Mortals Meet Demigods

Cora McNeil

I sat at my desk, staring at my Chemistry notes that sat in front of me. I put an earbud in each ear and started playing my study music. Ugh, I hate studying this stuff, but I gotta do it.

My brother, Charley, stuck his head in the door. "You packed for tomorrow?" 

I turned to him, giving him on of my typical older sister looks. "Charley, do you think I was born yesterday? I've been packed since like, Monday. Are you packed?"

He shook his head. "I was just wondering, cause you've had your nose buried in the Chemistry book since yesterday."

"Well, if I wanna pass my Chemistry final, I gotta keep studying, even when we're going on a trip." I retorted. "And this is barely a trip, it's a college tour."

"Okay, nerd!" Charley responded, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Go pack, little bro." I yelled, picking up a pillow from my bed and throwing it at him.

Darn it. Narrowly missed.

I turned my attention back to my desk, and lifted up my textbook that was sitting to the side to pull out my list of my favorite colleges.  "Yale, William & Mary, University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware,  University of Pittsburgh, Georgetown University, Mom's Surprise College". 

Some were reaches, some were more reasonable, a couple safety schools, and one that my mom wants me to see but won't tell me about. Ugh, I should either sleep or be studying.

~The Next Day~

"Are we there yet?" Charley whined for what might have been the hundredth time in the car.

"For a high school sophomore, Charley, you complain on car trips like an eight year old." My dad responded. "Especially since we left the hotel ten minutes ago."

I chuckled. "So Mom, Dad, can you tell me anything about this college? Anything at all?"

"Hmm... Well, do you remember that weird standardized test I had you take a while back?" My mom asked.

"That DSTOMP test?" I replied, "That was super weird, but I passed. Didn't even know I was capable of some of the stuff on that exam." 

"Well, we've arrived." My dad said. "This is where your mom and I met. NRU!"

My parents parked, in a parking lot, and lead Charley and I through a weird, somewhat camp-like area before arriving at the campus.

"This place is kinda weird." Charley whispered to me. "I think I saw a kid with a sword." 

"Sure." I replied, rolling my eyes.

My parents took me to a place where it seemed a few people were setting up for a tour of the campus. We sat down, and we were given a talk about what the university teaches. There was a lot of talk about demigods and legacies, which confused me. I looked over to my mom, who mouthed "I'll explain everything later." Okay then, that'll be an interesting conversation. As it turns out, NRU stood for New Rome University.

The presentation ended, and we got split into tour groups. My family got placed in a group lead by a tour guide  with blonde hair and gray eyes.

"Hi everyone, I'm Annabeth, and I'll be giving you a tour of NRU today!" She said. "We'll see our bell tower, some of our academic buildings, student housing, and my personal favorite, the library." 

We followed her, and she raved about the architecture of the school alongside talking about the school itself. It was honestly pretty cool. We got to see a lot of cool parts of the college, and it was really growing on me. We ended up at the library, which was absolutely gigantic. Our tour ended, but Annabeth stayed back to talk to anyone sticking around. Most of the people had either gone to explore or get food, but I was blown away by this library.

I approached Annabeth. "So what made you chose to come here?" 

"Well, I really loved the culture here, and I love the wide range of subjects." She answered, "I also have a pretty good scholarship."

I smiled. "What sort of subjects would you say are the best to study here?"

"Well, we've got some great programs for really anyone." Annabeth responded. "Classical studies is HUGE, history is also something that a lot of people like to study. We've got a great science department, but it's not as popular as some of the other popular majors. Weirdly enough, we also have mortuary science and metalsmithing. I'm currently double majoring in architecture and classical studies."

"Awesome!" I exclaimed. "Do you have any sort of student email or a way to contact you if I have anymore questions?"

"Not exactly, but here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "Use this."

I took the paper out of her hands, and looked at my parents. My mom was gesturing for me to come to them. Charley looked hungry, and my dad had already started walking away with him. You don't want to meet Charley when he's hungry, trust me.

"I gotta go, but thank you!" I yelled to Annabeth as I ran towards my family. She smiled and waved.

I caught up to my mom, but my dad and brother were further ahead. 

"So, what did you think?" My mom asked, smiling.

"I really liked it!" I responded. "But I don't totally get the whole demigod and legacy thing." 

"Let's just say that there's a genetic reason that you're pretty smart and Charley is competitive, and it's not solely because of your awesome parents." My mom stated. "It's a family thing, though."

"Ugh, I'm gonna need a better explanation than that." I complained. "Also, while we're nearby, can we check out UC Berkley?"

"Let's get some lunch first." My mom said, chuckling. "I know a great place nearby."

I smiled and gave her a hug. "Let's go."

So... what do you guys think? Do you like things kind of like this? I really liked this one, as it kinda let me go back to before everything crazy happened with the world this year. I also thought it'd be kinda funny for someone to have no idea about New Rome, but go on a tour of New Rome University. Do any of you have a dream college? I hope everyone is doing okay. 

-Meg