CHAPTER 10 – NO ALGEBRA IN HIGH SCHOOL!

Man oh man do teachers hate me in this school. Between Mr Boring and Mr. what's-his-name or even Mr D who isn't a teacher actually, but it doesn't matter. To me, they are all the same. They both don't like me.

"Good afternoon class!" Mrs. Dodd said very loudly so her voice could be heard across the classroom. I, being right in the front, cringed as I heard her perfectly well. She seemed to notice that and, naturally of course, glared at me. And just to make sure, I checked behind me if she was somehow glaring at someone else, but alas it was not meant to be. I sighed in defeat while she continued talking.

"Before we begin our lesson," she said. "I'd like you to take out your agendas and write what's written on the board, please!"

I blinked. What was written on the board? I looked at the board but didn't see anything until I noticed scribbly like lines on the side. She wanted me to write that? Was she kidding?

I turned to Annabeth who sat right next to me. I know, it's a shocker, isn't it? I mean yesterday we nearly got into detention after 45 min. I wonder if we'll break that record, but it was her idea. Well no actually it was I that proposed to her to sit next to her in the front and she accepted, but, you know, whatever.

"Can you please tell me what is written on the board?"

She raised an eyebrow and gave me a curious look. I stared right back for some reason even though I knew by just looking at her; she'd be able to see straight through me. At least that's the deduction I came up with. Either that or she was psychic.

She nodded as if she had figured out something. "Okay, I'll write it down and you copy it."

I instinctively nodded even though she couldn't see me and was just preoccupied writing down what was on the board. I felt someone looking at me, scratch that, glare at me. I looked up to meet Mrs. Dodd's sending daggers at me. Probably because she didn't like me. I'll make sure to add her to the list.

I felt someone poke my shoulder with a pen and I turned to see Annabeth handing me her agenda. I smiled at her before I looked down at her writing. Wait, this isn't going to work. I tried to concentrate on her elegant writing, but my dyslexia was having none of that. It started giving me a headache.

I massaged my temples while I gave it back to Annabeth who seemed to have a knowing look on her face. Before I could ask her to spell out what she wrote, my beloved teacher, Mrs. Dodd's chose that moment to begin the lesson.

"Alright, put your agendas away and we'll begin calculus." She turned her back to the class as she took a charcoal in her hand and began writing something on the board.

Then something occurred to me. I turned to Annabeth. "Did she just say calculus?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought we had algebra."

"Percy," she said it like I was an idiot.

"What?"

"There is no algebra in high school, you idiot," she whispered. "That was back in elementary school."

"Elementary school?" I asked. "Is that… before high school?"

She groaned in exasperation. "Yes."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, okay, no need to get upset," I said. "It's not like everyone's a Wise Girl like you."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Again with that insult-"

"Wise Girl is an insult to you?" I asked.

"Well, what is it then?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. A nickname, or something?"

I could detect the faintest of smiles on her lips. "A nickname? Wise Girl?"

"Well, it sure beats Mrs. Blondie don't you think?"

Someone cleared their throat and I looked up to see, guess what? Why Mrs. Dodd's glare of course! I realised that the other students were quiet and looking our way. One particular student caught my eye. I think her name was Nancy or something.

I turned back to face the teacher and I noticed Annabeth blushing slightly at everyone's stares.

"If you two are finished, I'd like to continue with my lesson," Mrs. Dodd's sneered. I grimaced at her look. She really was one of kind that woman if you could call her that. To think that she and Annabeth are of the same gender truly amazed me.

She began writing again and the other students returned to their business. I was about to lean forward and nap, but as if she could feel it, Mrs. Dodd's looked straight back at me with a glare while still writing on the board. I knew the tactic all too well, but it still unnerved me the way the teacher looked at me. There was something about her that just seemed off, but I didn't know what.

With a sigh, I opened my pencil case, fished out a blue pen and began writing. Or more like pretend to write because once again, my dyslexia made sure to make it impossible to write what was on the board.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

I had to admit that sitting next to Annabeth in calculus was way better than I thought. That was until we started the exercise Mrs. Dodd's handed us.

"So why does X, divided by four times three hundred and ninety-two, worth zero?" I asked confused.

"Percy for the hundredth time, it's an equation!" she whispered/shouted.

I let out a huff in defeat and sunk down in my chair. "I give up."

"You gave up five times in the last ten minutes!"

"Well, this time it's for real, believe me. I can't take much more of these stupid equations and anequetions-"

"In equations," she corrected.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. "I mean seriously. Who gives a jumbo about statistics?"

She was about to reply when I heard the bell ring. I sighed in relief. "Oh thank-"

"Take out your agenda's for tomorrow," the teacher said making me groan and hit my head against the desk.

A few more aching moments, the teacher dismissed us and I was the first to stand up and put all my stuff in my bag and sling it over my shoulders before I bounded out of the room.

I waited for Annabeth in the hallway as students walked out of the classroom slowly. When I thought that I had somehow Missed Annabeth in the crowd, she stepped out and looked around. She smiled when her eyes met mine and quickly walked up to me.

"You seemed in a rush."

"Yeah, well I couldn't take another moment in there. I was practically suffocating. And then when she added homework… it was too much."

"C'mon Percy it's just homework."

"You know what homework stands for, right?" I asked.

"Other than the basic fact that homework is the work you do at home..?"

I rolled my eyes. "Half Of My Energy Wasted On Random Knowledge."

"You saw that on the internet."

"Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about."

She shook her head smiling which made me smile. She really did have a contagious smile. We walked out of class. She waved at me and turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks. I raised an eyebrow at her. She slowly turned to look at me with a contemplating look as she bit down on her lower lip.

She walked back up to me. "Meet me at the library at 4 PM."

"Uh… what for?"

She smiled at me. "From what I've seen in there, you suck at calculus and I know you won't do your homework so you'll get into trouble and ta-di-da-di-da."

I smirked at her. "Ta-di-da-di-da?"

"It's my version of 'et cetera'."

I chuckled and she smiled at me. She stood there looking at me with her stormy grey eyes. I really had to admit that she was really, really, really not bad. I pinched my left hand to get me out of the trance and concentrate.

"Uh… yeah, I guess I'll meet you in the library, Wise Girl."

She grinned at me before she turned around and walked down the busy hall.

I watched her walk down the hallway as if I was in some kind of trance. I couldn't look away. My gaze was just glued on the back of her head willing her to just look back at me, but she didn't and passed the corner breaking me out of the trance.

I blinked and looked around the heavily crowded hallway as kids passed me, or more like circled around me as none of them touched me. Maybe that 'rumor' about me taking out the school bully yesterday had reached the whole school by now and they didn't want any trouble from me.

I shook my head before I turned around to walk in the opposite direction than the one Annabeth took as I made my way to my locker.

Just as I passed the boy's bathroom on my left, I felt a pair of hands grab me by the back of my collar and drag me inside. My instincts took over and I managed to break out of their grasp before I judo flipped them over my shoulder.

"Wow, wow, wow, Percy!" the person under me yelled out. I blinked and I realised Travis Stoll lied under me. "It's me, Travis!"

I sighed before I stood up and gave him a hand. I pulled him onto his feet. "Sorry," I said. "I thought you were someone else."

"Yeah, no kidding," he said adjusting the colour of his t-shirt. "I know you don't hold any ill thoughts against me… right?"

Suddenly there was a flush of water and I felt my heart skip a beat when Connor stepped out of the stall fastening his belt back on. "I see that you two have mated."

"What the hell are you two doing here?" I asked rubbing my eyes.

"That's rude," Connor said as he washed his hands. "You could ask us how is it going? Are we okay?"

"Connor quit the shit," Travis said.

"I just did," he said pointing at the stall he was just in. "In there."

"I'm not even sure if that was a joke," I mumbled under my breath.

"Both actually."

"I do not want to know, okay?" I said. "But what I do want to know is what are the two of you doing here?"

Connor walked up to us looking me up and down before turning to his older brother. "He's really rude today, isn't he?"

I rolled my eyes while Travis nodded as if deep in thought. "Yes, he is. And I know exactly what he needs!"

"A dog?" Connor asked.

"No a-"

"A cat?"

"No a-"

"Oh, a parrot!"

"NO!" Travis yelled making his younger brother snicker while I looked between the two.

"Are you two finished?" I asked.

Travis grabbed me by the shoulders. "You, my friend, need to relax," he said. "How about a joke?"

"No, thank you."

"Too late." Travis turned to his younger brother. "Did you hear that joke about the high wall?"

"Yeah it's hilarious!" he laughed. "I'm still trying to get over it!"

I shook my head. "Alright, that's it!"

I made my way to the door, but Travis quickly stepped in front of me holding up his hands to block me. "Okay, okay, okay." He pulled out a USB stick from his pocket. "This is why we've come. Chiron told us to give this to you."

I took it from his hand and inspected it. It wasn't anything special. It was just a typical USB stick about the size of my thumb. "Uh, what do I do with this?"

"This is the tricky part," he said. "You need to stick it in the principal's computer." He paused and lightly elbowed his younger brother with a grin. "See what I did there? Stick it? As in stick the USB st-"

I cleared my throat. Travis looked back at me losing his smile.

"Is this about the Kindly One?"

Travis and Connor immediately froze looking at me wide eyed. So they did know about that. While Travis had his mouth move up and down uselessly, Connor sputtered on his words. "Ho-how d-di-did-"

"How did I know?" I finished for him. He nodded with a gulp. "I overheard."

"Right…"

"Well in any case," Travis said. "You need to stick that in the principal's computer. It can bypass any password so you can find out who the Kindly One is."

"Oh, and one more thing," Connor added. "Don't. Get. Caught. This may be our one shot to finding who it is and what they're planning. So don't screw up it."

"No pressure, right?" I asked.

"Right!" they both said in unison creeping me out.

"Hey!" Connor punched his older brother's shoulder lightly. "Why can't 101 Dalmatians play hide-and-seek?"

"Because they'd get spotted!"

I quickly left the boy's bathroom.