First Lie || Deception Book I ||

Welcome to Yancy

"Your name is," the principal squinted at the sheet of paper before her, "Rianna Claire?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, Claire. You're the student volunteer for Mr. Brunner, correct?"

I nodded again.

The principal smiled at me. "Alright, Claire. You may go to his office. He has his prep right now, so you can introduce yourself and get acquainted with each other." She looked at me seriously over the rim of her glasses. "I don't know what compelled you to volunteer here, but good luck for this semester."

I held back a wince. "Thank you, Mrs. Grayson."

She nodded at me and went back to her papers, a clear dismissal. I shouldered my backpack (the one Artemis gave me) and headed down the hall towards Mr. Brunner's office.

I stopped in front of a dark wood door with a gold plate on it. Before I could knock, the door opened, and I found myself face to face with Chiron. Well, not Chiron. Mr. Brunner, but, you know, semantics.

I took a step back.

Mr. Brunner appeared briefly startled, but then smiled. "Oh, it's you. Come in, I've been waiting for you."

I flinched. "You have?" If he somehow knew why I was here, then things would get a bit complicated.

"Yes, yes," Mr. Brunner said absently, turning back towards his desk. "You're Rianna Claire, aren't you? My helper for this semester?"

"R-Right," I said. Clari, you're gonna have to do better than that, I chided myself. I followed him into the office.

"How good are your Latin and mythology?" Ch- sorry, Mr. Brunner asked me. He looked at me seriously. "Because the class I teach is Latin and Mythology."

I smiled at him. "Mea Latina sit pulchrum, gratias ago tibi."

Mr. Brunner leaned back in his chair. "Quid de mythologia tuum?"

"The same," I said to him in English. "My mythology is good enough, I think."

"Who are the twelve Olympians?"

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Ares, Artemis, Apollo, Hephestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, and Hermes," I replied instantly.

"Alright," Mr. Brunner said. "I'll take your word for it, then."

He glanced at me. "Impressive. May I ask where you learned?"

"For the mythology, it was a hobby of mine, and I learned Latin at school and continued it through high school, along with Greek."

"You speak Greek too?" Mr. Brunner questioned.

I weighed the merits of telling him, decided it was worth it, and replied, "For some reason, Greek and Latin always came easier to me."

"Do you have ADHD or trouble reading?"

I faked a flinch. "Yes, for both," I admitted.

Mr. Brunner nodded, more to himself than me. "That won't be an issue. How old are you again?"

"Seventeen," I said.

Surprise flashed across his face, as fast as a blink. "Interesting," he murmured.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. Okay, Rianna, my class starts in a few minutes. Do you mind carrying the stack of test papers for me?"

"No problem," I replied. Picking up the papers, I followed Mr. Brunner to the classroom. When I walked in, I stopped short. I placed the test papers on the desk and walked over to the collection of roman armour and weapons on the display shelf in the corner. "Are those authentic?" I asked him.