CHAPTER 8 – IT'S COUNSELING TIME
I had to admit that getting 'ambushed' in the GUY's dressing room was a nice change. Though right now, it was pretty irrelevant.
Ethan looked at Tyson curiously. "Who's this?" he asked turning to look at me. "Your partner?"
"I'm his brother," Tyson said with pride as he stood up towering everyone in the room.
"Half-brother," I mumbled under my breath.
"What's with the shades big guy?" Ethan asked.
"What's with the eye patch?" he retorted.
"He wants to be a pirate," I said. "Though I'm not sure that's a legal thing."
Ethan glared at me. "Shut your smart mouth!"
I raised my eyebrows at him unimpressed by his threat. I kind of pitied him. He really looked terrible. A broken nose, a bruise on his left cheek. I wasn't sure why he had a crutch. From what I remembered from our last encounter, I'd only knocked him out.
"C'mon boys," the cosplaying pirate beckoned his friends. "Teach these guys a lesson!"
"Wait!" I held up my hands in front of me as I jumped to my feet. They all looked startled. "Can't we, you know, settle this like civil people?"
Ethan's good eye blinked at me like he was stunned. His boys looked hesitantly at their 'master' like lost puppies. Ethan shook his head as his face turned red. "No! Take them!"
So much for talking my way out of this. Maybe next time I should wave a white flag of truce or something. Since there were eight of them and only two of us, they divided into two groups of four.
Two tried to punch me, but I dodged by jumping back onto the bench. They lunged at me again at my legs. I quickly dodged one before stepping on his face to jump over the other one.
I landed in between the two blondies. They tried to punch me. I merely ducked and they punched each other instead, making them stumble backwards. I did a low kick to sweep one off his feet before I kicked the other one in the chest and he fell backwards. Two down, two to go.
I turned just in time to see one of them tackle me like a rugby man. Pain shot through my back as I hit the lockers. I elbowed him repeatedly in the back until he released his hold on me. I then connected my knee against his stomach, I grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the lockers knocking him out cold.
I took a second to catch my breath and checked on Tyson. He was like a beast. He was holding one guy up over his head nearly touching the ceiling while the others were all lying on the floor. I stared at Tyson with my mouth slightly open when someone grabbed me by the back of my neck with both hands.
He tried to choke me from behind, I guess, but it was ineffective as I put my arms up and turned 180 degrees forcing him to let go me as I faced my attacker. It was the bald headed one who I had stepped on his face earlier. He didn't look to happy while he was still trying to punch me, yet again.
With my right hand, I grabbed hold of his punching wrist and directed to my left where his fist connected with the lockers. I let go of his wrist as he winced in pain and I gave him a hard kick in the chest. He landed hard on his back.
I looked back towards Tyson and saw that he had finished too and there was only Ethan left who stood next to the exit like an idiot. His one eye was so wide, I thought it would fall out.
"H-how?" he spluttered when suddenly the gym door opened to reveal none other than Coach Hedge. I noticed Ethan bolt out of the room before he could get noticed.
"What is the meaning of this?" He looked at the guys lying on the ground: some unconscious, others awake and groaning in pain. Then he looked up at Tyson and me standing over them panting slightly and I knew what was going to happen even before he said the words.
"You two!" he barked. "PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE! NOW!"
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"You know, Peter Johnson, I'm getting quite tired seeing you in my office, lately."
Mr. D drank from his coke, his feet on his desk looking at me with boredom. I returned to exact same look from where I sat opposite him. I felt the urge to mimic him even more and put my own feet on his desk, but I decided against it. I wasn't' in the mood to get in any more trouble then I already was in.
I sighed. "How many times to I have to say it? It's Percy Jackson."
He waved his hand. "Whatever," he said before he removed his feet from his desk and leaned forward to look down at a piece of paper in front of him. "It says here that Mr. Jamison and Mr. Jamison were found in the boy's dressing room of the gym surrounded by eight other students unconscious."
He looked up at me. I thought the urge to throw something at his stupid face when he yet again had my name wrong. He was definitely doing it on purpose.
"Care to explain why you and your brother knocked unconscious eight football players?" he asked innocently. I was about to reply but he cut me off. "Actually, you know what, I don't care. You're testing my nerve. I think you need some counseling."
I stared at him dumbly. Was he serious? I needed counseling? Before I could tell him any fancy insults, his phone rang.
"Principal D of Half-Blood High, how can I help you?" he asked. He listened before he looked at me and clearly mouthed: What are you still doing here?
I made sure to slam his door when I left his office making the secretary jump in surprise from her seat. Tyson quickly stood up when he saw me and followed me close behind. "Where are we going?"
"To see the counselor."
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I found the counselor's office not far from the Main Office. The corridors were empty as everyone was in class. I read with difficulty because of my dyslexia, the name Mr. Solace on the door. I was about to turn the handle to enter, but Tyson stopped me.
With a sigh, I knocked.
No one answered.
I opened the door wide, Tyson standing behind me as we took in the interior. It was a little bit bigger than the principal's office. The walls were a chocolate brown as was the ceiling and the floor was made of big dark grey tiles that reminded me of Annabeth's eyes. I shook that thought away as I refocused my attention back on the room.
There were various paintings of insects and landscapes on the walls. The big windows on the right had the shutters half closed letting sun light inside. There was a comfy looking couch under the windows next to another smaller one all circling a coffee table. There were other various furniture around the room. There was a desk at the end of the room and –
I did a double take. I hadn't noticed him before when I first opened the door, because of his clothing maybe or maybe because he was absolutely standing still, but there was a tall man standing next to his desk watering his plants.
He didn't seem to notice us yet. "Hello?" I called out.
He suddenly began speaking in another language. At first I thought maybe I didn't hear him properly, but I soon realized that he was speaking some kind of language native to East Asia or something.
Tyson and I exchanged looks. "Uh, sorry-" I pointed at the door where the name was written on it. "We're looking for uh, Mr. Solace?"
He put the small watering can down and turned to look at us with a smile. He was handsome with his short blond hair, strong jaw, rosy lips and a perfect tan. He was an inch or more taller than me with an athletic build. I would guess he was in his early thirties.
He moved a little closer before he began to speak again in that same Asian language that I didn't understand a word of.
I sighed. "They moved offices?" I asked. "There's a door sign- any English at all?"
He continued in that language. Nope he didn't seem to get it. "Okay." I held my hand up in a quick wave as I turned to leave. "We're done here."
"See?" he suddenly said with a perfect English accent. I turned to look at him. "How hard it is to communicate when you're not speaking the same language?"
I gave him an unbelieving look. I heard Tyson behind me ask: "So, you're the counselor?"
"You're learning already, grass hopper," he grinned. He pointed at the couch. "Grab some couch."
I swallowed hard, before my legs carried me like a zombie to the couch. Tyson closed the door behind him and took a seat next to me a little more excited than he should have been.
"So, I understand that you two haven't known each other for a while, is that correct?" he asked sitting down on the other smaller couch.
"If you mean by a while, our whole lives, then yeah." I crossed my arms.
"Okay," he said. "Given how I heard what you two did earlier, I sense that you two need to get to know each other better."
"And how do you propose we do that, exactly?"
"Sometimes, I like to have my participants make physical contact," he said. "Why don't you two hold hands."
"Ok." Tyson nodded enthusiastically. I wanted to face palm myself.
"I'm not doing that," I muttered under my breath.
"Hmm?" Mr. Solace asked.
"Do you see?" Tyson asked motioning at me. I gave him a weird look. What is up with him?
"Reach out your hand," the counselor said.
Tyson did as he was instructed to my disbelief. Mr. Solace looked at me expectantly. "He's literally reaching out for you."
"He won't hold my hand," Tyson said.
"I'm not doing that."
"I'm kind of going to need you to do it." Mr. Solace insisted.
"He won't hold my-"
With a groan I grabbed his hand roughly.
"You got to interlock it, though," Tyson added as we both fumbled with our hands until we finally had them interlocked.
"Nice, right?" Mr. Solace asked.
"Okay, you see this?" I motioned my right hand at our two intertwined hands. "This is strong. What I want to be able to have-" I managed to wiggle my hand out of Tyson's hand with difficulty because of his iron grip. "I want to be able to have that, this same thing without having to actually do it."
"Are you embarrassed about your brother?"
"Half-brother," I corrected. "And no, no, not at all."
Suddenly I heard a beep! I looked at where the sound originated from. Under the counselor's hand was this big pink button. Where did that come from?
"The hell is that?" I asked.
"That's my lying button!" he exclaimed excitedly. "When you say something that's… nothing but lie." He pressed it again to prove his point. Tyson nodded. I shook my head.
"I didn't lie."
Beep!
"Lie by omission," he explained with hand gestures. "You said the word 'no' back to back. Repetitive, proximity, pattern."
Tyson nodded once again.
"Oh, c'mon!" I groaned. "Why the heck are you two ganging up on me, uh?" I asked looking at both of them.
Mr. Solace sighed. He looked at Tyson. "Could you give me and Percy the room please?"
Tyson nodded in understanding as he grabbed his bag and walked up to the door. He looked back at me, but I couldn't identify what he was thinking with those shades of his. He left without a word.
There was an awkward moment of silence as neither of us said anything. That until Mr. Solace broke the silence.
"So what happened out there?" he asked. "In the… how do you call it? Guy's dressing room?"
I sighed. "I don't know. Me and Tyson-"
"Tyson and I," he corrected.
I rolled my eyes. "Tyson and I were changing after basketball when these eight guys came in and started attacking us."
"Self-defense then?" he asked.
"Yes."
There was another moment of awkward silence. This time I broke it.
"So, are you going to punish me or what?" I asked desperate to get out of this office.
"Is that what you want me to do?" he asked.
"Do you have a lot of kids that come in here asking for punishment?" I asked sarcastically.
He chuckled. "What do you think your punishment should be?"
"Isn't that your job?" I asked. "I mean it's not like you're trained to be a shrink, right?"
"No," he said. "But I like to think that I can be helpful. I can see that you're hurting and I want to help. You just need to talk to me and I'll try."
"Everyone wants to talk," I said. "No one wants to do anything."
"What is it that you want to do?"
I sighed. "I should maybe get to class."
I shouldered my bag as I made my way to the door. I stopped when he called my name. I looked back at him.
"Watch your back," he said. "Something is happening in this school. Next time it might not be just eight football players."
