Jay was surprised when Athena knocked on his door the next morning, and mildly annoyed when he looked at the clock. It was barely seven am, and considering how much he'd tossed and turned during the night, he could have done with a few more hours of sleep. Still, he stood and forced himself out of bed, moving to the door and pulling it open just in time to see Archie and Theresa open their doors as well. He nearly laughed when he saw Theresa, her hair tangled at her back, and a yawn on her lips. She certainly looked how he felt.

Athena stood at the end of the hall, her hands on her hips, "You start school today."

"School?" Theresa said, her exhaustion prominent in her voice. "We're trying to save the world, and you still want us to go to school?"

Jay scratched at the back of his neck, feeling much the same as Theresa did. A part of him understood why- even after all of this would be over, they'd have to go back to their old lives. It would suck to have to go back to school behind in everything.

"Education is important," Athena said, simply, already walking back down the hall towards the kitchen. Jay sighed, moving back into his room and riffling through the suitcase he'd found there just a few days ago. From it, he pulled a pair of jeans and a shirt, and he threw them on before heading to the bathroom with his toothbrush at hand. Just as he was lifting his hand to knock and make sure no one was in there, Theresa opened the door. Both of them jumped back at the sight of each other.

Jay's hand moved to the back of his neck, "Oh, sorry."

"All good," she laughed, stepping past him and moving down the hall. He watched her go, and then stepped into the bathroom.

By the time he was ready to go, Athena had breakfast ready downstairs. The scent of bacon and burnt toast filled his nose as he made his way down to where Herry and Odie were already sitting, forks in hand and ready to dig in. He slid onto the chair next to Herry, just in time for Athena to turn around and set a plate full of eggs in front of them.

Herry, like usual, was the first to dig in, taking nearly half of the plate onto his own. But Athena had accounted for him, and was already frying more up as they ate.

Atlanta and Archie ran down not long after, racing to the table. She nearly pushed Odie off of his seat as she fell into the one next to him, just a fraction of a second before Archie did. With a grin, she shouted, "I win."

Archie rolled his eyes, reaching for a slice of bacon before Athena even set the platter down on the table. With her free hand, she swatted his wrist, and he pulled back. By the time Neil and Theresa came down, there wasn't much left, but neither of them seemed to want to eat much, anyways. It wasn't long before Athena was handing them their school schedules, and they were sent on their way, backpacks already packed and ready to go.

Jay walked side by side with Theresa, and the two of them compared schedules. She pointed to his math class, smiling, "We have one together, at least."

"Anyone have History in first period?" Atlanta called from up ahead. Only Archie and Herry called back yes.

It was a short walk to the school, but by the time they got there, it was already busy. The parking lot was full, and there were people everywhere. The seven of them stopped near the doors until the bell went, and then they went their separate ways. It wasn't until lunch that they all saw each other again, having met near the doors again just like they'd planned that morning.

Aside from Odie, Jay was the first to get there. He stopped just next to him and smiled, "Hey, Odie. How was your morning?"

"Alright," he said, shrugging. "I had a computer science class, but it's all pretty basic stuff. Easy A material."

"Well, at least it's easy." Jay said, laughing. Just then, Atlanta and Theresa joined them, the two of them in a fit of giggles.

Theresa held up a piece of paper she'd been holding in her head, and Jay could just make out the words field hockey tryouts as she walked towards them. She turned the paper towards herself and looked down at it, "Hey, you don't think the gods have a rule against extra curricular activities, do you?"

"Theresa and I are thinking of trying out," Atlanta followed, and the two of them stopped just in front of Jay and Odie.

Jay laughed, "I doubt they'd be all that against it. It's got running, competition and wooden weapons. It's basically more training."

Theresa laughed, shoving the page into her backpack. Archie and Herry walked over just a short while later, and the six of them stood there waiting for Neil for almost ten minute before they decided to head off to the picnic tables in the courtyard, before they missed the entire lunch hour.

Herry's words were muffled by the apple he'd been chewing, "Oh, yeah. I ran into Zeus earlier- did you know he was a janitor?"

"A janitor?" Jay repeated, holding back a laugh. "The King of the Gods is a high school janitor?"

"Yeah," Herry said, nodding. "He told me to tell you guys to go to the training room after school. Ares has got some new things to show us."

"My everything still hurts from yesterdays session," Atlanta groaned.

Odie nodded, "I don't know how much more of this I can handle."

After finishing the bite of the sandwich he'd been chewing, Jay chimed in, "Come on, guys. It's not that bad. And were already getting better."

"I live for your pep talks, Jay." Atlanta laughed.

Just then, Neil walked over, his feet hard against the pavement. He stopped just short of the table and scowled down at them, obviously far from happy. "You guys totally ditched me."

"We waited for you," Archie said. "You didn't show."

"It's called being fashionably late." He said, nudging Theresa so he could fit onto the bench. One by one, they each shifted to the side, nearly pushing Atlanta off of the other end. These tables were definitely not made for that many people to sit on one side.

When the bell rang again, they each made their way to their next classes. Jay was restless, itching to get out of class and get to the gym and start training again. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him, not too long ago, he'd wanted nothing more than to forget the Gods existed and go back to his parents and telescope, but something had changed in him. He saw the importance in what they were doing, and he knew, without a doubt, that they were chosen for a reason. The Gods didn't make mistakes, and even though it'd taken him a while to realize that, he knew it now.

When the final bell rang, he made quick work of putting his notebook and pencils back into his backpack, and then he made his way to the janitors closet. With two quick peaks over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to him, he put his locket into the slot above the door handle, and then he stepped inside. Though he knew it was coming, he wasn't any less amazed by the blue wave of water and magic that took over the wall furthest from the door. It was mythical, there was no other way to describe it.

Inside the gym, Ares was already waiting for them. Atlanta and Herry had beat him there, and the two were already in the middle of a fight on the mats.

Not long after he'd walked in, Theresa did, and he watched her sling her bag onto the ground next to where he'd left his. She ran up to where he stood in the middle of the mats, smiling, "You want to go a round?"

"As long as you go easy on me again," he laughed.

Theresa grinned, "Don't worry, I will."

Jay lifted his hands, ready to fight, and but Theresa swung first. Her hand might have missed his shoulders, but her leg, which Jay didn't see jut out, hit his calf hard enough that he hit the ground. He groaned, looking up at her, "I thought you said you were going to go easy."

"I did go easy," Theresa smirked, motioning for him to get up again.

Jay jumped to his feet, cracking his neck and getting ready to fight. Theresa was a lot better then he was, of that much he was sure. Of course, that made sense. She was a black belt in karate, and the only time he'd ever fought anything in his life had been play fighting with his younger cousins. When it came to real fighting, he didn't know a thing.

Still, Jay tried his best, and he learned to duck and block a little better each time Theresa swung. Eventually, he got the hang of it, and he swung his leg around her ankles and sent her crashing to the mat. She laughed, "Hey, you're getting better already."

"Well, that's something," he said, grinning. He held a hand out towards her, pulling her back up to her feet.

Just as he was readying himself to go again, Ares called them to the track. One by one, he made them run the course, jumping over hurdles that raised from the ground and dodging disks that the robots Hephaestus had built launched at them. The only one of them to escape completely unscathed was Atlanta, who was far faster than all of the others. Everyone else ended up covered in bruises and tired beyond a belief, and by the time Ares let them go for the day, they were each ready to pass out.

Unfortunately for them, that wasn't an option. Odie pulled his laptop out from his backpack and frowned, calling out to them. "Guys, we got trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Jay asked.

Odie grimaced, "The kind that is definitely Cronus involved."

"Well," Theresa said. "Let's go."