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So apparently people think fuzzy pants are all that. Because no one took a second glance at Liam. Plenty of people looked at me though. Half my hair cut off, a bloodied forehead, and covered in leaves and pine needles. I needed to clean myself up. "Liam, take me to the bathroom." "Um, okay." "I need to get this blood off." "Oh, right!" He points me towards the bathrooms. I stand up from the hard airport seat I was in, and stretch. I had to grab the back of the chair because I was still dizzy from getting bonked in the head.


I walked into the bathroom, and thankfully it was empty. I took one glance in the mirror and didn't even recognize myself. Rough, shaggy, and uneven brown hair; tired dark eyes, tattered clothes. My favorite shirt... I washed my hands, which resulted with extremely dirty water, then proceeded to clean the cut on my forehead. "OW" was my first reaction. After water kept dripping down my face and into my shirt, I decided just to stick my head under the faucet. And as soon as I do that, someone walks in. And stares. I tilt my head and look at the lady, water and dirt streaming in my eyes. She had long dark brown hair, a silver dress (definitely not travel-compatible) and a gold necklace. She was pretty enough, from what I could tell, but I returned to focusing on washing my hair. When I was done, she was still there. "What?" I ask the lady, rather snappy. (I'm hungry and tired, gimme a break) "Daughter, " she starts, sounding regal. "You will not be included with the others." "Excuse me?" "You will be hated by most, rejected by many, and have few friends." "Um, lady..." " 'The one with none shall bear a child, To forage and suffer in the wild. Their life will be lived alone, forever banished from both homes.' " ".. you have the wrong person." Miss Crazy walks out. "Umm, okay then." I took off my gray plaid blouse, which just left my white t-shirt, which was surprisingly clean. I forgot my backpack at the school so I just tied my blouse around my waist, 80's-style.

After I actually used the restroom, I walk out and find that apparently Liam had cleaned up as well. "You have pants again, and shoes." I note. "Yeah, enchanted bag. Need another shirt? It's got it." "No, thanks. But food would be awesome." "Oh! I have that! He hands me the other half of brownie. "Awesome, thanks." I stuff it in my mouth, chew 3 times, and swallow it. I start coughing. "That does NOT taste like a brownie." "It's not. It's Ambrosia, food of the gods." "Sure. Gods, yeah." I say incredulously. "What'd it taste like?" "Macaroni and Cheese." Liam starts laughing. "Seriously! That taste does NOT go with the texture." Feedback starts over the easy-listening track that was playing in the airport. I shush Liam and listen. "Flight 206, Colorado Springs to New York City, now boarding. Flight 206." "That's us," says Liam, holding 2 tickets. "Really? How'd you do that?" "I've got my ways..." He winks at me. I laugh. We stand, and I notice I'm not dizzy. I put my hand up my cut. It's still there, but numb. "Ambrosia; heals cuts too." "Coolio." We walk to our gate, and all I can think about is Kayla.
"Liam," "Yeah?" "What were those things?" He says nothing, looking straight ahead. "It's better to wait until we reach New York." Now it's my turn to say nothing.


"Attention passengers, please find your seat and buckle your seat belt. Please remain seated until the plane has leveled and the sign turns off. Thank you for choosing American Airlines." Since I lost my bag, I have nothing to store. So I just find my seat, 19B... coach. Liam is in 18E, one row up and to my right.
The flight attendant comes and checks everyone's belts, and offers peanuts. I ate at least 4 packs before takeoff. I ask if they have anything to read, and the attendant hands me a Sports Illustrated. I'm dyslexic, so I can't read that great, but a lot of the pictures are cool. Soon we take off, and the seat belt sign dings off, and Liam comes over to me. "So, anything good in there?" "Fiber," I say lamely. "I need some of that, can I see?" "Sure." He grabs it, rips out an ad page, and stuffs it in his mouth. "I thought you were joking!" "Nah, bro! Fiber's good for ya!" He flips through, looking for another ad. I leave him to it. I move over to the window seat, which is empty, thankfully. "So, Liam. You're a satyr." "Yep, half goat." He stuffs another page in his mouth. "So what's a demigod?" He starts squirming. "I can't tell you that yet. If you know, monsters can smell you better." "Right. Monsters. Like Sharpie and Dracula back there. I guess Cyclopes are real too. Maybe even Zeus!" Liam looks at me terrified. There's a distant rumble, then a really loud BOOM, and we start free falling.

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