Chapter 2: THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH.

Annabeth gasped. "Is- is that -"

" Not mine, " Theo hurried to say.

Annabeth quieted, but still glanced at him warily.

He went over to sit with Luke.

I was used to the occasional weird experience, but . . . for the rest of the school year . . . completely and totally convinced . . . whom I'd never seen in my life . . . since Christmas.

"No," said Theo, glaring at the Hermes table, Thalia, and Leo.

"Aww, but-"

"Oh, come on!"

"NO."

Theo was firm.

Percy sent him a grateful look.

Every so often, I would . . . like I was psycho.

"That's cause you are psycho," Hazel told him.

"You really think that?" pouted Theo.

"Yes!" all the futures and Luke said immediately.

It got so I almost . . . never existed.

"I bet Grover gave it away," snickered Thalia.

Grover blushed.

Almost.

"Called it!"

"Yeah, yeah."

But Grover couldn't . . . I knew he was lying.

"Put Grover down for lying lessons," Luke told Travis.

Connor nodded. "Got it!"

Grover gulped.

Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.

"No, really?" asked Nico sarcastically.

"Shut up," Theo told him, leaning on his boyfriend, who adjusted slightly.

I didn't have much time to . . . wake me up in a cold sweat.

Various demigods winced.

Mr. D ( who had been reading a wine magazine ) ignored them and continued reading.

The freak weather continued . . . Hudson Valley touched down . . . was the unusual number of small . . . Atlantic that year.

"Oh! I remember that,'' said Piper. Leo nodded.

I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time.

"You're really attuned to the water," Chiron said, looking deep in thought.

My grades . . . hallway in almost every single class.

Finally, when our English teacher . . . I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.

"It means old drunk," said Annabeth, trying to stifle her giggles.

"So . . . Mr. D?" asked leo.

Everyone burst out laughing and

The headmaster sent . . .to Yancy Academy.

Fine, I told myself. Just fine.

I was homesick.

"You were?" asked Reyna, raising an eyebrow.

Theo shrugged, exchanging a look with Percy. "You've met my mom, right?"

The campers were confused, but the futures made noises of understanding.

I wanted to be with my mom . . . public school and . . obnoxious stepfather . . . poker parties.

"Before Paul," Theo said.

"Paul?" asked Percy.

Theo just grinned at him.

And yet . . . there were things I'd miss . . . the smell of pine trees. I'd . . . strange.

I worried how he'd survive next year without me.

"I'm not going there anymore," shrugged Grover.

I'd miss Latin class too . . . I could do well.

As exam week . . . forgotten what . . . I'd started to believe him.

"Good."

A lot of people said that.

The evening before my final, I got so frustrated . . .words had started swimming . . . doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.

"Dang, that bad?" asked Frank, wincing.

"You don't have dyslexia?" asked Luke, looking up from the book.

Frank shook his head. "I'm lactose intolerant," he told them.

"Lucky," muttered a lot of people.

There was no way I was going to . . . Chiron and Charon,

"But you know now, right?" asked Annie.

"Yup!" nodded Percy with a grin.

Theo snorted.

"You didn't," said Nico warily.

"He did," sighed Thalia.

And . . . Latin verbs? Forget it.

"But you know now, right?" grinned Jason.

Theo swallowed and nodded, not looking him in the eyes.

Jason frowned; they'd have to have that talk soon.

I paced around the room, feeling like there were ants crawling around in my shirt.

Theo fidgeted a bit, but most passed it off as ADHD acting up.

I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his . . . accept the best from you, Percy Jackson.

"Pressure!" Leo whistled.

I took a deep breath.

I picked up the mythology . . . could apologize for the big fat F I was . . . Yancy Academy without him thinking I hadn't tried.

Percy blushed.

I walked downstairs . . . door was ajar. . . hallway floor.

I was three steps from the handle when I heard voices . . . "worried about Percy, sir."

I froze.

I'm not usually an eavesdropper

"I beg to differ," Nico said.

"That was different!" Theo protested.

"Uh-huh," said Nico unbelievingly.

But I dare you to try not listening when your best friend talking about you to your teacher.

"I- okay, that's a good point," Nico admitted.

I inched closer.

" . . . alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a kindly one in the school ! Now that we know for sure, and they know too- "

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him,'' Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."

"And he's mature now?" asked Thalia dubiously.

"Shut up," grumbled Theo, snuggling closer to Luke.

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline-''

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he can.

"Sir, he saw her . . . ."

"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."

"Sir, I - I can't fail my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."

"What?" asked Piper.

"It'll be explained," answered Theo without really answering.

"You haven't failed Grover," said Mr. Brunner kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"

The mythology book dropped out of my hands with a thud.

"You do not just say something like that!" said Theo. "I mean, come on !"

Chiron had the decency to look embarrassed

Mr. Brunner went silent.

My heart was hammering. I picked up the book and backed down the hall.

A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Mr. Brunner's door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.

I opened the nearest door and slipped in.

"Good," said Travis approvingly.

Connor nodded.

A few seconds later, I heard a slow clip-clop-clop , like . . . a large shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.

"I was cramping!"

A couple people snickered.

A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.

Somewhere in the hallways, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing. My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice.

"Neither have mine," Grover said. "But I could have sworn . . ."

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams in front of you."

"Don't remind me."

The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.

I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.

Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.

Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.

Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "Are you going to be ready for this test?"

I didn't answer.

"You look awful." he frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Just . . . tired."

"Liar!" sang Leo.

Theo rolled his eyes.

I turned so he couldn't see my expression, and started getting ready for bed.

I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.

But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.

"You were," said Annabeth.

"Why? What happened at the solstice?" asked Reyna.

No one answered her.

The next afternoon,as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back in.

"Three hours?" yelped Hazel.

"How did you survive?" asked Leo.

"I almost didn't," admitted Percy.

"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's . . . it's for the best."

Multiple people groaned.

"If you have to have this conversation at all, at least have it private!" chastised Annabeth.

His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

Piper faked barfing.

I mumbled, "Okay sir."

"I mean . . ." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time.

My eyes stung.

Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.

"Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth fondly. "So melodramatic."

"Right," I said, trembling.

"no, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all." what I'm trying to say . . . you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"

"Thanks," I blurted out. "Thanks for reminding me.

"Percy-"

But I was already gone.

On the last day of term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.

The other guys were joking around, talking about what they were doing for the summer. . . . I was a nobody, from a nobody family.

Annabeth snickered suddenly. "Yeah, Percy, you're Nobody."

Percy looked hurt, but Theo laughed.

"Yup! We're both Nobodies!"

"What are you-"

"Next book," chorused the former couple.

They asked me what I'd be doing and I told them I was going back to the city.

What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I would be going to school in the fall.

Annie frowned. "You shouldn't be doing that. Why would you be doing that?"

Percy looked away, not saying anything.

Theo gasped slightly, sitting up straight. "Holy- nononononono!"

"Wha- oh!" Thalia gasped as realization hit her. "Is he-"

"I dunno."

Theo was close to hyperventilating.

Annabeth went over to him and rubbed his back, whispering soothing words.

Theo calmed down and nodded at Luke to continue reading, leaning back into Annabeth.

Luke frowned, but complied.

"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."

They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.

"That's not nice," frowned Silena.

Theo bit his lip.

''Better than getting beat up," muttered Percy.

Luckily, only Theo heard him. No one except Theo and Nico noticed a young girl by the fire, frowning.

The only person I dreaded saying goodbye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ride on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occured to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the greyhound.

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. "Looking for Kindly Ones?" I said.

"Percy!" multiple people called out.

"What?" he asked defensively.

Luke kept reading, hoping to diffuse the tension.

Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha- what do you mean?"

I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before.

"Never confess!" the Stolls yelled.

Grover winced. "Look, Percy . . . I was just worried for you. I mean, imagining demon math teachers . . ."

"Grover," I said.

"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."

He turned pink.

He did the same in real life. "Don't worry," Annabeth assured him. "You get better."

From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."

The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood hill

Long Island, New York

(800) 009-009

"Why is it like that, anyway?" asked Katie.

"Mr. D made them like that."

Multiple people glared.

"What's Half-Blood-"

"Don't say it out loud!"

Thalia snorted. "Like that'll work," she muttered.

he yelped. "That's my, um . . . summer address!''

My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.

"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to visit your mansion."

"Well, not a mansion exactly . . ."

He nodded. "Or . . . . or if you need me."

"Why would I need you?"

"Percy!" came again.

It came out harsher than I meant it to.

They settled down.

Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is . . . I- I kind of have to protect you."

I stared at him.

All year long, I'd gotten into fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.

"I get that," agreed Thalia, Leo, Piper, and Will nodding along.

"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"

There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and filled the whole bus with a smell like rotten eggs.

Theo wrinkled his nose. It was almost like . . . no, they wouldn't. Would they . . .?

The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes of clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everyone else.

We were on a stretch of country road - no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the country there was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest socks I'd ever seen.

A lot of people gasped. "A- are those?" asked Lee shakily.

"Keep reading," Theo said.

I mean these socks . . . clearly socks. The lady on the right . . . them. The lady on the left . . . basket of electric-blue yarn.

All three . . . fruit leather, . . . bleached cotton dresses.

The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.

"No," whispered Kayla.

I looked over at Grover . . . his face. His nose was twitching.

"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man -"

"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah. weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?''

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."

"He's right," campers agreed.

The old lady in the middle . . . I heard Grover catch his breath.

"We're getting back on the bus," he told me. "Come on!"

"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there.

"So what?" asked Reyna.

"Get on the bus!" agreed Calypso.

"Come on!" he pried the . . . but I stayed back.

Across the road, the old ladies . . . hear that snip . . . her friends . . . electric-blue . . . possibly be for - Sasquatch or Godzilla.

No one laughed. People looked at Percy and Theo like they would drop dead any second. Finally, Theo grew annoyed.

"It wasn't my string!" he told them.

"But they have-" Chiron started.

"Never done something like that, yeah, I know," Theo said, annoyed. "That happens a lot, things not going the way they're supposed to. Yes, I saw the person who's string that was die. But it wasn't mine," he repeated.

"Whose was it, then?" asked Clarisse, who was pale.

"I can't tell you," Theo said, eyes downcast.

Luke read on.

At the rear . . .chunk of . . . engine road back to life.

The passengers cheered.

"Darn right! . . . on board!"

Once we got . . . feverish, and . . . look much better.

Annabeth felt Theo's temperature heat up. Concerned, she looked at his face.

"Seaweed Brain," she asked urgently. "Are you alright?"

Luke paused and looked at him. "Theo?" he asked hesitantly.

"I - I'm fine," he said, cursing himself for stuttering.

A note fell down.

Annabeth grabbed it.

It read:

Sup? This is Alex Fierro, I'm gonna be coming soon; not telling when, though. Might be after this chapter, might be after the fifth book! Anyay, Magnus asked me to tell you guys this. Whatever is described in the book, future-Percy will feel it. Not, if, say, Annabeth gets a concussion, but if the Percy in the book is bleeding, real-life older-Percy will feel it. Not my idea, but there's a price to this kind of stuff.

-Alex

P.S. Magnus says hi

P.P.S. Percy, you'd better have quoted me by now

Annabeth lowered the note.

"Well, that sucks," said Leo, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Magnus? Like, my -our cousin?" Annie asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Alex is his - I don't even know what to call it. But Luke, can you keep reading? I think once the description is over, Theo will feel better."

Luke nodded and concentrated on the book.

"Grover?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you not telling me?"

"A lot," Theo said, looking much better.

He dabbed his forehead with his sleeve. "Percy, what did you see at the fruit stand?"

"Oh, nothing, just the fates, showing you someone will die," said Grover, looking a bit green.

"You mean the old ladies? What about them, man? They're not like Mrs. Dodds, are they?"

"Not like you're thinking," said Clarisse.

"I know!"

His expression was . . . much, much . . . "Just tell me what you saw."

"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."

He closed his eyes . . . something almost - older.

"You're very observant, you know that?" asked Reyna.

He said, "you saw her snip the cord."

"Yeah. So?" but even as I said that, I knew it was a big deal.

"See?"

"No one disagreed with you."

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing his thumb. "I don't want it to be like last time."

"What last time?"

"Always sixth grade. They never get passed sixth."

"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."

"Okay, that's creepy," admitted Nico, snuggling into Will.

Mini-Will looked at them in confusion.

Before Luke could continue, however, Silena asked a question. "Wait, so we know that Theo and Annabeth used to date" *Percy and Annie blushed* "and that he's dating Luke now, but who are the rest of you dating?"

"Cal," said Leo, looking proud.

"I'm dating Frank," volunteered Hazel.

"Jason," said Piper firmly.

"Nico," said Will, kissing him softly.

Mini-Will blanched.

Nico smiled against his boyfriend.

"I'm a hunter; I don't date," said Thalia.

"I'm the same as Thalia," Reyna said.

Silena looked interested. "Any kinks?" she asked.

"Uh - maybe we could talk about this later?" suggested Jason.

Silena pouted, but agreed. "So am dating anyone?"

"Beckendorf," said Annabeth, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Both blushed.

That seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.

"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.

"Not a superstition," Chiron said gravely, the mood lowering immediately.

No answer.

He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking out the best flowers to lay on my coffin.

"Oh, and that's not weird at all!" said Lee.

That's the chapter," said Luke. "who'll read?"

Everyone was silent; no one wanted to hear more about the fates.

Finally, breaking the silence, Calypso volunteered.