I finally got this one out, so hooray for me, I think :P

To: JamesLawless: I try to update as often as I can, but I can't guarantee that I'll update daily.

To : AJTheWise: Thanks for the tip! I'll try to keep it in Percy's P.O.V. this chappie :D

Aaaaaaaaanyway, back to the story!

I stared at the pile of dust. No way that could've happened.

Wait, yes, there was a way. But I was too damn shocked to believe that I was insane and suffering hallucinations.

But was it a hallucination?

I walked outside, my head still swimming with this newfound information.

As I got close to Grover, Nolan said to me, "I hope Ms. Kerr whipped your ass."

I said something really intelligent like, "Huh? Who's that?"

I could literally feel Nolan roll his eyes. "The science teacher, dimwit. How much more of a doofus could you get, Jockson?"

I stared at him, expecting him to burst out laughing, but all he did was growl, mutter, "Idiot" under his breath, and saunter away.

I sat down next to Grover. "G-Man, what is Mrs. Dodds?"

Grover just stared blankly at me. "Mrs. Who now?"

But there was this hesitation in his voice, like that hesitation when you fib, but the good in your heart says, What the hell are you doing? Don't lie to them!

"Not funny, G-Man. I don't know how the rest of the kids did this prank without falling over laughing, but this ends now. Tell me, what the hell is Mrs. Dodds?"

Instead of snapping at me like I would've done, he just sighs. He looks me in the eye, and says, really seriously, "Are you feeling okay, Perce? No one is named Mrs. Dodds."

I look at him, sure he's lost it, but then I shrug, say, "Whatever", and walk away, towards Mr. Brunner. In all honesty, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a hallucination. Being assured that I was mentally stable was a relief.

When I get to Mr. Brunner, he smiles at me, then takes the pen from me. "That would be my pen, Mr. Jackson. Please try to bring your own writing utensil in the future."

I asked him who Mrs. Dodds was, and he stared at me blankly.

"Percy, I don't have an inkling of who Mrs. Dodds is. As far as I know, no one called Mrs. Dodds has ever been at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"

In all honesty, I didn't know myself.

The students were totally convinced that Ms. Kerr, a stern woman that I've never seen in my short miserable life until she got on the bus when we left, was the science teacher since November. I sprang a Mrs. Dodds reference on everyone, and I mean literally everyone, stared at me blankly, then either walked away or called me a retard. I almost believed them.

But Grover couldn't fool me. I knew it from the shrinking hesitation when he answered. Something had happened there. I don't know exactly what, but I just know something had gone down.

After throwing my Greek Mythology book against the bed for the umpteenth time that night, frustrated about my probable finals score, I heard Grover leave his dorm. Me, being the creepy stalker I am, decide to follow him.

Grover was hobbling down to Mr. Brunner's office. Why was anybody's guess, he had this exam in the bag, memorizing names like he's lived with them before. I press my ear against the wall and listen.

"-refuses to listen to reason. Thievery isn't his style!"

"Grover, he's just paranoid. Zeus will come to his senses."

"But what if he doesn't? What-what if Percy actually is what we think he is?"

"Then it explains the Kindly One. If our theory is correct, a quest is-"

"No! I-I'm sorry to yell at you, but he's not ready yet! He needs training!"

"And while that is a perfectly valid reason, time is of the essence. Now, finals are tomorrow, and I suggest you study."

"Oh, don't remind me."

I dove inside the nearest doorway (which happened to be a dorm room), and ignoring her surprised face, motioned for her to stay quiet.

After a while, when I was sure Grover had left, I crept down the hallway (but not before whispering, "Sorry" to the student who'd dorm I'd dove into) and snuck down to my dorm. Who did they think I was? I was who I said I was. Percy Jackson, son of Sally Jackson and a deadbeat dad, stepson of Gabe Ugliano. I was gonna have a chat with Grover.

But first, some sleep.

After getting kicked out of Yancy, I walked home. I was hoping against hope that my mother was home, but she probably wasn't. She worked late today. And just as I thought, when I walked in the apartment, there sat my stepfather and his buddies, in all of his glory, which were empty beer cans and cigarettes.

"Give me your money," he said to me. I've had this conversation before, he would ask me for money, I would tell him I'm broke, thanks to a certain beer addict, he would threaten me with abuse, I'd cave in, give him some of my money, and hope he'd lose. He never saw my growing collection of money I've been hiding from him, which is one good thing.

"I'm broke, thanks to a certain dickhead not 5 feet away from me."

"Give me your money, or I'll punch your lights out."

"Fine!" I dug out 7 of 8 dollars and threw it at him. "I hope you lose all of it."

I was just sick of him. Why did my mom marry him? My mom's mom died giving birth, she was abused by her father, said father got sick during mom's high school junior year and expected her to care for him, died the next year, leaving her with literally nothing, and no one to be supported by.

The only break she got was meeting my dad. He gave her everything she wanted, except love. Around the time he found out my mom was pregnant, he went on a sailing journey.

And he never came back. He was "lost at sea", my mom put it. Not dead, just lost at sea.

Right. His boat was never found. No way he could've survived for 12 years.

"Percy?" A gentle voice called out, and my worries washed away.

My mom stood there, smiling at me, holding a batch of blue cookies.

I guess I should explain the blue.

You see, my mom and Gabe had this big fight about how blue food was impossible. That was the one time I "hit" Gabe. With a blueberry. A blueberry, for crying out loud! It's blue. Anyway, after that, my mom went out of her way to get blue food.

Anyway, while I'm stuffing my face with cookies, I tell my mom about Yancy. I tried to keep it light, for her sake. Even Nolan didn't seem so bad.

Until the museum trip…

She stops eating her granola bar. "What happened? Did something scare you?"

I tell her about Mrs. Dodds and her bat demon mode.

She freezes. It's so sudden, and replaced by excitement so quickly, that I ignored it.

"We're going to Montauk. Two nights, same cabin.

"Yes!" I loved going to Montauk. Aside from a glowing smile, that was the only memory I had of my dad.

Gabe swaggered in the room. "Bean dip, Sally, didn't you hear me?"

My mom gave me this look, saying, "Be nice to him." I sighed. My mom can be very stubborn when I disagree with her.

She smiled and said, "Oh, Gabe won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him the deluxe seven-layer dip he always wants, with guacamole, sour cream, and the other works. And it's enough for the whole weekend, even if his friends come over. That way, when we're gone on the trip, you'll always have my cooking."

Gabe squinted. "You mean you were serious about the trip?"

My mom sighed and replied, "Yes, I was serious about it. The money's coming from my clothes budget, and I won't take your car anywhere but here and there."

Gabe mulled this over. He decided to say yes.

As we loaded our final bag of luggage (which was one out of one, if you were wondering), Gabe finally walked inside. I got seriously pissed once he got inside. I made this claw that I've never seen before and pushed outward. From inside, a cry of pain could be heard. I didn't know what that was, but it felt great.

I got inside and told my mom to step on it.

Whew! Man, writer's block is a dick! I actually have a nice and caring family, so it was kinda hard to write this final scene, but I rolled it out!

Remember to R&R! Happy readers write good reviews, good reviews make me happy, happy me means good story, good story means happy readers!