CHAPTER 4

WINGMAN

-Percy-

The last words my father said to me were, "Alright, son. I'm just going out for a bit. Tell your mother I'll be out for a while. See ya, Perce."

He ruffled my hair, grabbed his coat and keys, and headed out.

Just before he left, I never thought it was strange that he was always 'going out' really late at night. My mom always worked the night shift, so she never noticed my dad was gone either. We never knew that dad was getting drunk at bars at midnights for weeks now.

But that night was different.

I never knew that he was never going to come back. I never knew that he was going to kill an innocent woman while driving. I never knew.

And he didn't either.

I think of this today in class because we were learning about old greek myths. I always thought those stories were pretty interesting. I don't know, maybe it's cause I can relate to them. All those gods or demigods had no idea what was going to happen in the future. Some things changed, but why do things have to change? I would always ask that.

Each one of those gods ended with a tragedy, a disaster, a catastrophe. The list can go on.

I learned one thing from all those myths: No stories end with a happily ever after.

After Social Studies, I went to my next class, math.

Here's one thing you should know about me: number and my brain don't really go together.

I'm not kidding; I suck at math. I must be the worst in my class. No, the worst in the school. I did learn why I was terrible though. When I was about 10, one of my teachers found out I was dyslexic. Ever since my mom found out, she always told me to just try harder and harder. I do, but that doesn't make a difference. Why do you even have to learn algebra or geometry? If you know what 2+2 is, that's good enough to me.

Anyway, since I'm in the 10th grade, my teachers think it's important to 'pay attention and actually learn something'; not just ditch every math class like I did in middle school.

But even if I do pay attention, it won't matter because my dyslexia won't let me.

When I got to Mrs. Leshman's room, I took my usual seat next to Grover. I saw Annabeth talking to some nerd. Probably talking about homework or a lesson. Annabeth has to be the smartest person since Einstein. She's a goody goody. I kind of like that. Maybe she can tutor me.

I smirk at the thought and turned to Grover. "Hey, man."

Grover has curly brown hair and he's kind of short, maybe 5'6. He's a tree hugger, too. Grover is pretty cool and funny.

Grover has been my best friend since my dad committed that crime. He was really supportive and patient. I was impressed by that because when dad got in jail, I was angry. All the time. I would punch a hole in the wall, kick anything, and yell. I would ask myself, 'Why? Why me?' But Grover was a great friend when I needed him the most. He got me to be sane.

Right now, Grover wasn't even looking or listening to me, so I was guessing he was staring at Juniper. His not-so-secret crush. It's cute, I guess. They're both really similar and single. So that's good.

"Staring at Juniper?" I ask.

He still didn't answer. I rolled my eyes and punched him on the arm. He snaps out of his daze and looked at me like I was crazy.

"What the hell was that for?" He said angrily.

"For not listening to me." I reply. "If you like her so much, just ask her out already. What are you waiting for?"

Grover shook his head, "It's not that simple."

"Sure it is," I say. "All you have to do is say, 'Juniper, will you go out with me?' Then she'll say yes, and before you know it, you'll be at your wedding, thanking me."

It was Grover's turn to roll his eyes, "It's never going to work."

"Yes, it will." I push, "It isn't that hard."

"Oh, really?" Grover asks, with a mischievous look on his face. "So if it isn't that hard, why won't you ask out Annabeth?"

My eyes widen. This is classic Grover. Avoiding a hard question by asking a hard question.

"Uh," I stuttered. "Because I don't like her."

Grover snorted, "Please. You would jump off a cliff, if she asked."

"No, I wouldn't." I mutter.

He raised his brow, "So why are you 'dating' Rachel?"

"Um…" I hate Grover sometimes. "Look, we aren't talking about me, this is you."

"You're avoiding the question." He pointed out. "Why won't you ask out Annabeth?"

"You're avoiding the question, too." I challenge. "Why won't you ask out Juniper?"

We stared at each other for about 30 seconds until Grover broke down, "Fine," he says. "I'm scared that she'll say no."

"What?" I asked surprised. "That's why you won't ask?"

He nodded, sadly. "I'll make a fool of myself."

"No, you won't." I insist, "Do you know what you need?"

"What?"

"A wingman. You need someone who has your back. What better person do that but me?"

"A wingman?" Grover cracked a smile. "Dude, you are so old fashioned."

I grinned, "Do you want to do this?"

He sighed, "Fine, but this better work."

"Trust me, it will." I said, "Who can resist the G-man?"

Grover laughed, "It's the truth."

We fist pumped and headed toward Juniper. Fortunately, she was alone, so this will be a little easier.

"Hey, Juniper." I give her my finest smile. "You know Grover right?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, hi."

Grover just stood there, looking down on the ground. I elbowed him in the gut. He seemed to be getting the memo. "Um, what's up?"

Wow, that's lame, I thought.

But luckily, Juniper didn't think so, "I'm planning my birthday party that's on Saturday."

"Cool." He replied. I was surprised that Grover was so shy and nervous. I could see his sweat on his forehead. Ew.

"Yep. You know," Juniper started. "I was just making the guest list. You wanna come?"

"Um, uh, um, um, uh…" Grover stammered.

"C'mon, Grover, use your words." I persisted.

Juniper chuckled and Grover sent me a harsh look, which I supposed it either meant, Shut up or You're not helping.

When Grover did find his words though, he said, "Thanks, I'll be there."

Juniper smiled, "Cool," she wrote something on a piece of scrap paper. "Here's my address. See you there."

When Grover and I went back to our seats, I saw that he couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.

"You're welcome, by the way." I teased.

Grover faced me, he was smiling so wide, it looked like there was a hanger in his mouth. "I love you, man!" He exclaimed, then got up and hugged me. Not the manly hug which we would do, a real hug. I could feel eyes on us. So I whispered to Grover, "Err, dude? Could you maybe get off of me?"

He gave an embarrassed chuckle, "Oh right, sorry." He let go of me and sat back down,

I pat him on the back, "Nice work, man. She'll be all over you."

"You think?"

"Totally, you just need to work on your words."

The rest of math was terrible. Mrs. Leshman taught us a new lesson about linear equations and variables, blah, blah, blah. I didn't really listen, I just stared out the window, desperately waiting for the bell to ring so I could get to lunch already. I was starving.

At the end of class, Mrs. Leshman handed back our tests we took last week. She came to my desk and handed me my test. F. I failed another test. I sighed, my mom is going to kill me.

I stuffed the test in my backpack just as the bell rung. I quickly walked toward the door, but Mrs. Leshman called me. "Mr. Jackson? Would you come here for a moment?"

I slowly turned around, "Yes, Miss?"

"I thought I would let you know that you are failing my class." She says.

No duh.

"Oh, am I?" I ask.

She nodded, "Yes, and that test you just got back, did not help your grade."

"Ok," I began. "Should I retake it, then?"

Mrs. Leshman looked at me, "Percy, I don't think you understand. It's not just the test that you failed, it's all the homework assignments and quizzes and worksheets that you also did not pass."

"So I have to redo all those, too?"

"Percy," she said gently. "What I'm trying to tell you is that if you don't pass this class, you're going to have to repeat the 10th grade."

"What!" I practically shouted. "But I can't repeat it! I'll do better, I swear."

Mrs. Leshman stayed quiet for a while, "Look, there's still half of the school year left. You still have time to bring up your grade to at least a C."

I nodded, "I can do that."

"Good, because you're going to have to. Now, remember, it's not going to be easy. You have to work extra hard. Study more, and pass those tests, and I will have no doubt that you will pass this class." She said. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I do." I answer.

Mrs. Leshman smiled, "Ok, then you should get started with the studying. I recommend that you get a tutor."

I nodded, "Ok, thank you." I walked out of the class feeling a little more relieved. Thank god. I actually might pass the 10th grade.

I exhaled, and went to my locker to put my books away. I saw Grover coming my way.

"Hey, Perce. What did Leshman want?" He asked.

As we walked toward the cafeteria, I told him about our conversation.

"Well at least you might pass." He said after I was done.

"I know. I need to find a tutor." I say.

"Yep, and here she comes." Grover jerked his head toward the hallway. There I saw Thalia and Annabeth.

I smiled. "Great idea." I walked to the lunch line, where they were, and asked, "Hey Annie! What's up?"

Annabeth just grunted, "Don't call me that."

I smirked, "Aw, you know you love that name."

"Shut up."

I chuckled, "Anyway, Annie-"

"Don't call me that!" She exclaimed. I love getting under her skin; her face gets all red and she can't stand me.

Annabeth got a lunch tray and filled it up with pizza. I did the same.

"What do you want?" Thalia sneered.

"Do I have to want something?" I ask innocently,

"Being you, yes."

"I just want to hang out with my dear cousin, and her lovely friend." I reply coolly.

"Don't you have your friends, Jackson?" Annabeth retorted.

I smiled at her, "Yes, you 2."

She gave an annoyed sigh, "What about your red-headed girlfriend? I'm sure she'd love to see you."

My stomach ached at the thought of her, "Rachel. Right." I say with a bit of regret and bitterness.

Annabeth looked a little confused at my expression, so she walked away. Suddenly, I thought it was a bad idea to use Rachel to make Annabeth jealous. It just made her mad. I don't want her to get more angry with me than she probably already was.

I followed Annabeth to catch up with her. I wanted to tell her about me and Rachel and how I don't like her or we broke up or something. I grabbed her arm to get her attention.

I did that, alright.

Apparently, the arm that I grabbed, Annabeth was holding her lunch tray with that hand. The food got all over her. She had pizza sauce on her shirt and she was drenched with juice.

I could feel many eyes on us in the lunch room. I'm an idiot, I thought. A big idiot.

I just stood there shocked until Annabeth slowly turned around, "What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked, in a low, angry voice.

"I, um, I didn't mean, to, uh, do that", I stumbled. "I just wanted to-"

"Save it." Annabeth snapped.

She turned around, but hesitated. And I know why. She grabbed a carton of milk, and before I could even react, she dumped it all over me. Now, I was dripping wet with chocolate milk.

Annabeth walked away without saying another word.

I wasn't mad, though.

I deserved it.

HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

PLEASE REVIEW!

NEXT CHAPTER COMING UP!