day, Oli." She smiled. "I'm gonna keep calling you that even if it isn't your real name. I don't want to feel like I've lost my best friend forever, you know?"

I didn't know, but I nodded anyways.

"Just text me if there's something you don't understand. Oli told me everything about his classes, and I helped him with his homework a lot."

She pressed a phone into my hand. I recognized it as the hottest craze in cellular technology right now - the iPhone 5s. I never understood the appeal, personally. Then again, I've never needed a phone.

I pocketed it into black, skin tight jeans that my vessel was always fond of wearing and nodded. "That probably won't be necessary, but thank you."

She smiled sadly and handed me the rest of my stuff.

As soon as she left, I turned towards the long path that headed towards a brick building with many windows. Another male student was walking by, and he gave me a weird look. I studied him, and when I realized that he wasn't the chosen one, I turned away, uninterested.

I looked at the map again, then started heading towards my first class.



It took me awhile to find the Psychology class, and when I finally did, the teacher gave me a stern look that said this-isn't-the-best-way-to-start-your-first-day. His priorities were different than mine, though. As soon as I find the boy I'm looking for, I'm out of here.

I took the nearest empty seat. The kid beside me had a skull inked on his bicep and hair the color of carrots. He eyed my vessel's tattoos and sneered. "Nice tats, faggot."

"Oh, they're not mine." Was my instant reply.

The dude blinked at me, then burst out laughing. "So you're a faggot and retarded? This is too good."

Try to fit in, idiot. Aphrodite whispered in my head. Sometimes being on Olympus Radio gets annoying, like whenever I have to hear this screechy blonde bimbo in my head. Aphrodite is my least favorite of the goddesses -- she held no merit in my opinion and she's the reason why most of humanity is so vain and shallow.

Of course, I can't tell her that. I vented to Mother once about it and she gave me a stern look and told me to hush up.

Luckily, carrot kid wasn't the Chosen One.

As the professor continued lecturing, my eyes scanned the faces of my classmates. Most of them were doodling, or on their phones, or throwing googly eyes at the opposite sex. None of the men in this room were to battle in the Olympian war.

I sat forward again with a huff. This class needs to hurry up and end so I can continue my search.

"Oli, has your old college talked about the motivations and correlates of heterosexism or homophobia?" The professor asked, eyeing me skeptically.

"No, but I know about it." I said, thinking it was a safe answer. I had no idea where he even went to before he transferred to Esher, let alone what was taught there. Besides, I did know a little bit about this topic; being the son of the goddess of wisdom has its perks.

The professor nodded. "Alright, tell us what you know."

I rolled my eyes and sat up straighter in my seat. "Sexual prejudice deals with both the environment in which the perpetrator grew up in and his own personal values. Many who are homophobic are so because that's what they were taught to be, or a traumatic event happened that ignited a hatred towards all gays and lesbians, or the hatred is based on religious beliefs. Homophobic persons are most likely to be less educated older males who live in rural areas and are less sexually permissive.

"Heterosexism is ideology that denies any non-heterosexual form of conduct. This word is used to describe the patterns of institutionalized oppression of homosexuals, like the continuing ban against lesbian and gay military personnel. Homophobia, in contrast, describes individual anti-gay attitudes."

The professor looked impressed. I slumped back in my seat and gave him an one shouldered shrug, hoping to show my indifference. He continued on with the lesson, glancing my way every so often.

When we were finally dismissed, I grabbed my stuff and hurried out of there. My eyes were peeled, and I was even more determined to find this person. The less time I have to spend around these imbeciles, the better. Although the school was pretty big, and about 60% of the students were male, I had a feeling that I would bump into him in this hallway.

That feeling grew the more I pressed on, like the kid I was searching for was a metallic object and I was the magnet.

Floods of kids went around me, and I examined each of their faces. Most of them seemed too weak to even comprehend a situation of this magnitude, and those who were deemed strong enough had that distrusting quality about them.

I turned a corner. The feeling was so strong it felt like shock waves igniting my entire body, and when I locked eyes with a blue-eyed boy with a wavy mop of brown hair, the circuit inside of me short fused and exploded.

He's the one.

Without a second thought, I briskly walked towards him and grabbed him by the arm. I forcibly dragged him to the janitors closet just a few feet away. He struggled against me, but I was much stronger than him, despite my vessel's lankiness. The kids around us murmured, but made no effort to help him.

I shoved him into the closet and walked in, shutting the door behind me. A metallic chair was sitting nearby, and I used that to prop up the door handle and lock us in. When I turned around again, the kid was breathing heavily, fists clenched and the look of death in his eyes.

"What the hell, man?" He growled.

I calmly folded my arms and leaned against the door. "We need to talk."

"I'm not talking to you." He spat. He inched forward in an attempt to look tough, but I knew he was no match for me. "Who the hell do you think you are, dragging someone against their will into a closet on the first day of school? What's your deal?"

"You have been chosen for something great, something that would change the fate of humanity forever."

He laughed. "You're psychotic. If you brought me in here just to tell me your weird and idiotic fantasies, I'm leaving."

The boy moved to go around me, but I stopped him with one hand. He glared up at me and tried to shove me off, but my arm was as still as a block of steel. He glanced down, fear momentarily masking the anger.

"I said we need to talk. I am not psychotic, and you are chosen. I am the son of Athena, and although I'm not allowed to disclose my real name, you may call me Oli."

"How about I call you a bastard, instead? Or perhaps a freak?"

"Fair enough. What is your name?"

He was about to reply with another sarcastic comment, most likely, but something shut him up. His eyes traveled between mine and my hand, gulping. "Josh."

"Josh. Do you believe in Destiny, Josh?"

"I guess so." He responded, shifting from foot to foot. I wondered briefly what made him stop, but I supposed my true essence shown through my vessel's eyes.

"You are to be trained for the big battle on Mount Olympus." He glanced up at me. "You are to team up with half of the Gods and Goddesses that rule there in an attempt to overpower Zeus. His power is becoming abusive, like his father's was before him."

"W-Why should I believe you?"

I sighed. Humans were so stubborn. "I suppose you'll have to see for yourself. Come, we cannot stay here. We must go somewhere more private."

I placed a hand on his forehead, and before he could react, his eyes glazed over and he slumped in my arms. I said a silent prayer to Hermes, and a slight wind ruffled our hair and clothes before our surroundings faded away completely.