Hey everyone. Welcome back to the story.

Before you start throwing stuff at me for not updating, please let me explain. Since it's winter here, and I am extremely prone to colds, I have been very sick. I'm writing this on one of my sick days. Plus, we've been getting tons of homework and assignments. 9th grade is tough for a 13 year old girl!

Anyway, you probably don't want to hear about my life, so here's the chapter.

Disclaimer: Look. I'm not, and will never be, Rick Riordan. Even if I was, don't you think I'd be working on House of Hades at the moment?

CHAPTER 8

So, lunch was over and Percy and I had gym with Coach Collins. Coach is a tall, military type guy, who always carries a clipboard, wears a whistle on a cord around his neck and always talks like he's speaking through a megaphone. His black hair is always in a buzz cut and really likes to pick on scrawny kids. And girls. Every time I have him as a teacher, he makes a point that he thinks girls are useless, flimsy, helpless barbie dolls, and often makes us do extra work. Imagine his surprise when I came into his class in sophomore year and beat the majority of the class in the cross country race that they make you do. So at least I've gained some of his respect.

Percy and I walked to the gym with our gym clothes. I think its law to make school uniforms as ugly and as uncomfortable as possible. Take the Goode High for example. The top is a sickly pea green T-shirt with a black collar and black sleeves. The shorts, dear God, the shorts are yellow. Who in their right mind makes a school uniform yellow?

I got my phone – a plain old Nokia – out of my pocket and dialled Mom's number. Percy looked at me, questioning the reason for my call.

"I'm calling Mom," I whispered, as the phone rang.

"Why?" he asked. Seriously, does he forget things this easily?

"To ask if I can come to your place tonight." I said as I rolled my eyes. Percy nodded his head in a curt, jerky motion. The phone rang twelve times before Mom finally picked up.

"Hello? Gabby?" she sounded worried. I don't usually call her in the middle of the day.

"Hey Mom,"

"Is something wrong?"

I shook my head even though she couldn't see it. "No, but Percy asked me to dinner at his place tonight. Can I go?"

Mom was silent for a while, probably pondering how to answer. "I suppose. Why?"

"Why am I going?" I looked at Percy and rolled my eyes to say 'You've got to be kidding me.' He smirked. "Can't I hang out with a friend? The first actual friend I've ever had?"

"I suppose," Mom replied. "How are you getting there? Are you walking?"

"No, he has a car."

"He has a car?" she squealed. I had to hold the phone at least a foot away from my head to prevent my eardrum from bursting.

"Yeah, so?"

"Is it a date?" she asked.

"What? No!"

"Are you sure?" I could practically hear her smirking.

"Yes Mom," I assured her.

"Okay. Be home by eight, be polite and no kissing in his car."

"What!? We're not even -" I began, but she had already hung up.

I sighed, turned my phone off, and looked at Percy. An amused smile played across his lips.

"So, no kissing in my car huh?" he said.

"Shut up!" I told him as I playfully whacked his shoulder. "Come on, we're got Gym."

Percy grinned, "Wouldn't want to keep Coach Collins waiting."

"Listen up, cupcakes!" Coach Collins shouted, sounding ten times louder than it actually is; his voice resonating off the walls of the gym. "I want three laps of the gym. If it takes you over four minutes, that's twenty push-ups. Any complaining will be another five."

He looked at us like we were crazy. Pff, has he even seen himself lately? "What are you waiting for ladies? An invitation? Let's get moving people!"

I rolled my eyes and began to jog around the track. The gym wasn't that big, so three laps would only take about three and a half minutes if I kept a steady pace. Scott Davies and his football mates began to sprint off to the front of the pack, probably trying to show off to the cheerleaders who were jogging about a hundred metres behind me.

I looked around for Percy. He wasn't at the back with the scrawny kids and the preps. He wasn't with the cheerleaders or with Sara Ross and Rebecca Dallis, the captain and co-captain of last year's volleyball team, either. I looked ahead. The jocks and the kids from the track team were battling it out in the last round of the courts. I couldn't see Percy anywhere.

Where has that boy got to?

Quickening my pace, I jogged ahead and began to catch up to the last of the football players. Then, I saw a figure about two-hundred feet in front of Scott Davies. My eyes followed the figure and I recognised that mop of unruly black hair.

Percy Jackson finished his three laps at least thirty seconds before Scott and the other athletes, and he didn't even break a sweat. Scott, on the other hand, was bent over, red faced and panting, glaring at Percy who was talking to Coach Collins.

I finished my last lap and walked over to Percy, who was taking a drink out of a blue water-bottle. I grabbed mine from my bag and sat next to him.

"I definitely underestimated you, Percy," I said. He smirked grimly.

"I could say the same thing about you. Where'd you learn to run like that?"

I laughed and looked over at the other girls who were prancing about like performing ponies. You could tell that the only time they ran was at a half-price shoe sale.

"I was on the track team in middle school," I explained, "training became a habit I guess. What about you?"

Percy looked at me with that blank expression, "Huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on! Did you see the look on Scott's face when you beat him?" He frowned. Obviously not, I thought.

"He was so jealous! Where did you learn to run that fast?" I asked. The last of the class were finishing their last lap of the gym, about a minute over Coach's requirements.

Drop and give me twenty, maggots! Coach's voice echoed around the gym. Percy and I looked over our shoulders to see Arnold Ryder and his friends begin their twenty push-ups, perspiration dripping down their foreheads.

"Really?" Percy asked, making his way back to Coach. As if on cue, Marcus Westbrook, one of Scott's football buddies, came up to Percy and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey man," Marcus said, "awesome running today, dude. I'm Marcus by the way."

"Percy Jackson," Percy replied, smiling awkwardly. The two shook hands and I noticed Scott glaring at Percy with obvious envy.

"Say Percy," Marcus began, "football trails start next week, you should come along."

"You know," Percy replied, "I'll think about it."

"Awesome man, see ya later," Marcus said, fist bumping an extremely dazed Percy and jogging over to talk to Scott.

"I told you so," I said as Coach began explaining our next activity. Percy pouted and scrunched his eyebrows together. I silently laughed and turned my attention back to Coach Collins who was lecturing us about the importance of fitness.

"Okay, maggots! I've got one year until you leave and go about your prancy little princess lives. I've got one year to toughen you princesses up and turn you into A-class athletes!"

At this point, the football team all pumped their fists into the air and shouted Yeah!

I rolled my eyes at them. They are such boys, I thought.

"This year," Coach continued, "will be the toughest year of your life. I don't take complaints, I don't make exceptions and I WILL make athletes out of you all."

Wow, serious much? I thought.

Coach explained that our first four Gym, no, Physical Education, lessons will be fitness testing. The first session (today) will be aerobic fitness. Next lesson, which is Thursday, will be muscular strength and endurance. Lesson three will be flexibility and the fourth session will be a combination of the three components. I know. Exciting isn't it?

We spent the rest of the lesson doing aerobics. Doing an hour of Zumba in a non-air-conditioned gymnasium with a class full of sweaty teenage buys isn't exactly my idea of a cup of tea. Better make that coffee. I love my caffeine.

I suppose the best part of that lesson was when Coach Collins began complaining about how 'kids these days have no appreciation for a proper workout!' To prove his point, he got up from the bleachers and began doing the Zumba with us, and believe me, it's not something you want to see.

So, we finished gym looking like sweaty monkeys, and we made our way to the locker rooms to get cleaned up.

"Hey Gab," Percy called out. This got the attention of the other girls in our class. He seemed untroubled by the stares, but then again, I wondered if he actually knew that people were looking at us. He's so naïve.

"Yeah?" I called out, pretending not to see the stares of our classmates.

"After dismissal, meet me at my car. You know where it's parked right?"

"Since when do you have a car?" I asked, teasing him.

"Huh?" he asked. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. Gee, I thought, I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

"Last time I checked, it wasn't a car. It's a piece of rusty metal on wheels." I smiled innocently. Percy laughed and shook his head. He walked into the boy's locker room and whispers automatically began rippling through our classmates ears.

I walked into the locker room and took a shower. Ugh, I thought, if Coach gets us to exercise like that again, I'm gonna scream.

I washed the sweat and grime from my body and changed into my normal clothes, putting my gym outfit into my bag. I walked out of the locker-room and down the hall to homeroom. I sat down near the back and waited for the bell to ring.

Miss Garcia sat at her desk reading a book about war history. Scott and Marcus were talking very loudly about (surprise surprise!) football. In the front of the room, Kayleigh was ranting about something to two of her cronies, Hailey and Hanna Hackett. Hailey and Hanna were twins, both with auburn hair and dark blue eyes. Hailey had short hair in a stylish bob, and Hanna had shoulder length hair that was limp from too much straightening. The twins were such a contrast to Kayleigh, who had her long black hair curled and twisted into some fashionable hairstyle that has a name that I couldn't pronounce. While Hailey and Hanna had a light cinnamon skin and dark blue eyes, Kayleigh had light pale skin and cold, ice coloured eyes. The three of them were probably gossiping about the latest boy candy or something.

Oh my God. I thought as I watched the clock tick over to quarter past three, just ring already! Three, two, one…

RING!

Finally!

I grabbed all of my things off of my desk and rushed out of the door ahead of everyone else. I ran out the front doors and breathed a breath of the fresh air. I stood there for a while, while the other students filed out and went their various ways. Some students went to the bus stop, while other began to walk. But the more lucky ones swaggered over to their cars. Kayleigh strutted her way to her bright pink car (yes, I know. But it matches her eye-shadow), and started to reapply her lipstick looking in her rear-view mirror.

I sighed, smiling, but was knocked out of my daze by a cool hand on my shoulder. Percy's cool voice said "Hey, are you okay?"

"Just thinking," I replied.

"Really?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching. "I tried to do that once…but it didn't end well. I ended up with a couple of burns and Annabeth wouldn't talk to me for a few days."

He said that so nonchalantly that I had no choice but to laugh. Percy is definitely one strange guy.

"Come on," he said, galling me over, "I don't want to miss a batch of cookies! Mom always makes some so they're ready for when I get home."

I shook my head and smiled. Percy was already halfway to his car and I had to run to catch up to him.

"Nothing keeps you away from your cookies does it?" I said, jokingly as we found his car.

As we opened our car doors and got inside, Percy started the ignition and turned to me with a very serious expression on his face. "No," he said, and I realized that he was talking about his cookies. "No it doesn't."

We drove out of the parking lot and Percy's car hiccuped a few times. I laughed.

"What?" Percy whined. "I'm saving for a new car."

"Save faster."

I turned on the radio and found a station that was blasting out some rock music. I sighed happily and leaned back in my seat. It was so peaceful.

Well, it wasn't for long.

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Peace out!

BcozYou'reMyFriendSeaweedBrain.

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