Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while, testing just got started and I've been studying non-stop. But I'm finally back with a new chapter for all of you! I hope you guys enjoy, please please please comment I love reading them, they make my day! I love all of you amazing people, have a great day, and let's get on with it!
I do not own any of Rick Riordan's characters. I only own Atty.
Percy and I might've left Grover at the bus terminal. I admit it, we are horrible friends. But he was starting to make us nervous. He kept looking at the two of us, whispering things under his breath, looking like he could cry at any moment. At one point, he even told me he was sorry. I still didn't know why he was. Grover didn't explain what was going on to me or Percy. So when we got off the bus, and Grover ran to the bathroom, having almost peed himself, Percy grabbed my hand and started to walk away. "Percy, we can't just leave him." I told him. He didn't look at me as he said, "Yes we can." We walked straight out of the terminal and hailed a taxi. "Where to?" the driver asked. "East One-hundred-and-fourth-and First." We said in unison. I knew I should feel bad about ditching Grover, but I was so excited about seeing our mom, I couldn't even think about Grover. Believe me when I tell you this: Sally Jackson is the most amazing mom in the entire universe.
Sorry to all of your mothers, but it's true. Firstly, our mom's parents died in a plane crash when she was a kid, leaving her to stay with her uncle. She wanted to be an editor once she graduated, but her uncle got cancer, so she had to quit high school her last year and take care of him. Once he was gone, she had absolutely nothing. No money, no diploma, no scholarships, no family, nothing. Her life was just one big pot of sadness and disappointments to be honest. But then she met our dad. Whenever she does tell me about him, she says that he was the best thing that ever happened to her. Although they never got married, she says he was the love of her life. Mom doesn't have any pictures of him, and I have no memory of him, just the salty scent of the ocean. Which is quite ironic, because the ocean was the reason he wasn't with us. He had gone on an "important journey" and been lost at sea after I was born. "Not dead," Mom tells us. "Just lost." So when he left, Mom had to work her butt off to take care of Percy and I. She worked weird and quirky jobs, went to night school to get her diploma, and raised two kids on her own. Well, technically, Percy was the one who raised me. When Mom was working or at school, Percy took care of me. He helped me with homework, made me dinner sometimes, put me to sleep, he even learned how to braid hair so he could help me with mine. He's just like Mom. He's kind, and funny, and optimistic. Having him with me every day was kind of like having her next to me. And Percy tells me that I'm similar to her too. I'm apparently, "kind, selfless, tough, and annoyingly stubborn." Thanks, big bro. But the two of us must've taken from our father, because we didn't resemble Mom very much. We had matching sea green eyes, sometimes looking blue sometimes looking emerald. Percy's hair was more black, and mine was a lighter black-brown. Percy was fairly tall, dare I say, handsome I guess, and scrawny, like I tell him. Although I was shorter than him, it wasn't by much, I reached his shoulders. I had brown freckles dotting across my nose and cheeks, the one thing differentiating me from my brother. And even though I don't like admitting it, I was pretty scrawny like Percy, but what do you expect from a fifth grader? Percy and I looked so similar, most people though we were twins. We might as well be; we've been connected by the hip forever basically. I mean we never leave each other's side unless we had to, we were each other's best friend, and told each other everything. My family was perfect. All except Smelly Gabe.
When I was about five, Mom decided to marry Gabe Ugliano. How she fell for him, I have no clue. He's a rude, idiotic, gross, inappropriate idiot that is my stepfather. When he first moved in, Percy and I couldn't stand within six feet of the guy without wanting to throw up. He is like a combination of expired milk, gym socks, porta pottys, and just a hint of rotting corpse mixed into one smell. Thus, his nickname, Smelly Gabe, was born. He doesn't even do anything, doesn't have any hobbies, somehow manages a store sometimes, just drinks and plays poker with his friends while smoking. I felt awful for Mom. Smelly Gabe treated her like garbage and Percy and him didn't get along well at all. Most of the time the two of them were just arguing. I didn't want to add stress on Mom or make Gabe mad, so I just avoided arguments at all costs. And Gabe unfortunately knew that, so he didn't treat me the sweetest either. This just created more for Percy and Gabe to argue about and it's just an endless circle. Mom didn't deserve any of this. She should be with our Dad, living in a huge mansion with plenty of money, not having to work a day in her life. Instead, she's stuck in a shabby apartment in Manhattan, married to a jerk, with two troubled kids.
When we finally got home, I hoped and prayed Mom would be there but of course, smoke and the stench of beer welcomed me when we opened the door. I saw Smelly Gabe and his friends playing poker, blaring the TV obnoxiously loud, the refrigerator and cabinet doors open, and trash and crumbs all over the floor. Home sweet home. He puffed from his cigar and said to us, "So, you're home." Without looking up from his cards.
"Where's Mom?" Percy asked. "Working. Either of you got cash?" My wonderful step-dad, ladies and gentlemen. He looked the exact same as we left him. A stinky, balding, fat, disgusting mess. "I don't have any cash." Percy told him. He could tell when we had money, even if we lied through our teeth. It's almost like he could see through our pockets and observe the coins and dollars. Smelly Gabe raised an eyebrow then turned to me. "How about you?"
"No, I don't have anything either." I said politely. "You took a taxi from the bus station. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. You both expect to live under this roof, you ought to carry your own weight. Am I right, Eddie?" He asked, turning his head towards Eddie. Eddie was the super of the apartment building and was the nicest of Gabe's friends. He usually got us out of arguments and bad situations with Gabe. Usually.
"Come on Gabe. The kids just got here."
"Am I right?" Gabe said again, louder and angrier. Eddie just looked at us sympathetically and stared at the table, not meeting our eyes. Gabe looked the two of us up and down, searching for any dollar bills. He raised his hairy eyebrows at us, seeing if Percy and I would give him any money. He then sighed and tightly gripped my elbow, pulling my closer to him. "I highly suggest you give us the money, little lady." He held my elbow with more and more strength until he actually started to hurt. "Stop," Percy said forcefully. "Let go of her. Fine, I hope you lose." He threw the cash on the table and Smelly Gabe let me go as I put my money on the table as well. Percy held my hand as he stomped to his room.
"Your report card came in, brain boy!" Gabe yelled. "I wouldn't act so snooty! You too, Ms. Perfect!"
Percy led me to his room and slammed the door shut. He groaned in frustration and ran his hands through his hair. I walked over to him and put a gentle hand on his tensed shoulder.
"It's alright, just calm down. Smelly Gabe's just trying to get under your skin, as usual." Percy took a deep breath and put his suitcase on top of the bed. I looked around the room, seeing that Gabe had claimed it. There was dust layering the windowsill and floor. Crumbs littered the bed sheets and blankets. All of Percy's pictures and clothes were probably stuffed in the closet or under the bed. Muddy footprints were on the wood floor, his boots sitting in the corner of the room. "Seems like Gabe took your room for his own." I told Percy.
"It's fine, I mean we're going to be shipped off to another school in a month or so anyways. Besides, he probably did the same thing to your room."
"Yeah," I said as I sat down on his bed, dust flying up. "I know." My mind kept wondering back to Grover, his terrified face and shaking hands. Was he searching for us right now? Was he scared? What was he doing right now? But my thoughts were interrupted as I heard a sweet voice say, "Percy? Atty?" Her head poked out from the door and into the room.
My eyes widened and I jumped up from the bed and ran into her arms, Percy doing the same. She wrapped her arms around us, holding us close to her.
"Oh, you two. I can't believe it. You've both grown since Christmas!"
"But I'm still taller than Atty, like I always."
"Don't get cocky, delinquent. I'll pass you one day." I joked, using my nickname for him. We all let go as Percy ruffled my hair and said, "Whatever you say, troublemaker." Mom laughed and shook her head.
"I told you guys I hate those nicknames."
"Hey, we didn't pick them. Our amazingly kind teachers did." I reminded her. She laughed once more and reached into the pockets of her Sweet on America uniform and pulled out two bags of candy. Percy and I immediately ate each of the blue raspberry gummies. Mom asked us about our time at Yancy and what we had been up to during our time away. We all shared a few laughs, told her stories of Grover and Nancy, let her in on a few of the secrets we had made at school. And not once during the conversation did she bring up the topic of being expelled. She just continued to smile and make us feel overjoyed. Gabe shouted from the living room, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?" I held my tongue from shouting a retort or anything rude back. Instead, I continued to tell her the great things about Yancy Academy, apologizing for being kicked out multiple times. Percy and I told her about our fun field trips, like, unfortunately, the museum. I was explaining the crazy weather at the time, but when I tried to say Mrs. Dodd's name, a lump came to my throat and neither Percy or I could carry on with the story. Mom looked at the two of us with concern written all of her beautiful face. "What? Did something scare you guys? "she worried. Percy and I looked each other in the eye, shaking our heads, then turning to Mom and replied in unison, "No, Mom." I bit my lip, my one nervous habit and a clear sign that I was lying. Mom noticed this and could probably tell we were holding something back, but didn't press us. She let the topic go and excitedly said, "I have a surprise for you both. We're going to the beach." I grabbed her hand and looked at her incredulously.
"Montauk?" Percy and I asked, again, in unison. She nodded her head with a big, bright smile. "Three nights-same cabin." She explained.
"When?" Percy questioned.
"As soon as we get changed." Mom replied. I jumped up from the bed and tackled her in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mom giggled and squeezed me back. We haven't had the money to go to Montauk for the past summers. I had missed the relaxing beach with its aquamarine waves and golden sand. The games Percy and I created while we were there and how the setting sun brought the most beautiful pinks and oranges to color the sky. My daydreams were interrupted as Smelly Gabe leaned against the doorway and said, "Bean dip Sally? Didn't you hear me?" I looked beside me at Percy who was balling up his fists angrily. I scooted closer to him and whispered in his ear. "Keep the fighting to a minimum until we leave for Montauk. For Mom." He sighed and smoothed out his hands on his jeans. Mom smiled sweetly at Gabe and explained, "I was on my way, honey. We were just talking about the trip." He furrowed his eyebrows together and tilted his head.
"The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"
"I knew it. He won't let us go." Percy muttered. I lightly smacked his leg and hissed, "Quite."
"Of course he will," Mom said calmly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides, Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. That works." Gabe's eyes widened at the sound of the seven-layer dip.
"So this money for the trip…it comes out of your clothes budget right?"
"Yes, honey." She answered. I looked up at her, from the floor I was sitting on, alarmed.
"But, Mom- "I protested.
"And, you won't take my car anywhere but there and back?" Gabe clarified.
"We'll be very careful." Gabe seemed to be satisfied with the agreements. He scratched and straightened the few hairs he had and rubbed his obese face while nodding his head. "Maybe if you hurry up with that seven-layer bean dip…and maybe if the kids apologize for interrupting my poker game."
"Atty didn't even say anything- "
"I'm sorry, Gabe. I didn't mean to be rude." I said in a civil tone, trying to not let any of my sarcastic side show through. Percy stared at me incredulously, wondering why I would say I was sorry for something I didn't do. I leaned in by his ear once more and told him, "Just do it, Percy. It's okay." He huffed and grumbled, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now." It wasn't the sincerest apology, but it was the best we were getting out of Percy. Gabe, being the complete idiot he was, didn't pick up on the sarcasm. "Yeah," he started to walk off. "Whatever."
Mom stroked my head affectionately with a small smile. "Thank you, Atty and Percy. Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about…whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?" Although Mom sounded upbeat and happy, I could hear the slight amount of fear in her tone. It reminded me of Grover in way. I'd have to ask her about that later, but for now she had to go make Smelly Gabe his dip. I looked to Percy seeing if he heard it, and judging by the look he gave me, he did. Percy stood up and held out a hand to help me. "C'mon, let's try to help Mom start packing." I nodded my head and stood his hand.
About an hour and a half later, the dip was made, our food and snacks sealed up, and we were packing our bags into the trunk of Gabe's car. He stood by, moaning and groaning about anything he could think of. I was helping Percy load the last of Mom's bags into the car when Gabe asserted, "Not a scratch on this car, brain boy. Not one little scratch. And you, little lady, are going to have a nice little chat about manners with me. That stunt you pulled earlier ain't going to happen again, you hear me?" I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath, "Yes, sir." He roughly grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. "What was that?" he barked. Percy looked at us, staring at Gabe's hand furiously. I took a deep breath and repeated in a kinder voice, "Yes, sir." He let go and walked away from us, towards the apartment and muttered, "Uh huh." But then, together Percy and I recreated the same motion Grover had made earlier that day. We placed three fingers over our hearts, then pointed them at Gabe. It wasn't purposely, we just did it without thinking. The door suddenly slammed shut, hitting Gabe in the back and sending him spiraling to the ground. We hadn't done that, right? It was the wind or the door was broken or something like that, it had to be. It didn't matter what it was, because I ran into the car, too afraid to face what happened and think about the possibilities.
We entered our small cabin, that could only really fit one person, and breathed in the salty and dusty air that smelled like home to me. Nothing was different. The pastel blue curtains were the same with their holes allowing sunlight to peek through and threads sticking up all over the place. The once baby pink sheets were now almost white, showing just how old they were. I smiled as I saw Percy and I's names still carved into the wall by the door. God, I love it here. This place was more of a home to me than that shabby apartment building. I've been coming here my entire life, same for Percy and our Mom. This place means a lot to Mom, after all she had met our Dad here. That was another reason I adored Montauk. In a way, I felt closer to my Dad, or at least as close as I could be. I would walk down the beach, thinking of him walking down the same one years ago. I'd swim in the ocean, wondering if he cared for it as much as I do. He had been here; he had been standing in the doorway like I was, he had existed…I forgot that sometimes. I looked out of the window to see the sun setting, the sky a light orange and peach. We unpacked our bags then grabbed our blue snacks and strolled down the shore. We had bags of blue corn chips, blue sour candies, blue gummies, and blue taffy in our hands, munching as we walked.
Our obsession started with a little fight between Smelly Gabe and Mom, but never really ended. Now each of the Jackson's are obsessed with blue foods. I wasn't complaining, it was yummy. When the moon started glowing high in the sky, we walked back to the cabin and made a fire, where we roasted marshmallows and made delicious s'mores. Mom told us tales of her childhood and her dreams. It made me happy that she still had them. Most people give up on their dreams at a certain age, but not her. She was the most determined person I had ever met. She didn't give up, even if all of the odds were turned against her, which most of the time they were. I wanted her to be able to quit her job and become a best-selling author like she wanted to. But unfortunately, not all dreams can come true. We were laughing at a funny story Mom told us when Percy inquired about our father. I watched as our mother's eyes bean to water slightly. "Percy, no." I told him. She was so happy here, I didn't want to ruin it. Even though I was just as curious as Percy was.
"It's okay, sweetheart. You deserve to at least hear about him," Mom assured me. "He was kind. Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You both have his dark hair, you know, and his green eyes." She smiled when she listed off the amazing traits of him, looking as if she was in a different world. She looked back at the both of us sitting by her on a log, grinning almost bitter sweetly. "I wish he could see you two. He would be so proud." Proud? How could he possibly be proud of me? Would he be proud of an eleven-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia who gets kicked out of every school she steps foot in? Who can't manage to keep her grades up and doesn't have even an idea about her future? Who isn't smart, beautiful, special or skillful in any way? My father wouldn't be proud, more like disappointed.
"How old were we," Percy wondered quietly. "I mean…when he left?" Mom looked back at the hot flames, thinking to herself. I noticed the tears beginning to build in her eyes. Usually I would protest and suggest we stopped talking about Dad, but I was just too curious to say anything. This was the most we had ever gotten out of her since…well ever. "He was only with me for two summers. Right here at this beach. This cabin."
"But…he knew us as a baby." Percy reminded her.
"No honey. He knew you for a short amount of time, but had to leave for his…work. And then he came back the next summer. He knew I was expecting you, Atty, but he never saw you. He had to leave again before you were born."
"So-So he never even met me? Not once?" I stuttered, feeling angry tears forming. Mom saw this and rubbed my hair gently. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. He had to go." I squared my jaw and blinked my tears away. I wasn't going to cry over a father I had never met. I wasn't a baby; I wasn't going to mope over every little thing. If his work was more important than me, that was his decision. Suck it up and get over it, I thought to myself. I gazed up at Percy and seemed to be as angry as I was. We'll talk later, he mouthed. I nodded my head slightly.
"Are you going to send us away again? To another boarding school?" Percy blurted out. I played with my hands in my lap, already knowing the answer.
"I don't know, honey. I think…I think we'll have to do something." Of course we're going to get shipped off again. We always have to do something.
"Because you don't want us around?"
"Don't say that." I interjected.
"Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you both away."
"Because we're not normal," he claimed.
"Percy, stop it." I exclaimed once again. He shouldn't say those things to Mom. She goes through too much on a daily basis. I knew he didn't mean what he was saying, he was just frustrated, but still. Mom shouldn't have to hear that, even if I thought the same things he was. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are, both of you. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you guys would finally be safe." My head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. "Safe from what?" Percy and I said together.
Mom wasn't making any sense. Were we in danger? Was she trying to keep us from something? From danger? If that was the case it definitely wasn't working out. Every school we've ever been to, something strange or slightly traumatizing happened to the two of us. In the first grade, a janitor locked me in the closet and nobody found me for two hours. That probably was the beginning of my claustrophobia now that I think about it. When Percy was in third grade and I was in second, this creepy man in a black trench coat stalked us outside of the playground. When the teachers told him they would call the police he went away, but not without growling and showing Percy and I his singular eye. No one else seemed to have saw it, but we knew it was real. Just a year ago, Percy saved me from being thrown out of the second story window by the guidance counselor. That was a lot of fun. And now Mrs. Dodds tries to claw us to death and some old ladies at a fruit stand cut some yarn that could possibly mean we'll die. No matter where we go, danger follows us. Maybe what Mom was saying wasn't too far from crazy.
"I've tried keeping you both as close to me as I could," Mom explained. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option-the place your father wanted to send you two. And I just…I just can't stand to do it."
"Our father wanted us to go to a special school?" Percy asked.
"Is it for kids with ADHD and all of that mental crap?" I said, not liking the sound of this at all.
"Not a school. A summer camp." Summer camp? My father who couldn't even stick around long enough to meet me, wanted my brother and I to go to a summer camp? My head started to pound with questions. "A summer camp? What is it-where is it? I don't get it." I asked. "I'm sorry guys, but I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye for good." She stuttered. Percy's eyes squinted at Mom's confusing answer. "For good? But if it's only a summer camp…" A single tear ran down Mom's face and she quickly wiped it away with her palm. 'Mom, what happens at the summer camp? What do they do to us?" I pleaded softly. Percy grabbed my elbow and whispered in my ear, "No more questions. She's upset, I can't-I can't stand seeing her like this." I replied with a quiet 'okay' and we sat by the fire in silence. When we walked back to the cabin and tucked ourselves into bed, I had the most realistic dream. Well, more like nightmare.
Two snakes were tangled on a branch and started to slither towards a beautiful silver horse on a beach. The snakes began to form a circle around the horse while they crept closer and closer to it. The horse seemed like it couldn't move, just stuck in the snakes' trap. But it didn't seem alarmed, it actually seemed rather at peace. I thought the situation was fine until I saw the snakes' sharp teeth, dripping with poison. I ran to the horse, trying to desperately warn it or get it away from the snakes, but it was so hard to move. It was like I was glued to the ground. The snakes reeled back, mouths unhinged and struck just as I sprung up from my bed, gasping for air. A second later, Percy did the same as I had. We locked eyes with each other, both wondering and thinking about what we had seen.
I looked out the window to see heavy rain pouring down. The waves were so large, I thought all of Montauk might get swallowed in them. Lightning was flashing across the black sky, and with a boom of thunder, our Mom awoke as well. "Hurricane." She gasped. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I got out of bed. "But it's the beginning of summer? How can there be a hurricane?" I pondered. The wind was so loud outside of the cabin, it almost sounded like yelling. I could see leaves and branches flying through the air. The ground shook as thunder clapped. The door began to pound, a voice screaming on the other end. I ran to it and unlocked the entrance to see something that resembled Grover in the doorway. I backed away from the door in fear and shock straight into Percy's arms. "What? What is it?" He shook me as he searched my pale face for an answer. "Atty!" I shook myself out of my daze and looked back at him. "He-He's not Grover." I stumbled. "Searching all night," I looked back to "Grover" as he shouted over the rain. "What were you thinking?" Mom stared at the two of us, all of the color drained from her face. "Percy, Atty? What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?" I couldn't answer, I was too stunned and confused to say a word.
"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" "Grover" cursed. My confusion just built as I realized I understood that perfectly. I just understood Ancient Greek. It got worse as I looked back at "Grover," who didn't have pants on and instead had…those things. Mom's face turned red with anger. "Percy. Atty. Tell me now!" We stammered and mumbled a few words like Mrs. Dodds, monster, sword, socks, old ladies, and scissors. I could see Mom start to shake and shiver, her eyes wide with fright. She roughly grabbed her purse, tossed Percy and I our raincoats and screamed at us, "Get to the car. All three of you. Go!"
We sprinted outside, running as fast as we could to get to the Camero. At least, two of us were running. One of us was instead trotting. It all made sense now. Grover's crutches and excuse from participating in gym and inability to run. He didn't have a leg disease or disorder. He had goat legs.
Goat legs?! Finally we are getting to some exciting parts in the story! Please comment some CC, I love hearing it, and some potential chapter names. Thank you for reading this chapter and I love each of you amazing people!