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"I'm going now!" Atlanta declared, grabbing her board.

"Good luck!" Archie said leaning out from the lounge room.

"I'll need it," she said, rolling her eyes and walking out the door. Atlanta was going to her first driving test, she had no experience because Herry and Theresa wouldn't lend their cars and Archie didn't want her to get hurt on his motorcycle, so basically she was screwed.

"Good morning Miss. Harper," her driving instructor Stan said as they got in the car.

"Uh, hello," Atlanta replied nervously. She looked at the driver and he stared back.

"Well...?"

"Oh right!" She said, slapping her forehead. She turned the keys in the ignition and looked back at the instructor with a big smile on her face.

"Wrong," he said sternly, she glared at him; this is what Herry usually did when he got into his truck, what was she doing wrong?

"You have to look in the mirrors first..."

"Right! I knew that..." she adjusted her mirror then glanced at the mirror outside the car.

"Seatbelt Miss. Harper," he said, she slapped her forehead in frustration and pulled her seatbelt on.

"Change gears."

"Ok..." she said, getting slightly ticked off. She changed her gear to 'D' and put her foot on the gas, the car sped off.

"Stop!" Stan said, holding onto the door for dear life. She slammed on the break and they both shot forward but stayed in their seat.

"Gently, /gently/..." he said, Atlanta pushed her foot on the gas lightly, this sucked compared to her old days go-karting. She held onto the steering wheel tightly and drove forward slowly.

"You can go faster..." He said, writing something on his clipboard.

"Didn't you just say that I had to take it gently?" Atlanta said.

"Look at the road!" He said sternly with a hint of fear.

"Fine! Next time, make up your mind..." she mumbled, driving at a moderate rate.

"Turn left here," he instructed. Atlanta turned the corner and Stan slapped his forehead.

"What? I turned left like you said..."

"Blinker!" He cried out, and then wrote something on his clipboard.

"Right." Atlanta slumped slightly in her seat and concentrated on the road, wishing she could just drown his annoying voice out of her head.

"Do a parallel park here," he said, pointing to the side of the road.

"Sorry, I didn't pay attention in Math's..."

"I'm just saying park your car so it fits into the white box."

"Are you kidding?! the car will never fit in that little area..." Atlanta pointed out.

"Fine, make a legal U-turn," he said, writing something on his clipboard.

"Ok..." She swerved around the corner to the other lane.

"LEGAL Miss. Harper, legal"

"Well I'm sorry I thought we were driving not doing a bloody cop show!" She said heatedly.

"Park on the side of the road," he said through pursed lips while furiously scribbling on his clipboard. Atlanta parked on the side of the road and they both got out.

"Did I pass?" She asked, and then looked at him strangely as he laughed.

"Did you pass?!" he said through laughs. "I'm surprised you even survived that hell ride!" He walked to the driver's side and Atlanta sat in the passenger seat and practically threw the seatbelt over her. He drove her to the brownstone and she stormed inside and slammed the door, throwing her board to the side.

"I had the most idiotic teacher you could possibly have!" She screamed as she threw herself onto the couch. "Hello?" She said after nobody replied. She searched around the house and she noticed her PMR sitting on the coffee table. "Oops..." she muttered as she saw it flash and buzz.

"Atlanta where were you? I called three times already and..."

"Chill Jay, I just forgot my PMR is all..."

"I told you plenty of times NOT TO FORGET YOUR PMR. Anyway, we're battling Cronus at the field just outside of town, we need your help," he explained.

"I'm on it." She turned off her PMR and ran past the door grabbing her board on the way. She skated slower than usual; knowing that she needn't rush because Cronus would have probably fled the scene before she rode up.


"Oh... my... Gods..." she said as she skidded to a stop. The field had smoking holes in the ground everywhere. She scanned around seeing if she could see her friends through the bright sunshine. "No..." she said as she abandoned her board and sped off towards a fallen heap near a tree.

"Neil!" She called out as she ran closer and closer to him and skidded on her knees. She rolled him over and gasped, he was beaten up, bad. "Neil come on, get up," she said croakily, hoping he wasn't dead. He coughed a bit from the dust of the dried up field and opened one eye.

"Atlanta?" he said hoarsely, his eyes trying to adjust to the bright light.

"Where is everybody?" She asked, helping him to his feet.

"I dunno, I was kind of out before anything really happened, he's gotten stronger I think," Neil winced, clutching his side. Atlanta saw Herry's truck and decided to sit Neil in there out of the sun. As soon as he was lying across the back seat, Atlanta sped of in search of her other friends.

"Is anyone here?" She called out desperately. She squinted and looked around, trying to spot someone.

"Lan..." She heard. With her sensitive hearing, she could tell the voice came from roughly a couple of meters to her left. She sped around Herry's truck and saw the limp form of Archie.

"Archie..." She said softly, kneeling beside him and lifting his head.

"Took your time," he said, laughing slightly then coughing.

"Ssh. You need to save your strength. Can you do that?" He nodded and Atlanta helped him up. He staggered slightly as she walked him over to the truck. Neil took up the whole back seat so she sat Archie in the front.

"Neil, we're going to have to sit you up," she said. He nodded with his eyes closed and Atlanta pulled him up and rested him against the door and put on his seatbelt. She nodded in approval at the great job she was doing locating her friends, as she just found Odie crouched over something to her right.

"Odie!" She called out, racing over. She skidded to a halt and crouched down beside him. "Hey, what are you doing?" She asked.

"My laptop... ruined... one of Cronus' giant's stepped on it..." he mumbled, holding his laptop with shaky hands.

"Come on Odie, Hermes can always get another one. Come on, we need you to get in the car and out of this heat." Odie nodded and Atlanta helped him up, realizing his ankle was broken so she half carried, half dragged Odie to the car.

"Do you know where the others are?" She asked, since the other two boys were sleeping off their fight against Cronus. She sat him down next to Neil and clicked on his seatbelt.

"I think Theresa and Jay were near me, but I can't... really remember... he furrowed his brow in deep thought.

"Don't worry about hurting your head, I'll find them," Odie nodded gratefully and drifted off to sleep.

Atlanta climbed out of the truck and walked in the direction of where she found Odie, she was puffed from all the running and carrying all the heavy people. She cursed Zeus for making her forget her sunnies as she put her hand against her head in an attempt to block out the sun. She found she could see better that way so she continued forward in search of her remaining friends.

"It's a flat field, why is it so hard to find Herry, Theresa and Jay?" She wondered aloud as she walked on through the blistering heat. She saw two lumps on the ground and sighed with relief. That narrowed her search in the hot sun by 1/3. She saw Theresa in the arms of a semi-conscious Jay and 'aww'ed at them. Jay opened his eyes and blinked rapidly and looked at Atlanta.

"Took your time," he murmured.

"I've heard that one before," she said, rolling her eyes.

"By who?" He asked, trying to get up.

"Archie," she replied, pulling Jay up.

"I think my arm is out of place. So Archie is ok then?" He asked, inspecting his arm.

"Yeah, everyone I know except for Herry, is Theresa ok?" She added, looking at Theresa, Jay stared at her in panic.

"What do you mean? Isn't Herry ok?" He asked.

"What? No... I mean that I wouldn't know because I haven't found him yet." Jay sighed with relief and began helping Atlanta carry Theresa.

"It's ok," she said. "I carried Neil to Herry's truck, I think I can manage," Jay laughed and nursed his arm whilst walking to the truck at the same pace as Atlanta. She sat Theresa in the back and did her seatbelt up; Jay sat beside her and watched the others while Atlanta went to look for Herry.

"Herry?" She called out. "Herr..." she stopped mid-word and coughed at the rising dust caused by her dragging her feet with exhaustion. She wiped her brow on the sweat band on her wrist and looked around.

"Atlanta..." She wheeled around and saw a large shape staggering towards her in the distance.

"Herry stop, I'll come to you," she said tiredly, drooping her shoulders and dragging her feet towards Herry. She helped him halfway to his truck before he collapsed.

"Ugh, Herry you have to get up. I can't carry you all that way..." he didn't move and his breathing was raspy from the heat. "JAY!" Atlanta called out in a panicky voice which always made him come running.

"Atlanta, what's wrong?" He asked, crouching down.

"This... /thing/... is crushing me!" She cried out, trying to wiggle her way to freedom.

"Come on buddy, get up," Jay said, lifting Herry with one hand a few millimeters so Atlanta could get out from under him. Together they heaved Herry towards his truck and sat him in the middle of the front.

"What are we going to do now?" Atlanta asked as they climbed into the car and turned on the air conditioner with the doors closed and window up.

"I can't drive in the state I'm in, you'll have to," Jay said.

"But Jay..." Atlanta complained.

"You can do it Atlanta; we need you to do it." Atlanta looked around the truck at her semi-conscious friends and nodded determinedly. She climbed into the front and put on her seatbelt.

"Ok. Check both mirrors..." She checked both mirrors. "...made sure seatbelt is on... check... turn the ignition on..." She turned the ignition on. "...ok... change gears..." she changed the gear from 'P' to 'D'. "...push on the pedal slowly..." she increased the weight on her foot slightly and the car rolled forward. "...then put a little more pressure on the gas and we're good to go." She drove off the field and onto a dirt road.

"How did you go with your driving test?" Jay asked.

"I failed," she said simply.

"But you're doing a great job at it..." Atlanta looked at him via the mirror and smiled. She was doing a great job.

"Uh oh..." She spotted a giant up ahead.

"Swerve him Atlanta... we'll be right," Jay instructed.

"Dear Gods..." she murmured before swerving around the giant who tried to swipe at her. The truck tiled slightly but Atlanta managed to put on all four wheels again. She looked up at the sky and notice it rapidly turn black.

"Jay..." she said.

"Don't worry... if Cronus tries to shoot at us, I can tell where he's going to strike." Atlanta nodded and braced herself for the bumpy ride. "Left!" Jay cried out as Atlanta swerved to the left, dodging a red lightning bolt. "Right!" Atlanta swerved to the right and started to enjoy the experience behind the wheel.

Dodging a few more attacks, Atlanta managed to make it to the town in one piece.

"I think we're in the clearing now Jay... Jay?" She looked in the mirror and saw him asleep and leaning against the door. She rolled her eyes and pulled up at the school. She undid her seatbelt and leaned into the back to grab Odie's PMR.

"Hermes, I'm at the back entrance and I kind of need a portal to get into Chiron's office, everyone is sort of unconscious and I can't exactly carry them on my own," she explained.

"Ok Atlanta, one portal coming your way." A portal materialized in front of the truck and one by one, she carried (or dragged in most cases) the sleeping teens through the portal. She locked Herry's truck and stepped through the portal, collapsing with exhaustion on the other side.


"Atlanta..." Someone was prodding her in the cheek and she swatted the hand away, she was having a great dream and didn't want it to end.

"ATLANTA!"

"WHAT?!" she screamed, sitting up with her eyes closed, which was a mistake because she accidentally head-butted the culprit of the prodding. "Oww..." she opened her eyes and saw Archie rubbing his head.

"Nice going, hope you don't close your eyes while driving," Archie smirked.

"How did you go anyway?" Theresa asked, sitting beside Atlanta.

"Failed miserably," Atlanta sighed, stealing Archie's ice pack and placing it on her head. "How come Jay didn't tell you?"

"He's still asleep. How did you get us here?" Herry asked, limping over.

"I guess... I drove."

"Who's car?"

"Yours."

"Dear Gods." They laughed as Herry limped quickly towards the portal to check if his truck was all in one piece.

"Did you total his truck?" Neil asked, still clutching his side.

"No, Jay said I did a pretty good job driving it," she shrugged.

"You did." They looked over and Jay walked over, his arm looking much better.

"Your arm ok?" Atlanta asked.

"Yeah, just needed to pop it back in place."

"Gross!" Neil complained.

Herry came back with a stunned look on his face.

"She totaled it," Neil simply replied.

"No... it's actually, in one piece," Herry replied, sitting down to rest his sore leg.

"Told ya," Atlanta replied simply.

Hera walked into the room and the teens, that could, stood up.

"I talked with Chiron, you are all able to go back to the brownstone, but you must rest and take it easy," Hera said.

"But wouldn't it be easier, and safer, if we stayed here?" Theresa asked.

"You need to get out and stretch your legs," Hera replied, excepting Odie who was on hand-made crutches. Chiron had given him a potion from Dionysus that would fix his bones but he still needed to stay off it for a while.

"How are we meant to get home?" Herry asked.

"By your truck," Neil answered like it was a stupid question, which it pretty much was.

"Yeah but I can't drive with my leg," Herry pointed out.

"So you're actually letting someone else drive your truck?" Theresa asked.

"Like I had a choice before," he said smugly, jerking his thumb towards Atlanta.

"Don't make me look like a bad guy Herry," Atlanta pouted.

"Any takers?" Herry asked.

"I can't, I don't even have my license yet," Odie said bluntly.

"Bruised ribs," Neil replied.

"Arm's still a bit weak," Jay replied.

"Chiron said I should stay off the road for a while, driving-wise," Archie said, he had a bruise almost covering his eye with slight conjunctivitis in it.

"Theresa?"

"What's wrong with Atlanta? She managed to drive us here in one piece," Theresa said, wrapping an arm around Atlanta.

"Yeah, what's wrong with me?" Atlanta said crossing he arms.

Herry rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't make it into a habit, and you have to re-do your test tomorrow. Ok?"

"Roger roger," Atlanta said, saluting Herry.


Herry threw the keys to Atlanta and she caught them, beaming. The others trudged along behind the enthusiastic girl. They all sat in the truck and Atlanta did the same thing she was instructed to.


The next day Atlanta kept her promise, she singed up for another driving test and received the same instructor, Stan.

"I don't know why you bothered, but if you insist on proving that you can't drive, go ahead," he said, buckling up.

"I don't know, it's pretty amazing what can happen overnight," Atlanta smirked. She put on her seatbelt and checked both her mirrors, and then she turned the key in the ignition to start the car. She changed the gear from 'P' to 'D.' and pushed on the pedal gently, increasing her pressure slightly as they made it onto the road.

"Make a left here," Stan instructed, impressed by how Atlanta had rapidly improved overnight. She smiled and glanced at him for a brief moment, before turning on her blinker and easing her way around the corner. She spotted a parallel park and Stan instructed her to park in it. She was a tiny bit nervous but managed to park parallel, with a couple of degrees difference. She pulled out slowly and made her way back on the road.

"Make a legal U-turn," he indoctrinated ((o.O) big word). Atlanta smiled at him and made a legal U-turn.

Stan was so impressed that he let her drive all the way back to the driving H.Q.

"Well?" Atlanta asked smugly, parking.

"All I can say is... Congratulations Miss. Harper, you got your drivers license." Atlanta squealed and hugged Stan.


She boarded all the way home in a red, aqua and green blur, a grin pasted onto her face and a brand new license nestled in her pocket.

"I GOT IT!" She exclaimed loudly, bursting through the door.

"Let me see!" Theresa said, running up her and receiving the laminated card. "Congratulations!" she said, hugging her friend.

"Let me see that," Archie said.

"You can see through one eye? I'm impressed," Atlanta said jokingly.

"Hmm..." He said, scratching his chin in thought. "Very good, you can't see your feet at all," he smirked.

"Are you calling me short?" She huffed, crossing her arms.

"It's ok Lan, being the second shortest here isn't a disability," he said smugly.

"So says you the second shortest guy here..."

"I'm off..." Theresa declared as the two continued bickering


~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+ KimmeH ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

I would just like to point out that I can't drive, and probably will fail my test in two (nay 1!!) year/s time, and I drove my Pop's car in the middle of last year and I almost ran over a gecko! So yeah, passing is a slim chance, even though it's just a test on a computer. I SUCK at tests!

~ Kim



© Kimberley Sutton - 2007 - Ficwad.com