CHAPTER 1
"Jesus, Nell, how the fuck did you convince me to take Latin? Latin! I can barely read English as it is."
Helena bit at her bottom lip, holding back the laugh threatening to slip out, as she glanced at her sister's exasperated expression. Percy's hands were nestled deep in the depths of her curly, black hair as she paced back and forth across the carpeted floor of their shared room. Her feet were clad in socks, her trousers thrown across the room in favor of sleeping pants, and she wore a t-shirt that had seen better days.
"Another hour more and then we'll stop," Helena all but promised as she sat out cross-legged at the top of her bed; there were multiple textbooks spread out in front of her, all of them opened and covered in a dozen sticky notes – if not more. She was stripped down to her tank-top, and a pair of teal-colored athletic shorts that were strictly used for sleeping and nothing else. A notebook was balanced across one of her thighs; clasped in one hand, she had a pen, and the other, a pink highlighter.
"Lies!" Percy declared, dropping her hands, as she instead pointed at Helena accusingly. "You said that last time, and you know what happened, Nell, hmm? We were up until three in the morning! It was a miracle I even managed to stay awake."
"But," Helena interjected knowingly. "You did pass." A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, then bloomed into a full-blown smile as her sister's face dropped down. "Mom was so proud, you know? She hung it up on the refrigerator and everything."
Percy's face began to mirror to Helena's as an almost identical smile replaced the angry pout resting there, having kicked it to the curb. The two sisters were often mistaken for twins, the two of them looking so much alike that it was hard to tell them apart at times. Helena thought the world must have been blind to confuse the two sisters, but that was probably because she got to count herself in as one of them.
It was strange, Helena thought, to have a sister. In her old life, Helena had been on her own. Not that she could remember anything useful from her first time on Earth. She knew enough to know that she and Percy were special, half-human, spawn of the sea; and that Percy was going to grow up to be a famous, if not legendary hero. Unfortunately, the details between then and now were muddled and vague; beyond anything of Helena's understanding.
Helena glanced down at their Latin textbook; the other few were from various subjects, though she knew she'd overdone it by checking out yet another book from their school's rather extensive library. She and Percy were boarding students at a school called Yancy Academy: it was a school for rich-kid delinquents, which she and Percy were not – rich, that is, the delinquent bit was, well, slightly debatable.
The letters twisted, tangling within themselves, as the words seemed move as if wanting to hop off the page. She ran her fingers over them, tracing them out gently, and dismissed the head-ache threatening to arise just from looking at it. Helena loved to read, to learn, and that was something that hadn't left her. It had been a struggle adapting. Helena was not exactly the same person as the other girl before her, the one who had died; a hard concept to grasp. And yet in those first few days of her new life, Helena's body had become a battleground between the old and the new, until at last, the soul of the past and the soul of her future melded into something else entirely.
"I bet stupid Gabe trashed it the moment we left." Percy spat out, bitter from the thought of home and their poor, beautiful mother trapped within it. Helena missed home more than anything – scratch that, she missed their mother more than anything. In reality, their home was nothing more than a filthy apartment, riddled with a particularly large pest, who went by the name of Gabe Ugliano; he married their mother about six years ago, when Helena was six and Percy seven.
And their father, their real one, was lost at sea: a lie their mother had told, but one Helena welcomed with open arms. At the time, Helena had still been in denial over her situation then, and believed anything in an attempt to convince herself that what was happening couldn't possibly be true. Helena knew better now.
"Don't say that," Helena insisted, despite knowing that odds were not great. Helena hated Gabe, but he and Percy loathed each other. It was an absolute nightmare during the summertime; when the two of them lived beneath an atmosphere of nicotine and the stench of cheap booze, witnessing as their mother was throttled, riddled with bruises she kept hidden beneath long-sleeved shirts. "We might get to go to Montauk this spring," Helena exclaimed, intent on changing the subject. "Mom misses it. I miss it too. I think it would be good for her to get out of the house some."
"Yeah, I guess so." Percy sighed, then hopped up onto her bed, clambering over her disheveled blanket and sheets. She grabbed a pillow, holding it to her chest, as she rested her back against the wall. "I don't know why we can't just live there. Mom owns the cabin. And the reason we stopped visiting is because of Gabe! The asshole can't be bothered to spend so much as five bucks on us. Why did Mom even marry him? I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!"
Helena should have known that there was no point in attempting to bring the subject back off the topic of their step-father. Percy was a ranter, a loud one, prone to waving her arms about while she stomped, hissed, and spat out a monologue or two on whatever it was she hated at the time. She couldn't do that so much anymore. Not at Yancy Academy, who kept a sharp eye on both Helena and Percy.
To them, there was nothing worse than a pair of peasants who didn't seem to know their place. Helena didn't care what Yancy Academy thought of her. But, it was easier to keep her head down, ace the classes she liked, put in little effort to the ones she didn't. Life was better that way, now that people didn't expect as nearly as much out of her as they did when Helena was younger. She'd been allowed to skip a year ahead, after all, which had been the entire point in the first place.
"For one," Helena started, holding up her hand. "the cabin in Montauk has one room, and the bare minimum necessities. Mom has to work, and we have to go to school. And secondly, while I hate to give him any credit, as he's nothing but a filthy rat, but we probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for Gabe. Mom had us pretty young, you know, and instead of exploring the world, you know, and enjoying life, she was forced to take care of us. We aren't exactly easy kids. She may have thought that, I don't know, it'd be easier with another person in the picture."
"So it's his fault then." Percy threw her pillow up at the ceiling, hard enough that Helena swore she heard the plaster creak, threatening to crumble down. The two girls paused, looking at it. Percy snorted. "Man, this place is beyond shitty. A miracle the building is still standing. How the fuck can a school this bad manage to con even the rich people into sending their kids here?"
Helena let out a slow breath, relieved. Percy was not one to look deeper into things. She was – she was, well, she was a bit dumb in that regards. Not that she was stupid. Percy was brilliant in her own ways. If she put more effort into her grades, she'd be allowed on the sports teams. The swim coaches here were all but begging for Percy to join, but she was required to pass all of her classes with a 'C' or above.
Never mind the fact that neither of them were allowed to join swim in the first place, due to their mother having expressed her fear at either one of them drowning. Another example at Percy putting body over mind, because she didn't even question their mother. The lie itself didn't make much sense! Helena, however, refused – refused – to let Sally Jackson believe that both of her children's heads were filled with nothing but seawater and good vibes. In other words, Helena poked and prodded and poked some more until Sally pulled her aside in order to tell her a much better, way more believable lie.
"We can't afford it," she had said, her voice cracking, her dark eyes welling up with tears. Helena felt guilty, though it'd been months since their conversation. It was a warped version of another truth, just not the one that mattered. As, as life would have it, the Jacksons were too poor to participate in anything beyond basic electives. That meant no sports, no clubs, no nothing.
A bitter pill to swallow, even for Helena, who was far more mature than her sister due to obvious reasons. She was drawn to to fencing, to the aesthetics of archery (more so than the actual practice). And not to mention, the horse-back riding! She wanted to enjoy the world; read every book in the library, from the top shelf to the bottom, listen to the millions of songs put out each other, eat the foods she never got to.
Helena started to panic just thinking about it. Not enough time, never enough time. How many lives would she get to get it right, even if but once? She took a deep breath: in and out, in and out, in and out. Everything was going to be okay.
"Whose fault?" She croaked, bracing herself against the sudden dizziness, and the wobbliness in her joints; from her hands to her feet. Helena knew that if she got up now, she was likely to fall right back down.
"Our father, him, it's his fault Mom had to marry Gabe. He left her, us, and now we're both probably screwed up for life." Percy was calm as she said it, like she'd accepted it long ago.
"Dad's lost at sea," Helena said, blinking slowly, flexing her fingers in an attempt to ground herself. She did this a lot, panic that is. When she was a young girl, it got so bad that Sally noticed enough to bring her to the doctor's office about it. Not to imply that her mother was neglectful, she wasn't, but she worked a lot more than any woman should. Sometimes, there would be weeks where the only words spoken between Sally and Helena were the usual good mornings and basic I love yous.
It took a night of thinking for Helena to come to the decision to hide it, to hide her worries and afflictions, and unusual habits. It wouldn't do either of them any good. She didn't even have to imagine what Gabe would have to say about it.
Helena heard enough about what he said in regards to Percy's ADHD and dyslexia. Not that he was aware Helena had them both too. She knew her mother doubted it at times. After all, demigods were supposed to have these things; it was instinctual to get up, to move, to suffer through periods of hyper-focus, only to switch to something else all together. And, of course, their brains were hard-wired for Ancient Greek. Helena could not help but wonder if a lot of demigods had their first words dismissed as being nothing but baby babble.
But, in regards to her ADHD, the mid-two-thousands wasn't exactly the beacon of progression in regards to the mental health, or learning disabilities, or anything that might imply society might have to change in any way ever. And considering how different ADHD presented itself when it came to girls instead of boys; the fact Percy was even able to get a diagnosis seemed to be a gift from the gods themselves. But, her older sister had a notorious temper, especially when the two of them were younger. Much like now, Percy would stamp and stomp her feet, but back then, she would get so mad that the house would shake. It left their mother terrified, not of them, but of those that would notice. She'd married Gabe not long after.
Percy gave her a baffled look. "I'm not seven anymore, Nelly." She paused. "You don't actually still believe that, do you?"
Helena never believed it, but she opted to not inform her sister of that. She instead shrugged. "It's not my place to say whether he or he didn't. What reason would mom have to lie to us about it? As you said, we're not seven anymore."
Percy's face dropped into something resembling contemplation. She rubbed at her chin, wrinkled her nose. "I don't know, Nell, I don't know. Whatever. It's still his fault. He should have brought a map. Now can we please take a break?"
"Fine." Helena sighed, pretending to be annoyed, although she was, in all honesty, eager to take a break herself. "But don't blame me if you fail. I'll be sure to enjoy my time at the museum with or without you. Mr. Brunner is only allowed to take the kids that pass with a C or above, remember?"
"I remember," Percy groaned. "It doesn't matter how much I study. He's gonna give me the exam, and I'm gonna look at it, and then wanna carve my eyes out. Why can't they make contacts, but like, for dyslexics."
Helena laughed. "I don't think that's how that works, Perce. Regardless, focus on remembering all the stuff I've spoken to you tonight."
Percy pinched her eyebrows together in genuine confusion. "About mom and dad?"
"No, Percy, no." Helena felt the back of her notebook smack across her face, only to quickly realize that it was she who had done it. "About...About Latin."
"Oh, right!" Percy's cheeks grew red as she laughed awkwardly. "What was it…what was it you said again?"
"For kids like us, the best way to 'learn' is through verbal memorization. We can't rely on our eyes for stuff like this, which is annoying, but that's why I read out our notes to you. It's not perfect, but when I manage to decipher a word, Mr. Brunner may as well be trapped inside my head. Key words act as triggers. How did you think you managed to pass the last time?"
"Bribery?"
"You tried to bribe Mr. Brunner?"
"No, no, I figured you might have, though I did consider it, but to be honest, he's a pretty tough nut to crack. So I figured if anyone could do it, it'd be you for sure!"
Helena opened her mouth, then stopped, feeling unexpectedly flattered. "You hold maybe a little too much faith in me," she declared. "But no, Percy, I did not bribe Mr. Brunner. I've never bribed anyone in my entire life."
"Nelly?"
"Yes?"
"I don't think Gabe realizes how much he's lucked out that I'm the troublemaker between the two of us. Please, let me know if you ever decide to join the dark side. We'd be unstoppable."
Helena ran her eyes over Percy's relaxed face. To think, she'd been spitting mad only moments prior. Percy couldn't hold a grudge for too long, even if her life depended on it. Helena shoved her text-books off her bed and into her back-pack, stuffing the notebook in there as well. She soon threw herself back down into the comfort of her bed, relishing in the way her head hit into the softness of her pillows.
"Percy?" she spoke, feeling at ease.
"Yes, Nelly?"
"You'd make an awful side-kick."
Percy sputtered. "Huh? I am NOT the side-kick! You're the side-kick!" The older girl threw one of her pillows at Helena, but she pretended not to notice, insistent on keeping her eyes shut. "Nell? Neeellly?" She heard Percy sigh and hop off her bed. And with but a flick of a switch, the room dimmed, the remaining light belonging to the lamp sat up on the top of Percy's dresser.
A moment of silence passed. "Goodnight, Nell."
"Goodnight, Percy," Helena mumbled out.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, I knew you were awake!" Her sister proclaimed. "Honestly, the things I have to put up with…Nell? Neelll? I'm not falling for this again!" Helena cracked a smile, but to chose to sink deeper within herself, embracing sleep as it came to her.