Chapter 9: The Mystery Begins Part 1
Annabeth's p.o.v
News spread as fast as light in this school. Bailey Hurlburt got a film of the whole battle and posted it on her blog. She kept trying to get an interview with Jason and luckily, he was eager for attention.
Meanwhile, Thalia hid in the shadows, watching from afar while all the fame she once had drifted away to Jason. I kinda felt bad for her. She'd been in the glory all her life and to have that taken away in a split-second by the boy that claims to be her brother. I honestly don't know if I believe Jason. I'm usually good at reading people. I've known Thalia all my life and if she had a brother, she wouldn't lie about it. But at the same time, when I studied Jason's body language I didn't see a boy craving for attention. I saw a scared frantic boy. What Jason's saying might not be true but he seems to believe it. So I honestly don't know.
For the rest of the week, Jason had been getting all the attention. It had been like the whole school had forgotten Jason little incident with Thalia being his sister and had put all their time to get a seat with Jason. Jason's friends, Piper and Leo, who never wanted attention, watched as their friend got put into these interviews and hardly got time to see them.
Percy and I watched as Bailey, Dakota and his band of CTF lovers crowded him, trying to become friends with him.
"I kind of feel bad for Thalia," I admitted. Percy turned to look at me. His eyes narrowed and he turned his head kinda lopsided in confusion.
"Why?"
"Because, you idiot, look at her," I snapped at him, staring at Thalia. She sat in the back of the common room, sulking, he eyes watching Jason get showered by her friends, or what used to her be friends.
Percy turned his head to look at Thalia. His expression suddenly softened.
"Wow, she looks like she's hasn't seen a brush in ages," He chuckled. I rolled my eyes. But, it was true. Her spiky hair was all over the place.
"Why don't you go talk to her," Percy suggested. My eyes widened at his statement.
"Are you out of your mind. I can't go over there," I exclaimed. There was no way Thalia would ever talk to me. Not after what happened with Luke. She made that perfectly clear 5 years ago.
"Why, I thought you could make her laugh with one of your brainy facts," He joked.
"I just can't go and talk to her," I told him, in a low, quiet voice.
Percy noticed the seriousness on my face and his chuckling expression was replaced with worry.
"What happened between you too?" He asked me, looking at Thalia and me, back and forth. I swallowed.
"It's a long story," I noted.
"I've got all the time in the world," Percy pointed out. "Well, at least until our free period ends."
So I explained the whole story about Luke to him.
"I thought Athena was hard on you, but I didn't think she would go that far," He admitted. I glowered. I knew Percy would have this reaction.
"You gotta call child services," He blurted out. I whirled around, frowning at him.
"Did you seriously just say that!" I cried. Percy's eyes narrowed in confusion and was surprised at my response.
"What! You saw what she did to Luke. That's against the law! She should be put in prison for putting you through that when you were that young," Percy protested.
"But she's all I have," I whispered.
"Doesn't your dad still live in New York!" He reminded me. My dad?
"But it's so far away!" I retorted. I was just making excuses. I couldn't tell Percy what happened with my father and I. With my father and his step-daughter. If I told him, he wouldn't see me, as he see's me now. He'd see me as my hypocrite mother and that's the last thing I want him to see me as.
"I rather live in New York, than with that psychopathic mother of yours." He cried. "No offense," He added.
"None was taken." I chose my next words carefully, hoping to not let anything that shouldn't slip get out. "My father and I have a complicated relationship," I explained.
"Well, I'm right here. Tell me about your "complicated relationship"?" He asked.
"It's really none of your business!" I snapped. He shrunk back at my reaction.
"Fine," He cried in a low voice. Silence.
"Well, you got a problem of your own," I said, breaking the silence. He looked up at the sound of my voice. "You got your big dinner date with Frank and his parents," I added.
Hazel chose that moment to walk into our conversation.
"You gotta be careful with Frank's dad," She warned. I narrowed my eyes. During my spare time, I did a little research on each Roman in this school. Frank was a normal kid, with an average B., His parents, Gregory and Fiona Zhang owned a pizza place called The Pizza Palace. They seemed like normal people.
"Why?" I asked. Hazel turned to look at me.
'Frank's dad has anger issues," she warned me.
"Anger issues." Calypso walked over to us, with Frank trailing behind him. "Oh it's more than anger issues," she added.
Hazel gave Frank a sad look. Calypso plopped down next to chair next to Percy. Percy gave her a smile as he made room for her to sit next to him. I narrowed my eyes. Ever since last week when those two met, they've been acting so weird around each other. I think they like each other. Based on how they act around each other. But it would never work out. She's too… she's just not for him. Oh, my god, I'm not jealous, am I? No! I would never get jealous! Stupid Annabeth, you don't like Percy. Ewww.
Hazel turned back to Percy and me, interrupting my thoughts
"Anyway, he's kind of a jerk, so Percy," Hazel paused their, considering her next words. "Please don't upset him. We all know your relationship with Philip and how bad it is, so please, if you care for Frank, please don't make his dad angry. It'll just revert right back to Frank," She explained.
Percy took one look at Frank's gloomy expression and nodded.
"Thanks." She smiled at me. The Stoll twins walked over to our little spot.
"Hey, guys!" called Travis Stoll.
"Wassup!" cried, Connor Stoll. The stood over us with a big smile. Ugh, what do they want? Probably another offer to buy one of their products.
"Umm, what do you want?" Hazel asked. The Stoll twins turned to Hazel with giant smiles.
"We don't want to buy any of your products!" I snapped. They frowned at us.
"For the first time in forever, we don't want to offer you anything. Actually, we have a proposal for Daddy's boy and Ms. Know It All!" They cried. I rolled my eyes at their insult. I was used to it, already.
However, Percy didn't take the insult lightly.
"I'm not a daddy's boy!" He barked. "Philip is my Mom's boyfriend," He insisted.
"Same; Difference," Travis retorted. Percy's eyes flared with fire.
Hazel and Frank stared at Percy, unsure what to do.
"We're gonna leave now," Hazel muttered awkwardly, as Frank, Hazel and Calypso crept away, quick to get away from the scene, just in case things escalated.
I gave Hazel a pleading look. C'mon, don't leave me with him! She gave me a sideways smile as if she was saying sorry. Oh Percy, I'm gonna have to save you once again.
Once they were out of sight, I turned to the guys.
"Okay, Percy calm down," I reassured him.
"Yeah, Daddy's boy, calm down," Connor smirked. Percy clenched his fists in anger.
I gave them the look. That look that said, shut up or I'm gonna kills you. It was one of the many things, I inherited from Mother, that I actually liked.
"Not helping!" I hinted, glaring at them. They instantly shut up.
Once Percy was calm, I turned to the twins.
"I would like to hear this proposal of yours?" I asked. They smiled, awaiting their
glory.
"So everyone says that the attic of this school is cursed. They say that Shelby Bruno went into the attic and never came back," Travis exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.
"You seriously believe that crap! Everyone knows that Shelby Bruno moved the third day of school," I informed them.
"Yeah, we know that but that got us thinking," Connor started. "What goodies lie in that attic? Why can't we go up ourselves? What secrets are in that gloomy place?" They questioned. The attic and the cellar were restricted from all students to enter. Only the principal had access to the key to both places… oh.
Suddenly, everything clicked. Now, I understood the proposal. They didn't want me. They wanted Percy. I'm just here because Percy and I are a package deal and are always together.
"So what do want with us," Percy asked.
"We want-," Travis started but I cut him off saying
"They want the keys for the attic." They whirled around, trying not to look surprised but it was clearly registered on their faces.
"Since you live with Philip, you have easy access to his office where he keeps all of his keys. So they want you to get the key to the attic for them," I continued.
"You catch on fast," Travis grumbled, then nodded. "She's right. That is what we want,"
Percy glared at the twins.
"You said it was a proposal. A proposal means that both sides gain something." Percy started. I smiled. The student is becoming the master. He's starting to become less cocky and use that teensy brain of his. He's outsmarting the enemy. I beamed at him, proudly.
"So what do we gain out of this plan of yours?" He asked.
"Umm, you get to come along and journey into the attic," Connor stated, lamely. I glared at them.
"Listen, guys, sorry but I can't come along," Percy told them. Their faces paled.
"C'mon dude, it's gonna be fun," Connor cried. Travis turned to me.
"Annabeth, what do you think?" Travis asked. Wow, they must be really desperate to get into the attic if there asking me for my opinion.
"Well, personally I think it's a bad idea. I mean, there are a lot of security outside at night and it's kind of against the law to break and enter so the clearly states my opinion on the matter," I told them.
"Please!" they begged.
Percy frowned, in annoyance.
"For the last time, no!" He shouted. "Now please go away and leave me and Annabeth in peace."
"Annabeth and I," I corrected him. He frowned at me.
"If you change your mind, give us a call," Travis told me as he gave Percy a slip of paper with his phone number on it. Percy got up, angrily.
"Are all kids at this damn school so annoying!" He muttered as he walked away. I laughed to myself and got up to follow him. Good luck Percy. You'll need it!
Jason's p.o.v.
Silence lingered through the guidance room. I sat across from my guidance counselor, Ms. Sokoloff or as I like to call her, Ms. Scoffoloff.
"So Jason, I see that you been having a long and dramatic week!" She told me, after looking at her papers. "After beating your so called long lost sister Thalia Grace, you've been making new friends. Both the Greeks and Romans are trying to recruit you. How do you think your best friends Piper and Leo think about that?" She asked. Her and her stupid questions. It's so annoying! Like, leave me alone!
"I don't see how that is any of your goddamn business!" I retorted.
"C'mon Jason, I get paid whether you talk or not. So please, you can just sit there and say nothing for 20 minutes or you talk to me and explain your feelings. The more you talk to me, the quicker we can get to a conclusion and end these meetings!" She cried. I rolled my eyes. "I get that you don't want to be here but you have to talk to me. I'm here to help you!" she cried. Then I just snapped.
"That's the problem!" I shouted. She looked taken aback by my outburst. "I don't need help!" I yelled. God damnit! I hate how Reyna, Leo, Piper and this ugly hag keep pressuring me to talk about my feelings! Don't they see that I don't want to discuss it!
"That's how you feel but inside you know need to talk to someone. If you won't talk to Reyna or your friends about your feelings, it'll just bottle up inside waiting to explode!" She reminded me. She took out that stupid notepad of hers and starting writing some things down.
"And that stupid notepad!" I shrieked. I grabbed it out of her hands to take a look at it.
"Hey, that's confidential!" She wailed. I took a look at it. My eyes widened when saw what was on that notepad.
"Patient is getting over emotional over a simple conversation," I read. I scrolled down some more.
"Patient spends much time, texting friend from the orphanage, Thomas Milgram. Patient avoids Thalia Grace as much as he can. Patient has a C average in most of his classes and works on most of his homework with Piper Mclean, in her secret art gallery!" I read. I was shocked at some of the things I read. How did she know about me texting Tom? And Piper's art gallery. I thought only Piper and I knew about that.
She paled as she saw my shocked expression. "Are you some kind of stalker or something?" I asked.
"I was just gathering notes on your daily life, that's all," She protested.
"Which is the same thing as stalking!" I told her. "I can't talk to someone like you. A crazy stalker!" I exclaimed. I got up and raced to the door.
"Jason please come back!" She pleaded. "Let me explain!"
But it was too late. I was already pissed off. I rushed to the door ready to get out of this damn school but I was cornered by Clarisse La Rue and the Panthers, Katie and Sophie.
I glared at her.
"What do you want, Clarisse?"
She smiled. "Listen, you've proven yourself worthy of becoming a Greek. You're on the wrong side, Jason. Soon, the Greeks are gonna drive the Romans out and all will be in order. Now you don't want to be on the wrong side when this happens. So, since you've proven yourself worthy and have Greek blood, we are giving you a chance to become a Greek," She offered. Drive the Romans out? They can't do that. Wait can they? I mean most of the money to support Sunset Valley comes from the town of Greece, so would they actually kick the Romans out of their homes. No, I won't join them!
"I am Roman!" I cried. "I will stand with my fellow Romans and if they go down, I will fall with them!" I vowed.
"How noble of you, Jason. Putting your friends before your happiness!" Clarisse mocked. "It's very hilarious!" She cackled. Katie and Sophie giggled behind her.
"Yeah, it's very funny!" Sophie blurted out, trying way too hard to sound cool. Clarisse glared at Sophie.
"Shut up, you're not helping!" She snapped. Sophie smile vanished. She turned back to face me.
"Jason, you're not Roman, you're Greek. That performance you showed us on the CTF field proved it. You are Thalia long-lost brother and you have Greek blood inside of you. The only reason you think you are Roman is because you believe that since you live with Reyna that immediately makes you Roman. But no, you have Greek blood, so you could join us," She went on. "But you'd have to give up lame Piper and nerdy Leo. We can't people like them in our new town. Plus, they'll can't take all your popularity. They'll start to get jealous and soon enough they'll leave you just like your sad Roman friends," She added. No Leo and Piper. No, she crossed the line there.
"I'm sorry Clarisse, I will have to decline your offer!" I exclaimed her and walked away.
She stood there, her eyes narrowing.
Once I was out of earshot, she muttered
"We'll see about that!" Then she turned to Katie. "Katie, give
Chris a call. Tell him
that a favor to ask of him," Katie nodded and went to work. We'll see what you think about my offer now, Jason!
I walked outside, ready to be greeted by Leo and Piper but they weren't there. I thought they said to meet outside of the school. Where were they?
Chris Rodriguez walked up to me.
"Hey dude," He called. I turned around. I smiled at Chris. He was a good friend of mine and was the only one besides Piper and Leo, that weren't friends with me because of my battle with Thalia.
"Wassup!" I replied.
"So I and the guys are practicing for the CTF tryouts next week and was wondering if you could show us some moves?" He asked. Do they want my help? I mean, I've gotten many requests to teach them some of my moves but never from someone as good as Chris.
"Sure, but do you guys really need it. I mean you're like one place below Thalia in
the ranks!" I reminded him.
"We just wanna brush up on some skills," He told me.
I nodded. For the rest of the hour, I helped the guys work on their skills.
"See ya!" I cried back, as I walked away from the field. Then I saw Piper and Leo standing on the steps of the school. I smiled and ran up to them.
"Hey, guys!" I called.
Leo looked up. Anger burst into his eyes, as he saw me. Piper had the same expression.
I stopped in my tracks.
"What wrong?" I asked.
Leo stood up
"Where were you?" He asked, a pissed look on his face.
"I was with Chris and the guys!" I told them.
"Of course, you were with them. You know ever since that big scrimmage, you've been spending all your time with the CTF players!" Why are they getting mad? I waited for them!
"Where were you!" I bellowed. "I waited for you and you weren't there! So, Chris came up to me to ask if I could show them some moves and since you disappeared, I said yes!" I yelled. "So you have no right to get mad at me!"
Piper's head bobbled up.
"We sent you a text saying to meet us at my place!" She told me. I took a good look at Piper. So far, she'd been very quiet. I looked into her eyes and I felt a sharp pain in my gut. I was feeling guilty. I looked into her eyes and instead of hate and, I saw sadness and disappointment. They texted me. When?
I dug into my pocket and grabbed my phone. I saw like 4 texts from Piper and 5 miss calls from Leo.
"I guess, I didn't hear it ring," I admitted, lamely. I swallowed.
"You guess! You were too busy playing CTF with your buddies to spend some time with your friends!" Leo shouted.
"You know, the only reason we teamed up with you for this project is because we wanted to spend some time with you. You've been hanging out with the CTF players all week and we just wanted to spend some quality friend time together. Like it used to be. You know I really thought you were different, Jason. But you're just like the rest of them!" She confessed. I lowered my eyes.
She got up and grabbed Leo's arm.
"C'mon Leo, were leaving!" She told him.
"Wait, but I wanna give Jason a piece of my mind!" He insisted. He struggled to wiggle out of Piper's grasp.
"LEO!" She shouted as she whirled around. Tears were forming in her eyes. Leo's face suddenly softened.
"Piper, I…" Leo paused. "Okay, let's go!" he finally said. And they walked away. Seeing Piper looking so sad, literally crushed me.
Now I have no friends. Suddenly, a little voice appeared in my head. Plus, they can't take all your popularity. They'll start to get jealous and soon enough they'll leave you just like your sad Roman friends. I know what I have to do.
I ran back to school. I dashed through the hallway and stopped in the lounge. Clarisse and the Panthers were sitting in the lounge, right where they said they'd be.
"So, I guess you've had a change of heart!" She smirked.
"What do I have to do to become a Greek?"
Percy p.o.v.
I walked out of the bathroom, my towel wrapped around me, my black hair dripping wet. I walked into to my room. So what does someone wear to a dinner like this? I opened my closet. I had only one suit. I didn't have any black shoes or even a tie. I needed fashion help. And I knew where to get it!
I grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt and dug into my pocket for my pocket. I noticed that Connor's phone number was still there. I tossed into my garbage can. Like I'll ever need that! I took my phone and texted Annabeth.
Percy J.- Annabeth, I need ur help immediately
Annabeth- What happened, this time, Percy
Percy J.- It's really important
Annabeth- Can you please just tell me what you need help with
Percy J.- I kinda need help getting ready for Frank's dinner
Annabeth- *rolls eyes* You seriously need help with that?
Percy J.- Yah! I have no idea what 2 wear 2 thse sorts of things
Annabeth- Can't you just ask your mum or Philip?
Percy J.- Annabeth! I can't ask mum or Philip. They'll tll me 2 wear some sort of suit or something! I need girl help
Annabeth- I'm coming!
Oh, thank god she's coming! I was gonna die if I wore something inappropriate!
Ten minutes later, Annabeth arrived at his house. She walked into his room.
"Okay, what do you need me to do to help get prepared?" She asked.
"Umm, so what shirt should I wear?" I asked. She walked to my closet.
She took out a plaid shirt and lay it on the bed. Then she grabbed a pair of Adam Levine jeans and threw it at me.
"There you go," She told me. She stood in my room.
"Umm, are you gonna leave or what?" I asked. She stared at me in confusion, and then it suddenly hit her.
"Oh, Ohhh! I'll leave now!" She exclaimed, blushing bright red. She ran off out of the room. Frank's parents better be nice. I mean, I've had a pretty suckish day and if these people are rude as hell, I swear… but I promised Frank that I'd be nice so…
I changed into the jeans and a plaid shirt. I walked downstairs.
Annabeth was sitting on the couch, talking to my mom.
"How do I look?" I asked. Annabeth and Mom turned around.
"Wow, Percy, you look nice," Mom said.
"I knew it. I don't know what you were worried about Percy, it's just what you usually wear," Annabeth pointed out.
Mom got up.
"Well Percy, when you get back, I was thinking we could go see that new Star Trek movie," She told me.
"Really!" I gasped.
"Yeah, I got the tickets yesterday!" She exclaimed. I love the Star Trek series, and when I made my mother watch the first movie, she fell in love with it too! We've wanted to watch the movie, ever since it first came out, but we never had the time. Mom had her writing to focus on and I had school! But we're actually gonna see it!
"Yes!" I cried.
"Just me and you, Percy, just like the old times!" She told me. Just me and you, no Philip! I gleamed at those words. "I'll see you later, Percy!" she cried. I smiled and waved as she walked away.
I turned to Annabeth. An idea popped into my head. I gave her a pleading look.
"Let me guess, you want me to give you a ride to Frank's house using my driver," She guessed.
"Actually, I was gonna ask if I could get a couple of bucks to get a taxi, but that would work too!" I decided. Annabeth glared at me.
We walked outside and jumped into the car.
"Driver, to Frank Zhang's house," Annabeth cried and we were off.
Frank's p.o.v.
The moment I heard the doorbell ring, I dropped all the things that currently were in my hands and raced to the door.
Unfortunately, Dad reached the front door before I even had a chance. Percy stood in the doorway, with a striped shirt and a pair of jeans and a smirk.
"Hey Frank," Percy said. I gave him a sideways smile. Then he turned to acknowledge my dad.
"Mr. Zhang," he acknowledged.
"I assume you are Percy Jackson," Dad told him. Dad… be nice.
"That's me!" he cried.
Dad studied Percy carefully.
"Well, why don't you come in," Dad told him, letting the door open. Then, he walked into the living room. Mom walked into the room. She had her oven mitts in her hand. She smiled her beautiful smile and walked said hi.
Then she went back into the kitchen.
Once my parents were out of earshot, Percy whispered
"Wow, she's hot." I gave him an pissed off look.
"Dude, that's my mom!' I exclaimed, baffled. Percy chuckled. This is gonna be a long night.
We walked into the kitchen.
Once dinner was finally ready, Mom, Dad, Percy and I were finally sitting at the table. Mom had cooked delicious white rice, fried chicken, pasta, salad, and some shrimp and broccoli.
Percy stared at the food in awe. I smirked at his surprised expression. We never usually had guests over, (except Hazel of course) so Mom had gone overdrive with the cooking. Mom stared at Percy's shocked expression and chuckled.
"I didn't know what you wanted so I cooked one of everything!" She cried. Percy nodded and stared at the food, hungrily.
"Thank you," Percy replied. Then he turned to look at me and muttered. "I've never had so much food in my life. Annabeth is gonna be so jealous."
Dad chose that moment to jump in.
"Annabeth, isn't she the daughter of that teacher and scholar Athena?" Dad asked. Why is he concerned about Annabeth.
Percy nodded.
"Yeah, Annabeth's my best friend."
Dad smirked. "Now Frank, why couldn't find a best friend like that."
Percy expression instantly turned cold. I rolled my eyes. Mom turned to him and gave him a look.
"Really Greg is this is not the time or place for this!" Mom told him, in a stern voice.
"I'm trying to learn more about this new friend of our son!" He explained. Mom sighed and gave me look like she was apologizing for my father's insult. Dad turned back to look at Percy.
"What's wrong with Hazel?" Percy muttered, frowning at my father.
"Nothing. She's just… never mind." Dad replied. Dad has always thought that Hazel was way too ordinary. That I needed a smart friend, someone that would challenge me to accomplish my goals. Hazel does that! She just wants me to challenge my own, not my father's.
Silence emerged through the room.
"So you play Capture the Flag right, as an Offender?" Dad said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah. Well, I'm not officially on the team but I'm trying out as an Offender," he replied.
"Nice, you know I played in college right…" and Percy and Dad went on and on about stuff that I really didn't care about.
I turned to my mom. She was so beautiful. I was so proud of her. We were struggling to keep up money at the Restaurant and she stills finds a way to keep a smile on her face. That's what I love about her so much.
"Right Frank," Percy's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Sorry, what?" I asked. Dad frowned at me.
"I was saying that it would be cool if your dad came to check out one of our games when we join the team," Percy said. I nodded.
"If he joins the team." His dad adds. Percy glared at my father. He clenched his fists, clearly wanting to punch him in the face. Don't worry Percy, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do the same thing. "Anyway, Percy do you think I could have a chance that you could teach my son a few tricks with a sword?"
I shook my head in disappointment. Really dad. Like you don't know that I'm trying out as an archer.
Percy gave my Dad a confused look.
"What do you mean? Isn't Frank trying out as an archer?"
"Yes, but we all know that that's not gonna work out so-
"Greg, please." Mom cut him off, warning him
"Okay! You need to shut up! For your information, Frank is an outstanding archer. Maybe if you bothered to watch him play, you'd see how good he is!" Percy cried, angrily. And there it was. That outburst just set my father off.
"Percy! Shut up!" I muttered! Percy turned to me, shocked.
"Frank, I'm sorry but I don't know how you can deal with this asshole every day!"
My dad's eyes widened in anger.
"Did you just-" Dad started anger bubbling through him. Mom stood up.
"Okay, I think it's time for you to leave." Mom stated. I agree.
"Boy, you better get out of my house right now!" Dad warned Percy.
Percy stood up. "You're just a dick who can't deal with the fact that his son isn't just like him. You know think about how your son's feeling and what he wants instead trying to choose it for him and insulting him!" Percy shouted! My eyes widened. I stood up walking over to Percy. Okay, Percy, it's time for you to get out!
"Percy, cmon let's go," I said, grabbing his arm, dragging Percy out of the house as he and my father shouted insults at each other.
"You are a spoiled Greek brat! I never want to see your face in this house ever again!" Dad shouted.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't want to go anywhere near you and your ugly ass!" Percy retorted. Suddenly, a fist came flying out. I pushed Percy outside! I clutched my face in pain!
"Frank!" Percy cried. A pain that started in my nose and caused throbbing in the eyes, it was like stubbing your toe, but worse. The warm water from my eyes running down my face felt soothing, yet the pain persisted. Or maybe the pain seemed to dull, but the tears kept flowing, and blood, so much blood, maybe because it mixed with my tears.
I could barely see a thing. I hear my mom yell at my father and my father yell at Percy and I hear a door slam.
I knew this would turn out bad. I knew it.
Jason p.o.v
I thought about what told me to do, as I walked into the school, Demigod High on this dark cold night. The front door was surprisingly open. I had doubts about Clarisse's little offer but now I see that it wasn't a prank. She really wanted me to become a Greek. And I wanted to become one as well.
I walked through the dark hallways of Demigod High. Clarisse told me that the only way for me to become a Greek is for me to prove myself I had to go where no one else would. Into the cellar of Demigod High. She said I had to stay in the cellar for 10 minutes and then I would be worthy. It seemed easy enough. The Panthers told me to meet them at the entrance to the cellar. It was very dark. Everything- except the door.
Suddenly, gothic music started playing. Then, a light flashed to show a hooded figure with only its mouth uncovered.
"Here lies the secret door. Enter the dark mysterious cellar and stay in it for 10 minutes and show that you are worthy of the title Greek," the hooded figure boomed. Must be a simulation. Then out of nowhere, the door flew open. Wow, it must have been hard to set this up. Then I remembered that Clarisse and the Panthers were Greek and their parents were millionaires and they probably hired repair guys to set this up!
As the door flew open, I heard a gasp from one of the hooded figures. Or maybe it wasn't them. Or they were just trying to get me to back down. But I don't go down that easily.
"Enter the cellar and meet your destiny!" the hooded figure cried.
Slowly, I walked into the cellar. The closer I got, the louder the music got, and finally, I was inside. The door slammed behind me. It was very dark. I took my hands and threw them around until I felt the wall.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I put my hand into my pocket and took out my cell phone. I turned it on and turned on the flash and shine it around. There were the steps. I walked down the stairs. I shined the light and was shocked at what I found.
Chemicals were all over the cellar. There were a chimney and couple of boxes sitting next to it. I walked over to the boxes and sat on it.
I sat on the boxes and waited for this thing to be over.I hope I made the right decision.
Once the 10 minutes was up, I got up and walked back upstairs. I grabbed the door and tried to open it. It was still locked.
I took a look at my phone to see the time and I was right. Why is the door still locked?
"Clarisse, time's up! Open the door!" I hollered. I banged on the door. Why isn't Clarisse opening the door?
Silence. I banged on the door, several more times.
Finally, I heard a voice.
"Then tell me how you beat Thalia!" Clarisse cried. What is she talking about?
"What are you talking about!" I shouted. A new voice emerged.
"Jason, just tell her what she wants!" a familiar voice told me. Chris? Then it dawned on me. The whole thing had been a trick to get me to tell them how I'd beaten Thalia!
"I don't know how I beat Thalia!" I yelled.
"Then you'll stay there," She told me, her voice growing fainter by the second.
"Clarisse! Let me out!" I shouted, banging on the door over and over again! "Let me OUT!"
Annabeth's p.o.v.
I sat in my limo, waiting for Percy. Then I saw him.
What's going with him?
"Driver, get the car started!" I cried. My driver Stan started the car.
Percy jumped into the limo and sat there angrily. I gave him a confused look.
"Percy what's wrong?" I asked. He gave me a pissed look.
"Nothing, I'll tell you when we get home!" he snapped. I was taken aback by his tone. I wonder what happened back there?
When we got back to Percy's house, he stormed inside the house and ran to his room. I followed him up the stairs and watched him carefully.
He jumped on his bed and sighed.
"Now are you gonna tell me what happened?" I asked. He nodded and then explained everything. He told me how everything
"Percy, you were supposed to be cool about everything! Instead, you ended up getting Frank punched!" I cried.
"I know, I feel really bad. But if you could hear his dad, I bet you would've gotten mad too!"
Oh, Percy, you gotta learn how to control your emotions.
"Hey have you seen my mom?" He asked. I shook my head. He dashed downstairs to begin the search for his mom. I looked around his room. It was fairly small and it had mostly guy things. I noticed a note sitting on his desk. I grabbed it read it.
My face faltered when I read it. Percy will be so disappointed. And of course, Percy chose that moment to walk in.
Quickly, I hid the note behind me. I swallowed. Percy's eyes narrowed.
"Annabeth, what is that?" he asked with a dangerous voice. He slowly walked closer and closer to me.
"It's nothi-" but my voice faltered me when he grabbed the note out of my hand.
He read it out loud.
"Dear Percy,
I am sorry but I am unable to take you to the movies tonight. Philip just told me that he had a free night tonight and wanted to take me out to dinner. I hope you can understand why I had to skip our movie. I really want to spend some quality time with Philip. Make sure you shower and don't stay up too late tomorrow. We'll see you in the morning.
From,
Sally Jackson"
Percy's face fell when he was finished. I saw how happy he was when he found out that he could go to the movies with his mother and to see his hopes crushed is so- heartbreaking.
"Percy-," I started, trying to embrace him, but he pushed me away. His face grew hard.
"This is all Philips fault." He growled. Then he turned and looked at his garbage bin.
He bent down and picked up a slip of paper. He smiled, that devious smile of his.
"Fancy making some trouble," Percy smirked. I sighed. Time for trouble, just great.
Percy took out his phone and called the number on the paper.
"Hello," He said. Percy put it on speaker.
"Hey Percy, reconsider our offer," cried a familiar voice from the phone. It was Connor Stoll. So Percy must wanna go sneak into the attic. And he wants me to come. Ughhhh.
Why did I ever become friends with this fool?
"Yes, Annabeth and I will get you the keys and help you sneak into the school. Annabeth has her limo, so we can pick you up on the way," He spoke into the phone.
Connor sighed.
"We can't go," Connor told us. What! So what was the whole point of this?
"What!" I cried into the phone, angrily.
"Annabeth, you're here too?" Connor asked.
"Yeah, why can't you two come?" I questioned.
"Our mom found porn our porn magazine in our dresser and neither of us will confess," then he went into a whisper. "It was both of us, and so she grounded us," Connor whispered. Percy's eyes widened and chuckled.
"Two words dude, the internet," Percy told Connor. I gave Percy a disgusted look. Ugh, boys are so disgusting.
"Gross guys," I cried in disgust.
"Anyway, we can't come," Connor told us through the phone. "Sorry, I gotta go, bye!" Connor quickly added and was hanged the phone in a split-second.
"So we can't go then?" I asked, clinging to the hope that since the twins can't come, that Percy will just forget about the idea.
But of course, today the universe just wasn't on my side.
Half an hour, we arrived at the school. We walked to the doors and were surprised to see that the door was unlocked.
I looked and opened the door slowly. I thought Percy and Philip were the only ones that had a key to the school. How did other people get in? We walked through the hallway and approached the stairs. We were almost there and there was just-
Suddenly, I felt Percy's hands push me back.
I heard voices just across the hallway. Percy slowly peeked to see who was there. I followed.
It was The Panthers and Chris and the Greek CTF players. What are they doing here?
Percy put his finger to his mouth and then dashed to the other side of the hallway without making a sound. My mouth dropped when I saw what he did.
Then he motioned his hand for me to come on. I closed my eyes. Here we go-
And I dashed to Percy. I caught a glimpse of Clarisse's eyes floating to where we were and I hurried to Percy.
"Chris, did you hear that?" Clarisse asked him. Chris shook his head. "Must've been a rat," She muttered. I let out a breath and Percy and I continued to the attic.
And then we were there.
Percy dug into his pocket and took out the keys.
"Here we go?" Percy said and opened the door. A pile of dust flew out of the attic, covering us in dust.
"Ugh," I cried as I brushed the dirt off of my shoulder. Percy did the same. Then we walked up the stairs and went into the attic. The door slammed behind us.
Percy glanced at me, noticing my crept out expression. Quickly, I changed my face to a confident one.
Percy chuckled. I rolled my eyes.
I looked around. All around the attic was darkness. I searched for the light and finally found it, flipping the switch. There were boxes all around. Dust was everywhere.
"Let's open some boxes," Percy suggested. I gave him a shocked look.
"Are you out of your mind!" I cried. "That would be invading the school's privacy."
"So," He remarked.
"So," I cried. "SO!" I shouted, throwing my hands over my head in frustration. "You could go to prison for that!" I hollered, emphasizing on the word prison.
"C'mon Annabeth, lighten up a bit. It's not like anyone gonna come and check," Percy told me.
"Fine, you can open boxes but I'm not touching anything?" I told him. Percy jumped in and started opening boxes.
It was mostly clothes that were in the boxes. 20 minutes later, Percy finally found something interesting. He took out a weird, dusty phonogram.
"What is this?" He asked.
"It's a phonogram. It's how people back in the day used to record things?" I told
him. I walked over to him and he turned it on.
At first, it was static but finally, we heard something. "This should be the latest recording," I informed Percy. He nodded.
"If you're hearing this (static) then you have discovered my darkest secret. You must solve the mystery. You have to stop him. He's coming for you. Percy, you have to stop HIM!" it cried. My eyes widened. Why did this guy yell Percy's name? Wasn't this recorded in the 1900's, Percy wasn't born then. I looked at Percy.
He was as pale.
"Percy what's wrong?" I asked. He swallowed.
The next 4 words that came out of his mouth, changed my life forever.
"That was my dad!"
A/N
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Cliffhanger! So sorry I hate them too but they're so good to put in your stories! Anyway, this was such a long chapter. Took me like 4 or 5 hours to write! Its my last day of work! Am so sad! Ugh I have to go back to school and see all those people. And on top of that I just learned that one of my closest friends Ashlee and I aren't gonna be in any of the same classes. I'm just counting down the days making the most of the time I have left typing.
Anyway enough of my complaining, what you guys wanna hear about is this hell of a chapter. So, we had Annabeth and Percy's little conversation with Frank and Hazel about Franks dad and the dinner that night. Then we heard The Stoll twins little offer. Then, Jason learned about his meeting with the counselor who is actually a stalker! And that dinner with Frank, Percy and his dad. That was um... a little violent. And that little cliffhanger at the end. How do you think Percy hearing his dad on the recordings will effect him? Until next time...
yours truly,
longshot39