AN: Hi lovelies! slightly longer than normal chapter for you this time, so I hope to see some reviews from you all. :) Some of the characters are kind of OOC in this, but you would be angry if you were having to get up at 5:30 each morning to get to work on time. ENJOY!
Four days later
Leo's POV
"Does anybody know the answer to question five?" Percy's voice rings out across the table. . We're sitting in the library because it's cold outside and our house is unheated. It's a Saturday, and that's everybody's day off. We're doing our homework. Thankfully, my brothers and sisters back at camp half blood let us test a new prototype for a contact lens that lets you read like someone without dyslexia would.
I check my work. "Yeah, it's 72.6" I answer. I look up and there's a circle of shocked faces staring at me. I watch as Annabeth silently takes a pencil and starts working out the answer. She holds up the piece of paper she had been working on, and there, circled in green, is the number 72.6.
"How did you do that Leo?" Annabeth asks, face a picture of amazement. "It took me 10 minutes to work this out" I blush and scratch the back of my head.
"Um, just lucky I guess" I say " That, and the fact that Miss H at work used to be a maths teacher, and when it's quiet I listen to her talk. She's a bit crazy, but she's good at maths"
The others nod and we get back to working. After about 15 more minutes, the librarian comes up to us, eyes shining nervously behind her glasses.
"Young man with the toolbelt. I couldn't help but notice you borrowed a classic the other day, and I wanted to recommend one like it." She held up a thick, dusty leather bound book. " Nobody has borrowed it in a while, and it's nice to see someone enjoying the classics."
"Leo?" Percy says " You borrowed a classic? I thought you would have been more into machinery or something. Not that its not perfectly fine to like classics" He hastily added on the last part.
I ignored him. "That would be lovely." I say, "What book do you recommend?"
She smiles and her eyes light up "Well, this one's called The Picture Of Dorian Gray, but my favourite is The Iliad by Homer. The Iliad is about Greek mythology, and about Achilles. It's quite complex, but you managed to read Pride and Prejudice, so I think this should make sense. Another good one is-" She cut herself off. "Sorry, I'm rambling. So, would you like to borrow it?" She says the last part hopefully.
"Yeah sure, I've got my library card with me, so is it ok if you keep it aside until my homework is done. School is really piling it up."
She nods and smiles, before trotting away like a penguin happy with their hunting.
I turn back to the table and sigh. Their mouths are all open, except Annabeth, who looks positively gleeful.
"You've read Pride and Prejudice too?!" She blurts out "It's one of my favourite books, Elizabeth is my favourite character, who's yours?"
"Oh, definitely Mr Darcy" I reply, "He respects Elizabeth's decision and is actually nice, instead of the kind of brooding morons people write about today. And the author. Wow, her talent. She was only young when she wrote Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen is a goddess amongst humans, and I will take no criticisms of her."
Annabeth smiles and we spend that afternoon completing our homework.
Annabeth's POV
I stretch out a hand, seeking the warmth of Percy, but only grasping cold air. Of course. He has work. I roll out of bed and change into my work clothes. Once I'm changed, I strap my knives to various places on my arms, and shove a couple more into my bag.
Sundays are definitely the best days, customers tended to sleep in later than usual so work didn't start until 6:30. Leo's sitting on the couch and cutting up an apple. Leo slips the knife into his pocket, nods at me and proffers a slice. I take it and bite into the skin, eating around the bruise on the side. We walk out of the door. I must remember to ask Leo to fix the door, the hinges are creaky and the lock barely works.
"Hey Annabeth." Leo says. His voice is raspy from sleep. "What task do you have today? I've got serving, thank the gods. I am sick of cooking fries. Liam says that you're better at cooking than me, so expect a lot of orders coming your way."
I groan and kick at a stone. "Why? It's so boring. Serving is so much better. You even got someone's number the other day. I mean, you don't have a phone, and I'm pretty sure that girl was 20 years old, but, at the present time, that doesn't matter."
"Aww, are you annoyed you have to cook, Annie?" Leo teases " Its just because-"
Leo stops talking and looks around warily. "Do you hear that?" He says "It sounds like someone walking behind us." The street was deserted except for them, yet the sound of a third pair of footsteps could be heard.
We pull out our knives and slip into the familiar stances for fighting. A cough rings through the streets and I turn to face the noise. A boy steps out of the shadows. He look to be about 16. His hair is reaches his shoulders, and an expensive watch gleams on his wrist. Me and Leo exchange a look, and Leo mutters to me in Ancient Greek, "Shall we steal his watch?"
I shake my head, keeping my eyes trained on the boy. He looks arrogant, and has the kind of look that speaks of caviar, and gold leafed clothes. I spot Leo looking around, checking for any other possible hostiles.
"Stop!" The boy shouts, "Don't you know who I am? You cannot harm me anyway, I have no weapon, and it would be unchivalrous of the gentleman to attempt to injure me. I don't expect a girl to understand the rules though, girls are far inferior." His hands are empty and they shake with nerves.
"That is foolish of you, isn't it?" I hear Leo say. He easily slips into the wolf-like demeanour he adopts with threats.
"Coming into here with no weapons?" I continue, "Into this place. I must say, I expected better of you. Do they not teach the rich children anything these days?"
I hear footsteps, and keep my knife aimed to throw at the boy while Leo turns to check who it is. Leo murmurs "It's the Beauty Queen" to me in Latin, and I grin. Perfect.
"Anyway, what rules?" Piper says, sliding up beside me with the elegance of a ballet dancer. "There are no rules in here, darling." She smiles, and it is the smile of a wolf who has trapped their meal.
The boy backs away, eyes wide. "I- I didn't mean anything" He says, "I just- well, I have news."
I glance at Piper, and I see her expression shift slightly "What news?" She demands. When there is no answer from the boy, she asks again, this time raising her knife slightly. "What. News?"
The boy is shaking. "Some- some people at school say that you live in the slums, and that they will "expose" you. They have security footage of all of you getting into a fight with another group of people and they will turn it into the principal and get you kicked out."
"And, how, exactly do you know this? " I ask. "We can't just trust a random person not to be lying in an attempt to hurt us, can we? Not all of us are as foolish as you. And why should we trust you anyway."
"I'm not lying." The boy says, "I swear it on my life. And I'm telling you because I don't like you, but I hate them even more."
"Whatever" Leo says, lowering his knife and scowling at the boy. "Go!" He snarls at the boy, an the boy turns and runs.
Piper watches with interest as boy sprints off, fear written all over his face. "Do you think he'll be safe?" She asks.
"Yeah, don't worry Piper" I say, watching the retreating figure. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
AN: thanks for reading. I don't own these characters except for any you don't recognise. I like to imagine the rich boy in this as looking like long-haired Lord Tewksbury from Enola Holmes, so google him if you want an idea of the character. REVIEW! love you all xxx
