First Demonic Dragon-Chapter 1238: College At The End Of The World

’I guess I never really thought about it much. It was always normal to me, you know..? He was just ’Dad’ to me. The guy who lay on our coach for hours in the fall watching college football and screaming at the TV.

He played games with my brother and me. I even got him to do some father-daughter art lessons with me when I was six... He sucked at it. But he laughed about it.

And that was the kinda guy I thought of my dad as. Someone who could be bad at things and still find joy in life. I never really saw him yell at me, or scold me; it was mostly just the pets who always got in trouble...

I always knew what my parents were. It wasn’t a secret in our house. I just didn’t realize the full depth of what it meant until I started going to a regular school, and we started studying mythology in class.

It was strange hearing about all of these people from a secondary source when I’ve known them all my life. Ares is supposedly this big, scary guy, but I just know him as the brawny guy who comes over to the house, gives me armor, and armwrestles with my dad and two of my moms.

Uncle Shiva has been at every one of my birthday parties for as long as I can remember. Miss Aphrodite, too. She gave me some perfume when I turned thirteen, but my dad said I couldn’t have it until it’s time for me to go to college...

A-Anyway, when I started learning about my parents and who they were... I guess I didn’t really believe it all at first.

All the stuff about my dad being this great and powerful being of war and destruction, and my mothers being his equals... I dunno, it kinda all hit me at once.

Everything about my life felt so normal until I realized... it wasn’t. And I guess some of that started to make me feel slightly guilty the longer I went back and forth between Earth and Tehom.

Back home, there’s no crime. The concept of stealing hasn’t existed for like a bajillion years, and there’s no wealth inequality. There’s nothing material my family has back home that a random guy off the street can’t get in like a second.

So living here... the older I got and the more I could see what was going on, I guess it just felt unfair.

Why am I the daughter of a family that doesn’t have to worry about money when kids in my class have to go to sleep hungry?

Them being divine didn’t really matter much to me... I couldn’t understand it. Everything about living here felt unfair.

So, I tried to keep my head kinda low to the ground. I didn’t like it when friends came over to my house and stuff, because they started seeing me as the rich girl...’

Odessa looks up at many of her former classmates sitting around her.

She wipes a single tear from her eyes and smiles nervously.

’Sorry... I know you guys might not care about all of this stuff, and I dunno why I’m rambling so much... I just... I wanted you to understand why I-’

A young girl suddenly places her hand on her shoulder.

"Odie. Your dad is a mythological dragon. You don’t have to explain why you didn’t tell everyone that."

’Ah... maybe not.’ Odie rubs the back of her head nervously.

She takes a closer look at her friend, and she feels her eyes water again.

’Oh my god... you’re older than me now, Zoey.’

The young girl snickers. "Yeah, well, that’ll happen when you’re gone for two years."

’I swear it was only like an hour though!’

"I’m a legal adult now, dude, no, it wasn’t!"

Odessa turns to her sister with tears in her eyes. ’T-Thea! Thrudd! Back me up here!’

Both girls sit with their backs against the wall.

"The first rule of godhood, little sister. Time means almost nothing if you know how to manipulate it." Thrudd shrugs.

’...What the hell does that mean?! Just tell my friend I didn’t abandon her!’

Odessa suddenly covered her hands with her mouth.

’...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say a curse word.’

Thea and Thrudd turn to each other as they blink.

"...Is she really our mom’s daughter?" (Valerie)

"No way to tell by this point... but we’ve already been calling her our sister for so long that we might as well stick with it." Thea shrugs.

Suddenly, Odessa is hugged around her neck by one of her closest friends.

"Awww! I missed you so much, Odie! You’re so innocent and cuteee!"

’Ah... T-Thank you?’ Odie smiles nervously.

Zoey’s face abruptly turns sad. "I’m... just sad we never got to walk across the stage together... I don’t even remember what the world above ground is like anymore."

’Oh, it’s just all blue and glowy and stuff.’ Odessa says nonchalantly. ’It’s kinda empty too, or at least the parts that we saw when we came here...’

The faces of the kids, and even the adults, suddenly darken.

However, Odessa’s eyes suddenly light up. ’O-Oh, but we can still graduate together! My parents are gonna start rebuilding soon, so... we could probably ask them to build us a schoolbuilding!’

Zoey blinks at her, "You want us to go to school... during the apocalypse?"

’Well, I mean... I’m pretty sure all the natural disaster stuff is already over, and it’s not like you guys were planning on fighting or anything, so why not?’

Several of the kids gave Odie droll looks.

Odessa’s first-period teacher, a woman named Ms. Vanessa, steps forward with a teacup poodle in her hand.

"Odessa, sweetie... We had a lot of time on our hands, so we’ve mostly finished the education of students from your year, so... we don’t really have anything left to teach them.’

Thrudd chimes in from the wall. "Oh, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. My grandmother and my mom are real egg-heads, so they should be able to get some human-level college material for you guys."

A young man raises his hand. "Sure, but... why would we do this? I mean, it’s not like we need it for a job anymore. There ain’t no jobs!"

Odessa blinks innocently. ’Well, I don’t see what that has to do with anything... Don’t you just wanna have fun learning??’

Several classmates wanted to say no, but Odie was so unnaturally cute that they didn’t dare deny her.

"Don’t worry, guys." Thrudd waves her hand. "College is a lot more fun when you can go without worrying about crippling debt or not getting a high-paying career."

Somehow, the kids, and even their parents, were beginning to change their opinion about the idea of attending college.

Odessa turns toward Thea.

’We can do it, right?’

"It should be fine, yeah." Thea nods. "All we need is..."

Suddenly, the ceiling rumbles.

Bits of dust and sand fall from the ceiling and inspire a wave of screams from the people inside.

"Guys, calm down, it’s okay!" Thrudd sent her voice through the entire base in an instant, allowing everyone to hear her.

Odie looks up at the ceiling with a big smile.

She pulls her friend Zoey to her feet and tries to drag her out of the base. ’Come on, we gotta ask them before they get finished!’

"A-Ask who what, Odie!? Where are we going!?"

’Back to my parents’ house! We gotta make sure they build a college with sweet dorms when they rebuild!’

Zoey can’t understand what is happening, but she follows Odessa regardless.

That is, until Odie stops in her tracks without warning.

Suddenly, she brings her hands to her head and lets out a deep cry. ’OH, NOOOOO!!!!’

"W-What!? What’s wrong!?" Zoey panics.

’I-I just realized... I can’t go to school with you! I can’t face my parents either! I’m... I’m... I’m a high school dropout!!’

-

Back at the house, Straga and Monica were being their usual disgusting selves on the sofa.

Monica polished her staff while making burning eye contact with her husband.

The air between them was unreasonably humid. Just as the attraction between them was unnecessarily present.

"My love... in this world, with so many things changing all around us, you are alone are my anchor. As long as I have you, I feel stable and secure." Monica swoons.

Straga pulls her into his arms abruptly.

"I feel just the same... In fact, I want you to know that-"

Ayaana appears out of nowhere and grabs her son by the horns. "Let’s go, loverboy. Mama needs your help."

"Ma! Can I have a moment?!" Straga wanted to cry.

"Nope! Need you outside."

"I swear to the gods, you are cramping my style!"

"That’s a mother’s job, my little Poo-tu."

"Stop calling me that childish nickname!"

"No!"

Ayaana drags her son outside, where Abaddon is already waiting for them.

He smiles when he sees the way Straga is brought out.

"Alright... ready to work, guys?"