Authors Note: Hello. In this story Percy is 13 years old, turning 14 soon. He will eventually meet Nico (but not too much wait) who will be the same age as Percy. Ill be incorporating elements from the books with slight changes to fit the story, so you'll probably recognize those. Please review, this is my first story I've ever written so I'd love some helpful criticism. I'll try to update with both changes to improve the story, but no dramatic changes, and new chapters. Thanks!
Today was the last day of school, for me, the last day of 7th grade. The final day of everybody's six-hour daily torture routine, the last day where they were obligated to do homework or stay out of trouble. This time I went to a middle school in Manhattan Beach, I won't say which, because it changes often. Anyway, my mom, Sally, always had me in schools near the ocean, saying it was "good for me," but never really telling me why.
With five minutes left in class, I propped open my latest comic book I was reading. Comic books were good for me because I didn't need to read all the words on the page to understand what was happening, I couldn't even if I tried. I've had dyslexia and ADHD as far back as I can remember. I've always been quiet in class, never speaking out of turn and rarely answering a teacher's question. Because of that, I was happily ignored by the student body. It's interesting what things you can learn when no one thinks your ears are worth withholding information from.
The bell rang, and students around me hurriedly sat up, stuffing their backpacks with their binders and running off as fast as they could. It was Friday, so they naturally all had some place to get to in a hurry. Some of them were hurrying to parties or their friend's house. However, I stalled packing my things, opting to be the last person to leave the classroom; I had nowhere special I needed to be.
It wasn't that I was afraid of some of the other students, or that I couldn't make friends, I just never felt that I really connected with them, never felt the need to go out of my way to socialize with them. It never felt worthwhile anyway. Our little "system" worked, and I was left alone. Today wasn't one of those days.
I walked out of the class and away from the campus, taking the back alleys and trails I knew well because they would get me home the quickest. I thought to myself that I could go down to the water today or talk to the fishermen and homeless people. They always had different stories to tell.
As I turned into one of the shadier alleyways, a group of kids in 8th grade approached me. I knew these kids well from their reputation, because they were the stereotypical "popular "snobby kids who bullied their way to get what they wanted.
Spencer, the ringleader, was about a foot taller than me and had much larger muscles, but, not much going on upstairs if you know what I mean. His three accomplices were people I also recognized by reputation. The meanest looking of the three was Joe, with hair that he always swept to the side in an annoying, egotistical way that covered most of his face and his eyes when he wasn't fussing over it. The next one, Matthew, was very skinny and lanky, taller than Spencer and the others. He was great at intimidating kids around school into giving what he wanted, but not great at enforcing those demands when Spencer and his group weren't around. The last one, Peter, was an incredibly unremarkable person, that somehow made it in with Spencer's group. He worshipped the other three and did whatever he was bid, constantly groveling and begging to the most "powerful" person around school, or whichever environment he was in, to secure his safety.
Trying to avoid any conflict, I tried to keep walking passed them into the more open and visible street when Spencer bumped me back into the semicircle the four eighth graders had now enclosed around me, barring my way forward.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here everybody, this 7th grader got lost on his way home." Said Spencer, "How rude of you to bump into us as we were walking." Spencer grinned at his "group" of friends as he said this.
"Get lost," I said, again trying to move past the teens by pushing Spencer aside, but only succeeding in moving him a little, not accomplishing anything of what I had expected.
Spencer's pompous smirk disappeared from his face, replaced by a sinister smile that said things were about to get bad for me.
"No. No, I don't think we will," Spencer said, "in fact, you are going to empty your bag right now and give me anything I want from it."
I got angry. I hated people like Spencer who were so ignorant and selfish they didn't care who they hurt to get what they wanted.
"I don't know Spencer… I don't have any condoms in here if that's what you're hoping to find? By the way, how far along is Audrey? But make sure to tell her to stop drinking so much, that'll fuck up the baby more than you obviously were."
The color drained from Spencer's face right as I said those words. You see, to him, that was a closely guarded secret. He didn't realize the "trusted" people he had informed of this secret were as bad at talking quietly as a lawnmower.
"Punk," he started to say, "you're going to pay for that one. This should serve as a reminder to keep your mouth shut and your nose out of other people's business."
His goons started to crack their knuckles and close tighter around me, forming a semicircle blocking off any route I could take but the way I had come from. They started to branch off, closing off the circle. A few more steps and I'd have no cards to play. If I did nothing I might as well begin emptying my back right now and save them the trouble.
Starting to smile as well, knowing this wouldn't end anyway but badly, I said, "Ya... I'm going to have to pass on that offer, terribly sorry to disappoint."
Spencer tried to begin talking again, likely telling me how I was wrong, or what he'll do to me will teach me some grand lesson worth remembering, but he never finished that sentence as I lunged forward, kneeing him hard in a very, uh, sensitive place, and turning around and running like hell.
As I ran I heard Spencer's yell of a mixture of both shock and pain, which sounded nice, however, I also heard him shout at his crew to go after me, and then, the sound of his three lackeys running after me.
I ran back to the school, pushing through groups of kids and different crowds hoping to lose them in the chaos, but they still chased after me. Jumping onto a railing and hopping from there onto a trash can, I reached to the fence that separated the school grounds from the busy street and began to climb. I barely made over, right as I swung my legs over the fence I felt the whoosh of air made by Joe's attempt to grab my foot. I dropped down to the sidewalk just as Joe got to the top of the fence, and not far behind him Spencer, Matthew, and Peter.
Chest heaving and legs burning, I ran across the street, looking around at how I could possibly go to get rid of my new "fans." I scanned the different streets and saw another alleyway, however this one was another dead end. Two other streets lead away from my house towards the sand dunes, and towards the pier and beach. Immediately I caught my breath when I saw the ocean, gazing at the view. I shook myself back to the present ran started towards the beach in time, as Spencer and his group were now over the fence, running towards me at full speed.
The ocean had transfixed me as far back as I could remember. Something about it always drew me back towards it, but I could never figure out what that was. Maybe it was how one minute the ocean could be a beautiful blue, green, sparkling source of comfort, and the next a brooding, dark blue, white capped void. Or maybe it was because of how much of an effect it had had on my life; I have been living by the water my entire life. Either way, it was where I felt most comfortable with myself. I could never feel lonely there, because it was always intriguing me in a new way, watching the dolphins glide through the water, following the schools of fish if I was ever in the water, or even watching seals sun bathing on the rocks.
The four kids continued to pursue me, but adrenaline coursed through me keeping me safe for now as I ran through the streets. I pushed through a group of teens I recognized from school. They shouted in indignation, but quickly quieted and backed off when they saw Spencer running after me, red in the face with anger and sprinting after me as fast as he could. Now the entire bay was open in front of me. I could see over to Malibu, the Manhattan and Redondo piers, and the secluded neighborhoods of Palos Verdes. Sprinting downhill, I was about to reach the beach when my foot caught on the curb of a sidewalk and I flew forward, landing painfully on the concrete ground 10 feet from the curb.
Many of the people walking stopped and formed a loose circle around me, asking if I was ok. I was bruised quite badly, and I had a gash starting below my sternum and running to my right shoulder. The pain hit a few seconds after I sat back up, jarring me from my dazed state.
A lady to my right asked again if I was ok when I saw Spencer and his group reach the crowd, glaring at me wickedly. They knew once this crowd dissipated that they would have me all to themselves.
Shooting back up to my feet, I pushed through the back of the crowd, running towards the end of the pier.
I made it too, but then I realized I had nowhere else to run. Here I was, surrounded by my favorite place in the world, with no options. The kids caught up to me, smiling from ear to ear now that they knew they had me cornered.
"Hope you had fun leading us on this chase, Percy," Spencer spat with a snarl.
"We'll be sure to repay you in full for the trouble you've caused today," Joe said, smirking.
They closed in on me. I was trapped between all four of them, backed up against the railing that separated me from the thirty-foot drop into the ocean.
They edged even closer. I had maybe a few seconds at best before they reaced me. I didn't know how I could worm my way out of this situation.
Right before they reached me, a crazy idea came to me as suddenly as the ocean could change from happy to angry, as quickly as it could change from a calm, tranquil expanse to a dangerous terrain of skyscrapers of water destroying ships at sea.
Turning my back to my aggressors, I put one leg up on the railings, and jumped.