Chapter Fourteen: Life Goes On And Girls Confuse Boys

''' Chapter 14 '''

''' Life Goes On And Girls Confuse Boys '''

Life at camp was better now, even though all the girls huddled around and whispered when I was near, or Nick kept making jokes about the whole, journey to the Underworld to save Madison thing. Madison was one of those people that, for me, made life better to live.

I spent a lot of time with Madison in the days after I rescued her. I told her about what had happened in the year she was gone, and about our quest, I left the part about meeting her mom and telling her mom that I loved Madison though.

Even though we were facing the threat of invasion by Ouranos’s army, camp was in a lighthearted mood. The feasts were better than ever, and there was a rainbow to go with every sunny day.

On the last day of the summer, they handed out the beads to each of the campers. This year’s bead had a depiction of a helm encased with a heart, guess what that meant. I walked up to Madison and gave her the bead from last year that I had kept for a year. She thanked me, and then went to her group of friends. As I walked over to my friends, I saw the same dove that I had seen in Cincinnati. I told my friends to wait up, and I followed the dove into the woods. When I got to a clearing, Aphrodite was standing there.

“Lady Aphrodite,” I said, bowing, “Hello.”

“Awww, you were so cute on that quest!” She squealed, “The part where you endured terrible pain to rescue her from the Underworld. Voila!”

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">“Um, thank you, I guess.” I replied.

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">“And remember what you said when you asked me for the ability to charmspeak? Doesn’t your head feel clearer now that you’ve stopped the internal battle on whether or not you love my daughter?” She asked.

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">I thought about this, it did make a little sense. My head did seem a lot clearer now. I had been able to make clearer decisions. This was the only way I had been able to endure the Curse of Orpheus. I turned to Aphrodite.

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">“Yes,” I answered, “It does.”

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">“Great! I knew that would happen,” She told me, “And you will be rewarded for your daring quest to the Underworld, I hope you like it.” She winked at me and disappeared.

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">I walked back to my friends, and sat down on the log they were at. We were laughing and having a good time, on that log. After a while, Madison and her group of girls came up to us.

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">“Hey, Anderson!” She said, as they walked up to us. Madison sat next to me, and kissed me on the cheek, “Thank you for saving me, see you around.” She told me as she got up and walked off with her group of giggling girls.

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">My face was burning on my cheek. A triumphant roar erupted in my chest, which was kind of weird. But I just sat there frozen.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">     “Wait,” said Joe, “What just happened?”

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">     “I don’t know,” said Nick, “what was all that supposed to mean?”

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">     “Like we always say,” Janny replied, “Girls are mental.” They all laughed, while I sat there. But my moment was ruined. All around camp Ouranos’s voice boomed.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt">     “Connor Anderson!” Ouranos bellowed, “We have captured your sister and if you ever want to see her again you will come to me!”

The Curse of Orpheus: Conclsion Page