A different World

It was a normal day, except that it was my eleventh birthday, and thus the day I was supposed to pick a god and goddess. This decision would decide the rest of my life, was I going to be taught to be a doctor, an artist, a vet, or maybe a soldier? If you chose a deity of war you where taught to fight and to plan battles, if you chose one of wisdom you where taught to be a teacher, and so on. This also meant that the deities paid special attention to you on your eleventh birthday trying to either push you away or pull you closer depending on whether you might be useful to them or not. So it came as no surprise when I saw a grinning Jackal sitting by my locker, or when a tall Greek looking woman was standing beside him. The thing that made me sigh heavily was the realization that today I had to decide if I would follow my parents and become a member of the support staff who held no personal gods and attended a separate school from the other kids or go off to the region school for the south eastern United States and study to be a doctor, teacher, soldier, artist or Politian, or anything else I wanted depending on the deity I chose. What would happen when my parents heard my decision? They would be angry. But the question that scared me was what they would DO about it. They might send me away to school and never let me come home. Then again was that so bad? They could be alone with my oh so perfect siblings then.

Let me give you some details about me and my family. I am the second oldest of 4, a little sister who thinks she is the princess of the world. (Literally I think she actually believes she is my parent’s little princess), a little brother who I actually love a lot when he’s not being moody and angry. (This is most of the time)  And an older sister who had taken her eleventh birthday as the chance to get away from home and go study to be a great fashion designer. My younger sister has long curly red hair that she insists on straightening even though it’s gorgeous curly, (unlike my frizzy brown mess) and baby blue eyes that can water on cue or look like they are trying to put needles through your heart. My little brother has really curly dark brown hair and soft deep brown eyes. My older sister had short strawberry blond hair and bright green hazel eyes that I loved much more than my own. She always used to look out for the rest of us, she was kind and would cook and clean and help with homework, but my parents always divided the chores between her and me and if either of my younger siblings got a single answer wrong on their home work it was her fault for showing it to then the wrong way.
Me I have hazel eyes that don’t want to decide if they are green brown or gold and frizzy reddish brown hair that is currently around shoulder length. (Okay so my friends say my hair isn’t that frizzy and that it’s actually kind of pretty but I don’t believe them) My mom is a tall blonde with hazel eyes like me but a more model like figure than me. (I’m more curvy and broad than any model) My dad is an equally tall curly brown haired man with dark brown eyes.
By the way my older sister’s name is Genna, my little sister’s name is Bella, my brother’s name is Eddy, and my name is Dakota.
I was the problem child, I got worse grades than any of my siblings and never did enough chores and always expected too much of my little brother and sister who were “only 8 and 7”. They were plenty old enough to put their own toys away for Pete’s sake! Now that Genna is off at school I have to cook and do laundry and clean up behind both myself and them.  But this is all trivial I know there are a lot of kids who have it a whole lot worse than that, but add to it the fact that my parents fight every night so loudly that I have earplugs hidden under my pillow and it’s more than I want to take. Also they had disowned Genna when she chose to follow the muses and become an artist of any kind. I could go on for several pages about how many things I hated about living with my parents but the truth is I loved them even at this moment as their probable decision to disown me was sinking in. I still remembered when my dad and I would go fishing on the weekends and he really loved me just for being his little tomboy, and when my mom would be cooking dinner and I would play with my toys on the kitchen floor and go on and on about the Lion King and Snow White and she’d just smile ask me to recite my alphabet for her or practice karate before she took me to class. (But karate became a thing of the past when my little sister wanted dance classes and they happened to land on the same night as my karate) Trust me all my memories are not of fights and being jealous and feeling like my family didn’t want me, but the good ones end around the time I turned eight.  I opened my locker and sighed at the photo of a happy smiling me wearing a ball cap and pointing at the field below. It was the last baseball game my dad and I went to just the two of us, and the last photo in which I was truly happy. My eyes watered knowing there was no hope now of ever getting that life back, I was about to choose a new life, one where my family tried to forget I ever existed just like they’d done with Genna.
“Dakota” My best friend Elaina prodded me in the side to get my attention. I jumped and turned to face her wiping my eyes. Elaina was a little taller than me even though she was six months younger, with long pale blonde hair and dark chocolate brown eyes that made you feel like you could drown in them, and soft pale skin that was dusted with light freckles that only made her prettier.
“Hey! What was that for?” I asked.
“You where tearing up looking at that photo again, I hate seeing you sad.” Elaina smiled. I smiled slightly noticing a tall blonde muscular form standing behind her. “Who’s behind me?” Elaina sighed.
“Thor” I smiled a little more, at least going off to the region school meant I could see Genna again.
“Oh cool” Elaina smiled, “happy birthday by the way” She handed me small wrapped present. I really did smile this time and opened it eagerly. Inside was a beautiful purple top that was much more form fitting than anything I owned. “It’s your favorite color and you won’t have to dress the way your parents want anymore soon so I thought you should have something cool to wear.” Elaina smiled. “Not to mention you can remember your best friend every time you wear it.” Her smile was sadder.
“I will see you in six months silly. I’m not going to forget being friends since I was four that fast” I laughed and hugged her. “But I love it”
“Good” she smiled back as I slipped it into my back pack.
“Maybe we’ll have some classes together I smiled knowing she would choose Anubis or Thor for a god, as would I. The difference between us was that I would choose the muses for a goddess where she would choose a goddess more in line with protecting the earth and people.
“Hey!” A small ball of blonde curls ran toward us bouncing like she was the energizer bunny or something. Her name was Jolie and she was only a year younger than me but she looked about seven. “Happy birthday Dakota” She smiled handing me a gift bag that I opened to find an amethyst necklace and matching bracelet inside.
“They’re lovely” I smiled hugging her and putting them on. Jolie smiled happily and hugged me back.
Elaina and I walked to first period together only for the entire class to call out happy birthday to me and a girl I didn’t know named Lizzy. We where both given a seat at the center of the room as today we were expected to focus on deciding who we wanted to follow. I smiled and pulled my sketch book out, and began doodling absently as I thought about where I wanted to go with my life.
At the end of class I looked down and found I’d drawn a picture of the muses standing around a jackal and the muse of music was holding Thor’s hammer, while the muses of painting and pottery had hand resting on the head or a regal female lion wearing an ankh around her neck. I sighed and put the picture away quickly heading to the drama room where I was to prepare for the celebration at which everyone who’s eleventh birthday was today was going to announce their chosen deities. When I stepped inside a kind looking woman I’d never met before smiled and handed me a long lavender dress that bore the swirling half moon half sun like symbol of the southeastern regional school. I stepped behind a screen and changed into it. When I stepped out I noticed each person was wearing a different color.
“We were told your favorite colors a few days ago so we could have an outfit for you in that color.” The kind woman answered my unasked question.
“Oh, okay” I said feeling stupid and standing in line with the others. Soon it was time to go out into the cafeteria and we moved almost as one toward the doors. I looked for Elaina and Jolie’s faces instead of my families.
Our school principle stood on the stage and called each of our names. Each student chose and received a necklace and or pin bearing the symbols of their chosen deity.
A tall curly haired brunette with soft green/brown eyes who was only a few people in front of me stepped forward and cleared her throat.
         “I choose Diana goddess of the hunt, and Ares God of War” She called out holding her back erect.
         “Wonderful, we could always use more soldiers” Our principle smiled honestly and placed a necklace shaped like sword around her neck and a pendant shaped like a bow and arrow on her shirt. Jessica the soldier went to her seat as the principle called the next name. “Kurt Wells” A short brown haired boy with bright blue eyes stepped forward and hung his head at first.
         “I ch-choose Athena, goddess of wisdom and b-battle strategy and Odin the all father.” He stammered forcing himself to stand up straight.
         “A fine choice” The principle smiled placing the olive branch that was Athena’s symbol over his heart and a necklace with a spear hanging from it around his neck.
         “Dakota Grant” the principle called my name. I stepped forward as Kurt went to his seat.
         “I choose” I gulped. “The muses patrons of the arts and Thor god of thunder and protector of mankind”
         “Fine choices” The principle said as she clipped a pendant in shape of the muses themselves to my dress and placed a hammer shaped necklace around my neck. I smiled and walked to my seat, except that was when I spotted them, my family frowning disapprovingly at me, all but my little brother who looked jealous that I was getting out of there and my big sister. Then I spotted Genna’s bright green eyes and strawberry blonde hair at the back of the room, her hair was longer than I remembered and she was taller and more grown up but it was her beyond any doubt. She made a shushing motion and nodded at me. I smiled and sat in my seat. She hadn’t forgotten us, and had come to see me turn eleven.
I smiled happily as we were directed to pray to our chosen deities, we were to establish our connection to them. I closed my eyes and focused on Thor and the muses. It took a few seconds but soon I did feel something, like I was floating up into the sky yet I could still feel my body sitting between my class mates.
         “Hello little one” A big deep male voice called from everywhere at once as thunder clouds gathered beneath me. I shuddered looking around as if I would spot the source of the sound. A pillar formed from the clouds in front of me and slowly took the shape of a tall strong man with long golden hair and bright azure blue eyes. “I’ve been watching you since you decided you would not choose your parents path.” He smiled at me and it seemed as if lightning had flashed across his teeth. “Your heart is too strong for that path.”
         “Thank you” I smiled happily.
         “For what? It is only the truth.” Thor asked.
         “For telling me the truth” I smiled.
         “Always” Thor smiled again seeming to cause lightning to strike. “And you can always ask me for help or support, think of me as your super natural backup”
         “Thank you for that too” I smiled up at him. From somewhere around us a floating melody started and seemed to form into solid women dressed in Greek draping dresses. Before me stood the muses.
         “Call on us when you need inspiration” They said together. “We will occasionally place a new path in front of you but it’s your choice to follow it or not.” One smiled gently. “All ideas and inspiration come from your own mind, we just help it along.” Another smiled as if she’d read my mind.
         “Time for you to go back” Thor smiled.
“We will be with you from now on” They all smiled at me as I sank back down through the clouds back into the room full of students and teachers and my very unhappy family.
After the ceremony my parents came to the front of the room where my friends where hugging me and telling me how much they would miss me.
“Come on” my dad snapped at me. I flinched and rolled my eyes.
“No, I’m celebrating my birthday” I said turning away from him.
“No you are not” my mother snapped grabbing my arm and dragging me to the door.
“Let me go!” I shouted struggling to break her hold. “I’m going to school, where you can’t get to me!” I shouted as a large bolt of electricity shot up my mom’s arm and Thor’s angry expression flashed behind my eyes.
“No you are coming home where you can't ever leave us” she yelled back as she stumbled away. My arm hurt where she’d grabbed it and I turned and ran back toward my friends only to be grabbed by my dad instead.
“Let me go or you’ll wind up just like her!” I shouted shoving at him.
“Just try” He snapped pulling me. Suddenly the teacher from the region school stood in front of him and behind me stood my old teacher and Genna. The two behind me gently started prying my dad’s fingers off of my arm while the teacher from the region school simply stood there glaring him down and seeming to hold him in place with just her eyes. Once my arm was free Genna guided me back out into the crowded room. I hugged her close the second the door closed.
“I missed you so much” I said barley not crying.
“I missed you too” Genna smiled and hugging me back. “Are you ready to go to school?” I nodded happily. Genna led me out to a plain black car and a tall skinny woman stepped out. She looked right at me and nodded stepping aside so I could see a pile of my things, including my life size stuffed lion right on top. “I grabbed some of your favorite things from the house for you” Genna smiled as I slid in and grabbed the lion, burying my face in its big fluffy mane. It was my security blanket and I needed it right now.
“Thanks I smiled as Genna closed the door and the woman climbed into the front passenger’s seat.