Chapter Text
LIBER I: VIAE CONVERGENTES
【April 2008, San Francisco, California】
The worst way to spend an afternoon was getting stuck with my least favorite relative—Drew Tanaka—in a restaurant. Drew must had come here with different boys a lot. I could tell when the waitress smirked the second she saw me and threw Drew a knowing look.
"This boy is cuter than the last one." She grinned widely as if that was a compliment.
I sighed. "I'm just her cousin."
The waitress apologized awkwardly. Drew rolled her eyes. She ordered the most expensive food in her usual sulk, and once again, I was utterly helpless. Eating with her was always pure torture.
Drew was Aunt Mieko’s stepdaughter. After Drew's father Mr. Tanaka remarried and had his second daughter Andrea, he completely ignored her, at least from Drew's perspective. Dad said that was when Drew developed the habit of changing boyfriends weekly just to piss everyone off.
Though useless as I usually was, I surprisingly became the only person Drew would listen to, just occasionally, because neither of us had even met our biological mothers. In fact, things were worse for me. The Tanaka Family was open-minded enough to accept a so-called illegitimate daughter, while my family—the Yamadas—just pretended I didn’t exist. The Yamada Family had moved from Sendai to the Bay Area for more than a century, but their minds were stuck in the Meiji Period—a child produced outside of marriage would never be accepted.
There was one kind person, though, my aunt Mieko. She was the only one who looked at me straight in the eyes, sent me cards and gifts on Christmas, and invited me to dinner. So, everyone was at a loss with Mieko’s stepdaughter Drew Tanaka, I had to at least try to persuade her.
Unfortunately, Drew was in a particularly bad mood today. The way she cut the steak remind me of certain kind of ancient Asian torture.
"Mieko Yamada asks you to come, huh?"
" ‘Mieko Tanaka’. She's your stepmother." I corrected, gathering all my patience "She wants you to apologize to..." I took a deep breath, "the classmate whose hair you cut and locked in the bathroom."
Even though I knew how Drew became what she was, bullying was still wrong. I understood too well what it was like to be on the receiving end of her behaviors.
"Oh." She didn’t even raise her eyebrows.
Of course, old-fashioned talk about morals and rules never worked for her. So, I changed tactics. "Drew, do you really think bullying her will make her boyfriend like you?"
“But he is dating me.”
“What?”
Before I could press further, Drew picked up the steak with her fork and threw it to the group. Still flicking her shining hair, she demanded lazily. “It’s too tough—give me another piece!"
Two, no, three waiters rushed over, one kneeling on the ground to pick up the steak, another bowing and apologizing, and the third yelling at the kitchen. All the diners in the restaurant nodded or clapped in agreement, as if Drew just won the Nobel Prize.
Not this again. Drew could always charm her way out, like she had some sort of magic. She made you feel that you got tricked into a reality show or a giant prank. I’ve heard relatives calling her a witch. Ninety-nine percent of the time I just waved that idea away, but not when times like this.
“How…how…how did you do that?!”
Drew looked at me in total mean-girl style. “Look, being nice is what losers like you do. I can go murder people and remain popular.”
I swallowed the urge to bite back, and instead scolded her in my mind. Then you should campaign for president. Or maybe solve world hunger and geopolitical conflicts with that pretty face. Maybe go win an actual Nobel Peace Prize instead of dancing between trash men.
I ended up not saying any of those. Dad would be disappointed if I lowered my standard to her level. He always taught me to be polite and nice, even when other people didn’t deserve it.
The new steak was served, and Drew ate it like a royal.
My task had failed. What was worse, I failed Dad and Mieko, the only people who genuinely cared about me. Guilt almost overwhelmed me. I was determined not to look in Drew’s direction and instead stared at the windows.
And that was when I saw her—a freckled red-haired girl with a dirty blue denim jacket and a tattered orange T-shirt. She seemed to appear out of thin air, and her blue eyes were looking in several directions at once.
Very suspicious, I know. But her smile was unbelievably bright.
"Hey..." The words slipped out of my lips before I could stop myself. I even forgot she couldn't hear me. She must have noticed me too, though, because she pointed down at a basket filled with shining strawberries.
Cookie season for girl scouts already? I wondered. But talking to her must be a better solution than staying with Drew. I just needed an excuse to leave, so I got up and went outside.
Spotting me opening the door, her smile became as broad as that of a Korean missionary. "Hi... I'm Fran. Want some strawberries? Top quality. You can try some for free ..." She took out one with crystal water droplets and was about to feed it into my mouth.
I stepped back, all good impression fading immediately. She reminded me of the girls from my former school. They LOVED to pet my head, because my hair was “fluffy like a puppy.” They even nicknamed me "Corgi" because I had “adorable short legs.” I was annoyed, of course. I knew I was no way near popular. Popular students got treated like pop stars and football players, not corgis.
No one took my complaints seriously, though. Every time I said something, people would just wave me off with "You are a boy. Don’t be sensitive!" or "Man! Wish that happens to me too!"
Realizing how stupid I was coming out for a stranger unprepared, I turned as fast as I could, but the door opened first. Drew strode out, confronting Fran like Regina George. "What’s the thing between you two?"
Fran blinked. "I was just asking this young gentleman if he wanted some Delphi strawberries. You know, that famous brand. It is actually run by my family" She suddenly looked mysterious, "I can give you really sweet deal--"
She was just making things up, but I loved to see Drew pissed, even just for a few seconds.
Drew sneered, "If you are really the princess of that Delphi Strawberries, why do you need to promote them yourself?”
Fran chuckled lightly, "Just because someone paid for your steak doesn’t mean you can look down on people who sell strawberries."
I stared at Fran. "You've been watching us."
"No." But her eyes were still looking at several directions at once, "I just happened to see it."
Drew immediately burst into fighting spirit, "Scam! Fraud! You criminal! "
"You get cheap fruit, and I get money, what kind of scam is this?" Fran threw her an innocent grin.
Wait. Why were we suddenly at the edge of the alley?
That’s when I realized that She had been backing away all this time, and we were so wrapped up in this fight that we were unconsciously following her.
Something fishy must be going on, and sure enough, at that moment, a huge shadow emerged under my feet. A man in a coat and a hat that almost covered his entire face roared: "So you are here, my dear daughter!"
Drew burst into a wild laughter. "You are just a bad girl running away from home!"
The man yelled again. He had a very funny accent. "Thank you for finding my daughter! Want to come to my place for dinner? " His eyes scanned me from head to toe. Wait, how many eyes? Homo sapiens has two eyes, right? Was I hallucinating?
"Ah, thanks...but..."
"He's no father of mine!" Extreme panic replaced Fran’s former sly look in a split second. She was genuinely scared, and I didn’t know it was her expression or the creepiness of the man that convinced me she wasn’t lying.
Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist.
"What’s this?" I was so surprised that I croaked.
Drew was still folding her arms. She had no intention of saving me from either of the two most suspicious people I have ever encountered. Guess she was more than happy to let me disappear. Fran was so much stronger than she seemed to be, and I was unable to struggle. She dragged me into lightning speed.
"What the heck..." I cursed, and then immediately muttered an apology to my father, but the second I opened my mouth, air instantly squeezed into my lung, almost choking me. We ran uphill and downhill through busy streets, alleys lined with eucalyptus trees, past commercial buildings, hospitals, and apartments... until the scenery around us blurred and turned into dazzling blocks of colors and shadows.
Sure enough, my body soon overloaded. My head throbbed as if someone was pricking needles on it, but Fran showed no intention of slowing down and continued to move at full speed like a cheetah.
"Hey--" I yelled, praying to whatever gods and ancestors that these were not my last words.
She turned around, realization finally dawned on her face. She slowed, and then stopped entirely in front of a library. Unfortunately, the damage was done. I was half dead, lying in the doorway in an extremely inelegant manner, with only one more breath than just-finished-world-first-marathon Pheidippides.
But Holy whatever! Fran didn't even pant.
I was used to feeling emasculated, but this was a whole different level. She was indeed totally unaffected by whatever she just did. Instead, she started nagging like an Asian mom. "Go home now! Stay away from anything strange! I will tell Chiron to send the satyrs. Try...try not to die! Understand?"
Good. As if I understood what she was talking about.
"What... ahem--" I was still trying to breathe, my voice hoarse as a crow, "Why am I... ahem... dying…?"
"You're a half-blood! That cyclops was watching you two for a long time! If I hadn't gotten you out of the way, you'd be dead by now."
"So you ARE following us!"
"Is that the point?"
I finally caught my breath. "Where are we? What is a half-blood? How is it possible... to run this fast?"
"It’s a demigod thing!" she yelled. "You are a child of a human and a Greek god, otherwise monsters won’t be interested into you to the slightest! I mere mortal would die from running like that." She frowned and added, "Although it's just a walk for me."
Oh, thank you for reminding me, superwoman. Of course, I didn’t say that part aloud.
"Who even are you? Are you okay? No fever or anything?" I tried my calmest tone without much success.
"You are impossible!" She shook her head fiercely and clamped my forearm with both hands, “Monsters are everywhere here. They are hunting me at this very moment. Your life is in danger too now your scent started attracting monsters! "
I looked at her blankly. "I saw a hospital on the way here…”
Fran paused, her eyes scanning me like an X-ray. Then she threw herself on top of me. My breath stopped.
"What’d--"
Something itchy scratched my neck. I cursed, and then apologized again instinctively. It was Fran's flamingo hair. Her breath was against my collarbone—she was...sniffing me?
This was too weird! Was she a dog?
But my face still turned red, and I hated myself for that. So much for her nonsense. I needed to get away immediately.
Fran finally stopped. She paused for a second and sighed, "I knew I couldn't smell anything. I'm not a Satyr."
"What Satyr?" I could no longer think. "And that was rude—"
Surprisingly, now she looked truly apologetic. She explained seriously, "Monsters and Satyrs can recognize demigods by smell. That’s how they find you. They can also tell who your godly parent is. The more powerful you are, the stronger smell you have.”
“I don’t smell! "
“Of course. You don’t smell strong physically, or magically, I suppose.”
Now I didn’t even know if that was a compliment.
“Sorry. Shouldn’t have tried. I’m not a satyr. And I don't know which god smells like steak."
My face turned into a blast furnace.
But her expression was so solemn. " You may not realize how special you are. Most of us didn't at first. I am not a Satyr. I have no right to take you to Camp Half Blood. The demigod who smuggled me into the camp is in big trouble now, and I need to find him. I don’t want you to bring you into my mess. Plus, I probably smell much stronger than you. Look, I need to get going now. Sorry you have to watch out for yourself. "
“I am... special?”
I was stunned, ashamed as well. I liked that idea, just a little. It gave me a false sense of self-esteem.
"In fact, you have a fresh scent of grass and trees. Perhaps you are the child of Demeter... Staying with you will only get you in more trouble. I will contact the Satyrs to get you. As for your cousin, she could charmspeak and she’s annoying. She will be fine." Her sky-blue eyes blinked at the last sentence.
“Wait! You can’t do that to Drew! I don’t like her either but—"
"It is a particularly sensitive time. Monsters and demigods are swarming into the Bay Area. Not everyone is on our side.” She interrupted me, “Anyway, Frances McGregor, see you in Cabin 11."
She took a deep breath, as if gathering strength for her next escape. I could only sigh and watch her flying red hair disappear into the crowd at an almost godly speed.
***
Francesca Capaldi as Frances McGregor
Unfortunately I can't find any Asian actors that look like Gordon Yamada