Chapter 11: We See Why Percy Doesn't Like You
For some reason, every time I open this story it get chaotic and I can't keep up with it at all. And it's with me knowing some crucial plot points.
All the recognizable characters and bold text belong to Rick Riodran.
"This is so counterproductive!" all the eyes rested on Sarah who snorted. "Do any of you really believe it is a good idea?"
So far none of the ideas in this school had been good. Not one. The closest they'd gotten to winning was Jason asking Percy directly about the book and receiving a succinct 'You'll see' in response.
Percy must know something. Of course, he knew something. He knew everything. Even what had made Mr. Rowel practically breathe fire. Yet, he didn't budge, walking silently across halls and being gloomier than a pitch black night in a horror movie forest.
So why exactly they believed that was a good idea?!
Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose and mentally counted to ten, then forty-seven then to ten again and exhaled heavily. Who was she kidding? They would drag her in the lion's den if it meant they would get explanations!
"I hate you so much!"
The target was found near her locker. She took notice of an approaching company in an instant. It couldn't be any other way, for they were producing too much noise to stay undetected. She frowned when it had become clear she was the destination of a spectacle these three were a part of. (What else would you call Cassandra towing Sarah forward and Lora pushing her from behind?)
She glanced at Mike. "What are they––"
"Hello!" Cassandra's shriek rang through the hallway, immediately drawing all the attention to the new gathering. After all, hardly anyone in here would do the same thing. Who in their right mind––besides Mike, but it was doubtful––would willingly tolerate Lyssa?
They now knew two and half more people. But they had to do it. If there were one person in this school who knew how to solve mysteries, it was her. She was the epitome of The Mystery Inc. She was bound to unveil the secrets. She, however, had no clue what they wanted from her.
They had rarely talked outside of class at all.
Lyssa blinked and stared at the company. "Yes…"
After everything they'd been through these past few weeks, this was what might leave her damaged. Her first urge was to run away screaming and hide in some cave on the other side of the world so no one––no one––could find her. The urge she couldn't act on, because he body had just shut down.
All she could do was press against the locker, watching these evil creatures approach her.
Seven feet.
Five.
Three.
Zero.
It's done.
"We wanted––"
"We expected––"
Cassandra and Lora faltered then stared at each other. Sarah heaved a sigh; her expression was clearly something along the why-the-hell-am-I-here? lines.
Silence was a natural consequence, as no one knew what to make of it, equally quite attentive to the scene before their eyes.
Lyssa was mentally humming the whole way, too. There were a few things she could pick up starting with Lora's disheveled self and ending with absolutely dead-looking Sarah. There was a range of emotions they covered, and Lyssa could not tell which one seemed more terrifying. Lora's hazel eyes had a manic gleam in them as she was trying to push the strands of her hair back. Cassandra appeared red-faced and heavy-breathing, though expressing the same amount of enthusiasm as Lora. Only Sarah exhibited no sign of life, instead staring off in space with her big green eyes. It was clear who the initiator was.
"Did you want somethin'?" Lyssa asked Cassandra who looked less busy than Lora but more excited than Sarah.
She was mistaken. Lora sure had her priorities in order because she straightened up the second Lyssa opened her mouth. With one last blow of air, Lora offered Lyssa a huge smile which made Lyssa take a step back.
"I want you to help us get answers out of Percy!"
An informative proclamation; so staggering that not one soul in the hallway uttered a single word for good thirty seconds. Everyone was too busy stomaching the statement. Lora was looking at Lyssa proudly; Cassandra contented; Sarah slightly curious.
"Err…" Lyssa broke the silence and sent a glance toward Mike who appeared equally struck. Even if he noticed Lyssa's plea for help, he showed no sign. Lyssa was on her own. "May I––May I know the details of your… plan?"
They had to have a plan, didn't they?
Ha! They had no plan. They didn't even have an idea of a plan. Blank. So what was she supposed to do? Lyssa was not going to do all the dirty work for this ardent bunch that happened to have completely forgotten that in order to put a plan in action you need to have one.
Lyssa massaged her temples for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes. They had moved to the inconspicuous corner of the hallway, for the attention they had been drawing, was making Lyssa twitch. Apparently, the Percy Jackson Mystery had driven practically everyone in this school crazy. Especially, her classmates who were spewing a theory after theory, plotting violently, not once stopping to think that, maybe, Lyssa did not want to be a part of this discussion.
Although barely active in the conversation, Lyssa did listen closely. She did want to avoid the further disaster that might take place if they got through with the plan. Plus, some of the discourse sounded… promising. More than once she glanced at Mike who was listening to the girls attentively, nodding and humming when it felt appropriate. He, too, found it fascinating.
She had gotten into the trap.
"We can't just––"Sarah tried to reject an insane idea of Lyssa's. She had been telling she was crazy! She had told them it would not end well.
"But we can," Lyssa protested instantly.
Someone groaned softly but none registered the sound, too immersed in their sort-of-a-quarrel that might or might not have begun.
"Lyssa," Sarah uttered, "I know you don't value your life but, please, for the love of all holy, spare our lives. Percy is on good terms with a huge shimmering dog; how much you wanna bet he'd get annoyed and unleash it on us?"
Cassandra and Lora nodded; Mike stayed behind but internally was fully agreed with the girls. The concern was clear, wasn't it? Percy seemed so out of it all that something as heinous as a release of a hellish, definitely mythical creature that wasn't supposed to exist on them didn't seem a far-fetched prospect.
"There's Annabeth," Lyssa said simply.
"She's scarier than a bunch of hellhounds."
"Jason and Leo?"
"They seem to know as much as we do."
"But we need to––"
"Lyssa, if you wanna die so much, go ahead," Cassandra interrupted, having gotten enough of this talk which was leading them nowhere (and taking up all the time of their deserved break). Why had Lora thought it a good idea? "But without us."
Lyssa huffed. A moment later, her eyes found Mike who developed a strong urge to run as fast as he could and never come back to New York. It was one thing to listen to Lyssa and discuss theories with her; even library sounded fun with her. But this? Percy was already on the verge of a huge breakdown, he was jittery, he would glare at them as if it were them who had tricked him. So why did she believe it might be safe to go and confront him on the evidently sore topic? Mike would rather stay behind and let the book explain it all to them.
But who would listen to him?
No one. But they would.
"Girls," he called right in the second Lora and Lyssa were arguing about the relevance of the chain Lyssa was ready to use. It goes without saying, the only people who took notice of him were Cassandra and Sarah, but even they paid him no mind, intrigued by the direction the altercation was going in. Mike rubbed his forehead and raised his voice to match their screeching. "Girls! Stop it, stop!" it came out louder than he intended it too, almost in line with the thunder that they we having a misfortune of hearing during the lessons. At least, it worked and everyone's attention was fully on him. "I thought we realized a long time ago that Percy would not cooperate even if his life depended on it."
It did the trick and made them quiet. At last! Finally, Mike could enjoy the silence that he had been longing for so long. Twenty-five minutes of constant buzzing in his ears had almost driven him over the edge. It indeed had made him want to move to some island in the Arctic. He would welcome polar bears as good friends because they––and he was certain of it––would not say a word in his presence.
Unlike this bunch. A momentary hesitation transformed into an emotional exchange which boiled to a simple conclusion: Mike was right. And they did not find the fact all their plans might crumble under the weight of logic amusing.
"I hate you so much right now!"
Percy hated the fact he had to go to school. He hated the fact no one allowed him to skip classes under the excuse of a severe psychological distress he was going through thanks to school. He hated the fact no one seemed to care.
His eyes rested on a very contradictory group of people. Before they would have a chance to detect his presence, Percy accelerated and practically ran toward his class.
He needn't have worried, for the aforementioned group was busy with their own affairs to pay attention to others. They would so regret not having noticed Percy later when it would finally have dawned on them what an opportunity had slipped through their fingers.
That would be later. For now they were engrossed in a very enthralling discussion of Percy's escapades of the past. Namely, the Getaway Arch which made them all very curious. What might have happened that Percy would remember the name of the landmark but refuse to elaborate on the subject?
"Wait… wait," Mike rubbed his chin; his look off as he tried his best to recall the incident. "I'm pretty sure I've heard of it! Wasn't there the news about a crazy boy jumping off the Arch? No one ever found him, though."
Four pairs of eyes rested on him as the girls contemplated his suggestion.
"You wanna tell me Percy made the news and we never knew?" Cassandra inquired after a while.
"Sounds like Percy, doesn't it?"
They turned to the greatest invention humanity had to offer, the biggest storage in the Universe, the place where you can find kittens' pictures and an instruction for a nuclear bomb: Internet the Omnipotent. They were bound to find it. It took only five minutes, four of which they were arguing over who'd have the honor of opening Google and waiting for the school internet to load the page. The rest…
Percy was found outside the IT class, right around the corner. A perfect opportunity to seize.
So they seized.
Although Percy's reflexes were impressive, his bad luck worked better. He hadn't noticed them. He hadn't even heard them until it was all too late and they'd encircled him like a bunch of bullies that they were. Percy made a feeble attempt at fleeing but failed miserably when Lora raised an eyebrow––a clear sign she did not believe a single word he said. (In other news, most of his class knew his schedule by heart by now.)
"What?" resignation was practically emanating from him, which others took as a signal to proceed.
"We were having a short debate here," Mike began then sent Lyssa a glance, silently asking her to stop him in case he was doing something wrong. She nodded softly, prompting him to continue. "About you and… your adventures…"
"What—Do—You—Want—From—Me?"
Mike faltered, now uncertain of what to do next.
"We read about the Getaway Arch," Lyssa said, seeing that if they wanted to get answers they needed to be bold. So she was bold.
"And?"
Did she imagine it or he twitched? No, she didn't. He definitely grimaced at the mention of the damned place. Lyssa smile brightly at this revelation.
"We read about that one strange incident that involved some boy jumping off it."
Either Percy did not understand where she was leading or he simply did not want to talk to them, but he provided no reaction to the claim. He stood motionlessly, awaiting an explanation of their… what exactly Lyssa wanted from him; Percy couldn't tell. However, it did not prevent him from playing dumb, just in case.
Lyssa almost groaned. Percy took pleasure in his games; she knew he did. Otherwise, how else would you explain this?
Having heaved a deep breath, she proceeded.
"You jumped off the Arch––"
"I fell," Percy corrected her.
There was a momentary hesitation as Lyssa didn't know where to move from this point on. Had she heard him right? Apparently, yes.
"Okaaay, you fell off the Arch. You're alive… how?"
Percy stared at Lyssa as though she had grown an additional pair of heads, both of which had not taken even an ounce of Lyssa's intelligence.
"There was water," he responded, a slight emphasis of 'water'. She would get it, wouldn't she?
She did.
Unlike Cassandra, who, upon Lyssa's nod, decided to take matters in her hands and made Percy elaborate.
"Is it supposed to save you?"
Silence was her answer.
Percy offered them his best I'm-so-annoyed-with-you look then whirled on the spot and rushed to his next class, inwardly hoping they would not try to follow him. It was bad enough without their constant involvement.
"What did I say?" Cassandra wondered.
"You're sooo hopeless," came in voice from behind them, making all five turn in search of the source. Lyssa was doing it with less enthusiasm than the rest, for she knew exactly who this voice belonged to, and this person was of no help to them.
"Myers, go where you were going, please," Lyssa grumbled under her breath. Ha, since when was Kylie listening to her?
Kylie tore away from the wall. Her pace was excruciatingly slow. Like three inches a minute slow. No wonder, none of her audience managed to last till her last step. They weren't the most patient people in this school.
"Either you tell us or leave!" Lyssa's voice thundered, catching everyone around off guard. Cassandra twitched and clutched her chest; Lora bumped into the wall, staring at Lyssa as though not grasping where she was and who this loud person might be. Sarah recoiled and practically crushed into Mike who automatically caught her, his eyes on Lyssa. Did she really need to be that loud?
Kylie, too, lost orientation for a moment but recovered pretty fast. One shake of the head later, she peered at Lyssa and said, not forgetting to articulate every single word as if she were in elementary school English class, "I can help."
Now all attention shifted to Kylie who regarded them with a mixture of pensiveness and disdain on her face. (They never figured out which one prevailed: confusion at Lyssa's lack of demeanor or revulsion.)
"Um, what?" Sarah finally managed to utter.
Kylie rolled her eyes then did something none of them would have expected even in the worst nightmares: having snapped her fingers twice in front of Lyssa to ensure she was still alive, Kylie… put a hand on her shoulder in a friendly manner.
"What the hell is going on?" Lora whispered to Cassandra who was blinking rapidly, too busy processing the images before her to care.
Cassandra pinched herself and recoiled with a loud shriek that might or might not have drawn attention of all the dogs in a mile radius (let alone Mrs. O'Leary who was hanging around, waiting when Percy would be returning home to play with her). Instead of a placation, she received three angry hisses that could not be produced by anyone but a bunch of highly disturbed poisonous snakes.
"Hey!"
Her exclamation got drowned in the depth of hell together with her belief in humanity.
Still, no one cared.
Why would they if there was a much more intriguing scene taking place before their eyes? How much had Kylie drunk and where could they get some? It must be one hell of a drink if she willingly approached Lyssa and were yet to yell at her. An enthralling but terrifying image that they all had a privilege to witness.
At last, Kylie stopped mimicking Casper the Friendly Ghost and retrieved some of her venom.
"Losers, he-llo!" she waved her hand, almost breaking Lyssa's nose and poking her eye out. "I wanna help."
Lyssa who was yet to recover, stiffened and stared at her. Nope, she wasn't lying. It might be the first time ever when Lyssa had seen Kylie being so… serious. She must have taken something before the break and now wasn't controlling herself!
Kylie raised her eyebrows, a silent order to hurry up because she didn't have much time and generally had wasted more precious seconds of her life on these losers than she would like to in any other circumstance.
That was what had broken them. Not literally, though. It certainly influenced their decision none of them knew they'd made.
"Um… okay," Lyssa breathed out at last, still peering at Kylie as though she were some peculiar, totally unidentified by science beast that might be dangerous but not so much.
"With one condition," Cassandra interfered. "Stop calling us losers."
The class was in shambles. Of all the craziest things they'd been learning and experiencing here, it was the most astounding one. Kylie. They saw Kylie talking amicably to Lyssa. If this weren't terrifying, nothing was. They could live with knowledge of mythological world being real. They had almost processed Percy having a giant dog (A hellhound?! The rumors going around the school were insane.) and were slowly growing accustomed to Percy himself, for all the faults and flaws he had.
But Kylie? Not so much.
Their impromptu alliance the other day was the news of the day. The rumors spread like a wildfire and soon all but the people specifically responsible for it knew something weird was going on. Kylie and Lyssa refused to sit in one room unless forced to do so. Them talking peacefully was a novel and inconceivable idea.
Well, no they had seen it all.
"We could convince the coach," Kylie whispered, casting a glance around the class. A few people instantly averted their gazes, blushing profusely at having been caught. Kylie exchanged a look with an equally amused Lyssa and bit her lip. That was too damn ridiculous!
"Have you seen the coach?" Lyssa replied, barely concealing her laughter. "He needs three bottles of whiskey to listen to us!"
Kylie hissed when Lyssa's voice reached unbearable levels of volume.
"It's worth a shot," she noted, glowering at Lyssa, who rolled her eyes. "I've seen what he does to them. He'll be too tired to argue with you."
"How's it better than what Lora proposed?" Lyssa's voice was drenched with irritation as she crossed her arms. "Tying him up is an as bad––"
"Wasn't it you who offered it?"
"––ly thought-out plan as yours," Lyssa finished. "I thought you had a plan!"
"I do," Kylie responded simply. "But I'll keep it to myself until you're ready to cooperate."
That was the last thing Lyssa heard from her till the very last minute of the last lesson when, having eaten herself out with curiosity and worry, she gave in and sent Kylie a text, agreeing with everything she would be suggesting.
But that would be later. At the moment, Lyssa was too outraged and offended to be objective. She got pulled back into reality only when Paul entered the classroom, seeming even less eager to begin the reading than Percy.
But who would ask him?
I SETTLE MY TAB, Paul's voice was tired and devoid of any emotion, which made a few people share a couple of confused glances.
But what could they do now when they were reading this marvelous book?
Filled to the brim with curiosity, they stared at Percy expectantly, having completely forgotten that he was never a good source of information.
But they'd get there, eventually.
…into their version of reality.
All right, Percy might not be a good source of anything, but they certainly had mastered the art of switching from one idea to another without losing the plot. Whatever the hell had happened now, they would be going along with it, trying their best to make the most of it while they were at it.
When they didn't take offense at the book, of course.
"Hey, we don't!" one of the students exclaimed the second the meaning behind this sentence dawned on them. They might be not the most insightful when it came to supernatural, but they never fit the reality to their own needs.
"But we do," Mike responded to him, having finally torn the eyes away from Percy and his group of friends.
"We don't!" he heard a faint outcry from the side.
Mike gave him his best iteration of 'why-the-heck-are-you-bothering-me-with-your-nonsense' that he'd picked up from Lyssa before returning his attention back to Leo and a screwdriver in his mouth. It was hard to see what exactly Leo was doing, but determination on his face was mesmerizing.
…a crazy kidnapper fired a shotgun at a poli––
"Stop, stop, stop!" Steven yelled with such force people in Alaska might have started looking around, waiting when the poor dying bear would come out. "What? What explosion? Did we skip a part of it again?"
As one, dozens of heads spun toward the demigods, all of whom suddenly became very much aware of the attention they were receiving. Leo dropped the screwdriver from his mouth (though, the loud clang that followed it was left ignored); Jason looked up from the draft of the plan Annabeth had drawn for him, almost dislocating every single vertebra between his head and back, so vigorous the movement was; Annabeth, having conquered a newly developed urge to strangle someone and come to terms with a snapped in a half pencil, was glaring at Steven.
(She would love to be left doodling in peace.)
And only Percy gave a feeble start, not realizing what had caused a disturbance to his fine dream of Ogygya a.k.a. the only place on this damn planet where he could live in peace. (How and when he remembered about the island, was a completely different story.)
"What. Do. You. Want. From. Us?"
If there were any ounce of sense left, Steven would squirm under Annabeth's look, begging her to take pity on him and leave. But the last brain cell had left him a week ago when he had learned about the existence of a whole new hidden world within his own.
"Did we skip something in this book again?" he reiterated.
Annabeth's hard look melted into a confused one as she was examining him intensely. What book they were talking about? Why would they ask her? Now. She had to finish the design of an Aphrodite shrine, three of Zeus' statues for Olympus, one theater for Apollo. Her temple pinched at that. No. She was doodling. Doodling was good. Doodling was calming. It had moved her through every single class this week. She should keep doodling.
Annabeth sucked in a shaky breath before addressing Steven. "What book?"
This time even Paul lowered the book and gaped at Annabeth. If Artemis suddenly burst into the classroom and performed a tap dance simultaneously kissing Ares, they would be less astonished. Crazy gods were something they expected. Forgetful Annabeth was not.
"The book about your boyfriend," Steven responded in a 'duh' tone.
A crease appeared between Annabeth eyebrows as she peered at him. A book about Percy? There was a book about Percy? A… Oh, the book.
"Mhm, where exactly are we?" if Annabeth believed they would not take notice of her uncertainty, she was wrong. They did notice. They even double-checked to ensure they saw what they saw and it was not some god-forsaken illusion put by a wicked goddess solely for shits and giggles.
All but Steven.
"You've met a crazy kidnapper who fired a gun and cause an explosion."
Who caused what?
That required additional investigation.
Annabeth elbowed Percy who, with a loud yelp, jumped on his seat and began looking around in search of an evil beast that had made it their task to torment him. Although Percy considered Annabeth capable of that, he was highly surprised to learn she had woken him up.
"Yes?"
"Who caused an explosion after kidnapping us and firing a gun?"
Now the whole class was watching them, curious to see what Percy might offer as an explanation. Leo and Jason, for the umpteenth time these past few months, shared the sentiment.
"Explosion? Which one?"
"The first."
"In Cali?"
"Guess so."
"Did someone fire a gun there?"
"I dunno. I don't remember any guns."
"Me neither."
"What explosion you're talking about?" they chorused, staring at Steven.
Steven, absolutely having not expected the couple to shift their attention on him, jerked and pressed against his desk. The lower part of his back responded with a feeble ache.
"I don't know!" he yelled. "You tell me!"
All three turned to Paul—Steven's back will forever hate him, for now the pain grew stronger and reminded pounding. Keeping composure, Paul re-read the line.
"Ah!" was all Percy said before falling pensive.
His classmates came to an unanimous conclusion that they must know what it meant.
"Could we have skipped something, perhaps?" this time it was Lyssa who had taken the lead in this bizarre conversation. Percy nodded. "May we know what it was?"
"Who cares?" Lora butted in. "I'd rather know about the explosion! What happened there? How'd you survive? Was anyone hurt?"
"Except someone's ego–" Percy grumbled under his breath, catching the last part. The only in this stream of consciousness. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a menacing-looking lightning broke the sky. Percy rolled his eyes. Of course, he would keep a close eye on him! Percy couldn't say he was surprised; simmering with incentment more likely. "What are you gonna do about that?!" he shouted. "We both know it was fair and square!"
Thunder shook the building so violently, some could swear they actually trembled. Percy huffed. He could imagine how unhappy Ares felt right now.
(Not that Ares cared about that. He didn't. All he wanted was to zip the annoying punk off the Earth and down in the deepest pits of hell. That's such a pity Poseidon had forbidden him to interfere with the boy's life, even if they did have time for that.)
No one uttered a word after that, realizing that was the best they would receive.
Paul was finally able to continue.
…during the earthquake.
"Accidentally?" Annabeth repeated, earning some confused looks. "Sometimes humans amaze me."
No one dared to confront her on the statement.
This crazy kidnapper (a.k.a. Ares)
Thunder rumbled louder than before, immaculately transmitting the message Ares wanted Percy to receive. You. Me. After school. Gonna kill.
Percy heaved a sigh and slid down on his seat. Silence that followed the thunder was defeating. Apparently, Ares had not thought it through when he snatched the Bolt from his father (Zeus must have been extremely pissed) and put it to use. If Ares were smarter and had a habit of weighing all sides of the argument, including consequences, he would have never pushed himself in the void called 'I just exposed myself to a bunch of mortals, ha-ha, stop laughing'. After all, there mortals were not dumb. Not when they had a whole Lyssa leading the pack. She was the power Ares could not match.
Lyssa instantly caught on the problem and turned to Percy.
"You were kidnapped by Ares?"
Her words sank into the silence as everyone contemplated her comment. Could it be? It made sense. After all, of all the gods they knew—which were not many to begin with—who could be capable of fighting just for the sake of fighting? Right, Ares. On the other hand, why would a god waste their time on Percy? He was a kid. A mere kid. Yes, a demigod, but still no one important to the immortal almighty beings they presented themselves to be. What common ground would an omnipresent divine being have with a mortal, poorly performing kid from New York? See, they had all the reasons to doubt the admission.
When Percy did not offer any response, Lyssa's eyes narrowed. With a loud huff she turned to her new-found team in search of support. They did want to assist, didn't they? Well, she gave them the wheel. Assist, people!
They did not disappoint.
Cassandra's face melted into a grimace as she was mulling over the proclamation. What might have provoked Ares to go and contact Percy? Aside from an obvious fact Percy had stolen the bolt. Apart from that… what else could it be? What if…
"He stole the bolt!"
A new-found revelation struck harder than the thunder. Dozens of eyes rested on Cassandra waiting for some sort of explanation. Preferably an exclamation in the vein of, 'ha, I'm kidding!'. 'It was just a thought' would do as well. Even 'let's see how far I am from the truth' could pass up as an excuse.
Cassandra stayed silent. Her eyes never left the demigods, two of whom seemed like they were confirming her presumption, two simply lost but not surprised. If anyone was hesitant before, they weren't now.
It did not mean they were willing to accept the answer.
"Ares stole the bolt?" Lora uttered, completely stunned. "Ares?!"
"Why're you so shocked?" Kylie snorted softly (though, no one reacted to her, being too engrossed in the disaster in the name of Ares to dedicate themselves to another one).
"Why would a god steal from another god?" lightning shot through the sky, showing the owner's support on the matter. Lora pointed to the window. "See, they agree."
"It would be strange, if Ares didn't agree with you," Mike chuckled. "May we continue, please? We're running out of time here."
…on a ten-day odyssey of terror.
"Abducted?"
Thunder's response did anything but reassure them. Who knew that a natural phenomenon could sound so… offended? Hurt even? Was it truly a god and not some wicked, elaborate stunt these kids were pulling? Because no one––no one––would believe a millennia-old Greek god would be acting like a toddler. (They obviously didn't know gods, or cared to keep their voices down so these particular gods would not listen in.)
…international criminal after all.
Several people snickered with Annabeth being the loudest one. To Percy's glare she offered the sweetest smile she could muster.
…to get away from his captor
"So you did blow up something!" Leo exclaimed, momentarily leaving the piece of steel unsupervised. Sharing his sentiment seemed more important. "Dude, this so cool, can you––" whatever proposal Leo wanted to make, was sunk into void courtesy of Jason's hand and a noticeable kick in the shin from Percy.
…the explosion in the St. Louis Arch.
All eyes rested on Percy who slid down on the seat and covered his head, effectively confirming a supposed explosion that had taken place several years before and which had never been his fault, despite the rumors.
After all, no kid could've done that.
A collective snort from demigods made several people wince.
…brave Percy Jackson (I was beginning to like this kid)
Giggles and snickers were heard all around the room now.
…shotgun-to-rifle on the beach.
Silence descended on them as everyone tried their best to process the words. What did the book Percy mean by 'battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach'? Did the reporters—Percy—reporters mean Percy fought the man? What the hell was going on in that crazy world of theirs?
"You… fought him?" Peter asked; his voice went five octaves higher than it was supposed to, making him sound both awfully stunned and overly dedicated to a fine art of operetta.
"Err…"
Could they announce they did not enjoy a new fact in their 'this dude is batshit crazy' book? Percy was sooo off his rocker than they would all have died of heart attacks before learning anything of importance.
The news report sounded so bizarre that some kids had begun to believe it was not as outlandish in reality. Demigods, on the other hand, though that the Mist malfunctioned somewhere in the middle of the story and led the whole of California news agency chain astray.
At least, Percy had enough sense to follow them.
"is to see my loving stepfather again.
Several people blinked. They did not expect such turn of events. Why would Percy remembered Mr. Blofis all of a sudden?
All head gradually turned toward Percy, who was hovering above a piece of paper he had stolen from Annabeth minutes prior, right between the fantasies of local reporters and young Percy's admission. Annabeth didn't seem to mind, watching her with thinly-veiled adoration; the softest expression anyone had ever seen on her.
As cute as it looked, it didn't explain a single thing.
"Um… what?" someone said into the void, for it was quite obvious no one would answer them.
"You missed Mr. Blofis so much?" Mike wondered loudly in hope to get Percy's attention, maybe even catch him off guard and received some answers before he would realize they were interrogating him.
The first part of the plan went great. Percy started, dropped the pencil and looked up. Clear confusion on his face practically screamed at Mike that the prey might have been gotten in the trap, now was his turn to seize the opportunity.
So he did.
"Why'd you talk about Mr. Blofis?"
"Where?" Percy blinked then goggled at Paul who shrugged. Percy stayed watching him for a couple more seconds until he'd finally exercised all ideas that would pop up in his head, and returned to the paper. The question long forgotten.
…calling me a delinquent punk,
"Mr. Blofis!" Sarah exclaimed in outrage. His own stepson!
Paul raised eyebrows, thoroughly confused as to why she would chide him for something he had never done. Not in the worst nightmares would Paul consider addressing Percy as a 'delinquent punk'.
Sarah's nostrils flared while she was taking one deep breath after another in a futile attempt to calm herself; a clear sign to keep away in case her silent fury would morph into a full-blown hysterics.
"Ms. Wilson, I assure you at that time I had not met Percy yet."
"But you called him a delinquent punk!" she screamed again, forcing several people to retreat to safer corners of the classroom to avoid deafness.
It took everyone an unjustifiable amount of time to mull over her proclamation. Just a couple of moment later, the classroom was filled with loud groans.
"Sarah, he's already said they didn't know each other back then!" Cassandra practically shouted at her. "It was some other man! Mr. Blofis?"
Whether Cassandra asked him to comment of the incident or to read, no one ever learned because Paul interpreted it in his own way and held up the book in front of him.
Percy's propositions regarding the free TV-sets did not induce as much of reaction as it could have, had they recalled Percy mentioning another persona filling the place of a stepfather before Paul. They didn't.
Neither did they said a word at reporters raising money. Other than, 'that's so cool!' that came from Steven.
They were crawling toward the excerpt that would undeniably arise several questions and a whole lot of discussing.
After all, Percy the Drama Queen had not dissolved into a puff of smoke for them to not find his worry superfluous.
…was scarier than a Greek monster.
"You're so overdramatic."
"Try to fly when you're constantly in danger of being zipped off the sky with the whole plane being on your consciousness."
Needless to say, it shut the commenter up.
Quite taken aback by Percy's retort, hardly anyone felt the heart to interrupt, which allowed Paul to finally get through a huge chunk of text in peace.
It was excruciatingly hard, almost impossible for the students to render silence when book-Percy presented countless of reasons to interfere. Annabeth's trick? Genius. His certainly exaggerated claim he might not survive the meeting? Cue eye-rolls. Percy's trip through the city? At least, this one took a sentence and not a full-on declaration of pain and misery.
And then they couldn't shut up. Reason? Six hundredth floor.
"No such floor, kiddo."
"See?" Peter motioned toward Paul, addressing no one and everyone at the same time. "I told you there's no such floor!"
"But what if there is?" Jenna expressed uncertainty for the hundredth time during this short discussion. Several people stared at her as though she were the said six hundredth floor that did not exist but existed and was giving them a splitting headache. Her neighbor's one hurt the most.
"He-lloow," Peter drawled, fighting the urge to slap his forehead. "You've seen Empire State Building countless of times; tell me, have you see it go up in the sky? I didn't."
"But it's the Olympus kind of six hundredth floor!" she argued. Her voice was so full of confidence that some student began to alter their a opinion on the improbability of it. Maybe she was right and some freakishly awesome magic trick kept it concealed from the eyes of those who weren't supposed to be aware of this sort of natural phenomenon. "Tell them!"
The last part was addressed specifically to Percy. He, of course, did not pay much attention to the dispute, absorbed in the fine art of origami. How come he had not had a perfectly crafted paper plane on his hands? Percy had all the reason to question the equity of the world.
"C'mon it's not fair!" Lora groaned when she realized no one was going to confirm her presumption. "Screw you all, I'm done!"
On this happy note, Paul continued reading.
And they had plenty of uncover. For example, what sort of guard these gods hired for the job? Was he authorized to hold any kind of conversation with strangers? Had he been specifically instructed to call the ambulance in case of someone sending a careless request to converse with Zeus? Was he allowed to permit anyone to set their foot on the holy grounds? So many questions and so little understanding of the situation!
Hell, was he trained for this job in general?! He'd lost his composure the second Percy let a glimpse of the bolt be seen! What sort of guard it is?
Despite it all, Percy managed to sneak into the holy ground.
Speaking of Percy…
"Why're you alone?" someone marveled loudly. The echoes of his voice spread around the classroom, ensuring even the darkest, most inconspicuous corners of the place would not escape it.
They didn't. Leo was the first one who took notice of a disturbance outside of his happy bubble. Well, 'notice' was a strong word. More like 'slipped my hand and almost poked my eye out' notice.
"Hey!" he added to the cacophony. "Can you keep it down a little? Thank you."
Jason turned a confused, slightly dazed look at him, silently asking what the heck was going on and why he would be so damn loud about it. Leo waved him off but continued glaring at the person that had dared to discombobulate him. Did they know how difficult it was to concentrate on those tiny details when you constantly hear buzzing above your head? They had just disrupted three days of work!
"I wanted to know why Percy's alone," the same person whined, having gathered how much his comment had distressed him.
"You could've asked him!" Leo retorted. In a second, he whirled toward Percy (which was quite a feat in itself, for a desk and Jason were a significant obstacle to him). "Dude! What've you done?"
Percy looked up, obviously disturbed and displeased. Annabeth next to him let out a soft, pain-filled snort, which she covered with a cough, before glancing back at her backpack apprehensively and a little longingly. All that was done under Percy's not-quite-so-watchful eye, for he honestly tried his best to alternate between sending Annabeth quizzical looks and staring at Leo in complete bafflement.
At last, he settled on Leo and dropped the paper plane. "Sorry, what?"
"They," Leo tipped his chin at Jason, who became even more perplexed as the exchange progressed. "Are asking why you're alone."
"But I'm not!"
"Ask them."
Leo's head lowered as he dedicated all of him to the piece that, thanks the gods, was not damaged. Percy shifted his attention to his classmates.
"Yes?"
"Why'd you go to Olympus alone?"
Percy fell pensive, trying to restore the memories of that day. What day was it exactly? When was the last time he'd been up there by himself? Apart from that eventful week during the battle. It had been somewhere in his first year as a demigod… Right.
"You mean when I was carrying the bolt to Olympus?" a nod. "Oh, er, I guess I didn't want to lose any more people… yeah?" he faltered, his look turned slightly defocused. "Yeah, I'd been worried 'bout that and…What was the question?"
The student shook their head and returned their eyes on Paul. Percy shrugged and peered at the still half-ready paper plane.
…my brain just could not accept what I saw.
Neither were the mortals' ears. They struggled to listen. None bothered to surmise what might happen if they to ever saw the place. One word: magnificent.
Look again, my brain said.
So he looked. The place was truly breathtaking. Fantastic. Splendid. It was a whole world within a world. Mansions, gardens, terraces… You name it all. They even had a market! Truly a city within a city.
No wonder, Percy did not believe his eyes at first. Who would? Especially when you receive valid arguments such as 'a billion-ton asteroid hanging over New York' and 'too big to stay unnoticed by humans'. They could see where Percy was coming from. They shared the sentiment.
But here it was. And here I was.
Well, most of it. Unfortunately, as plenty of kids around the school would state later, they were not there.
Students listened to the description attentively; they soaked up each and every word that would come at them. Did he say wood nymphs? A replica of the Golden Fleece (at the half the class began wondering a) why demigods would look as though they'd caught the Principal running through the hallways naked and b) what the hell was the Golden Fleece?). Oh, they had TV as well because, obviously, all self-respecting gods would have their own TV channel!
Speaking of gods. Teenagers? A perfectly acceptable concept that it was. Gods would absolutely nail the whole teenager disguise. And who cares if they stare at you!
In short, they felt exhilarated. So engrossed in the book that they snapped back to reality only when Percy recalled the Underworld Palace.
…Past that, the throne room.
He description of the 'room' received a round of dropped jaws, for it was anything but a room. A stadium. A five-mile field. The Atlantic. Basically anything but a normal-in-your-perception room.
"Holy shit," someone muttered too loud to not be heard in the dead silence of the classroom.
…his eyes rainy gray.
Thunder was suspiciously silent. Maybe Zeus had taken the description of his appearance flattering. (Or he was busy murdering Ares for taking his bolt against all rules and reason; that was a wonder neither Ares nor his children had been erased from the face of the world yet, maybe they needed to warn Clarisse.)
The god sitting next to him was his brother,
Everyone drew nearer, eager to hear about Poseidon (who else would it be, really?).
…had always gotten me branded a rebel.
Someone snorted. All eyes momentarily flickered to Percy to detect the aforementioned 'brooding look'. If glaring intensely at the desk meant exactly that, then they had a good definition of a 'brooding look'.
…as if they'd just finished an argument.
Thunder a.k.a. the main way of communicating with children, rumbled again. This time, however, it sounded almost nice. Like a greeting or an acknowledgement in the sense of 'yo, dude, that's me, yeah!'.
They listened to Percy's first ever encounter with gods silently, almost not breathing. Even Jason and Leo put everything aside for a second to fully plunge into a rare tale of Percy being nice to gods.
…This is only right."
"Why're they so pompous?"
Well, listening attentively did not in any case mean respectfully.
Thunder echoed through the city, being the loudest right at the edge of the building.
"Sarah, these are gods."
"Oh, right."
"You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly.
"What's the deal with him?" Jenna asked. "Why's he mad again?"
The question was addressed directly to Percy, whose head snapped up so abruptly that one might believe he managed to break a couple of bones there. But no, Percy was alive and well. Just confused.
"Um, what?"
"Why's Zeus mad at you?"
Contrarily to her expectations, Percy fell pensive, actually mulling over her question. He held up his head simultaneously leaning on the seat. Lora did not take her eyes off him, waiting until he'd speak.
"When he isn't mad at me?" Percy finally wondered out loud. Chair returned in its usual place while Percy nudged Annabeth in attempt to divert her attention from whatever she'd been busying herself with.
Apparently, she was very busy, just never direct about it.
"What now?!" she all but spat out, absolutely furious and slightly dejected. Her eyes bored into Percy's, who's befuddlement had melted into a frown. "If they're reading about you being kidnapped, lost, dead, or turned into a hamster again, let them! I have no time for that!"
Percy grimaced at that. Yep, there was something wrong with her too; he hadn't imaged her twitchiness. He hadn't imagined her being skittish. She'd been shifty and nervous the whole class—totally not his imagination messing with him.
But it was not the time to delve into this one.
"It's not 'bout that!" he exclaimed, putting his hand right on what looked like a bunch of circles, clouds, and snowmen from hell.
"Turned into a hamster?" someone whispered.
Annabeth's eye twitched. "Percy!"
"Annabeth!"
The couple peered at each other, none ready to surrender.
Jason and Leo exchanged a look and leaped to their feet, trying to be as far from their friends as possible. Just in case. These two had had enough of stress and life-threatening situations to last a lifetime, and at some point it was bound to catch up with them (as Will had said shortly after examining them all right after the last battle); the issue was, no one could tell what the breaking point would be. The problem was that no one wanted to intervene. Chiron didn't know what to do. Gods were silent. The book still existed. And the most balanced people they knew, were gradually sinking into madness.
They would like to watch it from the distance. Leo tipped his chin toward the front of the class. Jason nodded. In three seconds, both were already sitting near Paul, right in front of the first desk, which belonged to Lyssa.
"Aren't you gonna stop them?" she asked, looking at the piece of steel in Leo's hands.
"Nah, they'll get it eventually. May I use this corner of your desk? Thanks."
Paul was reading now was accompanied with the clank of metal, as Leo was sorting out details that he had with him.
"You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"
Thunder boomed loudly, managing to startle everyone within a mile distance of the school. And no, Zeus did not care someone might have gotten a heart attack. It is entirely their problem!
"Now I would hear him speak."
Paul faltered, staring at the line. Well, he had heard quite a few things about gods and Poseidon in particular. He was certain they had met before. Although Sally would reiterate the same sentiment that gods were not… kind and it was acceptable for them to ignore their children, Paul believed Poseidon loved his son. He certainly had expressed care (the way an immortal almighty divine being could). Hearing this was crushing.
Paul sent a quick glance at Percy, who was in the middle of a staring contest with Annabeth, and heaved a breath. Perhaps, it was better not to draw his attention to this part. God knows, he had suffered enough.
So he continued, not giving anyone a chance to articulate how much Poseidon sucked and where exactly he could shove his head.
Who would have thought they would grow so protective of Percy?
The result of a god's mistake?
They could share the sentiment. Some more than others. Just how many times had they wondered the same? Had this treacherous thought worm itself into their heads and not leave them for days? Cause so many tumults and breakdowns. Every time their parent would be exhibiting a tiny bit of frustration, telling things they, perhaps, never meant. Some could recall every single second that would happen. They truly could sympathize.
…for his impudence."
The wave of indignation that arose after Zeus' statement, broke Percy and Annabeth out of their staring competition and allowed them to assess the situation.
That was one hell of a confusion fest. What had prompted twenty-three children to glare at Paul?
"What's going on?" Percy whispered to Annabeth.
"No clue. Where're Jason and Leo?"
They peered at the empty desk before them.
"And risk destroying your own master bolt?"
Percy's look shifted toward Paul, a crease appeared between his eyebrows.
"I guess I know why they're mad," he told Annabeth, who immediately turned to him. "I'm in the throne room now."
Annabeth shot a glance at Paul then her classmates and back at Percy. His eyes widened as though he was trying to transmit her some important message that she still could not get a hold of; his head inclined to the side––an evident order to keep an eye on Paul and this stupid book. Annabeth looked at her doodling, back at Percy, and again at the drawings.
The decision was painfully easy to make.
"Let us hear him out, brother."
So they did. With difficulty, but they managed. Book-Percy was messing them all up with his constant what ifs and 'he loves, he loves me not' ideas. At some point even Riley caught himself feeling sorry for the guy before shaking his head and scolding himself for allowing pity cloud his judgment. Absolutely not the time to transform into an empathetic crybaby!
Percy's tale soon grew into a demonstration which, in turn, sent the kids spiraling. They so wanted to see this old bastard's reaction to his stupid bolt being retrieved and safe! Some hoped he would choke on his stupid possession.
Nothing of that sort happened, unfortunately. However, other incidents had taken place, all of which seemed to have been accepted by the gods, even if hesitantly. Something was not right in this whole situation.
And the gods agreed wholeheartedly.
… it is most unlike him."
"Wait, Ares?" someone broke the silence with the most pointless of comments. Several people instantly hissed at his as though they were trying out for the role of Medusa.
"I thought we've been through this!" Cassandra said loudly, so no one––no one––would dare interfere again. "Yes, Ares."
"Ares?"
Paul decided to prevent an impending carnage from occurring by raising his voice.
"It runs in the family."
Apparently, not every person in this family agreed with the comment, for the lightning pierced through the sky, a direct response from the only person who was proud and impulsive.
Children, to Ares' dismay, paid his complaints no mind, fully determined to complete the chapter before the lesson ended. How much time left?
…came up with the idea."
For the first time in a while Annabeth looked up and frowned. Why did Percy make so much sense and how come she had missed this undoubtedly fascinating moment? Her look shifted toward Percy, who was hypnotizing the piece of paper he had nicked from her. As tensed as before but not stressed out. Annabeth's conclusion was quick: the book Percy must be revealing something they had known for a long time by now; otherwise, he would be unbearable.
If only the rest of the class––or school––was as certain as her! Hordes of questions were running through their heads, but none included the actual problem past Percy and his friends had faced. No wonder, not a single soul dared to poke at this thin veil of silence that, at last, had spread around the classroom.
Percy's story was a lot to unpack. The dream? Yeah, they had absolutely heard it before! The voice that guided him to the Underworld? That one had been omitted from the book but, apparently, held a great significance to them. Ares, too, suffered from some sort of dreams? Perhaps, a Greek gods' thing?
Only once did they speak up when Zeus, definitely following his own prejudice, wondered whether Percy was accusing Hades of the crimes all, even mortals, knew he was not guilty of. Thanks the heavens Percy was smarter than that!
… something even older than the gods."
This piece of information seemed important. Extremely relevant to the theft. Several people frowned then stared at each other, endeavoring to communicate a silent message: to investigate the issue if they did not resolve it during the reading.
I only caught one word. Father.
That was interesting for sure. All eyes rested on Lyssa who, perhaps, sensing the looks, shifted on her seat and heaved a deep breath. Her whole attention now divided between three things: a strange invention of Leo's, Percy's life story, and an uncomfortable itch on her neck. Which one to choose?
The book had made a decision for her by allowing the book Poseidon and Zeus to have a discussion regarding the matter. Apparently, it was vital! So important that Zeus ignored Percy informing him of Annabeth and Grover's involvement in the quest. It must be the most crucial moment of their whole lives if Zeus spared Percy's life!
Granted, the last point bothered only the demigods, for mortals could not know the extent of Zeus hatred for Percy. For the rest he appeared an overly dramatic, old being that needed to be brought back into conversation only when it was necessary. So… not now.
Percy believed the same.
"Kronos," I said. "The king of the Titans."
Although they did want to share their views on the subject, not a single soul was able to voice their concerns. Their throats now dry, their vocal cords incapable of producing sounds. Their breaths held. That was serious. Dangerous. It could lead to countless of complications, some of which might be fatal.
Poseidon's tale did not make as much impression as it should have. Partially, the relevance of the events was questionable and therefore did not impose as much fret; partially, the major part of that would, to this day, appeared a huge fairytale, a series of stories conceived by a sick mind. No reason to fear.
"He's coming back."
Scratch that, Percy managed the feat. Though, Poseidon's calmness placated them. A little. In fact, the only reason none of the children left the classroom, screaming at the top of their lungs how they all were fucked, was realization that all the events they were reading about, had happened years ago. Kronos was not threat to them.
If only Percy stopped making so much sense!
That's what he said."
At this point everyone, including demigods, was listening intently. Leo sat still, a piece of wire dangling from his mouth. Jason had his whole attention on the whiteboard in front of him, his hands in fists. Annabeth's eyes were traveling from one person to another as she was replaying the bits she'd heard in her head. How come Percy had been the first to connect the dots? Why had no one bothered to check the facts before Artemis had gotten trapped? Oh, right, Zeus. It's all his fault.
No wonder, this discussion transformed into a conversation about Percy's mother. And it was hard to tell who felt the most embarrassment: Percy or Paul. It was one thing to know an omnipotent divine being had been in love with your wife at some point. It must be excruciating to hear your personal thoughts and private interactions being broadcast to people who had no connection to those matters.
…your mother has returned."
A nice bombshell, they must admit. Paul stumbled on the last world, which forced him to falter and let children process the piece of information. What did they mean by 'returned'? She was alive? And well? Not dead?
"I told you!" rang through the class right in the second Paul had finally recovered returned to the book.
No one dared to interrupt him.
"My mother?"
"My sentiments exactly," someone whispered, instantly receiving a round of hisses––their idea of asking to shut up.
…Even the Lord of Death pays his debts."
Thunder's roared outside, expressing the extent of Zeus' discontent with the whole situation. Not one person paid it mind, too engrossed in the story to care about the opinion of an angry cloud.
There was a lot to unpack in Sally's miraculous return to the Earth, and, of course, book-Percy was bound to spoil the moment.
"Who the hell is Smelly Gabe?" Peter wondered, breaking the blissful silence. Instantly twenty-four pairs of eyes rested on him, some exhibited the indignation their owners felt, some curiosity. Percy refused to stare at him, selecting the piece of papers as his main victim; Annabeth also paid him no attention, too busy patting Percy on the shoulder to dedicate her limited amount of energy to something else.
Silence was threatening to linger. Steven, having recalled that one atrocious day they had not had a chance to finish the chapter, let out a loud hiccup that instantly shifted the student's attention to him.
"Let's continue!" he exclaimed.
"A package?"
Annabeth choked on air and began to cough, forcing Percy to take on the role of the support. Now he was patting her on the back, waiting when Annabeth's fit would cease.
Peter felt a surge of gratitude because Annabeth drew all the attention to her, freeing him from the burden of responding. Peter heaved a breath of relief and leaned on his seat.
No one saw it, for their eyes were glued to the pair.
At last, Annabeth found her voice.
"Y-you—you—he means—her?" she pointed at the book then at Percy, and back at the book. One quick unclear gesture later, she lowered her arms and took another deep breath. "Why haven't I heard of it?"
"Heard of what?" Lyssa asked at once.
"It never really came up in any conversation," Percy shrugged.
"It never—" Annabeth blinked. "You're telling me you didn't feel it fitting to inform me of… what exactly did you do with her?"
"Her?" someone repeated. Now the class' attention dispersed as half of children were now peering at Leo and Jason, both of whom looked so lost that it was impossible to accuse them of any crime. They obviously held no knowledge of the incident.
"Where do you think my mom got the money from?"
There was a moment of silence as Annabeth stomached his words.
"You—she—I'll be grey before my time with you!"
Accompanied by Percy's chuckle, Paul opened the book.
…You must decide."
"I can't believe that's the oath you chose!"
"That was my mom's decision actually."
Annabeth loud groan got drowned out by Paul.
I nodded, though I didn't know what he meant.
Annabeth's muttering became louder but not enough for anyone but Percy to decode the message. However, his amused expression altered his classmates' desire to learn.
…It is never anything but tragic."
Lora and Cassandra exchanged looks, coming to a silent agreement to interrogate Lyssa on the subject. She must know this one, mustn't she?
"I don't mind, Father."
"Percy, that's not what he meant!"
Annabeth's disgruntlement now shifted to more relevant ground, namely, Percy's inability to gather the fact that Poseidon loved him the most.
"I know now, all right!"
…But it was an unforgivable mistake on my part."
Annabeth began massaging her temples to the amusement of those who were watching her. Her behavior appeared comic, almost absurd. Annabeth didn't care. The issue of the incapability to communicate must be running in their blood; it sure was giving her a serious headache.
"I––I won't bother you again."
'Awkward'. That was the only appropriate for this whole fiasco adjective. Their conversation was awkward. Percy's attempts at addressing his father were awkward. Poseidon's comments were awkward. Why was it so unbearable?
You are a true son of the Sea God."
Annabeth exhaled loudly the moment Paul closed the book.
Their lesson had come to an end.