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did
not put home grown Georgia pecans in my cookies," I said to Riley,
tossing the plastic container of pecans in front of him where it
slid off the table into Riley's hand.
    "Good catch."
    "It's almost an insult that you thought I
wouldn't catch it."
    "It's not that I thought you wouldn't catch
it. I was just happy that you did."
    "You are very unusual," he said
    "One of a kind my mama always said." Of
course, I don't think she meant it as a compliment.
    "So what happens next?"
    "I continue my search for Sebastian, find a
trainer to help you prepare for the Olympian Trials and find
somewhere to sleep."
    I started digging through the utensil drawer,
looking for measuring cups.
    "You could sleep here." I stopped mid search-
what the hell did I just say? My throat tightened, and I couldn't
catch my breath. "Holy shit, holy… shit… holy… shhh …"
    Riley stuck a white cardboard box in my face.
"Breathe. Deep. In. Out. In. Deep breath. Out. Close your eyes, and
focus on your breaths," he said in a low calming voice.
    I did. I closed my eyes and breathed into the
box, only thinking of each breath and the sweet smell coming from
the inside of the box that had held snack cakes only hours before,
until I calmed down enough to feel stupid. I opened my eyes.
    Riley was bent over, his eyes meeting mine.
"Are you okay?"
    "Yes," I said, taking one last breath of
yumminess before crumpling the box and putting it in the trash,
hoping we could forget the last five minutes.
    Riley backed away from me, claiming his seat
at the breakfast table. "You're sure you're alright?" he asked.
    I returned to the utensil drawer. "Yes, I'm
fine," I said, finally finding the stack of red plastic measuring
cups and the matching measuring spoons.
    I set them on the table in front of a smiling
Riley, who was again balancing on the legs of the chair. I started
measuring out the flour, ignoring Riley, who was still grinning
from ear to ear. I grabbed a teaspoon and measured out the salt and
baking soda, and Riley snickered. I stirred the dry ingredients,
and he snickered again.
    Obviously he wasn't going to shut up until I
asked, "What the hell is so funny?"
    Riley rocked the chair forward, putting his
arms on the table in front of him. "Within twelve hours you've had
your soul ripped from your body, been made immortal, met one of the
most vicious monsters of all time, survived insulting one god and
being saved by another, all without any real concern or fear, only
to have a full blown panic attack because you offered for me to
stay at your place. It's funny- odd, unexpected, and somewhat
unsettling, but still funny."
    "So basically, you think it's funny that I
don't fit into your idea of what is supposedly typical human
behavior, and even though it could be because of my horrible
childhood that I react so differently from the norm, it's okay to
laugh at me."
    Riley laughed, "Yep, pretty much."
    I grabbed a wooden spoon and started smashing
butter into the mixing bowl. "Well if you think my reaction is
funny, wait until Mrs. Crowell finally keels over and arrives at
the river Styx instead of the Pearly Gates," I said, adding
sugar.
    "Actually, she would not be under Hades'
rule," he said, opening the pecans and stealing a few.
    "Well damn. Why not?" I asked, as I stirred
in the eggs and vanilla.
    "It's not easy to explain."
    I started adding the dry ingredients.
"Explain anyway," I said, putting the bowl down and switching
hands.
    Riley leaned forward and took the bowl and
wooden spoon from me, which was a relief because my arms were
killing me.
    "The deities only exist as one believes," he
said, as he set the bowl of virginal cookie dough on the table.
    "Huh? I'm an art teacher, Riley. I can
bullshit with the best of them about what made Van Gogh insane but
brilliant, but I don't know anything of religion or philosophy. The
only thing our family bible was ever used for was a booster seat
when I was two."
    Riley walked around the table. "It's hard