My heart pounded and my legs throbbed as I sprinted from the wrath of the treacherous Mrs.Peacow. Never before has she cut me so deep, I thought as I ran into my favorite bathroom stall. Her cruelty had been consistent since the very first day of school, and today, I decided I couldn’t deal with the hurt any longer. She called me ugly, she called me stupid, she claimed I’d never be struck by cupid. She called me fat, she called me lame, she said I’d never go down in fame. Why did she express such hatred towards me, amongst all the other “star students”? Once my tears ran dry, I pushed open the stall door, and faced my reflection in the mirror. Just as I was about to leave the girls bathroom, I heard the infamous click of her heels scurrying down the hallway.
I retreated back into my stall, just as the door creaked open. “ZEUS!” she exclaimed, “I’m sick of fighting with you. I know Hope is your daughter, but I still want my revenge. You cheated!” I gasped at the sound of own name, instead of the usual “Hopeless”. I could hear “Zeus” in the background stating, “Hera, you’d better watch your back!” Just as he finished this statement, a scream erupted from Mrs.Peacows mouth, and nothing else. I curiously peaked through a crack in the stall, and saw that Mrs.Peacow was no longer present. I carefully unlocked the latch and stepped out of my hiding place. Just as I was about to leave the bathroom, another scream pierced my ears.
I whipped my head around to see Mrs.Peacow outside. A giant eagle clutched her back and steadily flapped it’s wings, bringing Mrs.Peacow further and further away. All I could do was stand there, frozen like a statue. This isn’t real, this isn’t real, I thought to myself. I took a step forward, and watched as Mrs. Peacow got taken away. Something vibrated beneath my right foot, and I glanced down to see Mrs. Peacows ugly dinosaur cellphone, with “1 New Message” written on the screen. I quickly snatched the cell phone up from the floor, and read the text message carefully. Hera, I’m very disappointed that you would try to hurt my daughter. I know I cheated, and I know we are married, but it is time I stood up for Hope. I sent an eagle to take you back to me. You don’t belong alongside mortals. You are dangerous. From, Zeus.

I stood there, puzzled. Why was a so-called “Zeus” texting my teacher? As I struggled to realize what had just happened was in fact reality, another scream escaped from the mouth of Mrs. Peacow. I watched, worriedly, as the eagle lost it’s grip on Mrs. Peacow and she pummeled towards Diamondhead Volcano. My heart thudded. I grabbed Mrs. Peacow’s phone and sprinted out of the bathroom, down the hall, and out the door, traumatized by the recent experience. I bolted into my mom’s Honda and collapsed onto the seat, out of breath. “Mom gasp something really gasp peculiar just happened. Mrs. Peacow just said that I was the son of Zeus, and that he had an affair with you!”


I stared as my mom pulled over and stopped the car. “Hope, I should have told you this a long time ago.” I braced myself as the dreaded words poured out of her mouth. “Your father is indeed, Zeus. He came down to earth disguised as a handsome man and things progressed from there. I only kept it from you to protect you. I’m sorry.”


The tears, once again, started flowing down my rosy red cheeks. “B-But how is this possible?” I wailed. “I can’t believe the reason I have never met my father is because he is a god. Mrs. Peacow must be Hera then, and she just got dropped by an eagle onto Diamondhead Volcano.” I cried.


“Darling, this is the day that you must prove yourself. All your life Hera has been haunting you, wanting to get her revenge on me. Your cruel soccer coach, the one that put you down every second, that was Hera. The old school bully who moved, Patricia, that was Hera too. You see, Hera will continue to torture you until she gets her revenge.”

“What do you mean, do I have to go save her?” I questioned.

“If you go to the volcano today, I assure you that she will leave you alone for the rest of your life,” my mom answered.

The sound of my mothers words rang in my ears as my mom drove me 7 miles to the volcano. It all made sense now, the reason for my struggles, the reason why I could never do anything right in Mrs. Peacow’s, or who I now know as Hera’s, eyes. Even though I knew it was she who had done all these treacherous things to me, I knew that seeking revenge would do me no good in the end. She was a god, after all. I exited the car, as close to the Diamondhead volcano as possible, and started up the volcano in hopes to help the horrible Hera.

The journey to the volcano was painful and never ending. Climbing the volcano was a struggle, like an animal trying to escape a net. Alas, I reached the entrance to the volcano, which was infamous for taking away the powers of immortals, and using this power to erupt. I knew I had a limited amount of time before the volcano erupted. This eruption would make Mrs. Peacow’s powers scorch up in lava. I approached the entrance slowly and cautiously. I gasped. A 50 foot tall cyclops, wearing a black cloak, was towering over the entrance, guarding it with his life, as a mother protects her child.

I timidly approached the cyclops before me hoping I could find some way to easily outwit the beast. “Who goes there?!” exclaimed the cyclops, his vituperative voice sending vibrations through the ground below me, as well as vibrations through my soul.
“It is I, Hope” I shakily replied.
“Why have you come?” He rumbled. Quick, Hope, think of something to say. I thought to myself as I attempted to come up with a crafty reply. That’s when I felt it, in my back pocket, the solution to my problems. I pulled out the bouncy ball out of my pocket and clenched it tightly.
“You see Mr...”
“Cyglore” he answered. I took a timid step forwards, facing a cyclops ten times my height.
“Mr. Cyglore, I have dropped my bouncy ball into the volcano and it is absolutely necessary that I get it back immediately!” Quickly, when the cyclops wasn’t looking , I threw my bouncy ball into the volcano so he wouldn’t suspect my lie.
“Why would a girl of your age, need to retrieve her bouncy ball from a cave? I’m sure you have many more where that came from!” He retaliated.
Without hesitation, I calmly stated, “You see sir, that bouncy ball is the only token I have to remember my unpresent father, and if I don’t get it back I’ll have nothing to remember him by, he will be nothing more than a figment of my imagination.” I looked down at my feet while the cyclops was debating what he should do. Suddenly the ground beneath me trembled and I looked up to see the cyclops moving aside, allowing me to enter the Volcano. I quickly ran through the entrance in case he had a change of heart. Now all I had to do was find Hera.
I peeked around the corner of the cave, expecting more cyclops or some other monster. I felt my hands shaking and my knees locked as what I saw to my surprise was the evil Hera. She was locked in a cage. I met her shining red eyes with mine and whispered to her, “Shh, I’m here to save you.”
She looked shocked, and asked “Why would you want to save me?”
“I heard you on the phone with Zeus. I know I’m his daughter. Dispite what you’ve done to me, we are family. I’m going to get you out of here.” I nodded, assuring her everything was going to be alright. With that, I recovered my bouncy ball from the musty ground and cradled it in my hands, careful not to let it slip away.
“Do you know where your power has gone?” I asked Mrs. Peacow.
“Yes,” she replied. “It’s down the cave and to the left.”
“I’ll get your power back for you, as long as you promise me one thing. Promise me that you will never try to get your revenge on me ever again?”
“Certainly, Hopeless, I can’t thank you enough for coming to help me.”
I tiptoed down the cave and took a left. I saw the glowing aqua blue ball of Mrs. Peacow’s powers. It was surrounded by two cyclops’s, each one larger than the one guarding the enterance to the volcano. I turned around and bolted back to the room that contained Mrs. Peacow.
“Mrs. Peacow in exactly 7 seconds scream and say ‘I’ve escaped, YES!’ When the cyclops’s come in, reasure them that you were lonely and needed company. While you are chatting with them, I will switch my bouncy ball with your ball of powers. I will then scream and hide. This will bring the cyclops’s back to the room that now contains the bouncy ball. Next, I will come back in here”
“Okay” replied Hera as I escaped from the room, and moved down the hall and to the left into the room with the ball of powers. I heard the bellowing yell of Mrs. Peacow “I’ve escaped! YES! Come and find me!” Just as I suspected, the cyclops’s rushed to the sound of Hera’s call. I let out a quiet giggle and dashed to the podium which contained Hera’s sacred ball of power. I switched the two balls, as sneakily as a snake. Now, I had to let out an ear piercing yelp, and that I did. My trickery succeeded and the 2 monsters came thundering back into the room. I hid behind a long, wide sword which was massive enough for a cyclops even larger than the ones that were scratching their heads and furrowing their brows in front of me. When they turned their heads, I crawled from behind the sword, quiet as a mouse.
The silence in the cave was ominous, like a day where Zeus decides to spit lightning into the sky, as I returned to the room where Hera was held captive. I crawled in carefully. I unlocked the lock of her cave. It was surprisingly easy to open from the outside. Hera scurried out. The two of us sprinted back to the entrance of the cave. The cyclops was still guarding the cave, however, his back was to us.
“Let’s just make a run for it,” I suggested. We bolted out of the cave, towards the light, before the cyclops could turn his back to us and prevent our exit.
“STOP! WE NEED HER POWER! WE NEED THIS VOLCANO TO ERUPT SO THE TOWN WILL BE DESTROYED! WE MUST REBUILD THE TOWN AND BE SUPREME RULERS! WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY ALL OUR LIVES!”
Mrs. Peacow and I kept sprinting and didn’t turn back until we arrived back at the school. “That was the sweetest and bravest thing anyone has ever done for me. I am so greatful. I called you ugly, I called you stupid, I claimed you’d never be struck by cupid. I called you fat, I called you lame, I said you’d never go down in fame. I was wrong about each one of these things. Not only will I stop seeking my revenge, but I will make sure that your life is always fortunate. I owe you more than you will ever know, Hope. I must go back to Olympus now, my identity was unleashed and that is dangerous. Thank you, Hope.” With that, Mrs. Peacow disappeared.
I gasped. That was the first time Mrs. Peacow has ever called me by my real name, Hope. She has always called me Hopeless. My mom was right, forgiveness is truly more powerful than revenge. I thought. My life, which was once hopeless due to Hera’s constant urge for revenge, is now filled with hope.