DISCLAIMER-All characters belong to Rick Riordan
Chapter 1-AN UNKNOWN THREAT
"Another boring day at Goode High School…" I sighed as I further slouched in my seat. I was currently in my first class of the day, which happened to be the worst class of all for me. Language Arts. Most people hate math, not that I don't, but I happen to be dyslexic so Language Arts is far worse. Anyway, my name is Percy Jackson and I'm 16 years old, I have pitch black hair, sea green eyes, and I'm pretty tan. I'm currently in my third year at Goode High School and I'm a notorious trouble maker. I don't know how I got the title of a troublemaker but I'm assuming it's because of my snarky attitude which is why I was always being scolded by my teachers. Teachers like Ms. Dodds who had just caught me about to take a nap.
"Percy Jackson!" Ms. Dodds said. "Since you know the material well enough to sleep in my class then tell me what's the definition of the vocab words on the board." Shit, I should have known the old hag would call on me. Ms. Dodds is my old and angry teacher for Language Arts, she always has it out for me. "Well?" she said. I sighed, "I don't know maam…" I said. She smirked victoriously at my response. "Of course he doesn't, Percy is a retard." Nancy Bobofit said. Nancy Bobofit, she was a malicious girl who hated my guts as well as a teacher's pet. I seethed in rage as Ms. Dodds turned a blind eye to what she had said.
As badly as I wanted to fling my pencil at Nancy Bobofits ugly face at that moment, I knew I couldn't. I had promised my mom that I would keep my behavior in check. I couldn't bear to have her pick me up from the office again with that sad look she always had whenever I got into trouble. So I clenched my fist and ignored her. Ms. Dodds continued her lesson and despite my best efforts my eyes wandered around the classroom out of boredom. Our classroom was pretty large and had plenty of room for distraction. In fact I sat next to the most distracting thing of all, the classroom window. I peered outside, the view was truly great, I could see the grand and mighty buildings of New York. It was truly a spectacle. As I looked closely I could see smoke in the distance. I shrugged it off and did my best to pay attention for the rest of the class.
My next class was a blur and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I sighed with relief as I walked down the halls to the cafeteria. The school halls were always cramped with people which would make getting to the cafeteria quite a task. A couple of kids seemed to be in a rush and shoved their way through the pile of people. When I craned my neck over the stream of people to take a look at who they were, I saw that I did recognize them. I knew they were freshmen since I had seen them around but I didn't actually know them personally. What surprised me was the frantic and panicked look I saw in their eyes.
I continued on my journey to the cafeteria and finally made it after a long and claustrophobic journey. One thing I will say about Goode High School is that its cafeteria is definitely exceptional. It's almost like an indoor plaza, the space is huge and the tables which are also massive are lined up horizontally on the left and right. The tables are lined up in a way which leaves space in the center so kids are able to line up to get their food. I don't know much about layout but I liked the cafeterias layout, it was grand and welcoming. I quickly scanned the cafeteria, already the tables were beginning to be filled with people. "Yo Perce!" someone shouted over the busy and bustling noise of the students. It was hardly audible but I managed to hear it. My best friend's voice, Grover Underwood.
A grin took over my face as I saw him waving me over to our usual table alongside my other friend, Jason Grace. I had known the two since forever, though I did meet Grover a year or two before Jason. Jason is a goody two shoes but despite that we got along famously. He's tall, muscular, has bright blue eyes, white skin, and blonde hair. He's pretty well known around the school for his quarterback position on the football team. On the other hand Grover is somewhat odd, he's a shy and pretty awkward kid. He's scrawny and has wispy facial hair and hair with acne littered across his face. As socially awkward as he may be with most people, he's incredibly lively with Jason and I.
I weaved my way through the mass of people to the table. Jason was sitting to the right of Grover so I took a seat to the left of him. "Ughhh, finally a break from my shitty classes." I groaned out. Jason snickered, " But I thought you loved Ms. Dodds!" he jokingly said. "Oh shut up." I said. Grover glanced over at me. "You're not gonna eat lunch, Perce?" Grover questioned me. I had forgotten my lunch at home in the morning due to waking up late and the rush I had been in. "Naw, not hungry." I said. Truthfully, I was hungry but I didn't tell them since I knew they would give me a portion of their lunch. "Oh, that's right!" Jason exclaimed. Grover and I looked at him questioningly. "Did you guys hear about that crazy third year who had a vision?" Jason said.
I knew immediately who he was talking about. Rachel. I didn't know who she was but she was always claiming she had visions, she truly was insane from what I'd heard. I laughed, "You mean Rachel? She always says she can see the future. She just wants attention, don't tell me you believe that garbage." Jason sighed. "This time it was different, apparently, she was screaming something about zombies and was begging for everyone to believe her." Grover looked pretty intrigued. "I heard a couple of first years mention zombies on my way here. They seemed serious." Freshmen were always pretty gullible to what higher classmen told them, I wouldn't doubt if they believed Rachel.
We spent a couple more minutes making idle chat. I was dreading the end of lunch since I would have to go to another boring class. Maybe I should ditch? I started to contemplate whether I should or not when I was abruptly ripped out of my thoughts by a blood curdling scream. More screams and shouts began to simultaneously rip through the air not even a second later. The three of us sat in shock. What in the world was going on? Everything was happening so fast. The cafeteria was now in chaos, students were sprinting and shoving each other in order to get to the exits. Their facial expressions were either filled with confusion or horror as they ran.
I did my best to yell over the chaos, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" Grover and Jason snapped out of their stupor and blankly shook their heads in bewilderment. Did an intruder get in? That had to be it. Whatever it was, I knew one thing, we had to get as far away from the cafeteria as possible. Jason seemed to have the same thought, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Grover nodded, and together we got up and ran to join the sea of people who were heading towards a nearby exit. By now the center of the cafeteria had emptied, everyone was either already long gone or fighting to get to the exit. I was starting to get really scared, I didn't think even an intruder could inflict this level of terror among people. "Hey!" I heard Jason say as he was shoved forward by somebody. "Jason!" Grover shouted as Jason was shoved further forward into the crowd. In the flash of an eye, I lost sight of him in the crowd.
Damn, nothing I can do now except hope for his safety. I grabbed Grover by his sleeve and yanked him towards me, I won't lose sight of him as well. A couple more minutes of struggling and we finally arrived in the Math hall. My thoughts were becoming a blur as panic took over. I needed to get in a classroom. Wait a second, where's Grover? I looked around me, where is he? Just as I was about to be completely overwhelmed, I heard his voice. "Percy! GET IN!" he said. He was a little ahead of me and holding a classroom door open. Relieved, I made my way over in a hurry. I assumed most doors would have been locked by now but thankfully we made it in the nick of time.
As soon as I got in he slammed the door shut and locked it. I was so afraid I didn't even care if we were leaving anybody outside. With my back against the door I slid down, then put my face on my knees. I felt like a little child. Afraid and confused. I hope Jason will make it to safety as well. Could this all be a nightmare? In all the schools I've been in there has never been an intruder, it seems my luck has run out. As I stayed curled up in my spot and for some reason my mind kept drifting to our conversation earlier about Rachel and what future she said she had foreseen.
Pretty short chapter but I have to get started at some point. Hope you enjoyed it.-Kflo