Hello, everybody! Sorry I kept you hanging! We had to go somewhere for the weekend, and the place didn't have Wi-Fi. Or computers, for that matter. So here's the update. Oh, and once again, thanks for the reviews.

And, apparently, I forgot to add a disclaimer. My bad!

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RICK RIORDAN AND I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON.


Chapter Three:

"Okay, so we need our schedules," Athena instructed as they walked to the school.

Hera wrinkled her nose at the high school students. They were all just slacking around. Some boys tossed footballs at a tree. Most of the girls exchanged gossip and lip gloss samples. A few bullies were sticking pieces of paper to some poor kid's afro. It was the kind of place where she'd want to do her best 'mommy' time-outs and tell the kids off for bad behavior.

They stopped by the principal's office to get their schedules. Percy, Thalia, and Nico were there.

"So, what's your first class, Kelp Head?" Thalia asked as Percy looked at his schedule.

"English," he said. Then he frowned. "Oh, man. Don't they have like special programs for dyslexic kids?"

"You've been in this school for three years," Thalia pointed out. "Why don't you ask?"

Percy thought it over. "Touché. I'll ask later."

"How about you, Death Breath?" Thalia said, turning to Nico.

"Stop it with the nicknames already," Nico grumbled. He glanced at his sheet. "History." He immediately perked up. "Awesome!"

"You like history?" Percy asked in surprise. Nico nodded. "I've talked to a lot of war leaders and soldiers," he explained. "I hang out with all kinds of dead people. I even hung out with William Shakespeare's ghost once in Elysium. Though how Shakespeare ended up in Elysium is the real mystery…"

"The boy is right," Demeter muttered to Hades. "What exactly did Shakespeare do to achieve Elysium?"

"He contributed a lot to the world of theater and plays," Hades whispered back.

Thalia picked up her schedule. "Oh, come on!" she exclaimed, glaring at her schedule. "Seriously. Who puts up with math first thing in the morning?"

"You do," Nico playfully answered.

Thalia scowled. "Can it, Corpse Face." She shook her head, still looking annoyed. "Ah, the things I do for the Hunters…" she trailed off. "Well, I guess it's worth it."

Artemis beamed.

"So, do you want me to introduce you to my friends?" Percy offered.

Thalia snorted. "No thanks, bro. Knowing you, you probably don't have any female friends."

"Yes, I do," Percy snapped back.

Thalia smiled gamely. "Okay, then. Just introduce me to the girls," she said. "I need to get started on my recruiting business. I don't want to have math for the whole year, after all."

The Olympians also scanned their schedules.

"Oh, wonderful," Athena said, grinning. "First-period chemistry. I can't wait!"

"I have chemistry, too," Poseidon said.

Athena smirked. "So I'll be there to watch you fail miserably?"

"I've been around for quite some time, you know," Poseidon shot back. "I happen to understand this chemistry that we both have."

"Oh, my gods! You have chemistry!" Aphrodite squealed. Athena started blushing furiously.

Poseidon looked confused. "Yes, I am aware of that. Why are you acting all giddy about it?"

"You are very dense," Athena snapped, but she was relieved that he didn't get it or it would've been more embarrassing.

"Robotics," Hephaestus read. He brightened. "I happen to be very skilled at that!"

"How on earth is robotics a subject?" Demeter said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, mortals are so strange!"

The Big Three kids left. The gods hurried after them.

Right at that moment, the bell rang.

Athena, being the perfect student, ran to her class, with Poseidon at her heels. The others followed.

"Okay, guys, see ya," Percy said. Then he rushed off.

"Some tour guide he is," Nico said, shaking his head.

Thalia chuckled. "Bye, Nico." Then she zipped through the halls with her Hunter speed.

A teacher came in and frowned at Nico. "Young man," he said sternly. "I give you ten seconds to go to your class before I give you detention." He smiled, as if he was enjoying this. "Ten…nine…"

Oh, crud. Gotta run, Nico thought frantically, but where in Hades is my classroom?

"…four…"

Nico had no choice. He shadow-traveled away.

The teacher blinked once. Then he walked to class, shaking his head. "The youth of today, so quick with their feet," he muttered.


Thalia was a blur in the halls. Of course, she crashed into someone.

"Oops, sorry," Thalia apologized, quickly getting to her feet.

The guy looked up, and Thalia almost peed on her pants. He looked exactly like...

"Luke?" she whispered. She knew that was impossible. Her best friend Luke died in the Titan War. And even if he chose to be reborn, he'd still be a baby right now.

The guy looked at her strangely. "No," he said. Thalia's breath got caught in her throat. Okay, granted, it was weird, but not too freaky. A demigod's life is always full of moments like these.

"I'm Neil," said the dude.

For some reason, Thalia felt butterflies in her stomach. She felt sick. Clutching her forehead, she sped away.

When she reached her classroom, a guy smiled and walked over to her.

"Hi," the guy said. "My name is–"

"Get away from me," Thalia growled. She so did not want to see any boys right now. She stalked off to a farther seat.

The guy, who turned out to be Zeus, stared after his daughter in bewilderment. "What the heck did I do?" he asked Aphrodite, who was sitting behind him.

Aphrodite barely glanced up from her nail file. "Blame Arterm–uh, Luna," she said disinterestedly.


Percy was NOT having a good morning.

To begin with, his English teacher was the same as last year's–Mrs. White.

Mrs. White was a maneating, bad-grading lady. Percy knew that all hope of passing English was lost.

The other thing was Mimi Windsor. Mimi had a mad crush on him since freshman year, way before he and Annabeth started going out. Probably around the time Rachel was still there. Percy supposed that he should find it flattering, but then Mimi always goes so low. Like the time she ambushed his locker with a million love notes. It took him a long time to clean that out.

Then Mimi transferred for sophomore year, which Percy found a relief. Now she's back.

When he saw the two menacing W's–White and Windsor–he knew that this will probably be the worst English class ever.

Mimi's eyes lit up when Percy sat down on the only seat left, which was next to her. "Hey, Percy," she said, trying to look cute.

Percy muttered a 'hi' and started praying desperately to Poseidon to get him out of this mess.


So, what do you think? :) Once again, REVIEW!