Thanks for the reviews, I'll try to be more consistent.
I do not own Percy Jackson.
I wake up to the sound of an alarm blaring. I look over and see 8:00 AM and groan. Almost time for class. My name is Cyrus Nightshade, (I know, a cooler name doesn't exist) I am 12 years old, have dark brown hair and dark eyes, and am currently a student at Yancy Academy in New York. The school is for troubled children, but me being there is a fluke. Honest. Well, not really. You see, I have ADHD and dyslexia, but not as bad as my friend Percy. He always seems to be bouncing off the walls. Now, back to me. I was born in an orphanage, or so they tell me. I always just had this feeling it wasn't true. I was adopted by the Miller family when I was 7, and they're alright, even though I think they adopted me more for neighborhood clout than anything.
I'm rather quiet, normally preferring to be by myself, but I do have two good friends at Yancy. One is the previously mentioned Percy Jackson, cool kid, and I think I could call him my first ever friend. The other is Grover Underwood, loyal to a fault, whose only weakness is food. We are on a field trip to a museum, and I am currently waiting by the water fountain while Grover talks to Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher. Percy was brought inside by Mrs. Dodds, our despicable pre-algebra teacher who hates me and Percy for some reason. She believes that it was him who soaked a bully with the water fountain, and I don't see how he could've done it. Even if I would've given him a high-five for it.
I didn't realize I zoned out until I saw Percy talking with Mr. Brunner and Grover. I walk over and overhear the end of the conversation between Percy and Brunner.
"Sir," Percy said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"
Mr. Brunner stared at him blankly. "Who?"
"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."
Mr. Brunner looked a bit concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy." What? "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah sir, I'm fine."
"Alright," he says, looking unconvinced. "Let me know if you're getting too stressed." He rolled away, asking Grover to follow him.
Percy looked distressed. He turned around, and came up to me when he saw me approaching. "Hey, Cyrus, You remember Mrs. Dodds, right?"
"Of course I do," I respond. "Why, is someone pulling a prank on you?"
"No… well, maybe, but I don't think so. Nobody else remembers her, I thought I was going crazy."
"Hmm. I heard about something like this once. I think it was called mass historia or something nerdy like that."
He snorted. "Well, it's good to have something consistent in my life, even if it's you and your horrible attitude." He looked happier, though I couldn't shake the feeling he was hiding something from me.
For the rest of the school year, me and Percy were very confused. Nobody seemed to remember the math teacher we had for months, nobody except Grover. If we didn't know him as well as we did, and if he didn't hesitate every time we asked him about her, we might've actually thought we were crazy.
Percy seemed to not have been sleeping well, he always has bags under his eyes during classes. Also, his grades dropped and he called our English teacher an "old sot," whatever that means. Something happened at that museum that I don't know about, but if Percy doesn't want to tell me, I'll accept his wishes. I'll just go harass Mr. Brunner instead. I went down to his office when, to my surprise, I see none other than Percy Jackson standing outside his door. He seemed to be intently listening to whatever they were saying inside. So, naturally, I decide to sneak up on him. I creep up on him until I'm next to him.
"Howdy, partner."
He jumped up and glared at me as he realized who I was. He shushes me and points at the door. We picked up on a portion of the conversation happening inside.
"Let them enjoy their ignorance while they still can," Mr. Brunner told Grover.
"Sir, he saw her..."
"His imagination. The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."
"Sir, I...I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was so filled with emotion, it was heartbreaking.
"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy and Cyrus alive until next fall-"
A book Percy was holding dropped out of his hand and hit the floor, silencing the conversation. Oh, you idiot. Percy picked up the book as we slowly backed out of there.
We backed into a room and closed the door, as a tall shadow passed by holding what seemed to be an archer's bow, one I just couldn't help but admire. The shadow stopped over the translucent window off the door before it moved on.
"Nothing," Mr. Brunner spoke. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."
"Mine neither," Grover responded. "But I could have sworn I heard something."
"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner instructed. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."
"Don't remind me."
The lights went out in Brunner's office. We waited in the dark for a bit before heading back. We split, distractedly saying our goodbyes as we went to our individual dorms. My roommate, Danny, was already asleep, so I laid down and began to think. What was going on? Why were Grover and Mr. Brunner so worried about Percy and I's wellbeing? And finally, what the hell happened inside that museum?
The next afternoon I was leaving a particularly hard Latin exam, wondering how many names I got wrong. I'm pretty sure I accidentally misnamed a hero "Arceus." It sounded Greek enough. I heard Mr. Brunner call Percy back, I was going to wait for him, but I still had some things to work through. After all the thinking I had done, I came up with a few theories.
First: Grover, Mr. Brunner, and everyone who can't remember Mrs. Dodds is batshit crazy.
Second: Percy and I are batshit crazy because we can remember Mrs. Dodds.
Third(and most likely): Grover and Mr. Brunner are hiding something from us.
I mean, they must not have been trying very hard, because they got snuck up on by two 12 year olds. Well, I've always been rather sneaky, especially at night, when the moon is out. Nevermind that, something happened between Percy and Mrs. Dodds that scared Mr. Brunner and Grover to the point where they are worried about keeping us alive. I sighed, and put it aside for now, I've still got more classes before the day ends.
Eventually the long awaited last day of school was upon us. I was all packed up and listening to the rich kids bragging about their vacation plans. Technically, I was also one of these rich kids, but I don't think the Millers would care much if I just disappeared.
Percy, Grover and I all had tickets for the same bus back to Manhattan. I was determined to repair the friendship that had slightly faded since that day at the museum. I wasn't doing too well at the moment, they were both quiet and seemed too distracted to respond to my awe-inspiring ice breakers. Finally, Percy spoke up to Grover.
"Looking for threats to your mission?"
Grover jumped. "Wha-What do you mean?"
I grinned at him and explained how me and Percy spied on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the big Latin exam.
"How much did you hear?"
"Oh...not much," I said casually. "What's the summer solstice deadline?"
Grover winced. "Look, I was just worried about Percy, hallucinating about demon math teachers and all…"
"Huh?" I asked. I was promptly ignored as Grover continued over me.
"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and…"
"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar," Percy told him, to which I agreed.
His ears turned pink before he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out what looked like two business cards. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."
My guess was proved right as I looked at the card, and after a few seconds of contemplation, I was able to make out:
Grover Underwood
Keeper
Half-Blood Hill
Long Island, New York
(800) 009-0009
"Half-Blood?" I asked. "What is this, some sort of Harry Potter convention?"
"Well you wouldn't be totally wrong," he muttered mysteriously. "That's my, uh… summer address," he said in a louder voice. "If you need me."
"Why would we need you?" Percy blurted out. "I d-didn't mean it like that, sorry," he apologized quickly, as it came out harsher than he intended.
Grover looked embarrassed. "Look, guys, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."
Before we could respond the bus broke down, forcing us all off. We were on a stretch of country road, with nothing but highway and the garbage people throw out of their cars. I think it is unbelievable, how people can just pollute the very Earth that they live on. Scumbags, is what they are. There was an old-fashioned looking fruit stand across the lanes of asphalt. There weren't any customers, just some old ladies sitting under a tree and knitting what looked to be giant socks. The ladies on the side were each knitting one, while the one in the middle held the basket with the yarn.
They looked very old, and identical. And weirdest of all, they were staring right at me.
I looked over, and Grover was very pale, while Percy was just looking at him confusedly.
"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"
"Tell me they're not looking at you," he responds. "They are, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Weird, huh? I wonder who they're making those socks for?"
"Not funny, Cyrus. Not funny at all."
The lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors and kept my full attention, even as Grover was trying to pull me back on the bus. The lady cut the yarn, and I felt a tightening in my chest.
Suddenly, the bus driver did something, and the engine roared back to life. We got back on the bus. Percy and Grover were talking during the ride, but I wasn't really listening. I was thinking about that yarn, I just knew it was more than it seemed.
This sounds crazy, but I swear as soon as that yarn was cut, I heard a voice in my head. A voice saying "not yet."
A/N
Well, this took a while. State tests suck. If anyone has any advice on how to not fail English, it would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading, and I'll try to update more often.