"Can you believe this shit?" Percy asks as Grover pulls into the front of the school.
"Well, you better start believing," says Grover, tapping his finger on the steering wheel, looking at the school grimly. His curly brown hair is curlier than usual, his big eyes shadowed with lack of sleep. Most of the time, Grover usually sleeps until eleven but he requires twelve hours of beauty sleep. He's wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday since he hadn't showered when Percy came charging into his room, saying he needs a ride. His acne seems more noticeable and he scratches his wispy beard absentmindedly.
"It's a Saturday, man," Percy complains, pulling down his shades and craning his neck out the window, noticing that there are five other cars in the parking lot. He wonders who the other students are. He hopes that he knows one of them. Being stuck in a library with strangers isn't appealing.
"Eight hours of detention," Grover says, reaching into his jacket and pulling out his squashed cheeseburger, the one he managed to buy from McDonalds, "Good luck."
Percy takes off his glasses and places it on the dashboard, running his fingers through his dark hair and twisting around to grab his bag from the backseat. "I don't deserve to have wasted one weekend."
"Well, this is what you get for skipping classes just to go and play an online tournament." Grover bites into the burger and wipes away the mustard from the corner of his mouth,
"Hey," Percy shoots back, "That tournament was important."
"You still lost anyway."
"Whatever." Percy opens the door but he senses that Grover has something else to say. He looks back at his best friend who is watching him carefully. "What now?"
"Make sure to drink your meds," says Grover tiredly, "and don't get angry. Seriously, Perce, your mom needs a break. Especially after your dad left. She doesn't need another call from the principal."
Percy feels a spark of anger inside him. He knows it too well. It's the animal in him that refuses to be tamed, the animal that gets him trouble and makes him go to the therapist. He hates the animal with a burning rage. He can't shake the feeling of it taking a hold of him. The animal tells him that Grover is underestimating his self-control but he shakes his head and clenches his hands. The animal is wrong.
"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind," Percy mumbles.
Grover nods, a faint smile on his lips. Percy shuts the door, saluting. Grover salutes back.
.
Annabeth is fuming. She has just gotten off the phone with her mom and she is pissed off. Dad is looking at her patiently; his blonde hair swept over one eye. He hasn't gotten much sleep last night since he was up and working on his latest project about re-enacting a Civil War but he was more than happy to oblige with driving Annabeth to school. They rarely talk nowadays except for dinner but even then, it's awkward and tense.
"What did your Mom say?" Dad asks.
"She wants me to go to her house tomorrow," Annabeth says tersely, "She said that she needed me to help her with something but she didn't say what."
"What's wrong with that?"
"I had plans tomorrow but now, I have to rain check," she mutters, pulling her jacket closer. She was planning to go to a movie with Malcolm and Reyna since she hasn't done much mingling with her friends. Sometimes, she hates being the student council president. She wishes she hadn't volunteered but she likes the pride and power she has over to her fellow students. It makes her feel special.
Dad places his hand gently on her shoulder. She flinches and he pulls it away awkwardly.
"Look, I'm sorry our divorce turned into this," he tells her quietly. His eyes are wide with innocence and shining. Annabeth knows what he's trying to do. He's trying to make her feel better so that she can't further blame him with happened. She can still remember the muffled arguments through the thin walls, the angry glares her parents had once exchanged but now that her mom is free and her dad has a new wife and twins in the future, nobody wants to take her in as their problem anymore. Annabeth is the broken remainder of a shattered marriage.
"Yeah, Dad," she mutters because she doesn't know what else to say. She knows her father is sorry but she's too hurt and angry to fully realize this.
"I'll see you in eight hours, I suppose," he tells her.
She nods, still not believing that she's in this mess. It was an accident but the teachers thought it was best for her to know her lesson. She doesn't want to dwell too much into it. She gets out of the car and slams the door shut. Her father calls her name and she raises her hand, not daring to look back because he might be able to see the tears in her eyes.
.
Jason can't hear anything over the loud pounding music of Green Day. He can't think straight. His head is in a mess and he feels as if there is something twisted in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. He looks past the car window, into the steps leading to the front of the school and he rolls his hand into a fist, knowing what he did to be here. Thalia, his sister, knows but she understands.
Speaking of which, Thalia is currently pounding the steering wheel alongside the beat, her short hair messy and ruffled, and blue eyes sparkling with emotion. Jason loves that about his sister. She can get emotional over bands but can be stoic at the same time as well. She isn't black and white; she's absolutely grey.
"So, are you going to say goodbye?" Jason asks, reaching out to lower down the music.
Thalia slaps his hand away, grinning. "Sure, little brother."
Jason smiles. "I'm glad you understand," he tells her.
"Hey, I get it," she tells him, shrugging and finally, she sets down the volume. She turns to look at him. It bothers Jason that they don't really look like. Thalia is dark and punk with her silver earrings, dark hair, freckles and pale complexion while Jason is the opposite. It bothers him because he wants everybody to know that the weird girl who's into bands is his sister and he's proud of it.
"You'll be the one who'll pick me up later?" he asks, his voice quiet.
Thalia smiles. "Of course. Just call me, m'kay?"
He nods, the knot in his chest loosening. Thalia opens up her arms and Jason doesn't hesitate. He hugs her tightly, inhaling her cologne which always smells like pine. She pats his back reassuringly.
"Just don't get into any more trouble," she murmurs against his ear.
"Sure," he says and he lets go, smiling once again. Thalia waves as he gets out of the car. He turns and waves back.
.
"So, Jane will be the one who'll get me later?" Piper asks, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.
Her dad turns to look at her, sighing audibly. Piper is too angry to look at him. She can't help but feel as if he's tired of her, tired of being an only parent to a child with serious problems. She curls her fingers and looks down at her lap, her lower lip trembling and her eyes stinging. She refuses to look up. She doesn't want him to see how he wrecks her.
"Yes," her father says softly, "I know. I'm sorry but my agent called. I have to do something first."
"Of course," Piper mumbles loud enough, "You're Tristan McLean. You always have to do something first, even if it means putting your daughter at the bottom of your list."
"Piper," her dad says impatiently, "I'm doing this for us, okay? I have to work, you know that."
Piper's shoulders are tense. She forces the tears back in and looks up, meeting her father's unwavering gaze. He has a five o'clock shadow on his chin and there are bags under his eyes but he is still handsome, he is still the beautiful Tristan McLean. He is still her father, no matter how much she loathes his job.
"Of course I know," she murmurs.
He smiles. He has a dazzling smile, one that can make her forget her anger.
"Jane will pick you up, okay?" he tells her.
"Sure." She tries to nod but it's more like a spasm. She hates Jane but she can't tell him that. Jane is his trusted assistant and he doesn't want to fire her just because his daughter dislikes her.
He nods and then hugs her tightly. She inhales his aftershave and buries her face into the crook of his shoulder. He rubs her back and she thinks about her mother, who used to do this for her, who her brow when she was having a fever, who rubbed her back to release tension, who used to be there for her.
When her dad lets go and Piper can see that he's thinking about her mom as well.
"Be good," he whispers.
Piper nods and she turns and gets out of the car. She walks a few steps before she turns around. Her father smiles, as if he was waiting and Piper smiles as well.
.
Frank looks down at his hands which are still on his lap. His grandmother is saying something but he can't hear her over the pounding in his ears. He feels ashamed about being in detention on a freaking Saturday but he tries to forget about it. What happened was an accident. He didn't mean to but still, the guilt courses through his veins like poison and his face feels hot.
His grandmother turns to him, shaking her head.
"I'm disappointed in you, fai," she tells him.
"Yes, ma'am," he mumbles because he, too, is disappointed as well.
"What would your mother think if she was here?"
Frank doesn't say anything but his heart pounds twice as much as it should've. He doesn't want to think too much about it because he's afraid that he might cry. His mom died a year ago, a fact he doesn't want to dwell in. She was a war hero in Afghanistan, but she was shot when she tried to save some comrades. Frank's ears start ringing because he's remembering and the pain comes back like an ocean drowning him.
His grandmother scoffs. "She'd be rolling in her grave if she knew."
Frank shuts his mouth and glares out the window. He can't tell his grandmother to shut up. It would be disrespectful and if there is one thing Grandmother Zhang drilled into his head for years, it's that he will respect her for as long as he lives.
"Yes, ma'am," he mutters.
"Your lunch is in your bag," she tells him and Frank looks up. He's glad that the subject has changed but he can still feel the anger and disappointment radiating from her. Grandma is never easy to please.
"Yes, ma'am." He feels like a robot, repeating things he's said over and over again but this doesn't bother his grandmother. In fact, she's satisfied with it.
After the silence nearly drowns him, Frank realizes that it's his cue to leave. He turns and gets out of the car, slamming it shut behind him. He doesn't turn around because he knows that if he does, he'll see his mother's eyes in his grandmother's face and he can't bear that. He can't bear to see the disappointment flickering in his mother's eyes.
.
Hazel twists one curly hair with her finger, glancing around in agitation. She doesn't like being here-she doesn't like going to school, period. She hates it even. She hates the cliques and the teachers, the patronizing way the adults handle students. She hates it with such a burning passion that she caused a fire alarm to go off and sent the entire school in a frenzy. This detention is her punishment. Being stuck in school on a Saturday for eight hours alongside other students. The adults are probably laughing their heads off, knowing that all of them might lose their shit in there.
Nico shuts the engine of the car and turns to look at her. She sighs and her breath creates a fog on the glass.
"You really shouldn't have pulled down that fire alarm," he tells her.
"I know," she murmurs.
"Dad's pissed off," he mutters.
"Yeah." She crosses her arms and looks past the window. Nico is her half brother and they have a complicated relationship together. She gets along well with their sister, Bianca but she left for college and hasn't been back since. Nico's stuck with her and she wonders if he's angry at that fact.
She doesn't want to think about Bianca. She doesn't want to think about her dad. She doesn't want to think about anything except for the next eight hours in front of her.
Nico touches her arm. She softens. She turns to look at him, noticing the dark shadows under his eyes. He never gets enough sleep since he spends most of his night playing online games about Mythology. He smiles weakly. Hazel doesn't know what he thinks about her. They only found out about their dad's affair two years ago and it's still hard to read Nico.
But she pushes that thought away. She doesn't want to think about family.
"I'll see you after school," he tells her.
She nods and then Nico does something simply puzzling that she stops thinking for a second. He leans forward and plants a kiss on her forehead. Her body tenses. Nobody has ever showed this kind of affection for her before, especially not their dad. Hazel's mom forgot how to be her mom a long time ago.
Hazel smiles. "Thanks, Nico."
He shrugs, as if it's nothing but it's obviously a big deal for him because he never acts on love. It's a big deal for Hazel as well. She turns around and gets out of the car. She doesn't turn around because she hears Nico starting the car and driving away. She hopes that this day won't be bad enough to wipe away her smile.
.
Leo doesn't have a car.
Well, he used to have one but he accidentally drove into a tree and the engine got busted. He was supposed to fix it today but then, he has detention to go to. He doesn't mind actually but he despises the teachers all shaking his head and muttering about wasted potential. He hates school but he goes through it because he has nothing better to do and his father doesn't like him staying in their garage too long, trying to fix broken things.
Leo lights up a cigarette and smokes it. He likes the flames and the fire that ignites within. He exhales, watching as every student who are heading into detention today get out of their cars and climb up the steps. He wants to join them but he is an outcast and always has been. He's an outsider and he prefers to keep the universe in the balance.
He drops the cigarette and steps on it, frowning. Eight hours in school. He doesn't know what to expect. He runs his fingers through his rather curly hair and stands up from his place in a bench. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small object. It's supposed to be a watch of some sort, one he found in his basements. He thinks that if he might be able to fix it then his dad will be able to see how much of a good mechanic he is, even if the jokes that come out of his mouth might be too endearing.
His heart suddenly feels heavy. All he wants is for his father, his old man, to realize that his potential isn't wasted at all. He just wants to belong in a world full of machines and broken things because deep down inside, he is broken as well. Better to fix something fixable rather than him.
Leo sighs and walks towards the school, wondering if the next eight hours might be hell for him.