Life isn't fair. It never has been.

It didn't matter who your parent was, who you loved, who you knew.

Life could go off the rails in a million different ways.

Trust me, I know. I am the epitome of would be privilege and my life was not one I would wish on another soul.

My name is Cassidy Jenkins and frankly, my life sucked.

So buckle up and get ready to ride with me

As I walk through life as someone that by all accounts, never should have been.

::::

"I'm going to kill her," Percy mumbled and Cassidy sighed from his seat just behind Percy.

Turning, he grabbed Nancy's hand, squeezing with just enough tightness to make her call out but glaring with more than enough force to shut her the fuck up. "Continue this and I will risk expulsion shattering your wrist." His tone was warm, soft even, but the fear it invoked was such that the girl turned quiet, white and started to shiver. " Are we clear?" She nodded and shriveled into herself the moment he released her. Turning, he smiled at Percy. "How are you, both of you?" He asked Percy and Grover, not really caring for Grover but liking Percy a whole hell of a lot. He was his best student, he had been tutoring Percy for the entirety of their time at Yancy Academy bumping Percy to a near A student.

So, naturally, he wanted Percy to stay in school. Beating Nancy like a drum would have been a bad thing, sadly.

Smiling radiantly, Percy nodded. "Better now, thanks. I can't stand her."

Grover nodded, like the sniveling coward he was, he squeaked out a mousy. "I'm okay." He never had much spine, something that Cassidy took as a near personal offense really.

Still, for Percy's sake, he faked a smile. "Good. I am glad."

Practicing his temper control tricks, something earned from seven years of intensive therapy and medication, he started deep breaths so he did not go back and beat Nancy until her body rattled with agony. He too, like Percy, was on very thin ice. He had no desire to end up in Juvie for hospitalizing another person. Six kids and four adults were more than enough for a twelve-year-old boy.

Mr. Brunner led the museum tour. He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding them through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. Cassidy, a lover of knowledge and such, relished in this opportunity. He adored museums, school events and the like. Any chance to learn, especially with fantasy and mythology. Cultural learning was just like nothing else.

Mr. Brunner gathered them around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling them how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told them about the carvings on the sides. Percy kept on having to tell everyone to be quiet, getting Mrs. Dodds to look at him hatefully. After a bit, anger welled so deeply in Cassidy's body he had to turn and glare at them, cracking his knuckles to make such a point they all paled. His reputation was a powerful weapon and he had no fear in using it.

After a while, the less than intelligent Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and Percy turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"

It came out rather loudly.

The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.

"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"

Red-faced, the other boy said, "No, sir."

Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"

He looked at the carving and seemed relieved. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ..."

"Well...Kronos was the king god, and-"

"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.

"Titan," He corrected himself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"

"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind them.

"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," he continued, "and the gods won."

Some snickers from the group.

Behind them, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"Busted," Grover muttered.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.

At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.

Percy frowned. "I don't know, sir."

Sighing, Cassidy finished for him. "Self-fulfilling prophecies." They all turned to him, so he continued. "He was told he would be overthrown by his kids, but they overthrew him because he ate and abused them. A man often meets his destiny on the road to avoid it."

"I see." Mr. Brunner smiled. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson and half to Mr. Jenkins. Now I do believe it is time for lunch."

The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along FifthAvenue.

Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than anyone had ever seen over the city. There had been countless odd storms and such for the last few months, since around Christmas and for some reason, it left Cassidy feeling nauseous and tired. Like the world, itself was draining him.

Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.

Grover, Percy and Cassidy sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others.

Percy was frowning, talking about Mr. Brunner "I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean-I'm not a genius."

Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, predictably, he said. "Can I have your apple?"

Cassidy frowned. "Percy, you are very, very smart. You just need more direction and some focus. Honestly, in this shit hole of a school only you can rival my grades." He shrugged, enjoying Percy's cute blush. He had a thing for Percy when they first met, how could he not? Percy was the definition of sweet, kind, smart and adorable. It was easy to like him, even for Cassidy who was admittedly a judgmental prick at the best of times.

Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.

After a while, while he was eating his vegetarian meal, the bitchy and irritating Nancy walked over to Grover and dumped her half eaten meal all over his lap.

"Oops." She grinned and then a wave of water rushed over her and she was in the fountain, "Percy pushed me!" She screamed.

Mrs. Dodds materialized next to them.

Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"

"-the water-"

"-like it grabbed her-"

As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, "Now, honey-"

"I know," Percy grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."

"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.

Done, beyond done, Cassidy shoved the teacher aside and grabbed Nancy, headbutting her so hard her nose snapped. She screeched in agony, holding her face but he was not done. Despite being tiny, Cassidy was really strong for some reason. Lifting her by her shirt with one hand, he shook her hard. "I am done seeing you bully, abuse and mistreat others. If Mrs. Dodds refuses to do anything, I will. Touch anyone again, and I will break something else. I am done with you." With his other hand, he reset her nose making her scream more. Then he threw her back into the fountain, uncaring. Turning he drank in everyone's terrified, confused stares. "Now, you will deal with us both." Grabbing her and Percy, he actually dragged them both away, with no real effort.

After a minute Mrs. Dodd's shook loose and marched ahead, but there was fear in her body language. They followed her into the museum and further down. Within moments they were back in the Greek and Roman section. Except for them, the gallery was empty.

Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.

In an oddly mousy move, Percy said. "Yes, ma'am."

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?" The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.

"I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."

Thunder shook the building.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain. Well?" she demanded.

Cassidy, despite the six-inch height difference between him and Percy, moved in front of Percy with a growl. "Try it." he said, not caring what she would try. He hated abusers, always had. Neither of his parents were real winners.

"Ma'am, I don't..."

"Your time is up," she hissed.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice them to ribbons.

Then things got even stranger. Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.

"What ho, Percy!" he shouted and tossed the pen through the air.

Mrs. Dodds lunged at Percy, and so Cassidy socked her hard. Hard enough that somehow, she flew through the air and crashed into the wall hard enough to leave a crack. Steadily and with some fear, she managed to stand, looking at him with horror and hate.

"You are not human... is it you?" She asked, her tone hateful and terrified all at once. Then she flew at him once more, faster than he could safely react so he threw himself to the side, just as Percy used a literal sword to slice through the woman's body, leaving only sand in her wake. He then watched as Percy's blade melted until it became a simple ballpoint pen.

"Percy, did you see a demon grandma trying to kill us?"

He nodded. "Yes, Cass, I did."

"Thought so."

They went back outside.

It had started to rain.

Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw them, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

Percy said, "Who?"

"Our teacher. Duh!"

They both blinked. They had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. Percy asked Nancy what she was talking about. She just rolled her eyes and turned away.

Percy asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was. He said, "Who?"

But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at them.

"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed overhead.

They saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.

They went over to him.

He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.

"Sir," Percy asked. "where's Mrs. Dodds?"

He stared at me blankly. "Who?"

"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."

He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip."

"You are lying." Cassidy said, his tone as dark as he could make it. Brunner turned to him, so he got close. "Something strange is going on, I will find out and if you are continuing to lie, you will suffer for it. Worse than Nancy. Try me old man." Grabbing Percy's arm, he turned and walked away with Percy. "If they are going to continue to lie, then it is us versus them. I do not trust liars, for any reason."

Percy nodded, unsure but very determined. "Agreed."

:::

Chiron shivered, Cassidy's tone was terrifying. Even among the many monsters, he had seen, the gods and goddesses, something about the boy rang in a way that left a terrifying taste in his mouth. It was a familiarity, he had seen this boy's brand of rage before. He just couldn't place it...

Of course, now he knew him to be a Demigod, no mortal could have unleashed such a devastating blast of physical strength against a Fury. No... the boy was something more, that he slipped under Chiron's radar was not a good thing. It boded far more trouble ahead than he like. He had to be patient and figure it out, for all their sakes.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a fun chapter.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.