Zeus (The God Chronicles) (2 page)

In the hazy distance, I could see Las Vegas appearing before me. The Strip stuck out like an oversized diamond with all of its
fancy, over-the-top resorts. I couldn’t even imagine what it would look like in an hour or so when it was all lit up at night. The road became progressively more congested as it moved into the city. Nervousness poked at me again, and I hoped no one was staring at my tiny car, packed full of stuff. I felt like the scene from
A Goofy Movie
when everyone breaks out into song, using the junk from the car as musical instruments. Heaven help me if anyone starts singing.

I wanted to live in the dorms at the university, but they were already full by the time I
called. After asking around and leaving messages with a few apartment complexes, explaining I needed a place to stay, I found an opening in a building close to the college. I agonized over whether the three girls I’d decided to live with were drug dealers or murders. But they seemed nice enough on the phone.

Good grief. My parent’s brainwashing attempts were working.

I struggled to pull the directions out of my pocket. Unfolding the paper, I tried to decipher my scribbles. I already didn’t understand the city streets. Some of them had so many signs it was impossible to miss them. Other’s came and went so fast you never knew they were there. It was my luck the street I needed was one of the latter. The knot in my stomach grew exponentially as I found a place to turn around. The last thing I needed was to get lost.

Finally, I pulled into the parking lot of my new housing
complex after what felt like an eternity of missed signs and U-turns. I crept around the two story building, scanning for the right number. When I found it, I parked the car and turned it off.

And then I sat there.

I already had a key—the girls had mailed one to me—but I was too scared to get out and start my new life. I really wished I was in San Francisco.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed
my purse and backpack. Quickly, before my courage ran out, I got out of the car, locked it, and walked up the stairs to the second level of the tan building. Apartment number forty-two—my apartment—was past the stairs on the right
.
I stopped in front of the door for a moment and knocked. When no one answered, I took a deep breath, unlocked it, and walked inside.

I
paused in the doorway, taking everything in. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but was surprised at how normal everything appeared. I wanted to go straight to the nice, light-brown couch in the living room, made of that cool micro suede stuff, and stretch my car-cramped muscles. In the middle of the room was a coffee table with a few books and candles on it. I already knew I’d enjoy the big, flat screen television hung on the far wall. As tempting as it was to sit and relax, I decided to continue my examination.

A matching
brown table was off to the side of the triangular kitchen which was angled really cool into one corner. I walked into it, running a finger along the island that held the sink and counter and formed the base of the triangle, facing out to the rest of the apartment. The other two sides were made up of cupboards and more counter with the normal appliances spaced perfectly apart. I loved the way everything felt super chic and out of the ordinary. I headed towards the hallway on the right of the kitchen, assuming it led to the bed rooms.

“Hello?” I called. There was no reply.

I moved towards the sleeping area, catching my reflection in the bathroom mirror on my left. Stopping to wipe a smudge of mascara away, I surveyed myself. I looked tired—my brown eyes a little red from driving so long. My light brown hair appeared pretty good in its ponytail, the ends touching my shoulders. I hadn’t worn much make-up, and my red t-shirt and jeans were wrinkled, but I figured I was good enough to meet people.

The
two rooms at the end of the hall, created an “L” shape. I softly knocked on the door of the first and slowly opened it. Everything was covered in pictures and both beds were obviously taken. I closed the entrance and opened the next, seeing my bed right away; it was completely bare, nothing on the walls around it. My roommate’s side was much like the other room.

I tossed my
purse and backpack onto the bed and went back outside. I wanted to get my stuff moved in while they were gone so I wouldn’t be a bother. It would also help a lot if I could get most everything in before dark.

Trudging somewhat across the thick carpet, I headed back to my car, not knowing exactly where to start.
Packing everything had been super easy, shoving it wherever it would fit in the vehicle. As I stared at the mass chaos through the windows, I realized I’d grossly underestimated how hard it would be to pull everything out of its place. Maybe I should have made a list of the order I put everything in. But I didn’t because no one does that, and there was no remembering how I did it now. I took a deep breath and opened the back driver’s side door, praying there wouldn’t be an avalanche.

Grateful
ly, I moved everything in quickly. Every inch of the room was occupied by items needing my attention. The bare mattress of my bed overflowed with black trash bags bulging with clothes and an extreme amount of shoes. Pictures of family, along with my art leaned against the walls, waiting to be hung. In the corner, a pile of metal poles and racks would soon resemble a closet rack. Bedding, knick knacks, ironing board, iPod dock, free weights and various other odds and ends littered the floor—all expecting to find a home in my small assigned space. This was going to take awhile, so I paused and went to the kitchen for a cold drink. A note addressed to me was propped on the black, granite countertop.

Karly~

Welcome to your new home!

We went out for the night, won’t be back till late. Sorry!

Help yourself to any of the food
. There’s a good Chinese place down the street too, if you wanted to go out.

~Jenny, Jessie, and Julie

I took another deep breath and decided
not to worry that my name didn’t fit in with the others.

I had enough worrying for the day.

Chapter Two

I awoke the next morning to a clean, organized room. It
took several hours to put everything away, just as I’d thought, but there was a happy feeling of accomplishment that came with finishing the job.

Suddenly, I remembered there was supposed to be three other girls living in the apartment with me. I glanced at
the still human-less side of the room—it didn’t look as though anyone had been there all night.

Rolling out of bed, I went to splash some water on my face and brush my hair.
The night before, I’d discovered the hall bathroom had two doors. I worried over someday forgetting to close both doors and embarrassing myself. A bigger fear was the fact that four college girls only had one place to get ready. Actually, I’d been afraid about a lot of things. I was mildly amused over it now. I guess moving had set me on edge, but I’d made it through the night by myself without being murdered. Vegas and I were going to get along fine.

Once in the kitchen, I began looking for bowls in the second cupboard since I knew from the night before the plates and cups were in the first

“Oh, hey! You must be Karly!”
             

I spun around in shock and saw three beautiful girls in the living room.
Their similar features implied they might be triplets, but if they weren’t, there was no doubt they were closely related. They each wore a black cocktail dress, which matched their long hair and complimented their sun-kissed skin. I quickly said a silent prayer of thanks I’d worn more than my underwear out of the bedroom.

“Yes, that’s me. I’m sorry—I didn’t know you were home. I wa—”

“We actually just got home,” the same girl replied. “We stayed with a friend who was having a rough night.”

“Oh, I hope your friend is okay,” I said, confused
about how to politely answer a statement like that.

“Where are our manners?” she blurted again. “I’m Jessie
, your roomie.” Her eyes were blue, and she appeared to be slightly taller than the other two as well. I’d have to remember that in order to tell them apart, at least until I got to know them better.

“I’m Jenny,” the green eyed, and shortest of the group, said.

“And I’m Julie,” the brown eyed beauty said. “Don’t worry—you’ll be able to separate us eventually.” She laughed, her sisters joining in.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” I smiled back. “I
’m sure I’ll get it eventually. I’ve been somewhat scatter-brained the past few days.” I frowned slightly and looked down at the floor, trying to gather my thoughts.

“Are you alright?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah—yes—I think all the CSI my parents made me watch before I came freaked me out a bit, that’s all.” I smiled uncomfortably. Silence filled the room.

“That. Is. Hilarious!” Jessie burst out. “You poor thing! It’s not that bad here, I promise. We live in a good neighborhood. That’s the nice thing about living around the school—campus security
is still close enough that any rowdy behavior or petty crimes are almost none existent.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better,” I replied truthfully.

“No problem.” There was a short silence again as I folded my arms and stood there, awkwardly, not knowing what to say next.

“We won’t bite,” Julie said softly. “We all know it would be hard on us if we moved in with complete strangers.”

I blushed, ashamed I’d been acting distant.

“We all basically share one mind anyway,” Jenny said. “I guess that’s what happens when you
’re together from birth.”

“What my sisters mean to say is that we’re friendly.” Jessie gave them both a
warning glare I didn’t understand. “We all know you’re going to fit in fine here.”

“Uh, thanks?” I had the odd feeling I’d just been told a fortune. It almost seemed like the three really did have one mind—their conversation flowed effortlessly between them. Maybe it was
because they’d been together their whole lives. Wasn’t that what people said about couples who’d been together forever?

“So,” Jessie spoke again
, interrupting my thoughts. What are your plans for the day? If you don’t have any, we can take you sightseeing. We love all of that touristy stuff—unless you need help putting your things away.”

“Actually, I already did
that last night. It only took a few hours.” I observed the clock and realized it was almost eleven in the morning. “Except I apparently slept in super late because of it,” I groaned.

“We were glad you were still sleeping,” Julie piped in, speaking for all of them. “
We felt bad we were gone all night.”

“No, it’s fine,” I replied
, thrown off by the way she spoke for all of them again. “All I have planned is to visit the university today and check things out—maybe see if I can meet a couple of my professors before classes start. I want to inquire about a work-study job also.”

“I think the campus is open until five today,” Jenny said.

“Great! That’s what I’ll do then. Thank you for inviting me, though. We’ll definitely go sometime.” I grabbed a breakfast bar from a box on the counter, deciding it was too late to stop and eat. I turned to leave. “It was nice meeting all of you!” I called over my shoulder as I headed back to the bedroom.

“Do you need help finding anything?” one of them called.

“No, I’m good. Thanks, though. Sorry to eat and run!” I turned and smiled at them as I walked backwards to the room.

“
It’s fine. We were deciding who was going to shower first—before you woke up. Have fun, and let us know if you change your mind,” Jessie replied.

“I will, thanks!” I closed the bedroom door behind me as I took a bite of my food.

I’d never met people who meshed like they did. Their connection was almost creepy, but I thought I could get used to it. Relief flooded through me, and I realized I was actually going to get along fine with my roommates. I smiled and mentally checked off another useless worrying session.

I sandwiched the phone between my ear and shoulder, enabling my hands to return to the papers I’d been going through.

“Yes, Mom, I’m fine. I’m sorry I didn’t call—by the time I remembered
, I figured you were probably already sleeping.”

The heat inside my
car was going to kill me. Wasn’t it supposed to cool off as the day went on?

“Mom, I said I was sorry, okay? It won’t happen again, I promise.”

My visit to the university had been very successful. I managed to meet almost all my professors, as well as interview for a work-study position in the library. The bookstore was open also, and I left campus the somewhat-proud owner of several overpriced textbooks. I’d been feeling pretty good about my ventures until Mom called and chewed me out for not letting them know I was alive. Parents. You leave home, and suddenly they think being abducted by aliens is an actual possibility.