Thalia didn't come along to my second period. Grover and Luke did, though, and we walked out of Posey's class together. They immediately made a beeline for the elevators—our next class was ten floors up—and I made a face.

"What's up?" asked Grover, looking back at me.

"Hate elevators," I mumbled. Something about the sweaty, confined space made all my nerves crawl out of my skin. But I followed Grover into the elevator to the thirteenth floor anyways. I just made sure to position myself by the corner with the buttons. Right when the doors were closing, a burly red-haired girl, who I recognized from Posey's class, called, "Hey, wait, hold the car!" I happily reached over and jabbed the 'open' button a couple times.

She nodded gruffly at me when she entered, then immediately turned to face Luke, backing me further into the corner in the process. I frowned at the back of her head. "So, how's Arndorfer feeling today?" she asked him. "Are the new recruits hanging?"

Luke shrugged indifferently. "I don't know. I need a couple more strong players, not these tiny freshmen we've been getting." He leaned over and eyed me with interest. The girl followed his gaze, looking surprised when she saw me as if she never fully registered that I was there. Luke continued: "New guy might be good material though. He's tall enough, at least, I can't really say that for the freshmen."

Good for what? I shouted in my head. They sounded like they were preparing people for a sacrifice. I looked over at Grover for help, but he was busy adjusting his hat.

The girl snorted. "Him?" she demanded disbelievingly. "He looks like he's never taken a hit in his life. He ain't gonna hang."

"Can you hang, Percy?" asked Luke.

I tried to look up at Luke around the girl's shoulder. "I—hang with what?"

Rolling her eyes, the girl turned away, but Luke just gave a laugh. "Football season, man. Biggest game of the year is in two months. When all the seniors last year left, our team took a huge hit—"

"Yeah, right," spit the girl. "They weren't shit."

"Not even Beckendorf?" challenged Luke.

The girl paused. "He was the exception."

The elevator dinged, and we filed out onto the thirteenth floor. Luke lagged behind the girl and turned back to me. "Anyways, Coach has been trying to whip the new freshmen into shape. But it's…" He searched for the word. "Not easy. Grover's seen them in practice, hasn't he?"

"Bla-ha-ha! Not good," shuddered Grover. It was an explosion of noise unlike anything I had ever seen today. I was kind of impressed.

"Point is, can you hang, new kid?" asked Luke again expectantly. He seemed to already know the answer, which was messed up because I didn't really know it myself.

"I swim, I guess. I'm a sprinter."

"How well?"

I thought about it. "League championships."

Luke nodded philosophically. "Hmm. Yeah, that'll work," he mused, holding open the doorway to room 1301. I ducked his arm and went in. "Meet me tomorrow after school for football tryouts. We need a bit of new life in that program," he called after me.

"Will do," I called back. I didn't remember ever taking an interest in football, but maybe if Luke thought I was good enough…

Grover was at the front of the classroom, talking with someone I figured was the teacher. She was built small, about my height, with red-brown hair braided back into a ponytail. Grover gestured over at me, and she turned to survey me. Her eyes were warm and cozy, a shade of melted brown so warm they were almost red. "Hello, Percy Jackson," she smiled. Her voice was low and elegant, a dramatic contrast from Mr. Posey's booming presence. "I am Ms. Halkias. I teach English and poetry here. It's a pleasure."

"Nice to meet you," I managed, shaking her hand.

"What school did you come from?" she asked inquisitively. "We have a couple new seniors transferring in this year, but that's a rarity."

"Oh, I—"

Something seemed to occur to her, and her eyes flickered momentarily. She interrupted me quickly: "Well, it's not important anymore. You're here now, and we'll do our best to make you feel at home, isn't that right, Grover?"

"Yes, ma'am," he promised her brightly.

Ms. Halkias looked up at the clock. "Oh, it's almost time for class. You better take your seats. I'll see you later, Percy Jackson."

Grover and I walked back towards the tables. He found a spot with two empty seats near the front, and I sat down between Grover and a girl with frizzy red hair who was occupied with her doodles. "So who's that girl?" I asked Grover finally, motioning at the back where Luke and the girl from earlier were joking around together.

Grover didn't even need to look back before he raised his eyebrows at me. "That's Clarisse la Rue. She's the only girl on the football team, but she's there for good reason. It's best not to cross her."

"I wasn't planning on it. But I'm pretty sure she hates me already."

"Oh, she's just like that," said Grover dismissively, but he looked away and adjusted his hat nervously. As the bell rang, it occurred to me that Grover was probably the worst liar I'd ever met.

The class quieted. Luke and Clarisse murmured something in the back. Ms. Halkias rose and took her place in front of the whiteboards, surveying the class. "Welcome, class. My name is Ms. Halkias, and I will be your English IV teacher this year. I assume many of you know each other, but those that do not may save their introductions for after class." The last phrase was aimed pointedly at Luke and Clarisse, who were still whispering to each other.

I turned to watch them. They didn't seem to hear her. After a pause, Ms. Halkias continued anyways: "We will begin our survey this year by analyzing the works of Homer and his classical Greek contemporaries, and end it with Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, and modernist American works. Can anybody tell me Homer's two major works, which are considered his magnum opuses?"

The girl next to me raised her hand. I turned around again to face Luke and Clarisse. One said something to another, and then they burst out in laughter. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Hey, guys, can you just shut up?"

Beside me, I heard Grover inhale sharply. The class went silent.

Clarisse sneered at me. "Prissy boy is a goody-two-shoes, huh?" Luke's face was unreadable as he regarded me carefully, but eventually he forced a smile.

"No, you're right, Percy Jackson," he said slowly. "Sorry, Ms. Hotcakes, I'll be more respectful."

Ms. Halkias had an amused look on her face. "Appreciated, Percy Jackson. Bold move, though that was not the correct answer." She moved to the whiteboard and wrote Odyssey and Illiad in beautiful cursive. The girl next to me cursed and put her hand down. "The Odyssey and the Illiad were what we call epics, long poems with occasional bits of structure to facilitate the oral tradition of storytelling. Yes, Ms. la Rue. You may not be in Atwood's AP Literature, but I still expect excellence from you all."

Clarisse scowled and said nothing. When she realized I was looking at her, she glared at me and mouthed something foul. I don't know how to read lips, but even I could make out the two words she hurled at me.

"Good riddance," murmured the girl next to me. For the first time, I got a good look at her face: pale and smooth, splashed with freckles. Everything she owned seemed splashed with paint in some way, from her sneakers to her overalls to her phone. Her eyes were startling green and hazel, and when she looked at me I felt probed, like she didn't see me as much as she saw a collection of colors and lines to dissect. She scribbled something on her notebook and nudged it at me: R U new Here?

I nodded. She looked satisfied and wrote, Makes sense. I'm Rachel nice 2 meet U.

Makes sense? I wrote underneath. Hi I'm Percy.

Nobody likes 2 talk back to that B— and here she drew a long jagged line, which made me laugh. New kids just Dont know any better :)

I reached for the notebook. Just then, without even turning from the board, Ms. Halkias called, "And I'd appreciate if you stopped passing notes, Percy Jackson." The entire class laughed, and I flushed up to my hair and sank down into my seat. She had the kind of rebuking tone that could make a hardened criminal want their mothers. I could feel Luke's eyes on my back, but I didn't want to turn around and give him the satisfaction. Rachel shrugged and went back to drawing, this time sketching out the jawbone of someone who looked a lot like me. Underneath, she labeled it Prissy.

I was a little relieved when class ended, not because of Ms. Halkias, but because Clarisse kept on crowing, "Prissy boy!" whenever Perseus was mentioned. I fished my

"What's your third period? Oh, Government." He thought for a second. "That's all the way down on the first floor, but I'm on the tenth for Home Economics. I'll at least walk you to the elevators."

"Nah," I said, surprising myself. "I'm just gonna take the stairs." I hated the elevators, but was I really going to walk down thirteen floors?

Grover raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that's cool. Do you do that a lot?"

"What, take the stairs?"

"No, get ahead of yourself." It was an obvious allusion to me shouting at Clarisse earlier, and I bristled a little.

"I just don't like bullies, is all," I replied hotly.

He shook his head. "Bla-ha-ha!" There was that strange laugh again. "You got invited by Luke to be on the football team, but Clarisse is gonna make your life really hard. I don't want you to get murdered on your second day of school."

"It's okay, I think I pissed them both off," I muttered to myself, but I guess Grover pretended not to hear because he just shook his head and led the way out of the classroom.