Loving Apollo

Loving Apollo - Oh You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

        I was surprised when I woke up with my body parts still intact together and complete. But my admonishing thoughts immediately questioned my astonished self regarding the genuineness of yesterday’s events. Was everything all true? Or were they all just figments of my wide, wide imagination in a dream?

        Was Cal really the sun God, Apollo?

        Oh Gods. If I could hear myself think, I would probably think I’m crazy.

        Of course, I was left with no other hell bent choice other than to keep living, moving forward. I got a long, pleasurable bath, I got dressed quickly—not that I have to spend lots of time pairing up my clothes since they were all simple tees and skinny jeans—and immediately went down after for breakfast.

        As I went down, my mother was finishing the breakfast she makes for me on daily basis: A piece of toast, scrambled egg, bacon, pancakes, and hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows.

        “Hey, good morning!” My mother, Gina, greeted as soon as she saw me. “How was your sleep?”

        My mom has been striving to be a single mom ever since I was in her womb. And she’s been very excellent at it. My father died in a war in Middle East when my mother was in her premature pregnancy weeks. He was a very good man, she said.

        “Weird…” I finally responded.

        She frowned, still she looked so beautiful. “How so? What’s it about?”

        “It’s just weird. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s giving me the creeps, big time.” I said as I took a bite of my toast.

        She chuckled. “We all have those times. One time, I dreamt I was in a meadow with really, really green grass and there were frogs that could fly. And then they chased me and together we soared up in the clouds while laughing so hard. When I woke up, I learned something.”

        “What?”

        “That getting high is really, really bad.” She said with a laugh.

        I chuckled. “You smoked pot in your dream?”

        “No. It was like I was when I laughed together with the frogs. Imagine that, with flying frogs!” She said as she took a seat before me. We had a good laugh for a full minute after that. We were always like that.

        I had an older brother—or what supposed to be an older brother. My mom was four months pregnant with him when she got a miscarriage. They named him still: Adrian, and gave him a decent funeral. A year after, my mom got pregnant with me and then father died.  It was hell of a biography for my mom: a deceased-in-the-womb premature son, a dead army husband, and a crazy eighteen year-old daughter who’s dating a Greek God. Dibs on her?

        Suddenly, there was a ring on the door. Cal! He always fetches me and we go to school together, every single day.

        “Fetch the door, Ariadne.” Mom said. “That’s Cal, I’m sure. Ask him to stay a little and have breakfast.”

        I was more than eager to.

        “Hey.” The beholder of a pair of blue eyes said as I stared into them.

        I smiled. “Hey. Mom said let’s have breakfast for a while. Come in!”

        He hesitated before coming in. He was always like that. He’s always hesitating to enter our house whenever I invite him to. If there was any reason behind it, I sure haven’t asked about it.

        “Good morning Mrs. Kingsley.” Cal said politely to my mother as he pulled up a chair next to mine.

        My mother rolled her eyes dramatically. “How many times have I told you Cal to call me Gina? Mrs. Kingsley makes me sound old.”

        He just chuckled. We ate breakfast in silence, a few laughter and jokes from mother about how she would totally snatch him from me if she was just about our age, but other than that, it was a comfortable silence.

        Cal’s my ride to and from school, with his red Maserati; everybody just wants to be in my place. Sorry girls, and some guys, I own him.

        Once we were in school grounds, I was bickering to myself whether I’d tell him my dream or not. It won’t harm when I tell him I thought it was a dream right? If it was real, he’d never know I was lying about my innocence. It’s not such a big harm.

        So I started like this: “Hey, I had this really weird dream last night.”

        “Oh yeah?” He said as he turned to me. “What did you dream about?”

        I studied his reaction—which was a little close to nothing—before continuing. “We were in the clearing where we usually hang out and have picnic and you told me something I took with um… a little amount of shock… okay, humongous amount.”

        He chuckled but didn’t offer any answer of approval or disapproval of continuing. I continued without permission anyhow.

        “You, um, you… you said you were Apollo.” I stammered, taking a measure of his reaction, of his expression, but it was always close to nothing if not a chuckle nor a smirk.

        “Apollo?”

        For some reason, his response made me breathed easily, like a big thorn had been pulled out of my heart. “I know, right? Crazy as hell.”

        And then there was a twinkle in his eye, the same one I had seen in my dream.

        He smirked. “Is it?”

        As realization started to strike me, I saw the world behind him disappearing one by one, bit by bit: the classroom door faded, the lockers vanished, and the students were gone. We were in a completely white place that extended through both ends: white in all directions. There was only him before me with that ingenious smile on his lips.

        “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”

                                                         *                *                *

        I had Trigonometry in a very jittery manner. From time to time, I would not help myself but look at Cal’s direction. I would catch him looking at me, all the time, and as I caught him, he would not avert his gaze or even feel embarrassed that he was caught staring.

        Time seemed to be slowing down. And the worst part was: Cal and I have all our classes together.

        I didn’t mean to be rude or something, but when you found out that your dream about your boyfriend being a Greek God not a dream, you’ll have a tendency to just freak out inside. Or sometimes maybe even outside.

        “Ariadne!” someone cried.

        I turned at the sound of my name and I saw Bryan, my gay best friend—well, not openly—jogged his way to me.

        “Hey, you seem tensed the whole Trig and AP French Rev. What’s with you?” He asked when he finally approached me.  

        I shook my head. I’ve told all my problems to Bryan, apparently not this one.  And I wasn’t sure if he can take the fact that who he considered to be a Greek God, a.k.a. my boyfriend, turns out to be a real one.

        “I’m fine.” I said as we kept walking into the cafeteria. “Just not feeling a little well.”

        We ordered and went to our usual lunch table, intended only for the two of us and Cal when’s he’s not sleeping some place hidden.

        “Are you sure?” He asked. “Can you attend P.E. like that?”

        “Bryan, it’s nothing. And besides—“

        “Um, Bryan?” A petite girl said as she stood before Bryan and mine’s table. I know her, um… Zaphara Evans! Nice name, though.

        Bryan sent me an eye-roll before turning to Zaphara. “Yes, babe?”

        No one knows that Bryan was off-the rails, big time. Except for me, apparently. I found out about it when he was sniffing my boyfriend’s shirt during P.E. in the locker room—don’t ask what I was doing there—and that was basically how we became best of friends.

        I feel kind of guilty though. After all, I know his humongous secret and he doesn’t know mine. Maybe I’ll tell him… eventually.

        “Um, I-I was wondering if we… we could go out to dinner tomorrow night? I have two tickets to Gerry’s.” Zaphara said, looking down.

        And apparently, the girls are constantly asking him out on dates.

        Bryan smirked, ah, one of his famous smirks. “Of course babe. I would love to pay for the dinner but you have tickets, it would be a waste if we don’t use it.”

        Okay, major translation of Bryan’s words? It should go like this in his mind: Sure b***h, you have tickets, I have a hungry stomach. It’s a win-win situation, honey.

        He accepts offer because he wants to uphold his image as the right-hand of the quarterback—my boyfriend being the quarterback—and to avoid people from suspecting anything. He would break up with them a week or two after if he does not turn them down politely after the first date.

        Zaphara’s eyes literally screamed Oh my god!. “Yeah, you… you’re right.”

        “I’ll fetch you seven?” He asked, acting like a real man.

        She nodded. Date settled. Image upheld. Done!

        “You are horrible!” I said as soon as Zaphara was out of hearing range. “You’re giving them false hopes.”

        Bryan chuckled. “Are you not used to it after two months of being best of friends with me?”

        I shook my head with a taunting smile. Bryan’s the easiest to pick on.

        We ate in laughter. Series of jokes, one after the other, were told. It was so fun talking to Bryan like that and it almost ripped my thoughts away from Cal… almost.

        “I don’t see Mr. Greek God with you.” Bryan slowly said as he took on his apple. “Where is he?”

        My heart skipped a beat. “I… he… he probably found some hidden place to sleep, again.”

        “He never gets tired of sleeping!” Bryan said.

        I had to laugh at that. “Who gets tired of sleeping? You sleep because you’re tired. You don’t wake up because you’re tired of sleeping. Have your brain repaired Walters!”

        “But your man-meat is always sleeping!” He commented. “And don’t call me Walters. You sound like one of my team mates. I don’t want to do to you what I do to them when I’m in bed.”

        I made a disgusted face and punched him playfully at his shoulder. “Eww! Walters, get a hold of your panty! It’s on the floor!”

        He shushed me. “Be quiet Kingsley! Someone might hear you! And for your dreadful information, it’s tightly secured.”

        Again, I made a disgruntled face. “Ugh, I wonder how you grew those biceps. You are way, way more girly than me.”

        “Inspirations…” He shrugged. “And who said you were a girl?”

        “Very, very touché Walters…” I said. “Congratulations! You’ve grown a pair! Upper pair… I meant.”

        Lunch ended with a loud bell. Bryan and I made our way to gym class since we have it together and there started my nightmare.

        “Hey, bro.” Bryan greeted Cal with a hand grip and a back pat. As always, Cal looked terribly handsome in his outfit: a pair of gray sweats and gray hoodie that said Crows at the center.

        He spoke up again after the manly gesture. “I’ll catch you two later. I’ll start warming up.”

        And Bryan was off to shoot some balls… basketball, I mean.

        For a moment, Cal and I stood staring each other down until I pulled off because it was too strong to hold. Like if I stared any longer, I’d disintegrate on the spot. I went to sit at the bleachers, like the others were doing, and stayed silent to myself. Honestly, it was because I don’t know what to say.

        “Can you still not accept it?” He whispered in my ear it sent shivers down the nape of my neck.

        It took me a long time to respond and when I did, it was not exactly a response… “You want to shoot some hoops? You haven’t beaten my last score.”

        He propelled me down as I stood up, ready to run away. But he was too strong.

        “Please, Ariadne.” He pleads. “Don’t do this to me… I’m already low enough. It’s the lowest I could be, and I’m not supposed to be begging you, a mere human.”

        “You don’t understand Cal.” I snapped. “You’re a Greek God, powerful and undying. You’re asking me to marry you at the age of eighteen. I can’t handle bigger responsibilities other than babysitting.”

        “Hence, I’m asking you to marry me and you shall be immortal like me. You’ll have power you can’t even imagine.” He whispered seductively. “Ariadne, please.”

        I grunted. “Oh Cal, stop it! I am too smart to be seduced by your voice.”

        A low, small chuckle escaped his lips. “You think my voice is seductive?”

        “I don’t think it is.” I said. “I hear it as it is. It’s as sexy as hell.”

        “The underground is not sexy.” He said as he leant in to give me a kiss.

        The ground shook and grunted. It was growling maniacally as if huge hounds were underneath it. The lights in the gymnasium flickered and I flinched even before our lips met.

        Cal sighed. “Sorry.” He muttered under his breath.

        I immediately figured to whom that apology was intended for. And I would not spare any chance to say it or just even think of his name.

        I heard Coach Myers cried: “It was just a simple shake, don’t fret babies.”

        “Uncle?” I asked Cal with knowing look on my face.

        He nodded. I grunted. “Hell no.”

       And the ground shook once again. Girls screamed this time and guys were horrified, some also screamed like in a really high pitched one which made me question their true sexuality.

        “Sorry.” I said looking down with a sly smile after and Cal beside me laughed.

       He snaked his hand around my waist and let out another soft chuckle. “Oh you’ll make a fine immortal, my dear.”