How Crazy An Alternative Universe Can Be?

by breakout214

Just when everything was getting better, gods find another way to torment Percy. Now he has to fight off his mortal classmates' questions, hear his most embarrassing moments read out and tolerate his secrets being revealed. And he cannot back out. OOC and pointing out the obvious. Reading the book(s).

4. Chapter 3: Why Do Fates Hate Me?

Chapter 3: Hello, Fates, It's Percy Jackson, and I'd Like to Know Why You Hate Me so Much!

Percy's weekend only fueled to his bad Friday. Confronting Paul had brought nothing but disappointment. He had no knowledge of what was happening; he had no valuable information whatsoever. And the worst of all, he refused to give up the book stating that it had a weird effect on him, prompting him to pick it up and read and read and read… Comforting (not).

His mom, too, admitted there was nothing she could do; though, she had tried giving Paul her piece of mind. Her only suggestion was to go and find out through the camp.

It would have been sound advice if not for a little detail: Annabeth had taken the camp on her. Something must have happened between the moments she'd run out of the cafeteria and returned to the lesson. Something troubled her. Unfortunately, no matter how much Percy pestered her for answers, Annabeth did not give in. She stayed silent right up to the last minutes of their last class then left for the camp almost immediately without even waiting for Jason and Leo, both of whom had to take a taxi grumbling all the time about how cruel she was to leave them like that. Those two seemed less affected by the existence of the book than Percy would like them to be, which, to be honest, made Percy a bit annoyed with them. What was worse, the two seemed to be less interested in going back to camp than they were in complaining about Annabeth leaving them behind.

Eventually, Percy managed to send them off. Perhaps, it was the best thing that had occurred that day, which wasn't saying much in hindsight. Even his mom's supportive but crestfallen expression did nothing but discourage him even more. How come Paul had not thought about her when bringing this stupid book to the class, Percy failed to understand.

The whole weekend had been spent on stressing out over myriad of things including the book, Annabeth, GODS (oh boy, he did not envy them when Annabeth's done with them), Monday, and much more. Percy spent most of his time passing back and forth in his room, pondering over all the ideas that would come to him. He might have gone to the camp, had it not been for Annabeth's direct order to stay put and not even think about it. He would do nothing but spoil whatever Annabeth had in mind. Perhaps, she was right.

Two days passed so quickly, Percy had to rub his eyes to double-check that he, indeed, was in reality.

Annabeth hadn't returned yet, but Jason swore she would arrive with them; though, he had no idea what she had found. Annabeth preferred to keep her findings to herself which made Percy's eye tic return. Her silence meant he would not like the news.

At the moment, not feeling tempted to go inside and face people, Percy was standing outside, hidden in an inconspicuous corner, watching students entering the building. His hiding spot was perfect; no one even as much as glanced at him contrary to Friday when he couldn't escape curious eyes of students that followed him everywhere he went. That was another reason to be distraught. He had enough time to mull over the happenings of the day to catch one vital piece of information: the WHOLE SCHOOL seemed to be onto him!

How come Paul had never mentioned he had shared the book with other people? It wasn't that Percy believed that; he simply couldn't find any other plausible explanation for this turn of events. If Paul didn't act as a sponsor of the Goodie High, then Percy was screwed. If he were not involved, it only meant someone else had a hand in it, which would never sit well with Percy, for there were too many unpleasant creatures who wished to destroy his life, starting with the whole population of Tartarus and going right up to Zeus' deserved top spot. Neither of them had any power over his memories, though; plus, they were more concerned with killing him, why bother with humiliation? Embarrassed, Percy held no use for either of them (except Ares, perhaps). They would rather him dead.

Sooo… who had such sadistic tendencies as to do this to him? Who had infinite access to his lifeline and memories? Not the Hera style of memory manipulation but more of a 'let's see what he was up to back in the day' sort of way. The only group of species (or whatever) he could come up with were Morai. Though, why would they trouble themselves with spreading stories about him was beyond Percy's level of comprehension. They surely had other, more important issues to take care of; why waste their time on him?

Every single conclusion turned out to be a dead end which didn't bode well with Percy and his rapidly developing paranoia. He knew someone was playing him to satisfy whatever fetish they might have now. In fact, he half-expected someone from Olympus to barge into the school with a large sign stating: "FREE DEMIGOD ENTERTAINMENT! ONLY TODAY 50% OFF!" Percy wouldn't even be surprised if they sat around a TV-set every evening to watch another episode of 'Let's make Percy Jackson's life suck by_", this time it certainly would be 'making him read a book from his point of view in front of his mortal classmates".

Percy shook his head and looked around. He noticed a familiar Delphi Strawberry Service van which brought three most important people of this morning. Percy was so delighted to see them that he missed Lyssa calling him. She rolled her eyes, watching Percy bolt toward the van. Three people poured out of it; all wore grim expressions.

"Any good news?" was the first thing Percy asked.

He was inexplicably jittery and more hyperactive than usual. It was so bad that he attacked Annabeth before she was able to put her feet on the ground. It only led to Annabeth's own hyperactivity kicking in; she surged forward and grabbed his wrist to push Percy away, but he reacted faster. He caught her hand and put it behind her back, leading to them colliding nose-to-nose. Both regarded each other, hearing their own heart's throbbing in their chests. Annabeth stared at Percy's eyes so intensely she could discern her own reflection.

Annabeth's plan to scold Percy for being so actively stupid and tactless was cut short by him. Percy kissed her nose and backed away before Annabeth could react. Still dazed, Annabeth stared at him, this time in disbelief. A moment later, she let out a strained laugh, causing Percy's smile to grow bigger.

"I missed you too, Wise Girl. So, how's it going?"

Annabeth blinked. "…sorry?"

"Dude, you gotta teach me how to do that!" Leo's voice snapped both out of their trance. Annabeth glared at Leo who put his hands up and leaped to the side.

"What did you find?" Jason stepped in before Leo would have an opportunity to open his mouth again and aggravate the situation.

"I've had several theories and I'm sorry to inform you that I was right. They are involved." Annabeth faltered, watching some students passing them by; these were not in any of her classes and clearly younger but they still had their eyes glued to the demigods, gawking at Percy as if he were their personal zoo hamster. An obvious question in their minds. "Chiron's still in the process of, um, what exactly do you do to get information from the gods?"

"Send Percy," Leo rolled his eyes, restoring his composure. The Fates decided to have their fun, so what? Nothing to fret about.

"Anyway," Annabeth said, trying to fight a smile, "all I know is a) the book is very much real, b) we have to read it, and c) the whole school is partaking in this big experiment of theirs."

"Wait, what?" Percy frowned, not quite following her or, rather, preferring not to understand. He did have two days to think it through, after all.

"It means we are in deep shit."

Despite crazy librarians, theories, and two sleepless days Lyssa was more than contented. She was certain she had figured out the big secret.

Shiver traveled down her spine. No matter how much Lyssa tried to persuade herself that it was, in fact, cool, she still couldn't shake off the feeling of uneasiness. If her theory could be backed up by real facts then it meant her whole life had been a lie and there were such things and almighty immortal divine beings. As fascinating as it seemed, that was still plenty creepy.

Lyssa watched the four interacting with each other, clearly discussing some big issue. She saw how a blond boy and an elf-looking one departed from the couple and headed toward the entrance of the building. Neither Percy nor Annabeth moved, though. Maybe it was because they were too preoccupied by staring at each other intensely. More like glaring if Lyssa's vision was anything to rely on.

Finally two broke their eye-contact, Percy wrapped his arms around her shoulders and they strode across the parking lot right up to where Lyssa was standing.

It was her cue to act.

She waved at the pair right when they approached her. Annabeth automatically returned her greeting, hardly even seeing whom she was waving at; Percy just stared, clearly stunned. He had gained friends while being at school first two years, kind of; a year absence, though, messed everything up and pushed him back to the bottom of the social food chain. No one willingly talked to him the first couple of days, everyone was simply goggling as though checking whether it was really him and not his evil twin. Of course, it was Percy but it wasn't him either which only pushed away those who might have accepted him. Percy was fine with it. He had Annabeth by his side, he was going to college next year. There was no reason to cry over lost possibilities in school when he had such great prospects ahead of him.

Percy was ready to march through the year in peace… a damn book had to go and ruin it.

"H-hi," he responded quietly, not sure what to do. "How's your weekend?"

"Oh, it went great, you know," Lyssa smiled dreamily. "I've spent quite a lot of time doing research, Mikey––I mean, Mike almost drowned me for this… Anyways, it was fun. Thanks."

"What research?" Annabeth caught on quickly, knowing pretty well what this 'research' might mean for them. She might not have been there on Friday, but she sure as hell was aware of everything that had gone down in that classroom.

"The usual, you know. Myths, books; this kind of thing," Lyssa shrugged.

Annabeth's expression was a great reward, really. Lyssa's triumph, however, was cut short by Mike who just had to intervene. Whether he didn't notice the couple, which was impossible, or didn't care, Mike snuck up on Lyssa, scaring her to death.

All tension forgotten, as one couple was watching another with amusement. Lyssa didn't hesitate to chide Mike for being so damn awful to which he smiled dazzlingly then proceeded to salute Percy and Annabeth.

"Did you tell them?" he questioned Lyssa, who had to collect herself in order to stay unmoved.

"Tell us what?" Annabeth immediately jumped in to see what exactly Lyssa knew and how to get around it later.

"I know who you are," Lyssa said simply. That was not the way she had rehearsed but Mike just had to go and mess everything up.

Annabeth and Percy stared at her, trying to understand whether she truly figured something out or was just pretending? Lyssa didn't move, watching them intently.

"And?" Annabeth finally asked, feigning calmness.

"You're a Superman!" Mike blurted out before he could shut his mouth.

Now all three stared at him.

"Nah, that's Jason," Percy responded idly; though, a thought that he should avoid the company of these two was throbbing in his head, never letting him breathe freely.

It was only, what, three day since they had started the reading and this girl already had come up with several theories of what it might be about. Not something he'd expected from the senior year.

"I meant to say," Lyssa gave him an annoyed look then got closer so only the three of them could hear her. "D-E-M-I-G-O-D."

She backed away then, leaving the couple gaping at her.

"See you in class," she smiled, pushing Mike closer to the entrance.

"How did she do it?" Percy whispered, turning to Annabeth for an explanation.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but shut it, at a loss for words.

"We'll soon find out," she responded at last. "Come on."

The class was full with buzzing teenagers. Of course, everyone instantly looked at them the moment they appeared in the class. Everyone gawking at the addition that clearly was a part of the gang everyone wanted to know so much about. Pretending, it didn't bother them as much as it truly did, Percy and Annabeth strode across the room and resumed their seats in the corner. Well, Percy tried as Jason occupied his place.

"Bro…"

"Sorry, I need Annabeth's help,' Jason responded sheepishly. Then he noticed Percy's darkened expression. "Something happened?"

"Lyssa happened," Percy breathed out and in whispers recounted the conversation with an annoying girl.

"It had to happen, didn't it?" Annabeth sighed.

The bell rang, indicating the beginning of the lesson. The noise died down, everyone sat still waiting for Paul to start the reading. So eager, none even pulled out the books nor were they planning to do so. A bit surprised, Paul cleared his throat and addressed the audience, asking if they must continue. He didn't even manage to finish, interrupted by a shout of dozen of students. After all, this book was the only reason they rushed to the class.

Paul rubbed at his temples and picked up the book. He was so going to regret it…

I PLAY PINOCHLE WITH A HORSE

Every single person bar the demigods stared at Percy with wide eyes. For one, they were still in the state of marveling what Lyssa knew and freaking out over possible outcomes of it. Then there was a teeny-tiny bit of them having seen much weirder things to pay mind to the trivial one. And it was. Chiron only ever played that stupid game with Mr. D, so they would hear about Mr. D and, perhaps, Chiron. Both were a usual occurrence. Not something to get scared of—unlike Lyssa and the prospect of being exposed to the world. Leo and Jason, upon hearing it meant Mr. D, simply accepted it as something usual; they had heard about––and seen––him to believe a pinochle would be the game for him.

They just wondered when and why Percy would play with Chiron of all people.

"Erm, Percy, why would you play a card game with a horse?" Sarah inquired, officially opening the season of 'let's ask Percy a question' game. "Can horses even play cards?"

Percy wisely kept quiet, sensing where this chapter would lead to; as far as he could remember, Percy had seen this very game once.

"Fine," she snapped. "We'll learn today."

Leo had to place a hand on his shoulder to prevent Percy from snapping at his innocent classmates. If he were given a choice, he would never make the one, involving Percy going ballistic on his classmates.

I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Paul started and furrowed his brows.

"Barnyard animals, really?" Leo mumbled, absolutely disinterested in his question; he did not expect any sort of a response, fully intended to engage himself in his new blueprint, something-that-might-turn-into-something-cool.

Percy shrugged, having no clue what it meant either. He didn't really care. Why would he when there was a whole book to agonize over?

Annabeth, perhaps sensing his dismay, reached out from her spot and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softy to show she was on his side. A moment later, she was, again, more concerned about the location of a shrine than the book that would unravel many of her secrets. Why bother when she had amore pressing issue of a shrine hill waiting to be filled?

None noticed the attention their classmates showered them with. And they had looots of questions, starting with figuring Annabeth out and fitting her in this puzzle. Where was she included in there? Did she know the content of the book? If she did, then why was she not freaking out yet? Did she even care?

All relevant questions, of course. Several people gave in at last.

"May I ask?" Lora finally chimed in. All four stared at her, sending a row of shivers down her spine. Something in their looks unnerved her. However, it did not stop Lora from posing the most important question of this day (until they found a new burning topic to discuss). "Why are you acting like this reading is the most usual thing in the world? I mean we're reading your boyfriend's life-story, shouldn't you be appalled?"

At first, no one could understand her question. Then, as though it dawned on her, Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Oh, I'm appalled," she confirmed nonchalantly then returned to the blueprints, leaving kids wonder what the heck that was.

The rest wanted food.

Only to be brought right back with a mere sentence. Several students snorted. Demigods glanced at Percy who kept unreadable expression (which wasn't hard, he simply lowered his head).

Several seconds of silence and then…

"I shouldn't be surprised anymore," Annabeth shook her head.

…so I just passed out again.

Several students frowned; others sent glances to Percy who had changed his field of occupation and now was watching Leo tinkering. They might have found it off-putting but could not deny it was a frequent occurrence. Percy especially; he'd passed out quite a lot in his lifetime.

...The girl with curly blond hair…

Now all eyes rested on Annabeth who indeed had curly blond hair.

…with the spoon.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Lyssa made a 'time-out' gesture and whirled on the spot to face the demigods. "What have we missed?"

Even Paul lowered the book to watch an entertaining match that was about to unfold. Annabeth looked up to see that everyone was watching her with curiosity.

"What have I missed?" she frowned.

"You feed me," Percy said simply not even glancing at her.

Annabeth's frown deepened. "When?"

"Then," it might sound vague for anyone but Annabeth's eyes widened and she nodded, getting what he tried to say.

"You mean we skipped something?" she asked.

"You skipped something?" Lyssa repeated at once, being backed up by several of her classmates––more involved ones like Sarah and Cassandra, both of whom had spent the whole weekend mulling over all the facts they'd gotten to see where it might lead. They just weren't as crazy about it as Lyssa.

Percy shrugged. "How should I know?"

Lyssa wanted to groan but restored her composure and accepted his response. It was clear he still refused to cooperate. He would have to, eventually.

…"What will happen at the summer solstice?"

"What now?" Jason almost groaned. With all the talks about the weather in the first chapter, he was sure his father had a hand in this. He had to.

"Does he really need a reason to hate me?" Percy wondered absentmindedly.

"Point," Jason nodded then pointed to the dot on the map, which Annabeth began to read in amazement.

Who was that?

"And that… who's that?" Annabeth focused on the name to get it right. Damn Jason and his attempts at writing in English. "Kymo-po-leia? Who? I've never heard of her."

She glanced at Jason who leaned closer to have a better look at the name dot that was put not far away from Poseidon's shrine at the Temple Hill.

"Percy's sister," his responded in whisper. "Goddess of violent storms, you know, the one who almost sank Argo II."

Annabeth blinked and stared at the dot. "Oh…"

"I promised her," Jason added. "In exchange of her helping us."

"Oh…" Annabeth realized what was meant by that. She decided not to kill us.

…"What?"

"My sentiments exactly."

…someone would overhear.

"Chiron was sooo not happy I snuck around," Annabeth muttered, causing Jason to gawk at her. What did she mean by that?

"…We've only got a few weeks!"

"Something was stolen?" Leo looked up. He glanced at Jason who had the same confused expression on his face. "How come we were never told that?"

He was ignored. The only reaction Leo received was a kick in a calf from Percy for being so damn candid.

"See, we're not the only one in the dark!" someone exclaimed, but the four ignored them too.

…my mouth with pudding.

"It was something serious, wasn't it?" Lyssa inquired. Upon noticing confused looks she elaborated. "She's being sneaky; it's clear she breaks some rules by attempting to get something from Percy… whatever it is."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, studying the other girl pensively. "How do you do this?"

"So you admit there's something going on?"

The only response Lyssa received was Annabeth picking up a pen and starting to encircle Kym's name, contemplating on what to do with her shrine. Her patience was getting thin with each step, and soon, Annabeth could feel it, she would give up completely.

"…thanks."

…a dozen of them...

Paul stopped to stare at the book. No one even uttered a word. Silence rendered for some time as every single one of them, except the demigods who only restrained themselves from bursting out laughing at mortals' reactions to Argus, tried to process a thought of a man having dozen of eyes.

"He. Has. More!" Leo stated in a dramatic whisper, causing the three to glare at him. "C'mon, they'll know it anyway."

Now he gained more than just demigods' glowers. Every single student looked at him, some curious, some clearly disgusted. But everyone interested, nonetheless.

"Moving on," Percy said sharply, still looking daggers at Leo. He could swear this boy loved that.

…using it for a nest.

Mike chuckled and shook his head.

"You have very, very strange thoughts," he commented. No matter how off-putting some things already were, Mike wasn't going to let them affect him. They simply fit Lyssa's theory (which was bizarre on its own). "You have some pretty interesting comparisons."

He didn't even care that Percy, once again, ignored him.

Steven, who'd opened his mouth to retort, shut it as soon as he saw a not-so-subtle sign from Lora to keep it down.

…CAMP HALF-BLOOD.

Everyone perked up upon hearing 'half-blood' again. That was it, they thought. Their rapidly enhancing by a two day break curiosity would be gratified.

"Will we finally learn what you mean by that?" Sarah wondered excitedly. She was really into the thing thanks to Lyssa's questions and Percy's less than satisfying responses.

"Do you really wanna know, though?" Percy muttered under his breath, sensing that he'd have to make up a retreat plan while he still had time. No matter how inconceivable the truth might be for many mortal minds, he knew at least one person more persistent in gathering knowledge than any Athena child. She would never pass up an opportunity to satiate her curiosity, even if it meant her tying him to a radiator and tormenting with a marathon of Teletubies she knew would be on TV.

"Leo," he pinched the boy to gain his attention. Not expecting to be so violently injured, Leo yelped (he would deny that later) and jumped, consequently dropping his screwdriver––again!

"What for?" he wined, giving Percy his deadliest eye.

"How do you feel about a little disruption campaign?"

Not the goat boy.

"Excuse me, what?" surprisingly enough this came from literally everyone but Lyssa who simply kept her silence, ticking off the points that had already got proven to be true.

As one, students turned to Percy who was too busy scribbling something down madly. He had a tip of his tongue stuck out while he was creating a soon-to-be-plan in his notebook.

Leo was just giving him a side look, simultaneously trying to get Annabeth's attention by making faces that she would not be able to see. He was afraid to move, for he had no idea how Percy would react to it. After all, he'd had a misfortune of meeting Percy's impetuous side––aside from having one himself––that would put anyone within a mile radius in mortal peril caused by whatever Percy might attempt when disturbed. Too preoccupied with a surge of ideas, he remained alerted, which basically meant the tip of his sword would end up pressed against your throat or chest or any other part of that body that happened to be there.

Leo was sooo not gonna do it.

As it turned out, he was the only one fully aware of his surroundings. At least, he saw people staring at him. Leo caught Lyssa's eyes––he had a feeling she was in charge of a soon-to-be-Percy-hunt––and shrugged as if saying: Sorry, I'm not suicidal.

"Why is Grover the goat boy?" Cassandra asked anyway. This boy was paying attention to them, wasn't he? He as well could explain it.

"It's Grover," Leo shrugged, softly drumming his fingers on the table.

"Aaand?" Sarah prompted.

Leo simply pointed to Percy who still gave no sign he was listening. Whatever they wanted to know they'd get from him.

Of course, with Percy's persistent pretense, no one dared call his name to demand answers. Paul decided to continue to avert attention from his stepson to… his stepson. Well, he needed to work on that.

So maybe I'd had a nightmare…

"What?" many voices chorused together, ringing through the room.

"What happened?" Mike wondered loudly, fixing his eyes on Percy in hope his piercing glare would work. It did in a sense as Percy fidgeted uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head before resuming whatever he was doing.

Mike heaved a sign and massaged his temples. He already imagined how obstinate Lyssa was going to get once she got her hands on Percy or whoever would be the closest to her…

"You saved my life," Grover said. Paul read loudly, effectively cutting off whatever discussion was about to break out after Percy refused to respond.

…bull's horn,

Lyssa rested her head on the table, taking a deep breath. There was no way she'd drag this story out of Percy; there just wasn't.

…It hadn't been a nightmare.

"You had a nightmare about a broken off horn?" Steven asked despite himself. He counted to ten then repeated his question. And again, and again, and again until even Annabeth snapped out of her daze and barked at him to shut up.

Steven's next words were the same to the dismay of those who had to listen to him more than they wanted thanks to Percy's unnatural stubbornness.

"The Minotaur," I said. Paul read at last, trying his best to drown out Steven who was quite determined to procure answers. He succeeded. Partly. For one, Steven shut up. However, when the words did get through to him, Steven gaped.

He was not the only one, though, as every single one of the students (including Jason and Leo who were awed) stared at Percy. What was the reason of Percy's obsession with talking about strange creatures, all of which appeared useless outside of a history class?

"Min––"

"DON'T!" Annabeth and, surprisingly, Percy shouted in unison. Now stares were divided between the two.

"But––" Sarah tried once again but faltered under Annabeth very, very horrifying glare.

"I am not to meet him again," Percy grumbled, crossing his arms. Last five minutes had made a drastic difference in his mind. He had time to mull over Annabeth's words; he had more than enough time to plot and fail to come up with anything remotely sufficient to trick them. In short, Percy felt cranky.

"Again?" all eyes found Riley who huffed and stared at Percy in confusion. From everything he'd heard so far, it might be that Percy was kind of off his rocker. So bonkers that Riley didn't feel like insulting him for that; he had his doubts and an unorthodox belief that Jackson might be dangerously reckless and, consequently, well, dangerous. It was better to stir clear from him until further notice.

"Yeah, man, again?" Leo's brows disappeared in his hairline. He exchanged looks with Jason who shrugged slightly as though saying: Sorry, man, I'm no help here. "But really, why are we the last ones to learn stuff?"

"I'm starting to believe we have to confront you," Jason nodded. "You've failed to mention a couple of things in the past and now I'm wondering what else we don't know about you…"

"Jason!" Annabeth gasped in exasperation. She tried to order him to shut up through her look but Jason was unfazed. He'd faced far worse things than Annabeth to compel. (Though, angry she easily made a top ten of every single camper.)

"Let him continue," Kylie commented from her seat, immediately drawing attention of her classmates. "What?"

Several people shook their heads.

"She's actually right," Jenna noted. "What?"

Eyes traveled back to the demigods who were busy having a staring contest between themselves. Annabeth was murdering Jason who was giving Percy a thoughtful look as though trying to come up with an effective way to get this story out of his friend. Only Leo was looking from one of his friends to another, seeming to be the least troubled by the whole situation. He might not like the fact they would potentially approach a subject of Greek mythology being real but he could live with it as long as there was no book from his point of view.

Silence stood for several more moments until Paul cleared his throat and proceeded with the reading, not caring if anyone listened to him.

Paul's voice brought everyone back on track. After all, whatever they wanted to know might as well be answered in this chapter.

…"Half man, half bull."

All three of Percy's friends stared at him in resignation. That, of course, didn't go unnoticed by the rest, and one by one, being nudged by their neighbors, students turned their eyes to Percy as well. Paul closed the book, knowing full well this one had to be discussed now as kids were simply curious and his stepson's friends must be at least disgruntled. Oh, and it was fun to watch them interact.

"Are you joking?" Jason gawked Percy like he had never seen him before. He had heard rumors here and there and gotten the chance of having a joint adventure with him; he knew Percy was obstinately dense in some aspects of the mythological world. Still, rumors and his friends actions tended to go separated ways, only causing Jason to have a headache.

One can't be so determined to not follow advice, can they?

"It's Percy," Annabeth noted.

Jason stared some more, pondering over her response. "Yeah, you're right."

He shook his head and returned his attention to Paul, prompting him to continue to the dismay of those who tried to eavesdrop.

"Sooo not fair," Steven shout-whispered to his neighbor, who only rolled their eyes, preferring to stay out of this mess altogether.

…"How much do you remember?"

Paul stopped, sensing the reaction this one would provide.

All eyes were, once again, on Percy who did his best to pretend he was not there. Which literally meant he returned to his soon-to-be-failed plan and examined it like it was the most precious possession of his.

"We will not get anything from him, will we?" Lyssa addressed her neighbors, all of whom simply nodded. "I thought so. Mr. Blofis, if you may?"

He looked down.

Paul's lack of knowledge did not prevent him from slipping a bit of sadness in his voice. Who knew that it would be so painful to read about hypothetical death of your significant other?

If anyone noticed it, they didn't say a word. After all, it was his wife and, as far as they understood, something bad had happened to her. Maybe. Like 50% sure thing.

…in the sunlight.

"Even?" Jenna raised an eyebrow. "What's it suppose to mean?"

"That Percy notices the weirdest of things," was an unexpected response from Annabeth who was dividing the Temple Hill into parts so they would be able to squeeze all of the shrines in there. As for now, with Jason's aid, her list of divine beings which required eternal worship had grown by five names, three of which she had never heard of before this very second. Sometimes she wondered whether those were reproducing by buds. "Guess you'll have to expand the territory."

Jenna blinked. "…what?"

Annabeth looked up, confused. Then realization dawned on her as she glanced at Jason. "Not for you. You, here we'll have…" he voice got lower until no one but Jason was able to hear her.

Jenna rubbed at her temples, muttering that she was too young to go down like that.

…Nothing should look beautiful. Whether it was a mass hallucination or Paul truly conveyed a bit of the sadness in his voice, but the excerpt sounded almost depressing.

"She… died?" someone asked.

"No, idiot, it's obvious she's alive!" another voice responded.

"How do you know?" same student wondered, watching their neighbor in confusion.

"He's Percy's stepfather and I'm sure they talk about her in present tense!" same voice snarled.

"Are you two done?" a third person butted in, sounding thoroughly irritated. "We have a book to finish."

…"I'm––I'm the worst satyr in the world."

Annabeth groaned but didn't elaborate.

…so hard it came off.

Paul took a deep breath, allowing children to express the bundle of emotions they surely had a hard time containing.

"What d'you mean 'came off'?" Peter instantly chanced the opportunity. His expression mirrored his inner state which mostly consisted of astonishment. Was he an alien of sorts? Or, perhaps, a lizard? Could he grow limbs as well?

Apparently, children in this class lacked even the tiniest bits of acumen, for they displayed varying levels of astonishment at hearing a satyr might use artificial human limbs to hide his own. None––none!––pointed out that he was not human.

"He has fake feet?" Lyssa wondered lazily as she had her pen ready to tick off another point in her list, or inscribe it as they went.

"He has fake what?" Steven's eyes widened. "Dude, can I meet him?"

"No," Percy snapped coldly.

"Maaan, you're no fun!" Steven whined. "Ow, what for?"

"Stop deviating attention from important issues!" Cassandra commanded. "Sooo, fake feet?"

Percy exchanged glances with Annabeth, who shrugged. She had a feeling they had no other choice.

"Paul?"

Paul cleared his throat and finished the paragraph, holding his hand up to prevent children from interrupting every second word. …except for a hoof-shaped hole.

"Hoof-shaped hole?" Lora mouthed, glancing at Sarah who had the same flabbergasted expression.

Grover was a satyr.

Silence enveloped the room as everyone mulled over the revelation—mostly because half of them had skipped the course of Greek Mythology and held no knowledge of the basics; makes you wonder who allowed them to miss so much of middle school. A loud, extremely unpleasant sound rang through the classroom: Lyssa slapped her forehead.

"Damn, of course!"

"What? Who's that?" Peter instantly asked.

Several people groaned, wondering how much time it would take Lyssa to murder him. Seeing her expression, they would settle on 3 minutes and 22 seconds, excluding the extra time on an important task of reaching him.

Lyssa's eye twitched.

"You don't––"

"He doesn't!" Mike cut in immediately.

"He's sooo dead," someone whispered as they watched the pair peering at each other intensely, hostile even.

"He's not," Kylie snorted but chose not to elaborate on the unfortunate event that had taken place a few months prior. The history of these two always gave her a headache.

"Mr. Blofis?" Lora suggested.

Paul cleared his throat, diverting Lyssa and Mike's attention away from their staring contest.

"Where was I?"

Meanwhile, completely unaware of an impending civil war amongst her peers, Annabeth looked at Percy who shrugged.

"You recognized?" she whispered.

"I'm pretty sure he mentioned it at some point while we were running away," Percy responded just as softly.

"Oh… That makes sense."

…tiny horns...

"He'd kill you for that," Annabeth chuckled and turned to face her friends. "He's quite fond of his hair."

All three nodded in agreement, pretending they were the only ones in the classroom and no one watched them.

"C'mon, it's not fair!"

Steven's complaint was drowned out by Paul who recommenced the reading.

…or even minotaurs.

"That's one way to accept it," Leo nodded.

"Wait till later. He's still as clueless as one can be," Annabeth said.

Leo's eyebrows rose in wonder. Just how worse Percy was than he?

…dissolved into yellow light. Paul stopped and took a deep breath. It indeed was way harder than he thought.

Lyssa held up her hand to get Paul's attention. "Dissolved into yellow light? Just what really happened?"

Just for the umpteenth time every gaze was on Percy who, feeling they would not get off his back, groaned. "Short or detailed?"

Shocked silence remained the only response for good thirty seconds in which Percy mulled over the proposition and made a decision himself.

"I'll go with short," Percy announced. "My school year ended. Mom and I went on vacation. Just when everything was going fine, Grover appeared out of nowhere, stating I was in danger. We encountered a Bullface on our way to… should I say it?" the question was addressed to Annabeth who nodded mournfully. "Alright, on our way to the camp. We fought; he took my mom. I won. The end."

Percy's gaze returned to the piece of paper in front of him. He frowned and crossed out one of the points, purposefully ignoring a burning sensation on his head caused by dozens of eyes drilling a hole in his skull.

"Aaand?" Mike prompted. All he got was silence. Mike heaved a sigh and turned to Paul who was doing his best to keep his expression impassive. Something was telling him that's the best they would get from Percy.

"Mr. Blofis?"

Paul returned to the book, still feigning indifference which he did not feel.

…Smelly Gabe?

"Who?" Peter asked.

Percy only groaned in response.

…join the army.

At that Annabeth snorted. "Sorry to inform you, but there was no way you'd pull that off. You were scrawnier than Leo!"

"Hey!" both boys exclaimed in unison then stared at each other. "Hey!" Leo said once again, this time indignantly, for he felt Percy's reaction was not a positive one.

I'd do something.

"He's quite determined," Kylie muttered thoughtfully, shooting a glance at Percy who was glaring at a smiling Annabeth. Perhaps, she could work with it; she knew where to put his spunk. Though, it still had to be discussed with Mike.

…poor goat, satyr, whatever––

Several people snorted, Leo being the loudest. Of course, it was such a Percy thing to accept something regarding his friend and move on quickly. Or he simply still hadn't fully realized the problem which was also highly probable.

…to protect you."

"He was supposed to what?" Lora gasped. As far as she knew this boy––or whatever––was being mistreated by his classmates and barely showed any courage! What part of his looking terrified implied he protected Percy?

"To protect," Lyssa repeated, almost rolling her eyes.

"I can kinda see it," Peter interfered. "He did try to avert attention of that hag, what's-her-name."

Lora mentally sighed. Oh, right…

"The bigger question stands," Jenna said. "What's he protecting from?"

As one, everyone in class turned to the demigods. The four either didn't hear him (arguably) or were really fixed on the idea of pretending there was no elephant in the room. Jenna shook her head and asked Paul to continue.

…straw to my lips…

"Just what really happened between you and Min––whatever?" Jenna cut herself off upon seeing Annabeth death glare.

She received no answer.

…Liquid cookies.

"You have a stash of liquid cookies?" Steven wondered loudly.

Percy and Annabeth exchange glances, having torn their attention from their affairs just for this one moment. "No."

"Dammit!" he muttered under his breath, almost hitting the tabletop with his fists. He definitely wanted to taste those.

…my mom's homemade cookies...

"You would taste them, of course," Annabeth nodded.

Percy frowned feeling Leo elbowing him. "What?"

"Just forget it, Seaweed Brain," she chuckled, returning to her own project. Though, she wanted to know what exactly Percy was so immersed in that he missed half the story about himself—just to prevent further intrusion.

…going to be okay…

Riley turned to tell Percy what a wimp he was, 'cause there was not enough times he'd said that, in his opinion, but the boy didn't even acknowledge him to Riley's dismay as he realized he wouldn't be able to use the insult all that much.

…I felt guilty…

"Why would he sound wistful?" Cassandra frowned. Couldn't he, like, go and fetch one himself?

"He can't drink it if he wants to live," Annabeth said simply. "You'll see."

Cassandra studied the blond for several moments before nodding to herself. Whatever it meant, she wasn't about to find out through long tiring conversations with the girl.

…"I just… wondered."

"He would seriously die if he tried it?" Peter asked, still not quite catching on to what the deal with the beverage was.

There must be one hell of an excerpt to discuss, for all four tore themselves from their respective tasks to offer Peter a response.

"Yeah," Percy nodded.

"He'll burn up," Jason added.

"Completely," Annabeth elaborated.

"To ashes," Leo finished dismissively.

Peter stared at them, not sure whether they were joking or not.

…"Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."

Lyssa's arm shot up. It was natural she would catch the name and want to discuss and start a full-on debate regarding the issue. Paul suppressed a heavy sign and gestured her to start. Everyone, sensing quite a drama coming out of it, straightened up, waiting for her to commence.

"You mean Chiron or Chiron?" she inquired, looking straight into Annabeth's eyes who had been elbowed by Jason who, in turn, had been called by his neighbor.

"What?" someone whispered, but was shushed by their neighbor who truly wanted to hear their conversation.

Annabeth had spent a week in this school total, but it was already apparent she would be able to rival Lyssa when it came to brains; their debates were, perhaps, the finest moments of every single class they got stuck in. In fact, and everyone could agree, this girl––along with her friends––could be promoted to the 'you're too cool for us' club because they managed to avoid Lyssa's questionnaire for more than five minutes. Lyssa was a complete nightmare when she wanted something.

"Chiron," Annabeth responded nonchalantly, causing several people to groan.

"More information, please?" Steven complained, suddenly realizing what fun Lyssa found in scavenger hunts.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at his demanding tone but refused to elaborate. Steven grumbled something unintelligible then caught Lyssa's smug look. "You see what I have to deal with on a daily basis?"

"Who's Mr. D?" Lora wondered.

Percy looked up and mused. "A very cranky old sot," he said simply, causing Annabeth to burst into fits of uncontrollable giggling which only made Percy's smile widen.

"Apparently, it's supposed to be funny," Cassandra commented, studying the couple incredulously. "Is it too late to back out now?"

Paul only restarted the reading.

…trying to walk that far…

"You're pushing yourself too hard," Kylie mused, drawing attention of those who heard her. "What?"

…I wasn't going to let it go…

Demigods all nodded absent-mindedly. No matter what your personality was; no matter what your boundaries were; heck, it didn't even matter whether you were insanely atrocious and power-hungry like Octavian––none of them let go of things they had paid for easily. Even Percy was no stranger to it.

…north shore of Long Island,

Several people raised their eyebrows in wonder. No one expected to learn the location of this mysterious camp for half-bloods. (What exactly they implied when coming up with the name?)

…ancient Greek architecture––

Lyssa nodded to herself as though it proved something. Some people who noticed her movement exchanged quizzical looks but chose not to ask her about it now.

… they all looked brand new,

"Seaweed Brain, of course they were new," Annabeth snorted softly, turning her attention to Percy, who reclined on his seat just to pout at her comment. "Gods would never allow us to have rusty old buildings."

"I know that," he complained in whisper. "But I could barely understand what was going on and that was a genuine concern!"

"If you say so," she chuckled and gave Jason a do-you-believe-him? look which only brought another round of pouting from Percy.

They, once again, missed staring from their classmates, all of whom got alerted by weird noises coming from their desks.

…satyrs played volleyball.

"A dozen?" Cassandra mouthed. Then again, why was she shocked to hear it; it was a camp, after all.

…some of their horses had wings.

"Were you..?"

"Shhh!"

Steven, who had dared to ask the question, held his hands up in defeat and turned back to Paul.

…on the porch rail next to them…

Jason and Leo, as well as dozen of their more curious classmates, stared at Annabeth in silent wonder. Both knew Annabeth was the oldest camper there––it was common knowledge––but was she old enough to hang out with Chiron and Mr. D? Granted they hadn't really had a chance of meeting the god but knew he was insufferable to anyone but his son. How come she felt comfortable around both of them at the same time?

"…stop staring at me. I was twelve!"

Perhaps, Annabeth didn't care; highly unlikely she really thought this would explain anything, but Annabeth did feel contented with her reaction.

…small, but porky…

Jason stared at Percy more intensely upon hearing those words. Percy only looked up from whatever he was doing and gave him a thumb up.

…No, cherubs.

At that all three burst out laughing, Annabeth being the loudest because she was the only who actually knew Mr. D.

"He'll kill you if he ever hears that!" she breathed out in a moment of a short break from laughter before falling in again.

Percy glanced up at her, wondering what in the world she was talking about. He received no help from either of his friends, so he returned back to his paper, still having a faint feeling of loss as though he should know the joke but missed the most of it (which sucked).

"Will we know what they're laughing about?" Peter asked loudly in hopes of catching their attention. He never succeeded.

…middle-aged in a trailer park…

Laughter got louder. They were in danger of being heard by the western wing of the building now. Paul even had to wait before they calmed down a bit to be able to proceed.

…could've out-gambled even my stepfather.

"Er, Mr. Blofis?" Peter raised his hand to get his teacher's attention. "You gamble?"

"No," Paul responded simply. He attempted to keep his expression indifferent, but it was a difficult task.

He hadn't heard much of this… man but the tone that Percy, and sometimes Sally, used when describing him in passing––this person barely deserved any more––suggested that this topic was closed and it was better to never mention him ever again. As a result, Paul both knew and did not know a thing about that man. And what he knew never sat well with him; Sally's assurance that it was all for Percy's safety didn't ease him up either.

Perhaps, he sounded too harsh, as Peter backed away, stunned, and averted his gaze. There was an awkward silence that got interrupted only by a muffled noise from the back of the class.

Several people raised their eyebrows, wondering what made them so entertained. It was clearly not a laughing matter, even if they had no information on the issue.

"Why're you laughing?" Mike inquired.

Jason, who did have a small smile on his face, shrugged. Leo mirrored his movement and whirled a finger at his temple, suggesting that those two were just out of their minds. Granted, it was kind of funny to imagine Mr. D as a typical drunkard with an excessive card obsession, but that image didn't warrant hysterical laughing.

"H-he might—if he—" Annabeth took a deep breath. "If he isn't placed with C––" she cracked up once again. "W-with Chiron!"

Mike rubbed at his temples, realizing they hadn't even heard him.

"How am I supposed to work in such conditions?" he grumbled, ignoring a concerned look Riley was giving him.

"Ahem, …She's just a camper,

Laughing stopped abruptly, as Annabeth bestowed the book with the dirtiest look she could muster.

"Just a camper?" she gaped. "I'll have you know, I'm––hmm-mhm."

"Can we––" Jason jerked his hand away upon noticing Annabeth look. Her expression changed to smug; she loved that kind of authority that let her keep them in line without lifting a finger.

"I'll have you know that I'm a cabin counselor!" she finished. "No need to silence me."

Paul blinked a couple of times then restored his composure and returned to the book.

…longer than just about anybody…

Several people look confused.

"Um, longer than anybody?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth shrugged. "So what?"

"But that's… that's a summer camp, isn't it?"

"So?"

Cassandra opened her mouth to continue a pointless debatw only to close it when she realized it was pointless. Whatever she wanted to know, she might as well hear in the book.

…the scraggly beard.

Lyssa's eyes widened. "He is Chiron?"

"Who?"

In response, Lyssa simply pointed to the book.

"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.

"Him?"

"You sure?"

"Who's that?" all stares rested on Steven who held his hands in defeat. "What? It's been two days, d'you expect me to remember everything?"

Sarah hid her face in her arms and mentally groaned, not able to believe the level of ignorance he displayed.

…answers B.

"Typical," four voices echoed through the room. Everyone stared at them. Annabeth had already come to her senses and now was eyeing Percy, as though waiting for him to notice her. Jason was examining something before him. Leo was tinkering. Percy himself was still immersed in whatever he was doing. Nothing showed that they even heard Paul.

…"Now we have four for pinochle."

"What's that?"

"A card game."

"A veeeery stupid card game," Percy corrected, not looking up. The thunder boomed in the distance as though expressing its affront, making him snort. Of course, of all things in the world he'd heard that. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

Annabeth stilled herself; a moment later, she whacked Percy across the head.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Do not––" Annabeth faltered. "You know what, doesn't matter."

She turned to Jason and held out her hand, waiting for the paper. There was no point in trying to change Percy when he was, well, Percy.

…to be glad to see you."

Students stared. Then turned their attention to the demigods.

"What kind of camp director does that?" Cassandra wondered. Several people nodded.

"Mr. D," Percy responded simply. He was in no mood to explain how the god felt cranky because he'd been locked up with kids for a century without a chance of drinking. Percy didn't quite know how exactly this would make someone hate humanity, but was sure it somehow had made Dionysus do just that.

"It's not like we don't have similar teachers…" Kylie snorted, receiving stunned looks in response. "What?"

No one answered.

…hitting the happy juice.

"Again this Gabe, who's he?"

Percy ignored the question, preferring not to even look at its source. Paul, too, decided it was a great idea to ignore the questions about the man. He started to read.

…I was a satyr.

The thunder rumbled in the distance, this time drawing attention of people. Some frowned, wondering what was happening. The sky was crystal clear, and there was not even a hint of a cloud. So where did the thunder come from?

The demigods heard the thunder as well, though their reaction was more in line with their usual. They rolled their eyes, marveling how much they hated demigods to go and eavesdrop.

…you back to health, Percy.

"Some things never change," Annabeth snorted softly, receiving a pout from Percy. He wasn't that bad.

…cabin eleven for now."

Leo and Jason exchanged confused looks and stared at the pair. Annabeth simply pointed to Percy as though telling them to torture him; she, personally, had nothing to do with any of this. Percy rolled his eyes and, in hushed tones so not to be overheard, gave a brief summary of the life at camp back when he first arrived.

Both were surprised, but not too much. They'd met gods, after all; something like ignoring your children and banishing other, lesser gods—and Hades—was just their style.

Steven groaned loudly when he realized no one would explain him anything.

…couple of inches taller,

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Of all the things to concentrate on…

…California girl

Annabeth frowned.

…her eyes ruined the image.

A frown deepened, and Annabeth glared at Percy who offered her a dazzling smile. She huffed in annoyance. How could she be offended at him when he's like that?

…to take me down in a fight.

"She could do it, yeah," Leo nodded to himself, though his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. Annabeth smacked him to his dismay and other's entertainment.

…Wow, you're so awesome!...

"I know, I know," Percy raised his hands in defense, looking at his friends. "But, in my defense, I barely knew anything about her but her name."

Boys' eyes crossed, a similar thought in their mind: how could they barely know each other? For someone who'd met them later in their friendship that was a difficult notion to grasp. And they weren't the only ones thoroughly confused.

…"You drool when you sleep."

The class erupted into laughter. Percy, seemingly unaffected, only wore a goofy smile.

"That's more like it," Leo nodded, avoiding Annabeth's hand.

…You may call me Chiron."

"And it didn't throw you off?" Lyssa wondered despite herself. She would've fallen in a state of deep trance, had she met him.

"It takes much more than that to throw me off," Percy responded to her surprise. He didn't sound pompous about it, though, simply stating it as a fact which only deepened Lyssa's shock.

"Yeah, like naiads," Annabeth said simply.

Jason and Leo stared at her—as well as the rest of the class with Peter going as far as stage whispering what it meant—then turned their attention back to Percy who looked sheepish. It was a long day––a long week, actually––he'd been overwhelmed since the moment he'd woken up; something would've inevitably broken him.

"If only you were so supportive back then," he complained playfully, purposefully ignoring inquiring looks his friends were giving him.

"Dude," Leo couldn't help but say, "naiads? Of all things to get––"

"Finish this sentence and I'll tell Calypso where her stuff is hidden and what Festus has to do with this," Percy warned, effectively shutting Leo up.

"He said Calypso?" one of the students asked.

"Who's Festus?" another one wondered.

The four managed not to answer a question, but only further complicate things by saying some weird stuff that only they could understand.

"Anyway, naiads?" Jason prompted.

"I'm not talking about that," Percy suddenly snapped and crossed his arms.

"He means it's gonna be somewhere in the chapter… maybe book," Annabeth said supportively, ignoring a scandalized look Percy was giving her.

Paul cleared his throat to gain their attention. Having achieved just that, he started reading.

..I looked at the director.

Annabeth gestured in the general direction of the book as though proving her words. Leo snorted, Percy pouted, and Jason simply shook his head in disbelief. Their previous occupations long forgotten.

...go around using them for no reason."

"Then why did we keep using her name like it's nothing?" Leo wondered absentmindedly, his fingers drumming on the tabletop. There was silence for a few moments while the demigods stared at their friend, stunned, and their classmates in confusion. "What?"

"You're… right," Annabeth blinked. "I mean we did mention quite a lot of names that now I wonder––"

"––why they hadn't started it earlier," Percy finished, completely in tune with her. "I'd be cranky and annoyed, were my name constantly mentioned by…" he faltered, letting his friends finish it for himself. By dirty mortals.

"Why exactly were we so reckless?" Jason asked.

"We're always reckless," Leo noted.

"Point."

"Are you done?" Sarah wondered in irritation. They were obviously very, very candid about whatever they were talking about. The problem was this 'whatever'; all she managed to gather was that they meant someone whose name shouldn't be spoken aloud. Not much if you ask her.

The four looked at her and nodded.

…Chiron-Brunner broke in,

"Chiron-Brunner?" Annabeth repeated, battling a smile. "Really?"

"What else was I supposed to think?" Percy shrugged.

"Um, maybe that he is Chiron? He did tell you it was a pseudonym."

"I didn't believe him!"

Annabeth scrutinized him for a few seconds. "That I can believe."

…to a potential camper.

"A house call?" Cassandra asked. Did it mean this man had done this specifically for Percy?

"Grover was very… convincing," Annabeth said, looking straight at Cassandra to insure she wouldn't get sidetracked by something else. "He was certain Percy needed to be watched over. Not that he was wrong."

The last part was said with a smirk which notified Percy it was a soft jab at him. So he did the most obvious thing: He stuck his tongue out at her.

Cassandra only nodded as if she got it. In fact, Annabeth's explanation didn't clear anything up.

…I've wasted my time."

"He's such a sweetheart!" Mike said sarcastically.

He still had a hard time processing the fact that Lyssa's theory was, in fact, not a theory. Of course, their reactions this morning had kind of given them away, but that was still a theory through and through. Come to think of it, so was this book… So why did they believe it unconditionally?

…keeping a lookout.

"There are more?!" Steven exclaimed.

Annabeth and Percy, being both official and unofficial leaders of their class company, exchanged glances. "Yes."

"Are there any in ours?"

"No."

"It's unnecessary when we're here," Percy added.

…take a leave of absence."

"Is that even legal?" Jenna frowned. No one responded, though. They weren't sure themselves but didn't want to set Chiron up either. "…thanks."

…We contacted your mother,

"They knew she was aware of..?" Annabeth frowned. How come she'd never known of that? What else Chiron had hidden from her back then?

Percy only shrugged, unsure what to think himself. It was highly possible his mother not only knew about them but also had met at least a representative of the camp. In fact, she'd given him clues that it was true.

…that's always the first test."

Paul didn't find the revelation overly shocking but still decided to stop here to let children express their outrage.

"Is he joking?" Jenna gaped. She had a strong urge to glance at the four to receive either proof or rebuttal. Her only issue that stopped her from doing so was 'either'. Jenna didn't want to see her theory being proven.

Steven, however, didn't have such boundaries. He went on to look at the demigods and almost paled upon seeing their expressions. It was not a joke. "Damn…"

…a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.

"Percy!" Annabeth groaned just as the thunder rumbled once again. More people started to look around as though wondering what the hell was wrong with it today. "He's their boss!"

"I know, I know!" Percy held his hands up. "But you must admit it was a genuine question!"

"Bro, I'm pretty sure you'll get yourself killed before the lesson ends," Jason shook his head in disbelief. He was very agreed with his friend about Dionysus' appearance but tried to prevent himself from being disrespectful even in his mind, at least from time to time when it could be avoided. Turned out, he was pretty right in doing so.

"I didn't know my thoughts would be read out loud," Percy complained.

"As if it would stop you," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"True."

…less and less.

The thunder boomed again, this time much closer; it seemed like it was right outside their classroom. Students started to look around once more, still thoroughly confused as to why it was happening.

"Seems like the feeling is mutual," Annabeth noted then added under her breath: "And they're listening in."

As one, those who heard her stared at her.

"What does it mean?" Cassandra demanded. She was, as always, ignored.

…to know the rules."

"Am I uncivilized, then?" Steven whispered to Peter who was sitting right before him. "I sure as hell don't know what this game is about, let alone the rules."

"Same, dude, same," Peter wanted to pat his friend on the shoulder but couldn't do it in from his seat. Instead he offered his a comforting smile and retuned his eyes back on their teacher.

…what is this place?

Annabeth pointed to the book, silently telling that was what she'd been talking about before.

…landed in his pile.

"Is this Mr. D so bad?" Sarah asked.

"For them? Nah, it was just Grover. They do respect them, though," Percy offered a simple response. He wanted to add 'don't really understand why' but chose against it, feeling Dionysus wouldn't leave it with just thunder if he heard it.

…usually get killed.

"Why is he so calm?" Jenna asked in outrage. Firstly, they say 'if you don't get killed, you've passed the test', not they almost laugh about someone getting killed! Just what place for sick people was this?

"He got used to it."

The class stared, for the umpteenth time, at Percy, wondering if he was joking or not. He didn't seem to find his words funny, so he must be serious. Though, an observant person might notice tension in his posture and a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Percy both felt thoroughly hurt and unsure that Dionysus didn't care. He cared even if it only ever concerned his son.

…won't be sufficient."

Annabeth perked up. A light of confusion in her eyes.

"Wait, you didn't watch the orientation film?" she asked incredulous, not believing Chiron would hate her that much. How much trouble could have been saved if she had known it back then! It would've probably saved a lot of time also, for Annabeth wouldn't have considered him dumb half of the quest.

Percy turned to her and shook his head.

"Did you watch it as an orientation film?" he asked instead.

"What orientation film?" Leo wondered out loud but was ignored by the couple. Jason was no help either as he had never had the need to watch any film.

Annabeth frowned. Truth to be told, she hadn't watched it upon arrival. There lay no need for her. "Well, no, but I didn't need it…"

"No one needs it!" Percy exclaimed, almost shuddering. Damn that day they'd learned about that stupid movie. "I'm sure I'm not the only one catching up along the way."

He pointed to Leo as though waiting for him to step in, announcing that he was right, but Leo didn't see his gesture, too annoyed at being ignored.

"WHAT ORIENTATION FILM?!" he shouted in exasperation.

"The one only Nico, as we found out, has seen," Percy explained. "You weren't there yet. In short, we discussed what we would change, given a chance, and he mentioned how it'd be better if no one had to sit through the film… In the end, we broke into Chiron's office and retrieved it… It was horrible. So horrible I can never forget it!"

"How come I never saw it?" Jason asked Annabeth ignoring Percy's over exaggerated anguish. "Was it so bad?"

"Er, it was a film from fifties… and yes, it was awful. With songs and dances and Apollo (cue several confused looks from those who recalled the name) in every scene… Yeah, it was horrifying," she responded, trying to shake off the feeling of uneasiness.

"Let's just say: Nothing he does is a masterpiece," Percy added.

"Where was I?" Jason furrowed his brow. He should have remembered that, shouldn't he? He was certain he'd never forget something so horrifying.

"At Ca––away?" Percy suggested, catching himself mid-sentence. Of course, the slip up didn't go unnoticed by their overeager classmates, but he wasn't going to explain things either way so it didn't matter.

Percy gestured Paul to continue, not waiting for his friend's reaction.

…"No," Chiron decided.

"I can't believe!" Annabeth groaned. "All the trouble he could've saved me!"

"We got by just fine," Percy objected, ignoring her annoyed look.

"Do not remind me," she grumbled and glanced at Paul thoughtfully, as though trying to decipher from his expression just how much of the chapter left. This was getting irritatingly tiring for her.

…you have killed the Minotaur.

"How come he speaks names but you can't?" Cassandra frowned.

The demigods just shrugged. Recently they stopped questioning even themselves, let alone Chiron.

…are very much alive."

And here Paul jut had to stop. It was something he'd expect to have a great reaction from his students. After all, the book just proclaimed that ancient mythological creatures were very much real and alive.

The class stared. They seemed so lost that even Paul had a hard time keeping himself from laughing out loud. Not only it was unprofessional, he also would embarrass them more. Even the four had unreadable expressions; though, it was hard to tell whether it was a consequence of the reading, hearing this part, or seeing the other kids.

Lyssa was the first one to regain control over her own head and emotions. It shouldn't come out as a surprise, for she was still virtually the only person in this room except Mike and those who'd been in the known for years who had guessed it right. The only thing she wanted now was to receive an assurance that she, in fact, had gotten it right.

Lyssa slowly raised her hand while turning to face the four. Annabeth caught the movement and averted her eyes, silently confirming her assumption. Funny, Lyssa thought. She was receiving silent proof of her theory the whole day and was yet to freak out. Perhaps, two days had been enough to placate her sense of self-preservation and not twist her mind.

The only regret she had was astonishing ignorance of her classmates.

"They are what?" Sarah finally voiced the only question that had been going through not only hers but though the heads of her classmates. Suddenly Lyssa's cryptic questions made sense, which basically meant that Chiron was… Chiron. Sarah rubbed at her temples.

She truly wished it to be only a book of fiction.

"Very much alive, haven't you heard?" Steven said in a duh tone. He was mortified for whatever reason but also didn't quite understand the real impact this revelation had on him. After all, it's not everyday things like that happened.

"Stop playing an idiot," Jenna snapped rather angry. "That's not what she meant!"

"What exactly did she mean?" Kylie snorted. Everyone was in a state of serious shock so that they didn't even react to her.

Jenna didn't know how to respond. It was simply a rhetorical question induced by a strong wave of surprise. However, Kylie would never accept it as an explanation, so she did have nothing to retort with.

The rest watched them in amusement, their own shock suppressed by anticipation of a fight. Almost everyone, as Mike was too busy sending Lyssa signals and Riley regarding him with suspicion. He was wondering to himself when and how Mike had gotten along with that… that… girl. Oblivious to Riley's confusion, Mike continued with his little quest of getting Lyssa's attention. Too bad, she was too busy staring at the four, all of whom were watching the scene with mirth; they knew how much more shocking it might get.

When no one else said anything, Paul picked up the book once again.

…and chewed it mournfully.

Students, still stunned by the revelation (apparently, some critical thinking was not needed in the case of this book), frowned then turned to Percy for an explanation. Feeling irritated by so much attention he'd gotten today, Percy only crossed his arms and started watching Leo tinkering. At least, some things never change.

"Yeah, thanks, dude," Steven grumbled. "I really appreciate your generosity."

…you were just talking about––"

"He should've allowed you to watch the orientation film," Annabeth shook her head. "You could've grasped the basics quicker."

"Do you really think this film would've been helpful?" Percy raised an eyebrow as though provoking her to retort. Annabeth fell into pensiveness.

A moment later, she chuckled. "You're right, that wouldn't have been helpful at all."

"Did she just admit the defeat?" Leo gasped histrionically, receiving a whack across the head and a kick in a calf. "Ow! Okay, okay; I'm shutting up right now!"

…That's a smaller matter."

The thunder rumbled again, this time more forcefully and ferociously as though it expressed utmost offence. Several people expectedly turned to the window; others just stared at the four, understanding dawning on them.

"Zeus," I said.

The thunder sounded discontented now, which made Percy fight a smile and Jason shake his head in disbelief. Less than a year with Greeks allowed him to learn more about his father than he'd ever known before. And the more he knew, the less fascinating that man seemed. Right now, for instance, he appeared to be a very displeased five-year old.

…a cloudless day.

Just like it did now. This time everyone turned to the four, waiting for their response.

"Is that… them?" Cassandra asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Percy shrugged; Annabeth promptly ignored the question; Jason returned to his own work; and Leo didn't acknowledge her.

"Take it as yes," Peter suggested. Cassandra nodded.

… if I were you."

"Why?" Steven wondered out loud, furrowing his brow. Several people around him groaned, which only made him more confused. They couldn't understand how he could be so slow, and Steven couldn't understand what set them off.

"Names have power," Annabeth said simply.

Steven nodded slowly, suddenly recalling something like that having been discussed earlier.

"Then why do we keep repeating the Min––his name?" he cut himself off upon seeing Annabeth's dirty look. The groaning became louder as it was also something they had discussed.

There was silence for several moments as the four took in Steven's words. Yes, they'd talked about that earlier but it concerned only their own usage of names not Paul's reading. So why was Paul constantly repeating the Minotaur's name? Shouldn't the damned creature appear right in the middle of the class because, duh, Percy's luck?

"…Good question. Why indeed?" Annabeth frowned and looked at her friends, all of whom were at a loss for words as well.

Surprisingly, it was Percy who found the answer.

"I bet you they put some kind of protection on the book so no one notices we throw all these names around," Percy snorted. His friends stared at him. "What? They did have some kind of protection placed; I'm sure of it."

"Are you really?" Jason inquired.

"Um, yeah, I am. If it's not true then we're screwed."

There was dead silence for a few moments.

"Sooo reassuring," Leo finally broke it, not even looking up from his hands. It was a wonder in itself that he even heard them.

…Perseus Jackson"

"You're Perseus?" Riley repeated incredulously. A wide smile was already creeping across his face. That's more like it, he decided. Jackson seemed to not like his name much which could become a basis of the new wave of insults Riley was about to crash on him.

Percy was really flinching but not for the reason Riley thought. Back in the day he preferred to keep quiet about that because it seemed weird to him to be named after an ancient Greek dude; now Percy was ever called that by his enemies––usually when they wanted to murder him in the slowest and messiest way––and sometimes a furious Annabeth or any other angry person within his reach. Not much of a reason to want to be addressed by your full name.

"What was your mother thinking––"

"Mr. Hale, I'd like you to refrain from using certain language," Paul said coldly. Right in the moment, Riley suddenly realized that it was Jackson's stepfather talking.

"Um…"

"My mother was very careful when naming me," Percy said simply, not in the slightest affected by the implied insult. Then he gestured Paul to read, not wanting to continues this conversation.

…no sense of perspective.

"Mortals?" Cassandra mouthed. "Did he say 'mortals'?" she raised her voice to be heard by other people.

"He did," Lyssa confirmed, sounding nonchalant. She did not quite know who it was but she was sure he was a god. "Think about it."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow but preferred to wait for the book. No one but Lyssa was fond of thinking of bizarre things just for the sake of it. There was no need in doing so when they had all the answers right in front of them.

…Look at this boy and tell me."

"Alright, that's offensive."

"That's Mr. D, he––" the thunder rumbled once again, more threatening as though prompting Percy to finish the sentence so it could blast him into ashes. "––has a legitimate reason to say that."

Everyone stared at Percy, not sure whether he was joking. Percy wasn't. Of course, he was not. If his peace meant appeasing Mr. D, then he was willing to sacrifice his dignity. The book was more than enough of a trouble as it was.

I wasn't liking Mr. D much,

The thunder boomed. This time no one paid much attention, believing it had something to do with the book. (If only Lyssa heard them, she'd disown her whole class.)

…Existing, just as you are, for all time?"

"Thanks, I still don't want to," Percy grumbled under his breath. Back then the idea seemed both exciting and terrifying. But the more he learned about the life of an immortal, the less he wanted to become one. Just picturing him being an eternal teen—even with the ability of changing his age, of which he wasn't sure of—an undying punching bag for Ares (a double no) was enough for Percy to drop the whole idea altogether.

…sounded like a pretty good deal,

Annabeth couldn't help but fall thoughtful. It was clear, just from this one sentence, that Percy was not always opposed to the idea of immortality. Just what exactly altered his mind then? She stole a glance at Percy who was mesmerizing her with his eyes, completely still (which was surprising on its own). As though reading her mind, he tipped his chin in her direction, telling her what––or who––had influenced his decision to decline a very generous offer.

Annabeth started to breathe freely, as if a knot in her stomach loosened and disappeared. A wave of warmth washed over her instead, making her happier in an instant.

…call you a myth,

"Don't they already?" Jason frowned. Percy's head snapped in his direction, as he began hypnotizing his friend with his eyes, waiting for the other to elaborate.

"…what?"

Jason startled and glance at him, a sheepish smile on his face. "Oh, that's nothing. Just a couple of things Cabin Eleven spread."

That didn't make Percy feel any better but he willed to drop the issue now, for they were still in the middle of a classroom full of mortals. He ignored a discontented expression on Steven's face from not receiving anything.

…incinerates you."

"Come again!" several students exclaimed in shock. Others stared at the four, all of whom wore bored expressions. Only other completely unaffected was Lyssa who had a triumphant smile. After all, she was right.

"That's what you meant, didn't you?" Cassandra asked incredulously. In their shock, students spent quite some time wondering whom she addressed. Lyssa nodded.

"It was simple once you really think about it."

Had that been any other moment, they might start a riot, accusing Lyssa of being too arrogant, but they were dumfounded. Why, though, even Paul struggled to understand. The book had been hinting at the notion for some time already; it was a natural progression of things.

Silence dragged for too long; they might not have time to finish the chapter if it continued in this fashion. Paul opened the book again and cleared his throat loudly enough to catch children's attention.

…a goblet appeared…

Several people blinked but kept quiet.

…can of Diet Coke.

"A god drinks Diet Coke?" Lyssa asked, gaping. From all the things she'd learned in the past few days, that was what surprised her.

"He has restrictions," Percy said.

…declared off-limits."

"They fought over a… wood nymph?" Jason's eyes widened.

"What has changed?" Annabeth asked rhetorically. Jason only nodded, which pushed the ones who'd regained their composure and were eavesdropping on the four back into a state of dissatisfaction.

…The second time

"Twice?" Jason stared at the book like it had suddenly spouted out fangs and was about to cut him in a half. "He did it twice?"

Perhaps, he was too loud because his voice managed to break his classmates out of their daze. Now, being woken up by the noise, they started to search for its source. They found it in the form of a blond boy who was regarding the book with mixture of confusion and disgust.

"Sometimes," Annabeth started, "they follow their, err, cravings over their brains."

"It does not explain this!"

"Gods, Grace, shut up!" Percy groaned. "It's not you he's hitting on."

Jason paled and turned away. A picture of his lovesick half-brother chasing him around flashed before his eyes, making sure he would have nightmares for the rest of his life.

"You just broke him," Annabeth stated, having studied Jason. "Don't do this, please."

…for brats like you.

"He hates you?" Sarah wondered. No one responded. Annabeth was ignoring her, too worried about the damaged Percy's words might have done to Jason; Percy preferred not to linger on the problem; and Jason was simply too preoccupied with his own mind to care. "…thanks."

… My father is Zeus, of course."

Jason blinked at the name of his father. Surprisingly enough, it managed to return him to reality.

If anyone else was shocked, they preferred to keep it to themselves.

…"The god of wine."

"The god of wine is your director?" Lyssa choked, stunned.

"The god of wine is your camp director?" Jenna sounded more confused than shocked. She could barely see how a person whose domain was alcohol would be allowed to work with children.

"The god of wine is your camp director?!" Steven repeated excitedly. This camp was getting cooler with each page. He half-wondered whether he could visit it.

"Yes, the god of wine is our camp director," Annabeth confirmed.

…Percy Jackson.

"He didn't butcher your name?" Annabeth blinked. She gazed at Percy who wore the same astonished expression. Percy recalled being addressed correctly before but he didn't remember it being one of those times.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Can I ask?" Cassandra raised her hand as though it would draw their attention. When the couple glanced at her, she proceeded with her question. "Why are you so, umm, surprised?"

The pair exchanged looks. "Well," Annabeth chose to speak up. "He tends to get our names wrong for whatever reason."

"He finds pleasure in miscalling us," Percy added, still sounding uncertain. He wasn't sure that was the case. M. D loved tormenting others––one of the reasons Tantalus had ever gotten at the Camp––but this was getting old because kids were getting used to it. Perhaps, the man was more complex than they all thought.

…"A god. You."

"Finally a sign of shock!" Leo announced. "I thought you were incapable of that!"

…dolphin snouts.

Jason and Leo frowned, recalling Percy's plan back on the Argo II. A faint thought that he'd gotten it from experience was forming in their heads.

…for the rest of my life.

"You did realize he was capable of turning you mad," Annabeth chuckled. "I hope you didn't try anything reckless."

"I didn't," he smiled in response.

…"The game goes to me."

Annabeth shook her head. "He can never win." The thunder boomed, insulted by her words. "Oh, get over it!"

Whatever Dionysus was about to do to her later, didn't matter now.

Annabeth, being too proud of herself, missed Percy's mirthful chuckle and the boys' astounded looks.

…on this assignment."

"What he means by that?" Lyssa blinked.

"It might or might not come up later," Percy sighed; he was still hoping to tell a thing or two about invasion of privacy; he didn't think, though, gods would understand his reasoning. Lyssa's mouth opened in shock—Percy giving straight answer still put her out. "He thought Grover had failed his assignment because we'd almost died."

"Almost… died?" Percy ignored her, probably feeling he'd done his job. "Fine! There's still a whole book ahead of us!"

…go back to Olympus."

"Another century?" Leo repeated in confusion. He turned his attention to his friends to get the answer to this burning question.

Percy shrugged. Jason, not really feeling like talking about his half-brother, returned to his side-project.

"Back to Olympus?" one of the students asked.

"Duh!" Lyssa rolled her eyes as though this question personally offended her. "Where have you been for the last hour?"

She didn't receive any response, preferring to keep quiet. It was a simple questioned caused by stupefaction, and there was no need to get so angry. Not that anyone would willingly tell this to Lyssa; she might get scary when furious.

Paul continued reading, preferring to keep an appearance of calmness in the class. The more he read about Olympus, the more excited kids became. One thing was to hear about how it all worked and completely another to learn that it was in America. Lyssa was the most curious and attentive one. While searching through the info, she had one simple question popping up in her head every now and then: If that were true, then where were they? Lyssa had a problem with gathering basics of the whole notion because she had a hard time explaining how it had never been revealed before.

As gods they, perhaps, possessed certain powers that allowed them to be independent of space. The book partially confirmed that already, making it easier for Lyssa to accept further explanation.

Lyssa was overwhelmed by the amount of information that fell on her. She was less surprised than her classmates, apparently, as it was the first time in the whole lesson when no one said a single word, too engrossed in the explanation Chiron had given Percy several years before.

Naturally, Percy had to spoil everything.

"And then they died." Paul read.

"Seaweed Brain!" For someone who was supposedly in grave danger, most of the time Percy appeared extremely oblivious. How exactly had he survived till camp? "Have you even been listening?"

Percy shrugged. Back then it felt like a good question, especially for an overwhelmed Percy.

Mike perked up, shrugging off the remains of daze upon hearing a weird nickname.

"Seaweed brain?" he asked rather loudly and drew attention of those who'd yet to catch it. Everyone glanced in their direction, clearly interested. "Does she really call you that?"

Leo started to laugh silently, not able to tolerate Percy's expression anymore. Percy, in turn, glared at Mike, making him recoil and suddenly realize this boy wasn't as laid-back as he gave an appearance to. Next, Percy turned his angry look to Leo who didn't take a notice of this change, still struggling to fight laughter.

"Y-you'll get it––w-when you… know him a l-little bit… b-better," he stammered, trying to catch his breath, still unaware of the attention he'd gained from others.

"Thanks, man. Love you too," Percy muttered offended and crossed his arms, which caused Leo's composure to crumble (as well as Annabeth's and to some extent Jason's).

Mike regarded them with a hidden wonder. There were many things he could say about the four of them but right in this moment he could come up with only one word: children. They acted like small children.

Paul used a moment of silence to continue.

…as if I were part of some club.

They stopped laughing at once.

Annabeth rubbed her temples.

"C'mon, no one gave me a straight answer!" Percy complained upon seeing her expression. "You would've felt the same if you were in my shoes."

"I'm so glad I'm not in your shoes."

…rise from his wheelchair.

Several people gasped. Lyssa cast an annoyed look at them for being so disappointedly ignorant on the whole topic. Paul raised his voice to prevent the children from getting lectured by her.

The description of Chiron turning into a horse, though, did give them a slap Lyssa might've given them otherwise. Their mouths hanging open, everyone felt just like Percy in the book. (Percy himself would deny it later.)

…Let's meet the other campers."

Paul closed the book, signaling the ending of the reading.

Just when he did this, the bell rang. Whether they liked it or not, the students started to get up from their seats, for they still had a whole school day ahead of them. There were many questions burning inside their minds that they didn't have a chance of asking.

Unfortunately, Percy sensed where it was coming as he grabbed Annabeth and started to pull her to the exit, not even letting her take her stuff. He simply didn't care, too engrossed in his little task of getting away from hungry classmates. Annabeth sent her other friends a pleading look, but all they could do was take her things for her and follow them. Percy was too persistent in his attempts to escape attention that he didn't even wait for anyone.

Just in time, as it turned out, for Lyssa was definitely eager to get a thing or two from him. Too bad, she didn't manage just that because Percy was already long gone when she exited the class. Several students stayed with her, equally disappointed.

"Damn you, Jackson!"