The Past and the Present

Hello, my faithful followers!
So, winter break ended a long time ago. And now, I am in the second half of my junior year. Sigh. Oh, time, how you move so quickly! After mourning winter break's quick demise and short life, I started thinking about how I felt about winter break before, back in the joyous days of elementary school. I would never willingly go back to my elementary school days, for I like my freedoms and middle/high school friends far too much, but the light workload is quite enticing.
I was a queer child in my elementary school days. I preferred to stay by myself during recess time, hated handball and other sports, and I liked school. I really did! Back in my elementary school days, I never liked winter break (unless we were going on vacations to see relatives. Then, it was okay.) and couldn't wait for it to end.
But now? Now I relish holidays. I'm always so exhausted by the time my seven- (sometimes eight-)hour day is over and usually I just can't wait until the week is over...Well, at least that used to be the case. Nowadays, I've started dreading the end of the week. I think that's because I'm subconsciously worried that there is some deadline I have to meet or some assignment that I have to do because that's been the case recently.

Internship applications are so much FUN! Not.

I also think I had a better work ethic back in elementary school, which is not good. INTERNET, I BLAME THEE.

But really, other than that, nothing much has changed...or has it?

I did start thinking about how I'd changed from elementary school after winter break and I was going to blog about it, too, but well, stuff came in the way. Such as school. School is taking over my life. No, wait--it already has taken over my life. Not that I had much of a life to speak of...

But what really got me to thinking about how I had changed since seventh grade were the student council election speeches. Many people talked about seventh grade and how we all had grown as a class and changed from the timid little scrubs we were back then. Then I started wondering, Have I really changed? Has everyone in my class really changed? Sure, there is the once-timid seventh grader who became one of the leading members of student council, and there is the once-shy girl who has turned into a social butterfly...but then there's the rest of us.

I haven't changed. At least, not very much. I came into my middle/high school a shy, awkward seventh grader, and, at the rate I'm going, I'm coming out as a still shy, still awkward graduate. And, as an added bonus, maybe I'll have even less self-confidence! As a seventh grader, I believed myself to be awesome at math. Well, I got rid of that misconception fairly quickly. 

Recently, I flipped through my fifth grade ABC, All About Me book, and looked at the U page about what made me unique. I mentioned that my favorite subjects, which I found that not many people in my school liked, made me unique. Of course I wrote about science (my love for it has not changed), but I also wrote about...*shudder* MATH.

What I find really hilarious about the whole thing is that now I go to a school where the majority of people are good (read: amazing, genius-status) at math and science...and some of them are far better than I could ever hope to be! So now I know that my love of math and science did not make me unique at all...if anything, it made me more un-unique.

I am kind of starting to like math again...but I think it's too soon to tell if I like calculus, seeing as I've only had one test on it.

I'm definitely smarter than I was in elementary school...it would be pretty depressing if I weren't! Back in elementary school, in fifth grade, we did "About Me" posters, and one of the sections on the poster was "If I could have one wish, what would it be?" Now, most fifth graders would put that game they've always wanted or other selfish desires, and the more altruistic ones wrote wishes such as "World Peace." But not I!

 IF I COULD HAVE ONE WISH, IT WOULD BE...

I wish I had some common sense. :(

An odd wish, is it not? It didn't come out of nowhere, though. I'd always heard that I didn't have any common sense, and having common sense is super important, so, the most logical thing would be to wish for common sense, right? What else was poor fifth grade me supposed to think?

But, as I glance upon my selection for my wish with a more learned eye, I know that I was quite inaccurate in my judgement of what indeed is a great wish to wish if I had just one chance to wish it. How silly of me to wish for some common sense! My mom had laughed when she saw this foolish wish on my poster during Open House night, saying that of course I had common sense! So, I definitely should not have wasted my wish on that. I now know that I should have wished for more common sense, or at least the ability to use said common sense.

Also, when I was younger, I always thought I could laugh at jokes or at people being funny, but actually being funny? No way! Not me! I actually did continue thinking that until...I guess until I started this blog! Thank to the great support of all of you, my wonderful followers, and my own evaluations of my past posts, I realized that I, indeed, could be funny (even if it was in a lame and stupid, as opposed to clever and witty, manner).

My ability to use Paint has also improved with time. But I've always loved Paint, even when I was in fourth grade. In fourth grade, for my report about my "hidden talent," I talked about how pro I was with Paint.

I guess it's okay that I haven't changed all that much. I'm still a totally awesome person with a few flaws, but hey, no one's perfect, right? And who knows what changes the next years will bring? Maybe they'll correct some of my more worrisome flaws...

WIS #3.2: Goddesses, the Land of Nowhere, and to Trust or Not to Trust?

And now I have brought myself to continue the last WIS!
(Sorry about the weird name, by the way. I just couldn't think of a better title.)
BUT BEFORE THAT! The Goddess of Wisdom, Sheilsophinacaneia, has had a name change because...I wanted her too. Her new name is Jesiackazysofiarti. (Isn't that a mouthful? Or ten?)
And all the goddesses have colloquial nicknames that the goddesses use to address each other. (Lower beings also use these nicknames, but never to address the goddesses.) The names (mostly) come from their real names. The parts of their names that contain their nicknames (or something close to their nicknames) are italicized.
Scadoosh = Scadoosh, because it's not that hard or tiring to say. But goddesses like to get creative. So she's called Bruce, Alaura, or Lola.
Jesiackazysofiarti = Jessica or Sophia
Anilokalmosia = Annie
Jenisifiodincneiwa = Jennifer or Jenny
Marryahlagumpideya (she's a new goddess) = Maria or Mary
Crisstareenaywebdermotti (also a new goddess) = Christina or Christi or Christine
Now that that's settled, happy reading!
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"I can't believe we actually helped punish you for something you didn't do, Scott!" exclaimed Priya when she found out about what the group had learned about Scott from Scott and Scadoosh.
"It's not your fault. It's that girl who I thought was my very sweet daughter..." fumed Scott.
"Don't worry, Scott! We'll find Emily and make her pay! And we'll free Scadoosh, too!" promised Feathers.
"I sure hope we know where we're going..." mumbled Zella. The group looked at where they were. But it definitely was not the island below Annie's lair, which was where the old map said they were.

"Um, you're in the middle of Nowhere, to be precise," said a strange voice.

"Well, we can see that," said Maddie, "but where? And who are you?"

"I just told you where. You're in the land of Nowhere. Nothing happens here. What I'd like to know is what all of you are doing down here?"

"We're, um..." "Uh..." "I think..." "Why do you want to know anyway?" Everyone tried to answer at once, but no one was sure whether to say where they were really going. "I'm just curious, that's all! No need to get all worried or anything. If you don't want to talk about something, you don't have to! By the way, that looks like a really old map..." noted the girl, the owner of the voice.

"Oh, that's the map that the Gwate Goddess of White Magic Scadoosh gave us! We'we going to Aniwokaw...Annie's home to twy and get the keys to set the the goddess fwee!" explained Hannah, before anyone could stop her.

"Oh, I see. But what are you guys doing here? Annie's lair is to the east of here," said the girl. "And Scadoosh is imprisoned? That's...bad," said the girl, surprised.

"Why are you so calm?" asked Feathers.

"The only way to solve this problem is to be calm," replied the girl, coolly. "You ended up in this place because you panicked." She took the map. "You probably got lost because you were so worried about getting to the lair on time. But, honestly, time hasn't got much to do with your rate of success anyway. It doesn't matter when you get to the lair; you've got to get there."

"What do you mean, 'it's wrong'? And how would you know where the lair is, anyway?" asked Feathers.

"Well, I've been invited there by Annie because she wanted to lure me over to the dark side. Intelligence can be used for evil...Oh, and I forgot to introduce myself! Where are my manners?! Anyway, I'm Jessica, the Goddess of Intelligence."

"JESIACKAZYSOFIARTI?" exclaimed everyone, as they bowed.

"Oh, there's no need for that," said the goddess. "Just call me Jessica. It's easier."

"Are you going to help us?" asked Maddie.

"Oh, I'd love to, but I can't. But I can tell you one thing. You will get help from a person you wouldn't expect help from. Sorry I can't help anymore than that. There's so much stuff to do, including another Good Goddess Convention, where we ponder about what to do about poor Bruce. I think I should just be allowed to help you guys, but I've got to attend another pointless meeting." She sighed. "So, yeah. I've got to go, now! And I'll correct this old map for you." She waved her hand, and sparkles flew onto the paper. "There. It's all fixed. So, bye!"

"BYE!" everyone exclaimed, as Jessica disappeared with a flash of light.

"Why do all the goddesses get such cool exits?" complained Priya. "I wish we could have cool exits." 

Amarantha agreed. "I, for one, would love to be able to disappear like the Cheshire Cat, except my cool new horn would be the last to disappear. Having the grin be the last to disappear would be just creepy."

"I wonder what Jessica meant by 'You will get help from a person you wouldn't expect help from,'" mused Ellie.

"Maybe she's referring to Scott?" suggested Feathers.

"ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT I'M UNEXPECTED HELP?" boomed Scott. "I am upset at this revelation."

"Exactly! Why would she tell us about Scott's help? We know that already. That's not new information," said Science Nerdess.

"Meh...we'll find out later, I guess. Now let's go!" said Priya, and the group valiantly trekked [I like that word. Though I have no idea if I'm using it right.] on to find Anilokalmosia's lair.

Soon, the group found that they were running out of supplies, namely food. They stopped by a port city to restock. "According to the revised map," noted Science Nerdess, "we have to get to the middle of Datwun Lake to get to the island of Anilokalmosia."

"What a very specific name," snorted Scott. "'That One Lake'? Any lake could be called that!"

"Not 'That One Lake,' Scott. Datwun Lake. D-A-T-W-U-N. Datwun," explained Science Nerdess.

"The two are too close for my liking," said Scott. "It could be a respelling for all I know."

"Well, now we've got to get some boat...and someone to steer it. Do any of you people know how to steer boats?" asked Feathers. Everyone said "no" in some way. "Let's get food first," suggested Zella, and the group headed to the General Store of the port city (disguising first, of course). While the others went off in search of supplies, Priya and Feathers stayed behind. "So, what do you want to do?" asked Priya.

"I dunno. Hey, let's check out those books over there--" Feathers was interrupted by a yell.

"AAAAUUUGHH!"

Priya and Feathers looked to see the source of the noise.

Priya helped the girl put the books back on the bookshelf. "Thank you!" said the girl, smiling. "I don't know how it happened. I was just pulling out books and then WHAM! All of these books were on top of me! Gosh, I'm such a klutz."

"Haha, so am I," said Priya. "So, do you like to read?"

"Do I?! I love reading!" said the girl.

"What's your name, by the way?" asked Priya. "I'm Priya."

"Hi Priya," she replied. "I'm...my name is..." She hesitated, then added in a whisper, "Anita." Priya wasn't sure why the girl was whispering her name or why she hesitated before saying it. Maybe that was a fake name, thought Priya, suspiciously. But that didn't matter. She just needed something to call the girl by, and "Anita" would just have to do. But there was something about the name that didn't feel quite right...

"So, what are you getting?" asked Anita.

"Huh?"

"You know, from the store?"

"Oh! Right." Priya grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I was kind of lost in my own thoughts."

Anita laughed. "It's fine."

"My friends and I are getting supplies for our, uh, journey."

"A journey? How fun! Where to?"

"Um..." Priya paused. "To a friend's relative's place. It's on an island in Datwun Lake."

"Gee, that relative must be really brave! Or maybe one of Annie's slaves--but I hope that's not true!" said Anita.

"Yeah, my friend has, uh, been trying to get her to move out, you see, but she doesn't listen. That's why we're all going together...yeah. Yeah, that's it." 

Anita looked at her suspiciously. "You know, you suck at lying."

(That was my attempt at a "Well, crap" face. It failed.)

"Hi, there," said Anita to Feathers. Talking animals were quite common on the island and pretty much everywhere in the planet, so Feathers didn't shock Anita. "Hi, I'm Feathers!" said Feathers.

"Nice to meet you!" grinned Anita. She then turned to Priya and said, "So, can you tell me the real reason now?"

"Okay, fine. The thing is...we have to free Scadoosh from a prison that Anilokalmosia made with the help of Jenisifidincneiwa..."

"Oh, wow! Dangit, why didn't you tell that the first time? What time did this happen?"

"Um...in the...morning? Why?"

"Don't you know that if a god or goddess cannot go to his or her lair within four hours, he or she loses his or her powers and becomes mortal?"

"Oh, yeah! Gosh, I forgot! Gah...it's been so long since I've taken a theology class...oh, darn these budget cuts!" 

"...I thought they were still teaching theology? At least, they still are at my school."

"Well, um..." Priya lowered her voice. "I'm an elf from Renardiyet, and--"

"Oh, I see what you mean. I've heard the budget cuts are pretty bad. But what are we waiting around here for? Don't you have to get to Annie's lair?"

"The problem is we don't have a boat or anything!"

"I have a boat...I guess I could row you there."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? We've got a goddess to save!"

The rest of the group gathered together as Priya introduced Anita to everyone. "She has a boat that can take us to Annie's lair!"

"That's great!" said Science Nerdess. "Let's go, then!"

"Whoa, hooold up a sec," said Scott. "How do we know we can trust her? My own daughter wasn't worthy of my trust; how can we be sure she is?"
"You're forgetting who she'd be messing with if she was to break our trust," said Zella, menacingly.

"Seriously. She's dealing with phoenixes (yours truly), witches, dragons, unicorns, and elves...she'd be a fool if she wanted to mess with us!" said Feathers.

"Whoa, so you guys are magical creatures?" gasped Anita. "Heh, I wasn't going to mess with you guys anyway, but that would give me much less incentive to try and trick you!"

"Well put," said Amarantha.

As the group strolled out, Zella saw a young, forlorn, bespectacled elementary school girl holding a clarinet case. 

"What's the matter, little girl?" asked Zella. "You look sad."

"W-well," blubbered the girl, "My mommy didn't come to pick me up a-and it's been two hours...and n-now I'm sc-scared!"

"Aw, don't worry, we'll take you home!" said Amarantha. "Where do you live?"

"There," said the girl, pointing one chubby finger to the island of Anilokalmosia's lair. "I don't understand why people live there," whispered Priya. "Are you sure we can trust a girl whose parents are probably Anilokalmosia's slaves?"

Ignoring Priya, Zella asked, "And what's your name?"

"I'm Annie," said the girl. "But can you really take me home?"

"Sure! Why not?" said Science Nerdess. As the group walked on toward Anita's boat, Maddie stayed behind and told Priya to do the same. "What happened?" asked Priya.

Maddie took out a book of names. "There's something really weird about the name 'Annie' that just makes me worried. Gods, if only I could remember theology class..."

"What does theology class have to--"

"Oh gods, I was right! Listen here," said Maddie as she read aloud, "Annie: The Chosen Mortal Name of the Goddess of Seduction, Deceit, and Hypnotism. Persons cursed with this name are doomed to a life of evil."

"Aw, fudge nuts! I forgot all about the curses!" said Priya. "How did I forget that people can be cursed or blessed depending on whether they are named the CMN or a derivative [math, yay!] of the CMN of a god or goddess?!"

"I think we'd better warn the others," said Maddie.

"Wait, can I see that book?"

"Um, sure," said Maddie, handing the book over to Priya. Priya flipped through and suddenly said, "Oh, crap! Maddie, look what I found!" 

Maddie looked at what Priya was pointing at and gasped.

Anita: A derivative of the Chosen Mortal Name of Anilokalmosia, the Goddess of Seduction, Deceit, and Hypnotism. Persons cursed with this name are doomed to become evil at some point in their lives, but they can become good again with much effort.

"Crud," said Maddie. "We've really got to warn the others!"

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Oh no! Will Maddie and Priya warn the others in time? Or will something terrible happen first? Stay tuned, and please, do comment!