Grover leads me down a hall with (surprisingly enough), pale yellow walls. There aren't any pictures, but the yellow looks great compared to the purple of Mr. D's office, or the white walls of the reception.
"So, Percy," Grover says, trying to strike up a conversation," Where you from?"
"Manhattan," I answer monotonously.
"Cool," He says, "I've always wanted to go to Manhattan, but I'm from Chicago, and then came here and...well, I don't get much time out of here."
I nodded silently, unsure of what to say.
"If you're nervous about being here, don't worry," He continues, "There's bound to be someone you connect with. Actually, I can probably recommend some people that you might like."
"Do you guys have a pool?" I blurt out. It's the ADHD.
Grover looks taken aback. "Um, no, but occasionally, if we ask really nicely, we can get small group field trips somewhere."
"Oh," I say. This sucks.
Real quick, I love swimming. And I'm good at it. I was the captain of my school swim team until I tried to drown Gabe and got sent here.
I follow Grover up a flight of stairs. We come out onto the second floor. Here, the walls are pale blue. Before I go any further, this big, buff security guard comes up to me and runs a metal detector over me. Another guard takes my bags and runs them through an x-ray machine.
"This a safety razor?" He asks, pointing at the screen.
I nod. My mom had packed that stuff for me, and she knew what she was doing.
"Alright, he's clear," The first guard says to Grover who leads me through some sliding doors at the sound of a buzzer. On the other side, I pick up my bags and we continue on our way.
I don't know what I'm expecting, but I don't see any people in the hall. There's no sign of life, psychopathic or otherwise. Grover stops in front of a door, and opens it. I follow him inside.
Pale green walls, a single bed against one wall, with white sheets and a blue blanket. There's a chest of drawers beside it, a desk on the other side of the room. A door which leads into a small bathroom. There's one window, with (surprise, surprise) bars. I drop my bags on the bed and throw my coat on it as well. I look out the window and see a small courtyard. No one there either.
"Where is everyone?" I ask Grover.
"Well, it's almost eleven, so they'll mostly be in the lounge or the art room. Maybe the library." He claps his hands together eagerly. "Ready for your tour?"
"Why not," I mutter.
First, he shows me where the cafeteria is. Good choice. It's not far from my room, which is perfect. It looks like a school cafeteria with long tables and benches. There's a bowl of fruit, and I grab an apple. I eat it as I follow Grover.
There's the games room, the computer room, the vending room, and the weight room - all empty.
Then he leads me to the lounge. It's pretty big with a widescreen TV on one wall. There's a groups of kids around my age, maybe older, maybe younger, sitting in front of it in various positions watching an old episode of Friends.
"Do you want to be introduced?" Grover asks me. I shake my head vigorously. No need to draw unnecessary attention to the new kid. He nods, and leads me to the last stop on our tour.
The art room.
There's a handful of kids here. It smells like acrylics, clay, and markers. They have easels, tables, cabinets full of art supplies, and a floor to ceiling window (with bars, but still) with a view that looks out over the skyline of rural wherever-the-hell-I-am.
Grover takes me by the elbow and drags me over to where a blonde girl is concentrating hard on what looks like a blueprint.
"Hey, Annabeth," He says, "This is Percy."
Annabeth looks up and I'm startled by her appearance. At first I thought "Hey, a typical California type. Blonde and tanned.", but then I saw her eyes. They are the stormiest grey I have ever seen. But even if I don't know her, I just know that her eyes match her.
"Hey," She says to me.
Me, never having been good with girls, well, I just nod.
"I was hoping that you might show Percy the ropes," Grover continues, "He's new, and you know this place like no one else."
"Yeah, whatever," She shrugs.
"Great!" Grover turns to me and waves bye.
Hesitantly, I pull up a chair beside Annabeth. We sit in silence only broken by the sound of her pencil scratching on the paper.
"So," I say finally, "What're you drawing?" Her eyes flash up at me and I'm pretty sure she's thinking of a hundred different ways to kill me.
"I'm designing an ancient Greek temple," She answers snarkily, "A temple to the goddess Athena."
"Goddess of wisdom, weaving, art, and war," I say.
Annabeth looks surprised. "How do you know that?" She demands.
I shrug. "I like Greek stuff."
A smile small graces her features. "Me too," She says.
"Who's your favorite?" I ask, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Athena, no contest," She replies quickly.
"I'm a Poseidon fan," I say proudly. She looks up at me with a look that is telling me just how dumb she thinks I am.
"Seriously?" She asks disbelievingly. "Poseidon? His head is full of algae!"
"I think he would prefer to be called seaweed brain," I say snootily, trying to ease the air of 'I want to kill you' that Annabeth seems to be giving out.
She rolls her eyes, "Maybe I'll start calling you seaweed brain just for saying that," She mumbles. I let out a short laugh, but she's already working on her blueprint again. So I sit there and watch her work.
The seconds tick by painfully slow. I think about trying to talk to Annabeth again, but she looks really focused, and hey - I'm in an institution for troubled youth. For all I know, she enjoys ripping off people's toes one by one. So I sit there until a loud bell rings through the room.
Annabeth puts down her pencil, and stands up. She's taller than I thought she would be, almost as tall as me, shorter only by about two inches. It's intimidating, because she also looks athletic and ready to take me down at any moment.
"Lunch time," She say monotonously, and she walks purposefully out of the art room and I follow her down to the lunch room.
The room is filling up rapidly with youths. Kids ranging from about ten years old, to a few gorillas who look like they're almost twenty.
"So," Annabeth says, turning towards me, "Follow me, get your food, and you can sit with me today." I get the impression that she doesn't want me there tomorrow.
"Okay," I say, holding back the urge to mock salute. We head over to the line by the serving counters. There are three old ladies working behind the counter. They're all wearing matching blue-knit sweaters underneath their aprons. I avoid making eye-contact with any of them, because they're creeping the heck out of me, silently slopping food onto people's plates. Annabeth leads me over to a table where there is already a handful of kids sitting down.
"Hey guys," She greets, "This is Percy. He's gonna sit with us."
An outdoorsy guy with sandy blonde hair grins up at me. "Hey Percy," He says, "I'm Luke." He extends his hand. I awkwardly shuffle my tray into one hand and shake his with my free hand. His grip is like a vice, and I grin back to mask any pain that could show up.
"Hey," I say. He lets go of my hand. Thank god.
"I'm Thalia," A punk-type girl says. She's got electric blue eyes, inky black hair, and an array of piercings in her ears that look dangerous. I nod at her, and Annabeth sits down. I follow suit, sitting across from her.
A small Spanish guy waves at me. "The name's Leo Valdez," He says with a slight accent, "Don't wear it out."
"I probably won't," I mutter to myself.
Another blonde guy nods at me. "Jason," He says, "Thalia's brother, actually." I try -and fail - to hide my surprise. They look so completely different. No way.
"No way," I vocalise, "Really?"
They both nod. I let out a low whistle.
"Hey guys!" A girl who looks like she could be of native American descent rushes over to us. She's got a tray filled up with pretty much just desserts. "Oh, new kid?" She says, spotting me.
"Yeah," I answer.
"Sweet," She says, smiling dazzlingly, "I'm Piper. It's nice to meet you."
I try to smile back. "Likewise."
"Has anyone seen Hazel or Frank?" Leo pipes up.
Luke shrugs. "Not since I played a round of poker with them about an hour ago."
Annabeth rolls her eyes and exchanges a look with Thalia.
"I thought you were here to stop your gambling problems," Thalia says, nudging Luke with her elbow.
"Nah," He says, "I'm here for the sadism thing." Thalia just laughs and goes back to eating the food on her tray.
I munch silently on my Mac and cheese while they all talk to each other. Annabeth seems much more comfortable with these people, and I even see her laugh a few times. Leo is (extremely obviously) ADHD to the point of near insanity. Thalia and Jason both seem skittish, and Piper is pocketing a few things every now and then. I can't help but speculate as to why they're all here.
"So, Percy," Luke says, cutting me out of my reverie, "What did you do to wind up here?"
"Tried to kill my stepdad," I shrug.
"Nice," He grins toothily at me, "How?"
"Shoved his head underwater for about a minute."
He laughs and I start to feel that there are a few things off with this guy.
"Did it work?" He asks, leaning in. I shake my head, and he leans back. "Too bad. It's always a better story when it works."
"Leave the kid alone, Luke," Thalia says, "He's just got here and you're already creeping the fuck out of him."
"Hey, who wants to ask for a field trip soon?" Leo asks.
Everyone gives some form of consent.
"Where to?" Jason asks.
"Museum!" Annabeth calls out.
"Park!" Luke retorts.
"Pool!" I join in. Everyone looks over at me. I feel a blush rise onto my face.
"That's a good idea, Seaweed brain," Annabeth says finally, "I vote for pool as well!"
"Let's do it!" Leo yells, punching the air.
Then the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch.
So maybe things won't be too bad.
A/N: Yes, a fast update in the middle of the night. Don't get used to it, darlings.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited, followed, anything! You are all le bomb diggity!
Maybe review again?
I own less than nothing!
-breezered
