December

"Hey Percy, how are you feeling?" Dr. Solace asked as he entered the white-walled room and closed the door behind him. The metallic click of the handle irked Percy for some odd reason.

Something had to be done about the lack of decorations. he felt like he was in an interrogation chamber and not a place of recovery. The classic pungent smell of the place wasn't helping either, if anything it made him want to hurl into the nearby waste bin.

"It's ok." He responded in a neutral tone, his main focus was on how ugly his toenails were. When did they get so deformed?

Dr. Solace grabbed his stethoscope and began his usual check-up routine, moving up and down his bare backside. "Are you still able to swim?"

"Yeah, but not as much as I would like. And I feel like crap when I'm in the water."

"That's to be expected. I'm glad to see that you're still holding on to your weight. You look healthy given everything that's happened so far." Dr. Solace dropped the stethoscope in favor of a pulse oximeter, and plopped it onto his index finger. "Will's been thinking about joining the swim team this year, I'll let you walk out of here with a stash of snacks if you promise to give him some extra motivation."

Over time, Percy had come to enjoy his conversations with Dr. Solace, even if they were dull and mundane. He was one of the only people who knew of his condition, which gave him a rare sense of comfort. It was nice not having to pretend that everything was fine.

"I got you, doc."

-Ω-

The ring of the bell shook Reyna out of her temporary stupor, and she began to pack her things to head off to lunch.

She met Percy by the door, and they both turned the corner toward the library. He was wearing a new lavender hoodie that looked fantastic on him.

"Did you understand a word she was saying?" Percy playfully banged his head against his three-subject notebook. "I swear to God she talks in Pig Latin or something."

"Couldn't tell you, I passed out the second she started talking about derivatives."

Percy slowed down and stared at her with a tilted head and a crooked smile. "Wasn't that the first word she said?"

"Yes, now let's move. I don't want somebody to take our table."

They got to it just in time, beating out a wild group of frayed haired freshman who reeked of sweaty gym socks and deodorant.

By now, they had abandoned the chess board and discovered a new game that still incorporated the necessary virtues of patience and strategy. Battleship.

"There's no way your ship isn'tthere!" Percy blurted a little too loudly. "It's impossible, I've tried every dot!"

Reyna gave the librarian a look that said, I'm sorry for his stupidity. "Shut up or you're going to get us kicked out of here again."

Percy brushed her words off and put his hand on top of the board. "Let me see your side, you're a dirty little liar."

"Excuse you." Reyna stopped the board from tilting over. "Since when did you become a sore loser?"

"Whenever you became a cheater."

The game Percy was referencing occurred the week before. Reyna had concocted a genius plan to not place any of her ships except for the smallest one. It was a risky gamble, but it paid off since she was able to sink all six of his before he found it.

"It is what it is, Jackson."

The bell rang again, prematurely ending their game, and they quickly began to tidy up their table.