Too answer some questions, sorry, but I am only going to update at least once a week, so my updates will not be coming very fast, but I will be completing the stories, and I have 3 years until the last book in the series comes out, so I have time. Also, Percy, Hazel, and Frank will probably join the story, but probably not until later, but I plan on Hazel and Frank joining before Percy. Well, Enjoy!
Chapter 3 : Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks of Death
3rd Person P.O.V.
"Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death," Athena read.
Hades and Nico perked up at the mention of death.
I was used to the occasional weird experience,but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I can handle.
"Life as a demigod sometimes feels like that, and I'm sure it does even more so for him," said Chris.
For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me.
Hermes and his children shared a glance at the idea.
The students acted as if they were completely and convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our school bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.
Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.
"That would be Hades. No amount of cereal in the world could cure you," said Demeter.
Hades and Nico just sighed because she had to bring up cereal.
It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.
"GROVER!" was chorused from the demigods, as Grover blushed beat red and muttered "Sorry."
Almost.
But Grover couldn't fool me.
Everyone in the room sighed.
When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.
"I believe you are in need of some lessons," said Hermes.
Something was going on. Something had happened in the museum.
"Great observation Prissy!" Clarisse said sarcastically.
I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.
"If only those were his worst dreams…" sighed Annabeth.
The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room.
Cue all those unknowing of the events that would ensue, to glance at Zeus, while he shrugged.
A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in squalls in the Atlantic that year.
Now those glances were shifted between Poseidon, who shrugged as well, and Zeus.
I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.
Anger found its way into Athena's voice as she read this.
I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.
"Good job kid!" cheered Ares.
Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was to lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot.
Annabeth couldn't stop the giggle that escaped from her lips.
wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.
"Old sot," Athena said, and without missing a beat continued reading.
The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.
"Suprising!" said Thalia sarcastically, whilst the Stolls cheered "Good Job, that's what I'm talking about man!"
Fine, I told myself. Just fine.
Athena and Annabeth huffed.
I was homesick.
Clarisse and Ares muttered "Baby," and "Wimp."
I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.
Everyone had a confused look on their faces, because none of them knew of Gabe, not even Annabeth, although she was curious as to how he was able survive in the mortal world for so long.
And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover,
The girls and goddesses smiled, while Aphrodite said, "Awww! That is sooo sweet.
This earned an annoyed glance from Piper, and chuckles from Jason and Leo who had noticed Piper's reaction.
who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.
Everyone's smiles fell, while Grover frowned, but did assume Percy meant it in a friendly way.
I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.
As exams got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.
"Good." Artemis, Thalia, Poseidon, and Annabeth said simultaneously.
The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room.
Athena read this with anger, and Annabeth didn't look too happy about it either, while everyone else rolled their eyes at the two.
Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.
All of the demigods groaned, complaining, "Dyslexia is dumb / stupid / annoying."
There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,
Annabeth and Grover smirked, knowing that Percy would know the difference now.
or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.
Jason and Athena said, "That is so easy!" However, they thought this for two entirely different reasons.
I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.
Demeter, Katie, and Artemis smirked, while Hermes, Apollo, and the Stolls winced, and felt their shirts to make certain no ants were inside.
I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.
And that's what he'll you, and then some." Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico said at the same times, causing Leo and the Stolls to yell "Jinx!" first that the four, then at each other.
I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.
I never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.
"He wants to impress Chiron." Annabeth said while smiling, causing Athena to glance at her warily.
I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.
I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... worried about Percy, sir."
"Now he should learn more about his existence." Surprisingly Hera said.
I froze.
I'm not usually an eavesdropper,
The demigods snorted at that.
but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.
The demigods shrugged, as Percy had a comeback for their previous actions towards his claim of not being an eavesdropper, without even being there.
I inched closer.
"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"
"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."
"Well, let's not wait for that, because it may never happen." Said Thalia, while she was laughing.
"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline—"
"Why is there a deadline?" asked the Gods, while those who knew just ignored them, waiting for Athena to begin reading again.
"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."
"Sir, he saw her..."
"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."
"It did, but someone couldn't lie…" Rachel said pointedly at Grover.
"Sir, I... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was chocked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."
The demigods who knew the reason winced, while Zeus looked down sadly but reminded himself she's here, I will see here again.
"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"
The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.
This caused Hermes, Chris, and the Stolls to silently curse knowing he made a huge mistake.
Mr. Brunner went silent.
My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.
They glanced at each other, thinking he may have a chance if nurtured correctly.
A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.
I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.
A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.
"Why is he in his true form?" was chorused throughout the Olympus.
A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.
Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since winter solstice."
"More dates, what could have happened?..." said Athena out loud, before looking at the demigods, and then reading once they gave no hints as to what happened.
"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could of sworn..."
"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."
"Don't remind me."
"The one annoying thing about being a satyr…" complained Grover.
The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's room.
I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.
Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.
Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.
"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"
I didn't answer.
"You look awful," he frowned. "Is everything okay?"
"Just... tired."
I turned so he couldn't see my expression,
"That will not work Peter, they read emotions." Said Dionysus, while everyone else was surprised he was even listening.
and started getting ready for bed.
I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.
"Do not demigod, this is very serious, you should realize yourself, not try to avoid it." Stated Artems.
"Jeez, chill little sis." Countered Apollo
"Do NOT call me little sis!"
Athena wisely started reading.
But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back.
They thought I was in some kind of danger.
"You were," said Grover.
The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,
"Even that would be annoying for me." Said Jason, while the other demigods winced at the thought of that long of an exam.
my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.
For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.
"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's... it's for the best."
His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.
Annabeth looked ready to kill Nancy, or anyone else who was near her for that matter, which surprised Athena, and caused the demigods to move away from he slowly and with no sudden movements.
I mumbled, "Yes, sir."
"I mean..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say.
"This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."
"Great job Chiron." Sighed Thalia exasperated.
My eyes stung.
Ares and Clarisse said "Wimp," but Ares was too loud, and ended up being drenched with salt water.
Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.
"Right," I said, trembling.
"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say...you're not normal,
Percy. That's nothing to be—"
"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."
"Percy—"
But I was already gone.
All those on Olympus sighed at Chiron's lack of ability to get his message across to Percy.
On the last day of term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.
The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was nobody, from a family of nobodies.
Athena, Zeus, and Hades started laughing hysterically, causing Poseidon to glare at them, and everyone else chuckled / giggled at Percy's thoughts and the other Gods.
They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.
What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.
"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."
They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.
"Boys." Said Artemis and Thalia, with obvious disgust in their voice
The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,
"Sure, coincidence…" said Nico, Leo, and the Stolls.
so there we were, together again, heading into the city.
During the whole bus ride, Grover kept nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.
Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.
I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"
"Almost gave me a heart attack when he said that." Said Grover.
Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha-what do you mean?"
I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exams.
"No, never confess!" yelled Hermes and his children.
Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"
"Oh... not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"
"The entire conversation then." Said Piper.
He winced. "Look, Percy... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers..."
"Grover—"
"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no person as Mrs. Dodds, and..."
"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."
"Truer words have never been spoken about goat-boy." Teased Thalia.
His ears turned pink.
Which was the same reaction Grover was having on Olympus.
From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."
The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes,
Dionysus smiled at that, saying "I love watching them try to read that."
but I finally made out something like:
Grover Underwood
Keeper
Half-Blood Hill
Long Island, New York
(800) 009-0009 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (800) 009-0009 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
"What's Half—"
"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um... summer address."
My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.
"That is somewhat true now." Mused Rachel, which made the Gods even more confused.
"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."
He nodded. "Or... or if you need me."
"Why would I need you?"
"Seaweed Brain!" said Annabeth exasperated, which caused the Gods to look at her suspiciously, while Athena wondered why does my daughter have a nickname for this sea spawn, they should be enemies?
It came harsher than I meant it to.
"Good." The girls and Gods said.
Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."
I stared at him.
All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.
"He sounds soooo sweet!" yelled Aphrodite, while Piper still couldn't believe that was her mother.
"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"
There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.
After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.
We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars.
On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.
The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cinder in a claw-foot tub full of ice.
Hades and Athena thought that does sound familiar… but from where?
There was no customers, just three old ladies in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.
"THE FATES!" everyone but Grover yelled, while everyone who knew Percy, especially Annabeth and Poseidon, paled and looked extremely scared for Percy.
I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.
At this, Thalia, Nico, Grover, and Clarisse winced, but were relieved that it wasn't Percy's string, but this just confused everyone else even more.
All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.
The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.
I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood drained from his face. His nose was twitching.
"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"
"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"
"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."
"Agreed." Poseidon said, looking ready to pass out.
The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard my Grover catch his breath.
Like those who didn't know whose string it was were doing right now.
"We're getting in the bus," he told me. "Come on."
"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."
"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.
Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I heard that snip across four lanes of traffic.
With this, Poseidon burst into a puddle of water, while the other Gods said "he was just really stressed, he'll be fine."
Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could be possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.
Everyone had to chuckle at the comment despite, what just occurred.
At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.
The passengers cheered.
"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"
Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.
Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth chattering.
"Grover?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you not telling me?"
"A lot" rang throughout Olympus.
He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"
"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"
"Much worse nephew," muttered Zeus.
His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."
"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."
He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.
"He is very observant," noted Chris.
He said, "You saw her snip the cord."
"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.
"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."
Those who know what he was talking about winced.
"What last time?"
"Always sixth grade. They never get pass sixth."
"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"
"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."
"He probably won't keep it," Annabeth said.
"I wish I knew that before," answered Grover.
This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.
"Is this superstition or something?" I asked.
No answer.
"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"
He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.
"That's it, who would like to read next?" asked Athena
"I would mother," answered Annabeth, while Athena handed her the book.
"Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants."
Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter won't be out for a few more days, don't forget to review, and stuff… Well, until next time, cya!
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