Welcome to First Lines Given! If that sentence confuses you, here’s a link to where I explain what this is.
Today’s first line is by Ash! She said:
This line can go in so many ways! Here we go:
“We forgot someone,” Apollo says.
“No, we didn’t,” I snap.
He gives me one of those knowing looks that can pierce any human. Luckily, I’m not human. And I honestly don’t really care if we left someone or not. That’s not my problem.
As we leave out the back door and step into the alley, we both morph our bodies. He goes for an Asian man with curly hair and a laid-back style, while I go for a white woman in business casual attire. We keep to our destination: the street congested with humans straight ahead.
Apollo glances over at me and laughs. “Well, one of us is going to have to change.”
“Can it be you? Cause those flip-flops are going to get annoying real fast.”
“Oh, come on, sis,” he pleads. He stomps his feet like a human child, making his flip-flops extra obnoxious. “These are one of the greatest human inventions.”
“The greatest human invention was the quiet game.”
“You’re no fun,” he mutters, still not changing his shoes.
I roll my eyes as we both take a left, heading into the human crowd and away from the scene we had just caused. Humans of all ages overtake most of the sidewalk. A majority seem too distracted to notice us. A few eye us, seeming to spot that we don’t fit together with our mismatched clothes, but I’m not here for their approval.
“You still got it, right?” I ask, glancing toward my brother.
He gives me a cocky smile and pats his shirt pocket where he must be keeping the thumb drive safe. “Of course.”
An informant said that the thumb drive we “borrowed” will have information about lost wildlife habitats. Demeter and Dionysus promised to help us rebuild them, but we’ll see how long that lasts. If I have learned anything through my time as a goddess, it’s that every one of their words is fickle.
“You two are not very good at blending in,” a deep voice says from behind us.
We both snicker and turn to see the greatest fish out of water: Poseidon. Like always, he wears as much blue as possible, even if it doesn’t match. Today it’s his navy-blue pants, light blue business shirt, and a teal tie. Humans walk around us, forming a gap in their sea of motion.
Poseidon gives us both a stern look and opens his palm. “The thumb drive.”
Neither of us move. With human eyes all around, there’s not much we can do. It’s not like I can grab my bow and arrow without causing a bigger scene that’ll end up all over human media.
“You know, I work well with animals. I can help them more than you.”
Yeah, sea animals, I almost spit back, but I keep my mouth shut. There’s no use in trying with this god.
Apollo hands over the thumb drive but also gives me a wink.
“Thank you,” Poseidon says, turning the thumb drive over in his hand like it’s a weird pen. He doesn’t seem like he quite knows what it is or what to do with it. It must be a rare sight in the sea. “I’ll put this to good use.”
It takes a lot in me to not roll my eyes.
He walks away, turning into the human crowd and disappearing. A part of me wants to tail him—hunt him down—just to see where he will take it. But I have better use of my time.
“We still forgot someone,” Apollo says.
I groan. “No, we didn’t.”
“We forgot Apollo.”
“What?”
Not Apollo gives me a toothy smirk that only one god can perfect so well.
I sigh. “Dolos.”
Dolos—the god of trickery—laughs and drops his mimic of Apollo’s low voice. “I got you good. Didn’t I, Artemis?”
“Where’s Apollo?”
“Who knows? All I know is that Poseidon is not very good at his job.” He produces another thumb drive from the same pocket as before. “He’s about to see that his isn’t even real. Won’t that be fun to watch?”
“Not if I have to deal with his trident tantrum.” I look around, but the masses of humans still take over the sidewalks in every direction. “Where is my brother, Dolos?”
He shrugs. “Have you checked the record store?”
Copyright © Robin LeeAnn
Robin LeeAnn 