Titan's Daughter

Previous Chapter

12 hours ago: Persephone slammed the bathroom door with a force that startled a girl who had just exited. Thick chunks of crimson sauce dripped down her face, and a chaotic tangle of spaghetti strands cascaded onto her yellow flowery dress.

Rushing to the nearest sink, she frantically attempted to wash away the mess.

She had managed to maintain her composure while walking from the lunchroom, but catching sight of herself in the bathroom mirror shattered her resolve, leading to a torrent of sobs. Tears mixed with the red sauce, giving her the appearance of a sad clown.

A few strands of spaghetti escaped her hair, one dangling in front of her nose. With each sobbing breath, she narrowly avoided inhaling it. Her nose ran, mingling with the sauce in an unsightly mixture.

The restroom door creaked on its hinges, complaining like a rusty seabird as it swung open, interrupting Persephone’s lonely sobs. Determined to salvage what little remained of her dignity, she rushed into a stall. The incident in the lunchroom had been humiliating enough. Two full bowls of spaghetti and meatballs landed on her after Derrick Mulligan tripped on his shoelace.

The day seemed determined to conspire against her even before classes began. As soon as Persephone stepped off the school bus, a passing car splashed muddy water all over her dress. It wasn’t even supposed to rain. She had meticulously checked the weather before selecting her outfit, but soon after posting a picture of her chosen dress, a relentless downpour began. The rain continued until her dress was ruined, as if it had fulfilled its mission.

And now this. She felt cursed, drained of life. It was as if her birth date had turned against her. She had managed to keep up a facade, laughing along with everyone when two bowls of spaghetti and meatballs were dumped on her. But now she was a wreck, unable to face anyone until she regained some composure.

“Hello, Pru?” Gaea called out softly as she gently pushed the door open.

“Great, as if this day couldn’t get any worse,” Persephone muttered to herself, each syllable accompanied by a sob.

“Are you all right?” Gaea inquired.

“My well-being is none of your concern; just leave me alone!” Persephone snapped, angrily grabbing some toilet paper to blow her nose.

“I don’t need your pity!”

“You know what, Pru? Forget it. Happy birthday, anyway.”

Ever since Persephone had been accepted into the popular girls’ circle, she had adopted their disdainful treatment of others. Persephone had become accustomed to being rude, especially towards Gaea. However, guilt gnawed at her for treating someone so badly who genuinely cared for her. It was an ugly feeling that she despised. The way she treated people had become like a dripping pipe — no matter how hard she tried to tighten it, the drips persisted.

In her haste to seek refuge in the stall, Persephone had left the faucet running. The spaghetti had clogged the sink, causing it to overflow. Gaea turned off the faucet and took a few splashy steps towards the exit.

“No one’s called me Pru in a while,” Persephone uttered, surprised, but relieved that someone came to check on her.

She had entered the bathroom to escape the shame. Nonetheless, here was Gaea, asking if she was OK. These were the first words Persephone had spoken to Gaea without insults or snark in a long time. Gaea stopped in her tracks, turning to face the stall.

“After the way I’ve treated you, I wasn’t expecting you, of all people, to check on me.”

“I mean, I thought I’d ruined our friendship”

“Pru, I never stopped being your friend. You just forgot,” Gaea replied, her voice filled with sincerity.

“Thanks.”

“For what?” Gaea asked.

Persephone found solace in the fact that she hadn’t completely destroyed a genuine friendship, but at the same time, she despised herself even more for how she had treated Gaea. Nonetheless, Gaea still had enough faith in their friendship to fight for it.

“For still being my friend,” Persephone admitted.

“Well, considering everything that happened to you today, I think it’s partly my fault.”

“What?” Persephone questioned.

Gaea continued, her words spilling forth, “You see, Sprite and I were talking about you yesterday, saying awful things, but we didn’t mean them. I even said, ‘I wish your dress would get ruined.’ And it wasn’t even supposed to rain, and then the spaghetti ended up in your hair…”

Persephone was surprised by Gaea badmouthing her, even more so Sprite, but she supposed she deserved it, considering how she had treated them. Regardless, she realized that Gaea and Sprite’s negative comments were born out of frustration — frustration with her constant rejection of their efforts to reconnect.

“Gigi, Gigi, stop!” Persephone chuckled, dismissing Gaea’s ramblings about cursing her.

“No one can control fate,” she said, summing up her miserable day as just plain old bad luck.

“Apparently, I did,” Gaea said softly.

“Do you wanna know why I distanced myself from you, Gigi?”

“I was jealous of you,” Persephone finally confessed, acknowledging the dark and ugly emotion that had simmered beneath the surface. It was a freeing release.

Gaea, surprised by Persephone’s revelation, “Why? What do I have that anyone could be jealous of?”

Persephone let out a wry laugh, replying, “You effortlessly make friends, Gigi. The universe bends to your will with just a single smile.”

“I hate to admit it, but it was almost a relief when Courtney and her friends didn’t warm up to you. However, after spending time with them, I realized they didn’t hate you, Gigi. They were intimidated by your confidence. You made them feel even more insecure because you didn’t need to wear a mask to be seen or accepted by the world.”

It was a moment of comfort for Persephone to say everything she hadn’t even realized was weighing on her mind. She felt lighter.

“And, unconsciously, I wanted to be around people who didn’t like you.”

“But I don’t hate you, Gaea. I understand that now. I hated myself for giving up our friendship out of envy, so I lashed out at you even more.”

It was the illogical reasoning of someone consumed by shame, remorse, and guilt for hurting those they cared about. As a form of self-punishment, they continued hurting their loved ones, further trapping themselves in the cycle.

Persephone walked out of the stall, her hair clinging to the side of her face.

“You look great,” Gaea chuckled.

Persephone plucked a piece of spaghetti from her hair and playfully threw it at Gaea.

“I’m glad this happened. I felt so trapped, constantly trying to keep up with appearances. It was exhausting to follow a routine that left little room for anything else,” Persephone confessed.

Gaea moved closer to Persephone, carefully removing a few soggy strands of spaghetti from her hair.

“They just looked at me as if I were nothing. It didn’t even surprise me when my so-called friends joined in the laughter.”

Gaea embraced Persephone, and she collapsed into her friend’s arms. Taking a deep, soothing breath, Persephone felt a sense of relief from her recent admission. Her body relaxed, and the burden of guilt lifted from her shoulders.

“So, Gigi, if it was you who caused all of this, then thank you. But next time, could you make it a little less messy?”

They both laughed while in each other’s embrace.

Just then, Sprite burst into the bathroom, unable to contain her excitement any longer.

“Are we besties again?” she asked.

“According to Gaea, we never stopped being friends,” Persephone replied, unable to hold back the smile forming on her face.

Sprite let out a joyful squeal, joining her friends in a warm hug.