A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns everything except for plot and original character

Chapter One:

My first monster attack was by far the most embarrassing fight ever. I've seen little kids fight with their siblings over a toy handle the situation better than I did. But oh well. That was six months ago and I'm stronger and wiser now.

At my school, the Yancey Academy, on the rare occasion that we behave, the wonderful Mrs. Kerr takes the kids on exciting educational field trips. As it happened, we'd somehow managed to not cause trouble for a month, so we were going to go to the local greenhouse in honor of Earth Day. I was surprised—this field trip might not suck half as bad as I thought.

Right.

I wore one of my tie-dye t-shirts, old baggy jeans, and a few bracelets, with my customary mood ring. I hate putting labels on people, but if I had to be summed up in a stereotype, it would be "hippie". I loved nature and cared for the environment, stayed very natural, tried to not pollute the air, simple and tried to keep the peace. I get that from my mom, my dad said, nut I wouldn't know, because she died in a freedom rally when I was two.

Anyway, I was an easy target for all the other students at school, because I was so different, but I never let it bother me. Besides, I had my close friend, Miranda Gardner with me, who was also eco-friendly. As Mrs. Kerr talked about how the humidity was good for the plants, Miranda and I had side-conversations about global warming and the best fuel-efficient transportation methods. I know, it sounds like torture, but for eco-nuts like us, it was heaven in comparison to Mrs. Kerr's misinformation.

At the end of the tour, Mrs. Kerr said, "You can look around now, kids. Be careful not to mess anything up!"

Miranda and I were looking at a Venus fly trap about to eat a fly when Jake walked over.

Dear God, I thought. Here we go again… While I couldn't care less what Jake and his cronies said about me, Miranda wasn't that calm. She was without a doubt the most confident person I'd ever met. She was soft and sweet. Until you said the wrong thing on the wrong day. This was one of those days.

"Hey, Anna," he snickered. "Do you get high off of these plants?"

I saw how Miranda clenched her fist and I slightly bumped her, ready to leave.

"No?" He continued, following us. "Then do they turn you on?"

Stay calm, don't cause trouble. He's stupid. Take the high road, I reminded myself over and over. But like I said, you catch Miranda on the wrong day, you asking for trouble. Especially when she's defending her friends.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She hissed. Yes, actual hissage.

Jake smirked, looking Miranda with his electric blue eyes. "Nothing. I'm just trying to understand what runs through a hippie's mind. I mean, after all, most hippies are high all the time. They must see some pretty screwed up shizz."

Ouch. I admit, that one hurt. Especially because I'd never do drugs. That was the number one stereotype that kills me every time. "Wow, Jake," I growled. "Congrats. You said four coherent sentences—that's a new record for you. But please, rest yourself. You don't want to overwork yourself, thinking of a lame comeback. It'd fry the peanut you call a brain."

All the talking from the other kids stopped. No one stood up to Jake like that. He was six foot three, on the wrestling team, and rich enough to get his way out of anything. He laughed cruelly and shoved me up against the wall. "Listen here, Waters—I am giving you to the count of three to bow down and beg for forgiveness before I see if that Venus fly thing eats more than flies.

Looking at his profile much closer, I noticed that his eyes changed from blue to red, all his teeth were sharp as toothpicks, and he had even more muscle than I thought.

"Anna!" Miranda yelled from somewhere behind me. "Run!"

I kicked Jake's knee and bit (I've never been in a fight before. I had no clue what I was doing!) his arm and ran out of greenhouse, followed quickly by my friend.

"We have to get away," Miranda panted. "He'll kill you!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

She ran her fingers through her hair and cursed in some other language. "Styx!"

"Uh… What are we going to do with sticks, exactly?"

She rolled her eyes. "Never mind that. Let's go," she tried to pull my arm, but I resisted.

"If you said Jake will kill me, than he can kill the others too."

It took her a minutes to realize what I was trying to say. "But… how?"

I grinned. "I know a few tricks."

Truth be told, I didn't want to go back down there and I was beyond a shadow of doubt confused at what the heck was happening, but I felt like I'd started a mess and I had to clean it up.

Kids inside the greenhouse were screaming and running around. And it had the distinct smell of pee, I thought as I charged in, looking for Jake.

Creeek! I looked up at the piping. Jake, or what used to be Jake, hung from the ceiling, like a sloth. He reminded me of a vampire, in a way, but much older and much more cruel. He hissed and came down, pinning me to the ground. I was scratched and bruised, but I had a plan.

If I could just get to the control panel… I rolled around to the wall and banged Jake's head against the wall. I was closer to the panel, but I could reach it. Then, out of nowhere, Jake turned into golden dust. I turned to see Miranda holding a small sword, eyes blazing with anger.

"Don't fight monsters..." She gasped. "Unless you know how to kill them."

We walked back to the road in silence. I looked back at all the mess I'd caused. Monsters… Swords… Killer vampires… I thought before passing out.