Previously on Classes (Again) - Brody made a face then cleared his throat, "Uh no my name's-"
"Percy?" she said shockingly and loudly, once she caught a glimpse of his wild black hair.
"Paige?" Percy replied in a soft whisper.
"What are you doing here?" Percy asked puzzled.
"Um, I don't have a ride home and my brother-Matt, your friend uh, yeah he's driving me to my house, I mean our house after the practice you guys have." Paige rambled "This is unfortunate I wasn't expecting-."
"I'm sorry; you said Matt's your brother." Percy interrupted, with a very confused expression. Percy's eyes switched as he looked at Paige then to Matt. He observed their flaming manes covering their heads, and he wanted to punch himself in the face for not noticing the similarity. "Of course he's your brother." He mumbled.
"Wait a minute." Matt cut in. "How do you guys know each other?"
"Art. We have Art together." She informed. Percy's eyebrows scrunched together trying to put the puzzle pieces to fit correctly into one. He felt beyond stupid than usual. He has dyslexia and ADHD, which over the years grebut not being able to recognize and link together the two most obvious siblings was insane, especially for him. Why didn't he realize it before? He clicked his tongue in embarrassment.
Jude and Brody were standing a couple of steps back to watch the drama that was unfolding before them. "Damn, she's really pretty." Brody mumbled with a smirk.
"Sucks Percy got to her first, aye mate?" Jude snickered.
Matt growled, turned around and shouted, ""Nobody has got to her." He said as he used air quotes on the word got. "Nothing's going on between them!" He then faced Paige and asked quietly, "Is there?"
Percy interrupted before she could. "Dude, really? I have a girlfriend."
Matt's face returned to its normal color. Percy could tell he was relieved. "Seriously? Sorry." Paige seemed to be silenced by Percy's response and her hidden excitement of seeing Percy had left her. Her expression then formed into a small frown.
"You got a girlfriend mate?" Jude asked curiously.
"Yeah, she's not from here, but yeah." Percy said softly.
"That means she's not real." Brody chuckled.
Percy glared at Brody, "She is real." He said through his clenched teeth.
"Whatever you say man." Brody grabbed Jude by the arm, "C'mon, let's go change. We don't want Cunningham to kick us off the team for any reason." The two left to the locker room.
Percy exhaled a shot of air in annoyance. "I really don't like that guy." Percy thought to himself. Matt stood by silently waiting for his two friends to leave before he continued their previous conversation. "So, you two are friends?" he said as he pointed at them.
"Yes! Why is that so hard to believe?" Paige exclaimed.
"Because he's my friend! Can't you make your own freshman friends?" Matt argued.
"Once again!" her voice rising. "I am a sophomore! Besides, I like being friends with Percy and I'm sure he feels the same about me! Right?"
The spotlight shone on Percy, and he felt the attention as he felt four eyeballs gazing at him. He knew they were waiting on him to speak up. Percy cleared his throat, he knew he had to answer them sooner or later. He looked to the floor, avoiding any possible contact. "We're not friends Paige." He stopped, careful not to say another word, afraid that his voice would break. That's all he could say, that's all he wanted to say. If he had to choose between one or the other, it would all come down to Matt. He didn't dare look up, he was afraid he'd see Paige tear up. He didn't want Matt to see his point of weakness. Percy knew it would kill him to see the fire red haired sophomore girl he met in Art class crying. He quickly rushed to the locker room leaving the siblings behind.
Paige scoffed her unbelief as the tears began streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them with her long sleeve then began biting her lip. She bit her lip and chewed on bits of her chapped lips. This little habit of hers was compared to smokers who had their addiction. With them, trying not to smoke was hell, and the same applied for her and her small lips.
"Stop." Matt whispered, "You stopped that years ago, why are you starting it again?
She ignored him and continued on. Matt sighed, "What'd you do to piss off Percy? Seriously the guy could be chained up for fifty years while being innocent and he'd be the one apologizing. The dude's freaking nice!"
Paige paused for several seconds then piped up. "I'm sure you heard of what happened to me this morning."
"With Tyler? Everyone knows- you know how this school is. A whisper in the hallways and bam everyone knows. I told you to stay away from him. I can't keep saving you from that creep. It's not my job!" Matt blustered.
"I never said it was! Anyways, you didn't have to today. Percy did." She retorted.
"Percy? Why?"
Paige raised her eyebrow. "Because believe it or not other people are kind like that, especially Percy!"
"Okay, then why is he pissed? I mean- I'm sure helping you out would be something a friend would do, wouldn't it?"
Paige's voice became unknown to any of mankind's ears. She muttered a collection of words which annoyed Matt. "I can't hear you, mumbler, speak up!"
Paige glared at Matt. "I yelled at him for helping. I thought he would've gotten hurt so I yelled at him for getting involved."
Matt sighed and closed his eyes. He put his arm around his sister. "That was- that was stupid."
"Thanks for the comfort." She grumbled.
"You know it's true." He said with a grin.
She nodded in agreement.
"If you want to be friends with Percy, go on then. But first you have to make amends with him."
"Not that I needed your permission, but thanks." She said with a smirk. "Got any ideas?"
Matt shook his head and laughed. "No way, this is your problem. I'm just here to give simple advice." Paige smiled and gave her brother a hug.
"Yeah some advice! Alright I'm going to go upstairs, up there in the seats. Just make a weird signal or wave or whatever when you guys are through, I guess I'll read. How long is this going to take?"
"An hour, give or take a few."
"Alright, don't embarrass me out there, do well!"
Matt chuckled and ran straight to the lockers.
***
After everyone changed into their swim trunks, they all met out near the pool having different conversations. The whistle blew ringing in everyone's ears. Moans and groans were heard all around, colliding with the echoes from the whistle. "Alright!" Coach Cunningham shouted. "You all changed into your swim suits, but only some of you made the team. You all did great, but there were cuts I had to make. I'd like you all to go check up on the board over there-"Coach couldn't finish his sentence because a crowd of swimmers ran over to the exact spot, almost trampling him. Racing to reach the bulletin board, Brody pushed everyone out of the way and got there first. He fist pumped the air several seconds after.
"Man it was obvious." he said coolly.
Percy scoffed, "Arrogant scum."
Jude was next and as he examined the sheet, he simply clapped and walked over to Brody. Matt and Percy looked at each other and gave each other a slight grin. Percy's grin aimed to be apologetic to Matt and he replied by grabbing the nape of Percy's neck and smacking it playfully. "C'mon, let's see if we made the team man." They managed to push through the crowd and Percy encountered the sheet. With his finger, he traced down the vertical list of names until he saw his. There it was, in capital letters:
PERCY JACKSONPercy smiled hugely, and waited for Matt to browse through the list of names to find his. "I made it!" Matt shouted happily.
"What'd I tell you? Of course we'd make it!" Percy said grinning like a dog that just ate a piece of meat off the kitchen floor.
"That's surprising." Percy heard Brody whisper to Jude. Percy clenched his fist but chose to ignore it.
"You were right man." Matt said grinning from ear to ear. The people who did not make the team dropped their shoulders and stomped their way back to the locker room, with the Coach avoiding their eye. Just then the pack of swimmers near the board began to clear off to the sides, splitting like the red sea. Hunter approached it. Percy knew Hunter gained the respect of the team; he was feared, honored, and talented. Hunter gave a nod to his swim group that he had made the team. Percy watched as the serious, determined, frightening (not to him at least) Hunter gave a quick smirk and jumped into the water. As he came up from the water, he winked to someone above. Percy turned his head and looked up quickly glancing at Paige. She was eyeing Hunter down, blushing and Percy suddenly felt hot in his cheeks. "Let's go." He said to Matt.
"Huh?"
"The water, let's get in." Percy dove in before Matt could agree. Percy never felt more peaceful. The sense of euphoria came back to him. Oh how he loved the feeling of cool water. How it teased his body, as if it was giving him a hug. Percy tried to grasp the water, always curious to why it shouldn't be held, but loved the idea of the liquid fleeing from his fingers. He took a quick gasp of breath then swam under. He swam across the pool, seeing various colors and patterns of swimsuits. Percy laughed at the ridiculousness of them all. He browsed through the gorgeous tiles that were laid out at the bottom of the pool, flashing at his glance of it. Having lost track of time, he swam for a little bit longer until he finally rose up. He shook his hair violently and he saw his friends gaping at him.
"What?" Percy asked concerned.
"You were down there for like 10 minutes without any air, mate." Jude replied.
"That's insane; he probably took a quick breath every 30 seconds." Brody said rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I did." Percy said in a monotone voice. Brody and Jude swam away from them leaving only Matt to continue his impressed stare. Matt stared at Percy and said,
"I know you didn't, how'd you learn to contain your breath?"
"Oh come on, you really think I can hold my breath for ten minutes underwater? I took a breath every 30 seconds, really." Percy said chuckling through his fib.
"I didn't see you come up."
"I did, it was very stealthily but I did."
Matt gave in to Percy's lie, "Alright man, you gotta teach me that then."
"No problem." Percy said grinning. Percy looked up to see Paige reading, she had on thick black glasses, Percy never saw her with glasses before, she seemed, sophisticated. The sun had caught her hair and it seemed like her hair was shining like a ruby, fire red like a phoenix. Matt caught sight of Percy looking at his sister.
"Not friends huh?" he said.
Percy quickly faced him. "We're not friends, at least for now."
"Oh come on, she was just worried about you."
"She told you?"
"Of course, I'm her brother. Listen, that's what she does, she gets worried and scolds. She's exactly like my mom. You'll end up forgiving her sooner or later, she's very convincing."
"I bet" Percy mumbled. "I still don't believe you two are related, I mean, she's so pretty and you, well." Percy joked.
Matt raised his eyebrow and smacked the water into Percy's face. Percy laughed, "I'm kidding, you look pretty too Matt."
"Alright, gather around everyone, swim over here." Cunningham announced. One by one everyone gathered into a little herd in one side of the pool. "Congratulations to all of you for making the team, I hope to have a winning season, not just a good one you all hear?" The team cheered and Coach chuckled. "Today, we're going to have ourselves a friendly competition, just fun and games but the winner will have some sort of a prize that will come to them in a very good way. I will be choosing who you will verse against; all we're doing today is seeing your speed and skill. It's just swimming to the other side and back, you all can handle that yes?"
Everyone replied with either a nod or a murmur of a "yes."
"Good, first up will be Jensen against Matt."
"Jensen? Who's that?" Percy asked Matt.
"It's Brody, Jensen's his last name."
Percy snickered, "Sucks you have to verse against the sack of cockiness."
"We'll see how cocky he is when I beat him." Matt said raising his eyebrows.
The team started cat calling and cheering the two on. Percy clapped and shouted, "You got this Matt," whereas Jude was cheering on for Brody. Percy looked up to see Paige setting her book down to witness her brother and the guy who attempted to hit on her. Matt and Brody got into their positions and Cunningham shouted,
"Alright, when I blow this whistle, you better dive- one, two, three, GO!" He blew the whistle with a puff of his breath and the pair was off. Percy watched in fascination as Matt swam with such intensity. He was in the lead, if Percy wasn't the son of Poseidon, Matt would have surely kicked his ass in swimming. Brody was using his arm strokes aggressively, slapping the water as he moved, whereas Matt used his arm strokes like a strong paddle, carefully dipping into the water with speed but also with such grace. Matt made it to the end several seconds before Brody did and used his legs to kick off the edge to get a head start back. Brody reached the end, gasping for air and dog paddled his way away from the edge. Matt ended the "friendly" competition by making it to the starting position, breathing heavily; he touched the starting point to clarify to his Coach who indeed won. Percy clapped and smiled hugely, reaching out for his hand to pull him out of the water.
"Matt, you were great!" Percy said astonished.
"Yeah, people underestimate a ginger, especially Brody." Percy and Matt turned to see if Brody had finally finished and he was. He was struggling to get out of the water, and Jude and Chris had to help him up.
"Alright, the winner is Matt! Good job." The coach announced smiling. Everyone clapped and Matt grinned. There was another loud cheer for Matt and the whole team looked up. Paige was screaming and shouting.
"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, GO MATT."
Matt's face reddened and glared at his sister to stop embarrassing him. She caught his glare and sat down, taking a hint. Percy chuckled. "You two are too close."
"Tell me about it." Matt groaned.
***
Everyone in the team eventually got their turn for the competition. There were a lot of losses and wins that surprised Percy. He had the arrangement of who had skill and who hadn't in the back of his mind and after viewing the race, he had different opinions. "I guess I shouldn't judge." He thought to himself. He waited patiently for his turn and as people continued to get their name called, he realized the coach was saving him for a race that no one would forget.
"Percy and Hunter." The coach announced. The room died down after their clap for the victor before them. Matt's eyes widened and he whispered in Percy's ear.
"Good luck, not that you'll need it."
Percy chuckled, "Thanks."
The team looked to Hunter, then to Percy multiple times and then they broke out in light whispers. Hunter raised one of his bushy eyebrows and crossed his arms. His muscles seemed to pop out, along with his veins. Hunter then spoke for the very first time. "Shut up." No one was aware who he was talking to and everyone quieted. "I want this gym to only hear the splashes of the water, when I verse this kid. No one makes a noise; I want to hear the final movement of water when I beat him." He said all this with a constant straight gaze at Percy, not breaking his contact with him at all. Percy decided to not break his stare either, and then spoke up.
"Afraid the noise is going to distract you?"
The pool filled with the sound of the team's short gasps. Percy could see the petrified looks on their faces. They looked at each other and Percy could read some of their thoughts. "Hunter's going to kill this dude."
"Who does this guy think he is?"
"Yup, he's done for."
Hunter's calm demeanor changed to a look in which he consumed all of his anger from his past life and present time. His stare turned into a stare of death, but Percy didn't care. He's seen it all, from Hades to Ares to Clarisse to Dionysus. All of whom didn't frighten him at all, well, except Clarisse. Percy could handle Clarisse, even if it was a fraction of a small number, but if he could face her, he was prepared to face Hunter. His face contorted in anger and his lips narrowed. Then he moved to the starting position. Percy smirked and followed, and he prepared himself for a phenomenal dive. He thought to himself, "This one's for you Annabeth." The whistle rang in Percy's ears and he dove in. Percy swam in his below normal rate for a while, hoping Hunter would catch up. Percy was wrong, for Hunter was ahead of him, gliding through the water. It was like Hunter was a cheetah; however there was a problem with that: Cheetahs' speeds were useless in water. Percy sped up quicker, going at his normal rate, he then began passing Hunter as a swordfish would to their predators. Percy quickly tapped the end of the pool, enough so that the witnesses at the end saw his touch, then kicked off and he glided through its luxurious depths. Percy felt as though at that moment, he was immortal. His hard breaths gave his arms and legs the instructions of a specific stroke, pushing him harder to reach the starting line fast. He was in his own zone, and as he sensed he was near the end, he stuck out his hand and felt the concrete block of the pool stopping him. He lifted his head up from the water and shook his hair. He rubbed the water out of his eyes and looked up to see everyone's gaping face. He saw jaws dropping, and Matt staring in disbelief.
"Holy crap." Brody said.
Matt shook off his incredulous stare and helped Percy out of the pool.
"Thanks, did I win?" Percy said as Matt handed him a towel.
Everyone forgot that there was a competition and turned to see if Hunter was still swimming, and he was. He had just now finished and he pushed people out of the way that were trying to help him out. His lips curved into a growl and he rushed to the locker room with half of the team following after his footsteps.
"Jackson, that was amazing. That was, I think a record breaker, you swam incredibly fast, and next time we're going to time that. I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that in my entire life, welcome to the team." He walked away and Matt jumped up and down.
"DUDE HOW-WHAT-HOW?"
Percy smiled hugely, "I beat him." He felt all giddy inside, and thought, "Thanks Annabeth."
"Hell yeah you did! Okay, we have to talk more about this, you're coming over right?"
Percy ultimately forgot he had plans with Matt, he was glad he left a note for Paul. "Yeah, sorry totally forgot, wait is practice over?"
"I wouldn't call it a practice but yeah it's over."
"Alright, sweet let's go."
"Want me to go to the locker room and get your clothes? I don't think you'll want to face Hunter."
Percy laughed, "I'm not scared of him. Come on." As they walked into the locker room, Percy looked back and saw Paige watching him. He gave her a half smile and she beamed with sheer delight. He proceeded on in the locker room. Upon entering, Percy and Matt jumped at a loud locker slam, which happened to be Hunters.
"The slick cheated didn't he?" Hunter yelled as he put on his shirt. "He probably didn't even reach the end and just went back to the start halfway through." The team nodded in agreement out of fear.
Percy cleared his throat. "C'mon Hunter, no need to get mad over this, you know I didn't cheat." Percy said as he walked towards him.
"If you didn't, then that whole race was just a fluke." He said calmly this time.
"What makes you think that was a fluke?"
Hunter met Percy halfway and was an inch away from his face. Ignoring his question, Hunter spoke. "If you think, you'll take team captain away from me, you're wrong." He whispered. He then lightly patted Percy on the cheek two times, before hitting him a bit harder for the third time. He smirked and turned to walk away; or at least tried to before Percy grabbed him by the shoulder, and then grasped the collar of his shirt with his hands. He then slammed his body against the lockers.
Percy turned to stare down any of the teammates who wished to interfere. They immediately froze as they saw the seriousness in his eyes. Percy then paid his attention to Hunter. "I'm pretty sure you're overly protective over your role in this team, and I don't care if I'm team captain or not. I really don't, so get over yourself man. I'll give you a rematch anytime, it's up to you. I'd be happy to give you any sort of clarification." Percy let go of his grasp and grabbed the clothes out of his locker. He then patted Matt on the back and they left the locker room. Percy could feel the tension in the room, and the eyeballs glued to his back as he walked out.
*** Bit of a longer chapter for you guys! Sorry Clarisse wasn't in this one, she will be soon. Hope you enjoy. I know some of this stuff is getting kind of boring, but I have this whole dramatic horrifying thing planned out for the later chapters. I'm not going to stop writing this story for a long time, so stay tuned. I promise, you'll enjoy it if you're patient. Drop some reviews please! Oh and if you're a fan of Harry Potter, I have a story called After the War: Ron and Hermione if you want to check it out. Once again, enjoy! D.W