I walk, brisk paces that cover ground quickly. This task is important and I feel my heart racing. Rather, I feel the heart I am borrowing racing.

It's complicated.

I'm a god, I borrowed a body.

Not so complicated I guess.

I've taken to this body well enough. He was a marathon runner, that's part of how we ended up here. Perhaps I should have taken more time to research the body, then I wouldn't be here. I take a turn and listen to the echo of my footsteps in these hallowed halls. My destination is not far now.

I rest my hand on the door handle and take a deep breath, readying for the horrors that lie within.

A door placard screams at me, a word I do not like.

I open the door to the principal's office.

​

Both of them sit on chairs, looking defiant and glum at the same time. I don't know how they do that, it has been the greatest mystery of my considerably long life. I have met actual, living, corporeal gods and these children confuse me.

They open their mouths at the same time and words come tumbling out in a hurricane. I hold up one finger and they fall silent, clamping those fast talking mouths shut.

It was a mistake to take this body. Even as a god I have...restrictions.

I cannot leave a body for some time after commandeering it. I cannot be in corporeal form on this planet without a borrowed body. When I woke up in this body I found that two teenagers were just away with their mother on a trip and returned that same morning. I entered a human body to carry out plans on the mortal plane and now I am in a high school sitting down across from a very cross looking man with a shiny bald head and a beard that I would be my own godhood is dyed brown.

"Principal Cheevers."

"It's a Sh, Cheevers, not a hard Ch." He says. Grouchy. We have done this three times now and I think he does not find this as funny as I do.

"What did they do now?" I look at the two of them.

They look like me. Of course they do. Since...I am their father. Or rather, this body is their father. It gets complicated.

Fraternal twins. They have my eyes and nose, their mother's ears and cheeks, she has long hair and he does not. I raise an eyebrow when they make to defend themselves again and then stop.

"They were found tampering with the spring formal banner."

"Tampering? My that does sound serious." I say. "How did they tamper with this banner?"

"We turned it around!" She says. Principal Cheevers shoots her a look and she juts her chin out but keeps quiet.

"Turned it around!?" I say, adopting a look of shock and clutching my chest in horror. "Goodness! A backwards banner, that does sound serious."

Principal Cheevers is displeased with the three of us, possibly in equal measure or maybe just a little more at me now.

"Mister Chatham, it isn't the quality of the disruptions that concerns me, it is the quantity."

"Mister Cheevers." He opens his mouth to correct my pronunciation but I plow ahead. "I promise that I will severely punish them for tampering with a pretty sign. If there is nothing else, we're going to go and I would appreciate it if you don't call me from work for something that can be fixed by turning it around. OK?"

I don't wait for a reply. We leave and walk the halls in silence, walking through them until we exit into a parking lot. Still in silence we cross to our car and everyone gets in, closing doors and sitting in silence for a minute.

Finally, I speak.

"How'd you get caught?"

"Janitor." Travis says. So glum, this boy.

"We were almost done, too." Tiff says. Ringleader, this one.

"Harmless, amusing, good job." I say, starting the car. "Next time get a lookout."

They've stopped asking me 'you're not mad?' for a couple weeks now. I appreciate that. We had a long conversation about limits on frivolity, I am not Dionysus and I have limits. It was a good conversation.

I feel the smile playing at the corner of my mouth while we drive away and they launch into the explanation of their plot.

Gods help me, I've come to like these kids.

Never let it be said that Hermes ducked out of his fatherly responsibilities.