Percy seemed unusually excited when October arrived. Artemis had never seen him smile so brightly in school.
"What has you in such a good mood?" She asked at lunch.
He handed her a school flyer, as though he had been anticipating the question. It was covered in various Halloween designs. Artemis read the flyer.
The October's End Festival is coming!
The final week of October will bring a full week of student led festivities, ending with the Costume Bash dance on Halloween. Do you have your date?
Students are exempt from classes during the festival.
"A whole week without classes," Artemis said, looking up from the flyer, "that is something to be excited about."
"That's not why I'm excited," Percy stated, his smile unchanging, "in my freshman year, I joined a club with no monsters, so I could have a safe place in the school. Over the course of my time here, they've become like a third family to me." Artemis have him a confused look, "the flyer says student led festivities, but their really led by the clubs. That's why I'm excited. The festival is my favorite time of the school year."
"And what club are you in?" Artemis asked.
"Well, if you stay after school instead of leaving on the spot, I can show you."
Artemis had no idea that Percy was in a club, and now he was going to willingly show her what it was. He was bringing her into what Artemis knew he considered to be his safe haven from his chaotic demigod life. Her heart fluttered at the thought of Percy bringing her into his personal life.
"Aren't you hungry?" Percy asked, taking a bite of the pizza he bought at the cafeteria store.
Artemis said nothing and took a forkful of salad.
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After school, Percy took Artemis by the hand, an act that made her blush so intensely that other girls in the class clamoured for Percy to hold their hands too, and brought her through the school. They didn't stop until they reached the school auditorium. Percy opened the door and saw two people on the stage arguing with each other, with their respective groups on either side of the stage, glaring at each other.
"Oh no," Percy groaned, "not this again."
Percy ran down the aisle, completely unaware that he was still holding Artemis' hand. They reached the stage and Percy attempted to climb up, only then noticing that Artemis' hand was still in his. He let go and gave her an apologetic look before climbing up onto the stage. He separated the two arguing students.
"What's this about?" Percy asked, "I thought we agreed to compromise for the sake of the festival."
"The schedules for the glee club are conflicting with ours," a blonde girl said, "how can we perform our skits if they've booked the auditorium on all available days for their practice?"
"We had an agreement!" Percy shot at the other girl, "Equal practice time for equal performance time! Why would you book the auditorium on all days? We need to rehearse just as much as you do!"
"I doubt that," the girl said calmly, "it requires more practice to sing than it does to act."
"Why you!" A boy from the group behind Percy charged forward, but Percy stopped him.
"Clearly, we need a new agreement," Percy said as calmly as he could. He thought for a moment before getting an idea. It was risky, but he had to try, "How knowledgeable are you in childrens show theme songs?"
The two clubs murmured as the girl apparently leading the glee club got a strange look on her face. Artemis walked over to the blonde girl.
"What's going on?" Artemis asked.
"Andrea Remeirez, the self proclaimed captain of the glee club, has been known to take any question of her musical knowledge as an open challenge. Percy is taking a huge risk just to give the drama club a chance to perform for the festival."
"You mean you know what he's doing?"
"I've been with him in this club for four years, I always know what he's planning."
Artemis watched Percy to see what he was up to. He had a knowing smirk on his face. Andrea closed her eyes momentarily. She opened them with a smirk of her own.
"Why don't you test me and see." She said confidently.
Percy smirked and hopped off the stage. He grabbed Artemis by the hand and brought her out of the auditorium. He led her to a room on the second floor. It was small and had a couple tables, each with boards that had different buttons, switches and dials. Percy guided Artemis to one of the chairs and sat down in the one next to it. He flipped a switch on the wall labeled "MASTER" and the boards hummed to life. Artemis had never been in or even seen a room like this in all her immortal life.
"What is this?" She asked.
"This is the booth," Percy explained, "it's where we control the lights and speakers in the auditorium," he plugged an auxiliary cord into his phone and turned a dial on the board it was connected to. He then pulled a microphone closer to him, "Let's start with something easy." His voice was amplified throughout the auditorium, "A real classic." Percy worked the board to what Artemis could only guess we're the optimal settings, then cycled through different songs on his phone until he reached a folder labeled "Childrens Show Karaoke". He entered the folder and selected the Flintstones theme. The auditorium was then filled with the iconic theme music, without any words.
The members of both clubs watched intently as Andrea began to sing.
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"What are you doing up here?" Kira flew in front of Selene, who was riding on Blackjack high above their grandfather's temple, "Grandpa invited us to dinner tonight. He was expecting us ten minutes ago."
"I want to be the best rider in the school," Selene explained, "just like dad is the best at camp. And the only way to do that is to practice."
"It's still rude to keep Grandpa waiting."
"It's rude to keep MY grandpa waiting," Selene corrected her sister, "OUR grandpa doesn't care when we get there as long as we get there."
"Your grandpa IS there. We're all meeting at HIS temple, remember? You, me, our grandpa, your grandpa and Hera. Just the five of us."
Selene immediately looked worried. She hesitantly looked down and Kira followed her gaze. Zeus was standing outside his temple, looking at them.
"Do you think he's mad?" Selene asked.
"He was the one that sent me out here. So why don't you ask him."
Selene flew Blackjack back down and landed not far from where Zeus was standing. She gave a nervous smile.
"Sorry I'm late grandpa," she said hesitantly, "I, uh, lost track of time."
"Just come in before Hera gets too angry. She was never too keen on your parents."
Selene quickly hopped off and one of Zeus's servants guided Blackjack back to the school stables. Selene rushed to change into the evening dress that Athena made for her as a welcome gift on her first day of school. She entered the dining room and noticed that Kira had already taken the spot next to Poseidon and the only free spot was next to Hera, who gave her a look that made her feel very uncomfortable. She didn't need to be told that Hera wasn't her real grandmother. She already knew, because she didn't feel the same familial connection with her as she did with Sally. Hera was only her grandmother because she was married to Zeus.
Throughout dinner, Zeus and Poseidon both asked questions regarding their time at school. Kira was the only one who talked about it. Selene stayed silent, afraid that anything she said might make the Queen of the Gods angry. The last thing she wanted was to sit next to an angry goddess. She said nothing all through the visit or on the walk back to the dorms. Kira sensed how uncomfortable she was through their sisterly bond and put her arm around her shoulder in a comforting gesture. School was no problem, the problem was how close she was to someone who probably despised her very existence.
Who else can't wait for the festival? What could Percy's plan be?