It was eventually the next day of lessons in Decelis Academy. Everyone reported to the canteen for breakfast. All except two students were in a hurry getting ready.
You could tell they didn't want to be late on their first day of lessons. Odette was out of her dorm room; Athena followed. But she didn't want to be the only one walking to the canteen.
So, she levitated and ran across the hallway to reach the canteen. But before she could enter, no one could know she had powers. Decelis Academy only accepted believers in the Serpentine and not the actual people.
So, Athena returned to the ground and walked down the steps to the canteen. It became quiet as she walked across the room. There was only one thing they were rumoring about: her ethereal beauty.
"It's her," said William Drexler IX, "The girl that Heli told us all about."
"Isn't she beautiful?" asked Heli, "I mean, in my honest opinion, she looks like an Angel!"
"But she is a Serpent." said Shion, "No one must ever befriend an Angel."
"True," said Heli, "But this is what I feel."
Even though Athena wasn't an Angel, her beauty is what made her peers stereotype about her. They were positive, but had a negative impact on the girl.
Athena, though Serpents weren't supposed to be kind, sweet or innocent, had such true feelings for the world. And that is what made Heli admire her most.
*~*~*~*~*~*
9pm. The bell tower had rung, for the first lesson of the evening. Athena then sat down in the middle of the classroom, both away from the teacher's desk, between the windows and walls, and further from the back.
She began to think.
<How are things in the REAL Underland Dad? I can't believe it's been 315 years already. I'm beginning to think that young and living Serpents only come to schools like this just to have a good time. Or maybe something much more selfish and unforgiving for them. Like taking advantage of the dorms here as smoking or vaping areas. You and Mummy know I'd never do such a thing, right?>
Athena sighed and put her head down.
And then, a tall and straight figure appeared in front of the teacher's desk. No one in the academy that the previous scholar of the school was acquainted with as a teacher. Vincent Kim was that very person.
Heli, along with Shion and William, ran inside the classroom, panting straight afterwards.
"Vince," said Heli, "Please forgive the fact that we are late, please. We didn't know the bell rang, since the bell is outside on the top of the school. If you have it in your heart, please, please, PLEASE...forgive us."
Vincent chuckled and patted Heli's shoulder.
"I got you!" he said.
Heli sat in the spot next Athena, who still had her head down. Heli tapped her shoulder. She shot her head in a gasp.
"What happened?! What time is it?! Has the teacher entered yet?!"
All of the students laughed. Vincent was the last to stop laughing.
"You were asleep, weren't you?" he said in a gentle manner.
"I'm terribly sorry," said Athena, "I'm just not used to the way this school operates. I'm usually asleep at nine in the evening."
"You will get all of the rest you need at 2 in the morning."
"2 in the morning?! That's WAY past my bedtime!"
"I know, shocking, right?"
Athena nodded her shaking head.
"Class, as you might see, we have two new students in the school. And we haven't had anybody transfer here in years. So, why don't those two new students stand up and introduce themselves."
Both Athena–and Odette–stood up.
"Hi! I'm Odette, and I'm from West California!"
"Hello, I am Athena and I am from <750 Hearst Castle Rd, San Simeon, CA 93452>."
The whole entire class was shook by Athena's words. But Vincent was impressed.
"I'm surprised you know the street name and the address. Impressive."
"But, sir," said William, "She lives in Hearst Castle. That's closed and no one really lives there in that house, as opposed to it being a museum only."
"Well, I've been told that her family had already bought the house beforehand. So, while they are away on holidays and such, those will be the days when the tours are available."
William scowled.
<Something seems off about this girl>, he thought, <She has such an extended vocabulary, she always stands in a sophisticated way, and she sometimes gets annoyed when she is forced to do something she doesn't want to do. Strange!>
Indeed it was. Athena was really the three hundred and fifteen year old princess of the Serpentine that everyone speaks about.
But Athena didn't want her identity discovered. If it was, it could cause trouble for her and her family.
And so, their only choice was to hide in the famed Hearst Castle.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Athena was outraged by how her original house turned out to be.
<A school>, she thought, <This is just barbaric! No one could possibly claim a house and then just magically turn it into a school! There are laws, you know!>
She eventually learned to endure Vincent's long and drudging lectures about things she had already learned over the years of her long life.
She was three hundred and fifteen years old...but she still maintained a young heart and not the blood.
And so, she was stuck looking like a teenager, for who knows how many years.
Athena felt uncomfortable, lying down in her dorm room, alone. And so, she went outside, where the Night-ball team were practicing for their upcoming game.
It wouldn't be long uninterrupted until Athena entered the track field. As she attempted to approach the men's Night-ball team, she was blocked by the women's track and field team.
And so, she did the unthinkable: she spread out her arms and jumped all the way to the top of the gym department.
<Hopefully, no one will notice a thing while I'm up here!>
After the Nightball practice ended, it was time for everyone to rest for the day; the next cycle of education happens again at 9pm. But it was already thirty minutes past two (2:30am).
What shocked her the most was that nobody even mentions about the Nightball practice. Most of the boys in Decelis signed up for the tryouts and the practices.
And then, it sparked Athena!
<I guess it wouldn't hurt if a girl could join in the game, now would it?>
She found the poster of the new recruits sign-up sheet. And plastered her name on the bottom left corner of the poster.
And then, she went to bed, smirking about her plan.
*~*~*~*~*~*
It was ten in the morning. Athena had woken up with the exact same grin that she had on while she was sleeping during the Devil's hour.
She ran to the sign-up poster, only to find her name still there. She still smiled.
"So I wasn't dreaming! I thought I was." she muttered.
It was then time for breakfast, when the Headmistress Narissa stepped up to the podium.
"Students of Decelis! I have an announcement...tonight, we had picked up an odd signal and quickly believed it was an Angel. But...we later found out it was one of our students quickly running back to her dormitory. Don't worry ladies and gentlemen, there is no such thing as Angels in this school."
She then cackled and exited the podium.
But Odette was outraged.
<How dare they say such a thing about my kind>, she thought angrily, <We had done nothing wrong to you Serpents. So why should you think we did? You did nothing wrong either! Damn it!>
She then rolled her eyes. Odette then wanted to go to the library. She walked the long way.
On the way, she passed by Athena, who kept a smile on her face. Odette looked back and saw her giggling as she returned to her room. But unexpectedly, Athena gave off a leap...but she paused for a second in the air.
She then landed gracefully on the floor.
<How pretty>, thought Odette, <I think she might be an Angel too. But is she, though?>
As she still watched closely towards Athena, Odette had suddenly ran into Shion.
"I'm sorry," said Shion, "I should have stopped before you were ready to move. But you should really look where you are going."
"I'll remember that, it's just because I saw the new student doing some sort of jump, and it was really beautiful, almost like a ballerina, per-se."
"Isn't that just so peculiar. No one in this school could ever do such a thing."
"And also, the weirdest thing I just saw was the painting in the middle of the hallway in between the dorms. It's a portrait of the Royal Serpentine family. And in the middle was a girl that looked exactly like Athena! Every night I'd wonder if she is the actual Athena that happens to be our mascot of the school."
Heli entered afterwards.
"What's this about the painting I just passed by? Did you know that the girl in the middle looks exactly like Athena?"
"I was just telling Shion about that," said Odette. "And I'm getting a really terrible feeling about this."
"The only terrible feeling I'm getting is the new custom portrait that they just inserted in the canteen." said Shion.
"What did it look like?" asked Heli.
"It looked like a girl that was in a black ball gown that seemed to be floating with her arms spreading out. And then there were jet black wings that were at each side of the two arms.
To be honest, I always thought it was the new girl."
"Athena?" asked Heli.
"You've met her before?" asked Odette.
"Well, Ms. Narissa wanted me to check on her, just to see if she had adapted to her new room, which happened to be the very room the Princess of the Serpentine had."
"What a coincidence!" said Shion.
And then, William came unannounced.
"Then it's particularly best we stay away from the girl."
Heli bulged his eyes.
"Why? I mean, I've already befriended her, and she seems absolutely interested in me."
"But the perplexity is she is rumored to be one of the last living powerful Serpent in all of Monterey County."
"Strange," said Heli, "I thought she was an Angel for once."
"Angels wear white clothing, not black." said Odette, "If I were an Angel, then I wouldn't be here. I would be at the other school all the way in Carmel."
"But we are in Riverfield."
"Exactly!"
"Anyways..." said William, "Stay away from the new girl! She will cause nothing but trouble."