Camp Jupiter: War Games

Perseus "Etude" Jackson

Nyssa

Cohort 1, Offense

"I play the saxophone." "No, that's too small for a saxophone." "...you're looking at a baritone sax. I play the alto."

Words: 1,001

So...this is for the Camp Jupiter: War Games forum. My goal is to do all eleven prompts from the October 2020 thread, which are band prompts, eleven, one for each musical instrument in the standard concert band, and each one with one character. My last is 'Saxophone', with Percy Jackson himself, and this is "Etude".

Etude

"I play the saxophone." Percy tells him. The guy looks like a scarecrow, with skinny legs and a wild look in his blue eyes.

"No, that's too small for a saxophone." he gestures at a girl with a bari sax, fixing her neck strap.

"...you're looking at a baritone sax." Percy tells him. "I play the alto." he hefts his case with a grin. "Anyway...can I go in?" the guy, who he now realizes is wearing a name tag- Octavian- glances down at his sheet.

"Name?"

"Percy Jackson." Percy tells him. "But, it might say Perseus, on there?" Octavian appears unimpressed with him and just steps aside, having no time for Percy. He waves over a nervous looking blond with her case tucked under her arm.

"Hey, Perce," his cousin Jason waves him over. "How was your summer?" He only met Jason this last summer at band camp through Thalia, his other cousin. While he hadn't known Jason had existed, and hadn't really known of Thalia until then, the two of them are 'bros', and while they maybe aren't as close as others might have been as cousins, it's enough for Percy. They have the same group of friends, anyway, including Thalia.

"Well, the last few days since I saw the rest of you have been pretty regular," Percy teases. "My mom's started sending out letters to editors or something for her first book, but she doesn't think it'll happen very quickly." Jason nods.

"I heard the process takes a while." Percy shrugs.

"We're optimistic." They lapse into silence. Reyna joins them after a moment, gives Jason a not-so-subtle look that makes Percy wince. When he'd first met Reyna, she'd been sorta hung up over the unknown Jason Grace and he thinks she still is, even though she'd made a pass at Percy a few days later.

Jason and Reyna start to talk, and Percy spaces out. When he comes to (if that's what you call when you stop spacing out) everyone's there plus the blond girl he ran into.

"-my cousin, Etude," Percy waves at her, "my lost brother, Overture, his girlfriend," he still isn't sure if Jason and Piper are really dating, there was apparently some sort of disconnect- "Menuet, my other cousin, Nocturne..."

Her name, Percy learns, is Annabeth, and frankly it's a great name. She looks like a California girl or a princess, or perhaps a Californian princess, and he learns quickly that she doesn't appreciate flirting- specifically:

"So," Leo wiggles his eyebrows, "I was thinking-"

"Nope," Annabeth says without looking up from her copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Leo pouts.

"Aw, babe-"

"Not happening."

Leo sniffs. "You wound me." Annabeth raises a single blonde eyebrow and Leo quickly starts talking to Piper about whether he'd look good with a tattoo. Annabeth looks satisfied and turns to Percy.

"How's your mom's book?" she's integrated well, Percy thinks, if not a little too well. It's kind of strange how easily she slipped in.

"We haven't heard anything yet," Percy admits. "But it's early days yet. She figures some people just won't like some of the material." Annabeth nods.

"Not doing it right if everyone likes it," she muses. "Wish her luck for me."

Percy's frankly astounded to have done so well in high school. He didn't expect it; after all it was supposed to be harder than Half-Blood and Half-Blood had been something in itself. And yet he had dine well, better than well, really, and here was about to graduate and more on to the next chapter of his life, a senior in high school for only a few more moments.

His girlfriend gives him a small smile. "You ready?" Annabeth asks. She presses a soft kiss to his cheek. He nods. "It all went by so fast, didn't it?"

"Yeah...I'm not complaining though." Annabeth laughs. "I mean, you had a bunch of 'fun' extracurriculars and whatever, and now you're graduating class valedictorian, but school's not really my thing."

"What about college?" Annabeth asks him. They've been dating three and a half years by now, he figures. Annabeth is like his best friend, and she can read him like a book- and however dyslexic she may be she can read a book.

"Well, I'm thinking college will be better," Percy says. "You know? I can choose my classes to my interests- no math or European history. I can sleep in and I'll have a roommate that isn't my mom or Estelle."

Annabeth is silent. "You know you do have to take math classes in college, right?" Percy stares. She laughs. "Percy. What are you planning on majoring in anyway?"

"Marine biology, maybe." He recalls something Nico said once. "Surfing?"

"I guess this is goodbye." Piper says with her hands in her pockets. She stares at the ground. No one dares to say another word. "Well? Group hug?" Frank goes in gladly and even people like Nico and Thalia are dragged in.

"I love you all." Percy says, muffled. Annabeth nods against his chest and Percy extracts his hand from Thalia's armpit. Someone (probably Nico, the little git) is stepping on his foot.

"Love you too Perce."