Chapter 3: Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks of Death
Hades turned if possible paler while reading the chapter mentally
"What is it brother?" asked Poseidon
"Three old ladies knit the socks of death" he whispered though it was loud enough for everybody to hear
Gasps echoed throughout the throne room
Everybody was just asking themselves one question- how is he still alive
Poseidon was pale
Percy flinched
I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.
"How did the mist create a new person?" asked Travis
"It didn't. I had a daughter of Athena on standby just in case something went wrong" said Chiron
Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me but they would stare at me like I was psycho.
"You are" said Nico
"Just not this time" added Thalia
It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.
Almost.
"Grover" groaned Thalia
Grover smiled sheepishly
Poseidon frowned slightly but did not say anything seeing how fond his son and the other were of the satyr.
But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.
Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.
"You don't say" snorted Clarisse
I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.
Percy and Poseidon could feel the cold sweat on themselves but it was gone after a few minutes
The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.
"You have to stop taking your anger out on mortals" said Demeter
I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.
"You seem very in tune with your father's temper" said Athena
Percy and Poseidon grinned at each other
Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests,
"Didn't he know you have dyslexia" asked Hestia
"He did, he just didn't care"
She frowned
I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.
Hermes and Apollo burst out laughing
"It means old drunk" choked out Hermes
The Greek demigods roared with laughter
The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.
Fine, I told myself. Just fine.
I was homesick.
I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.
Paul and Poseidon felt slightly homesick
"Paul plays poker?" frowned Nico
Percy got a dark look in his eyes
"Before him" he said
And yet . . . there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.
"Aww' said Thalia with a grin
"So funny Pinecone Face"
"Kelp Head"
"Bark mouth"
"Aquaman" piped in Leo
Everybody started laughing
I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.
Grover and Percy smiled at each other
As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.
"Good" said Poseidon and Annabeth
The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.
Poseidon and Percy felt the frustration
"You know the difference now" said Annabeth
"Yep"
I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.
Poseidon and Percy shuffled uncomfortably
I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.
Chiron gave a smile to Percy which he returned
I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.
"You're not" breathed Athena
"I am"
I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him with him thinking I hadn't tried.
"I wouldn't think that Percy"
I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.
Chiron smiled but then his inwardly groaned remembering what might have happened at that time
Grover had a similar reaction
I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said ". . . worried about Percy, sir. "
I froze.
I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.
inched closer.
Percy and Poseidon froze slightly too
"I would listen if anybody was talking about me to an adult" said Nico
Will agreed with him and so did the others
Chiron and Grover had to admit that he had a point
". . . alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"
"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."
"You will be waiting a long time for that" smirked Thalia and Zoe
Then they smiled sadly at each other
"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline— "
"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can. "
"Sir, he saw her. . . . "
"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that. "
"Sir, I . . . I cant fail in my duties again. " Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."
Dionysus and Grover felt the sadness of Grover
Thalia, Annabeth and Luke looked at Grover
"You did not fail" said Annabeth
"You are the bravest satyr ever Grover, it wasn't you fault. It was mine" said Luke
"It was my choice and I never blamed you nor will I ever blame you" said Thalia
Grover looked at them gratefully and they tackled him in a hug
"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now lets just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"
The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.
"No! Never give away your position" yelled the Hermes gang
"Its rule number 16" said the Stolls
Mr. Brunner went silent.
My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.
A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archers bow.
"Really Chiron?!" groaned Poseidon
I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.
"Better" said Hermes
A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.
A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.
A bead of sweat trickled down the necks of Poseidon and Percy making them shiver slightly
Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice. "
"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn . . ."
"What happened at the solstice?" asked Reyna
"No spoilers" said Percy in a sing – song voice
"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow. "
"Don't remind me. "
The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.
I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.
Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.
Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.
"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"
I didn't answer.
"So he can't lie but he can act" said Travis
"We're giving you lessons" said Connor
Hermes looked proudly at his sons
"You look awful." He frowned "Is everything okay?"
"Just. . . tired. "
I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.
Percy and Poseidon started feeling tired and a little scared
"That won't work Perry" said Dionysus
"I know now" sighed Percy
I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe Id imagined the whole thing.
But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.
The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,
"WHAT!" yelled all the Greek demigods
"Man I feel sorry for you" said Leo
My eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names Id misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.
"Is that how Dyslexia feels like?" asked Frank
"Yeah but don't you have dyslexia?" asked Will
"No, just Lactose intolerant"
For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.
"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. Its . . . it's for the best."
All the Greek demigods groaned
"Chiron can't give pep – talks" said Thalia
"Nope"
"It just makes us feel worse"
"Chiron, we are going to give you pep-talk lessons" said Apollo
His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.
Poseidon and Percy were feeling embarrassed but nobody seemed to notice
Thalia, Nico and Zoe were growling at the Bobofit girl while the other demigods were angry too
I mumbled, "Okay, sir."
"I mean . . . " Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time. "
My eyes stung.
Percy and Poseidon felt tears in their eyes
Poseidon covered his before anybody could notice but Percy didn't bother
Chiron, the gods and demigods notice that but Grover did not feel much sadness through the empathy link
Before anybody could say anything
"I think the curse is acting up for them. It happened to me too with Grover" said Dionysus
The gods looked interested while the demigods were wondering how their parent/patron would react to their emotions
Here was my favourite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.
"I didn't mean it that way Percy" said Chiron calmly but inside he was really guilty about the way he formed his sentences
"Don't worry about it. I know what you meant now"
"Right," I said, trembling
"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say . . . you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"
"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me. "
"Percy—"
But I was already gone.
"Perce you're not normal..." began Travis
"… yeah you're one of us" finished Connor
Percy grinned at them though it was little watery because of the curse
On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.
The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a from a family of nobodies.
"WE ARE NOT NOBODIES" yelled Zeus
"Yeah but how are we supposed to know that if you didn't even bother helping us out in our lives" said Thalia with a glare at her father
Zeus looked shocked but didn't say anything
They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.
What I didn't tell them was that Id have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.
"Uh… you were 12 right?" asked Hermes uncertainly
"Yeah" said Percy and left it there
"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool. "
They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.
"Rude" said Rachel
The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.
"Stalker" said Travis and Connor
Grover turned red
"I am not a stalker" he said indignantly
"Oh yeah, you just follow him" they grinned
During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, Id always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.
Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.
I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"
"Percy" groaned Poseidon
The demigods and Hermes and Apollo were roaring with laughter
"Way to give him a heart attack" said Apollo
"He almost did" said Grover with a glare at Percy but there was no heat behind it
Hades looked amused
Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"
Dionysus and Grover almost jumped out their couch
I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.
"Never confess!" exclaimed Hermes and his kids
"Guys this was years ago" he said
"Still"
Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"
"Oh . . . not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"
He winced. "Look, Percy . . . I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers . . . "
"Grover—"
"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and . . . "
"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."
"Yep" said Thalia
His ears turned pink.
Dionysus and Grover's ears also turned pink
From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.
The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:
Grover Underwood
Keeper
Half-Blood Hill
Long Island, New York
(800) 009-0009
"Why is it fancy script?" asked Zeus
"Mr. D designed it"
The gods glared at Dionysus
Dionysus shrunk in his couch
"What's Half—"
"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um . . . summer address. "
My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.
"Oh so that is why you reacted that way" said Grover
Percy nodded
"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion. "
He nodded. "Or . . . or if you need me. "Why would I need you?"
"Percy" Luke flinched
It came out harsher than I meant it to.
Luke nodded
Grover blushed right down to his Adams apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you. "
I stared at him.
All year long, Id gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. Id lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.
"You lost sleep because of me?" asked Grover
"I was just worried about you"
"Personal Loyalty indeed" said Beckendorf
"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"
"Monsters, people who would like to kill you which is a lot" counted Grover
Percy rolled he eyes at his friend
There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs
Aphrodite looked a little green
The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.
After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that wed all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.
We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.
The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice.
"Sounds good" remarked Piper
"Nope" said Percy, popping the p
"You should wish that you do not want to see the exact stand" said Grover
There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.
The gods and demigods froze
They all looked at Percy wondering how in Tartarus was he still alive
I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.
All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.
The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.
Poseidon let out a small whimper
I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.
The blood drained out of the face of Dionysus and Grover and their nose was twitching
"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"
"Not funny Percy" yelled the demigods
"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all. "
The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.
Poseidon caught his breath too
"Were getting on the bus," he told me "Come on. "
"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."
"Listen to him" urged Poseidon
"Dad this already happened" reminded Percy
"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.
Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic.
Everybody stared at Percy except Grover and Annabeth
Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for — Sasquatch or Godzilla.
A few people let out nervous chuckles trying to lighten the mood
At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.
The passengers cheered.
"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"
"Now it works" muttered Beckendorf
"Percy was meant to see that" sighed Silena
Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.
Percy and Poseidon started feeling feverish
Apollo and Will noticed but Percy waved to him to sit down
"It's the curse" muttered Hermes to Apollo and Will
Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.
Dionysus and Grover's started shivering and their teeth were chattering
"Grover?" "Yeah?"
"What are you not telling me?"
He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"
"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like . . . Mrs. Dodds, are they?"
"Much worse" said Poseidon
His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw. "
"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn. "
He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.
"You are observant Perce" said Lee
He said, "You saw her snip the cord. "
"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.
"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time. "
"What last time?"
"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth. "
Dionysus was able to feel Grover's fear and so could Grover
"Grover" groaned Thalia, Luke and Annabeth
"You are going to freak him out" said Michael
"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"
"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me. "
This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.
"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.
No answer.
"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"
He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.
"Under normal circumstances, I would tell you to be more positive but it is hard to feel positive right now" sighed Thalia
"Oh yeah and I like Hyacinths and Water Lilies" Percy said
"Though I wouldn't mind Seaweed and Kelp" he added with a wink towards Annabeth and Thalia
"It's the end of the chapter" said Hades
"I'll read Uncle H" said Hermes
Hades threw the book at him which almost hit him in the nose but he caught it deftly.