Chapter 14: Everyone's Gushing Over Tyson… Thanks the Gods He's not Here!

All rights to familiar characters and bold text belong to Rick Riordan.

Silence had started to cause discomfort.

Mostly because kids were unable to conjure up anything more coherent than 'ugh, ok!'. Yes, they may have gotten accustomed to Percy and his friends, but they hadn't really gotten accustomed to Percy and his friends. Moreover, there were plenty of questions hanging in the air, starting with Jason's unsettling reaction to the tree poisoning, which added to the confusion. How could you feel at ease next to the person—people—who seemed to behave in the weirdest of ways and were fine with it? Of course, they wanted answers! The more, the better.

Unfortunately, Percy wasn't here to clear the air. Fortunately, they had Leo.

Everyone turned to Leo, who suddenly became aware of his surroundings. How could you not when a couple dozens of eyes were drilling a hole in your forehead? Leo, too, couldn't ignore it.

"What's up?" he asked.

His attempt at feigning indifference failed miserably when he let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. In a good case scenario, these people would let him leave. In real life, however, they made him talk.

"Leo," Lyssa said. Leo twitched and stiffened. "May we know what prompted them all to leave?"

Leo wisely rendered silence.

"He's a psycho," came in a voice from the other side of the classroom. As one, everyone turned to the source of it only to see Riley standing with his arms crossed. "They all are."

Leo winced at these hurtful words. As much as he'd like to pretend he didn't hear them, he did. They all did, and it hurt the most every single time. Why would he believe that mortals would understand something so outlandish? He wouldn't either, had he not lived his life. He still struggled with a lot of the world; being reminded just how abnormal and unnatural he was… It hurt him deeply. Like it did Jason and Percy and Annabeth, even if they'd never show it. Being mad at the book was as visible and loud as being miserable was quiet and eclipsed by all the troubles of their lives.

"Mr. Keyes—" Paul began in a deceivingly calm voice but was cut off by Riley, who seemed unable to assess the situation properly and kept on dragging himself toward another detention.

"But he is!"

"Dude, whatcha–" Mike faltered the moment he took in Riley's posture. Nah, he'd rather not know. (Lyssa was shushed with a very, very dirty look Mike knew she would never ignore.) "Never mind."

Riley huffed but, to everyone's infinite (really, there was no end in sight for them) amusement and surprise, continued. "You had to see what he did yesterday! No sane person would be that—that—unstable!"

Stares intensified, as kids grew more curious. What else had Percy done? It must have been something spectacular that even Riley of all people realized Percy might be a threat. That was telling, actually. Riley had been so quiet recently that most of his classmates tended to forget he was in the same room with them. That must mean something, no?

"What was it?" Mike asked in his best I-don't-care voice.

"There's this kid… ugh, what's his name again?" Riley scratched the back of his head. "Err, anyways, Jackson accused him of being evil, fell into hysterics, screamed something about sharing a bed with Frankie, and ran out of the class. The Coach's detention class."

The class gasped. No one—no fucking one—left the Coach's detention class on their own accord, ever. Percy must have lost the remains of his sanity if he'd set himself up so badly.

"You… sure?" Cassandra asked tentatively, sharing a look with Lora.

"Ask Coach."

No one uttered a word. No one really wanted to go ask Coach. It was a death trip, which would certainly lead to consequences far more grave than a simple detention. You might just as well enroll in the army on Mars and stay there, for there would be no freaking way you'd ever graduate. Or live long enough to know what graduation even was.

The Coach was a menace they all had to deal with and were terrified of; that was the only reason no one brought up 'Frankie'—yet.

(Or the fact Percy had been arguing with him just a few days prior.)

"So, Leo, what's the deal with Jason?" Lyssa asked again, having figured they had wasted enough minutes gaping at another of Percy's antics.

Leo hiccupped. Kids stared at him. Leo stared back. None wanted to back down.

It would have been much worse if Leo hadn't favored his own mental health over a minute of uncomfortable conversation.

"Listen, he's just learned his sister was almost killed for the second time!" Leo sighed. "Give him a break."

"He's a Zeus' son?" Lyssa asked instantly, effectively covering another kid's 'the second time?'.

Leo looked up, confusion clear on his face. "Mhm, what?"

"Where'd you get it from?" Lora marveled at the same time, her eyes on Lyssa.

"We know Thalia's Zeus' daughter, it was in the book. He," she pointed to Leo. "He said that Thalia's Jason's sister, so Jason's Zeus' son."

Did she imagine it or the thunder had just cursed?

Whatever. Her classmates' states were a bigger problem to her. They were gradually reaching that point of astound where you could do nothing but blink. Lyssa had lots of issues with her classmates, but she didn't want them broken for life.

"Mr. Blofis!" she yelled, whirling on the spot. Paul flinched. "How about we continue? There's plenty of time left!"

All troubles forgotten, student scattered around the classroom, each eager to take their place and continue with the book.

Paul sighed. That was going to be a long hour.

He was correct. It was a painfully long hour. Especially, now when the narrator couldn't provide any explanations (as if Percy had ever been that useful), Paul found himself struggling to read. For one, it didn't seem fair to Percy; furthermore, children seemed lost because there was no one to guide them through a very confusing narration of Percy the Optimist. Paul had enough experience with Percy to pick up a few tricks and consider himself being fairly good at all things Percy; but even he found himself wondering what Percy might have meant in some parts.

All they knew was that they started exactly at the point they had left at in the last chapter. Still, Percy the Optimist sounded oddly pessimistic when he was describing all the devastating changes that had occurred in the camp while he was away—though, the clean room analogy was more relatable than anyone would like to admit.

So what were the devastating changes? Oh, nothing big, just overall atmosphere, this sense of doom you only ever get when you have an important exam but hasn't studied for it. And an air of danger. Of course. There always had to be an air of danger in this type of stories. (Perhaps, to make you weep and hate the narrator.) In any case, Percy was nailing it.

…stood out like ugly scars.

"Whoa, how bad was that?"

Was Leo annoyed by all the attention he had on him? Absolutely. Was he planning on kicking someone's ass for that? They should expect that.

At the moment, unfortunately, all he could do was shrug and mumble that he hadn't been there to assess the state of the camp. He had a nagging feeling that they didn't believe him, but preferred not to concentrate on it.

…and carried on with their duties...

"Why're they so unwelcoming?"

"Cyclops are not exactly nice," Lyssa said to no one's surprise."Cyclops are considered violent creatures, who prefer to live in insulation rather than mingling with humans. Historically speaking, they were deemed lesser creatures by Ancient Greeks because they had no real community."

The swiveled to the side to have a better look at everyone from Mike to Leo, who preferred scowling at his desk and muttering something under his breath; something not one of them was able to catch. Still, he seemed to be listening with as much rapt attention as others. (Not everyone, though, but when had she ever cared about Kylie's feelings?)

Lyssa gave the class a look over before continuing. "I personally believe they were singled out because they tended to distance themselves from others, including their own kind. No one really knew what they could do, which, in turn, made others wary of them. Although quite intimidating in appearance, they seemed less of a trouble for the rest. Still dangerous, though."

"What do you want to tell us, McKeenley?" Kylie asked, irritated. That speech made no sense, and Kylie would definitely go without this pointless input on world history.

Lyssa grimaced.

"What I wanted to say, Lewis," she replied with the same tint of venom, "is that their life choices were abnormal for Greeks, so they were painted as the monsters that you need to steer clear of. Quite unjustly, if you ask me."

"They also eat people," Leo butted in.

There was silence for a moment, as everyone processed his response.

"That is what made people wary of them," Peter pointed to Leo.

All he got in response was an eye-roll from Lyssa.

The camp felt like a military school.

"Those are the worst."

I've been kicked out of a couple.

"How did he do it?"

"Dunno, man, he's not here to tell you."

None of that mattered to Tyson.

"Speaking of Tyson," Steven made a 'time-out' gesture with his hands to draw attention to an undoubtedly important topic. When he ensured that everyone was watching him, he continued, "He is a Cyclops, right?"

As Leo was the only one with answers, he'd become their chosen speaker.

"Hmm?" the chosen speaker' looked up from a pretty amazing stack of papers that he had in front of him (Annabeth was going to murder him when she found out. He'd need to consult Will, though.) and stared at his classmates. "What?"

"Tyson is the Cyclops, right?" Steven repeated.

"Well, yeah. What's with that?"

Steven's eyes gleamed. "Does he eat humans?"

A wave of groaning went through the class as his words had sunk in.

"Steven!" Cassandra complained, massaging her temples.

"What? I wanna know!"

"Mr. Blofis?"

He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw.

So were the kids, for Tyson turned out very cute. And definitely not a human-eating monster as Leo had made him out to be. His 'whatsthat!' made the major part of the class coo. His evidently child-like tendency to find everything fascinating was the best antidepressant one could ever find. In short, Tyson was adorable.

However, there should always be a fly in the ointment. Always. In this chapter it was Percy who would start with, 'you know why I'm the only kid in this cabin? Because I'm not supposed to be alive!' then proceed to explain the back-story of Thalia the Tree's unfortunate demise and finishing with an expression of hope that he wouldn't end up being a patch of kelp.

They would rather gush over Tyson.

"Pony!" he cried in total rapture.

The class erupted in a round of loud laughs. Tyson was very cute, despite him being a Cyclops, who, as they'd learned from Lyssa's short lecture, were not cute at all. He was ten times better than Percy and his long and boring recounting of history. Really, they already knew Chiron was a centaur!

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why?" someone asked through fits of laughter.

"A better question is: Why's he leaving?" Lyssa commented.

Her observation did nothing but shut her classmates up because it, indeed, was a good question that required a proper non-Percy answer.

Thanks the heavens for Annabeth!

…Mr. D had to punish someone."

"When are Gods ever fair?" Leo muttered absent-mindedly.

In any case, everyone fully agreed with Percy's sentiments. They didn't know the God's so well, but they could sympathize with his resentment. If only Chiron admitted there had been mistreatment involved.

…"some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" rang through the class.

If they were less astounded, they would have noticed Lyssa keeping quiet on the issue; in fact, she was siding with them, though for completely different reasons.

"What circumstances?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'd like to know."

Unfortunately, Percy and, subsequently, his classmates didn't receive any explanations because Chiron preferred to continue packing to helping Percy out of the darkness.

Oh, and there was also Tyson a.k.a. the cutest kid they had seen in this book interfering and fueling to the dejection everyone was feeling.

"Is he always so adorable?" someone asked.

As Leo was their only source of the information and he was clearly too engrossed in the story to pay attention to anything else, the question was left hanging in the air with no response.

However, Percy was difficult to divert from the point.

…"What about the tree? What happened?"

That was a one million dollars question everyone wanted to hear an answer to. It was almost impossible to restrain themselves from cheering that went across the class when Chiron finally complied and offered some explanations.

In short, it was bad. Poison from Tartarus sounded like an awful thing. A possibility of it being Kronos seemed even more horrifying to them—a sentiment that they didn't hesitate to express, of course. Time limit was such a wonderful concept! It truly kept particular individual reined in! Even if those individuals would argue the accusations. No one cared either way as they had a whole mystery to unveil.

…and it was lost centuries ago."

Lyssa's eyes widened. As well as Leo's when he realized what Chiron might be referring to. That was quite a famous quest and popular story amongst the campers—the one they'd been told.

Unfortunately for Lyssa, hardly any other person in the room had any clue what it might be. In fact, barely any of them came remotely close to the idea of it—concept even.

"What are they on about?" Leviwondered.

Several people turned to him then to Lyssa, who rolled her eyes.

"You'll see."

Well, turned out, it did feel good to say those words. The best thing? Her classmates had to wait a little bit longer because Chiron gave no explanations! Apparently, instructing Percy was a much more important task to fulfill.

…stay here. Train hard. Learn to fight. But do not leave."

"Why?" Steven asked.

Once again, the whole class had their eyes on Leo, who shrugged. "I dunno. It's Percy; you can expect everything of him."

Several students nodded and returned their attention on Paul. It did seem like an appropriate response.

Especially, when Percy confirmed Chiron's concern by questioning his advice. And as though a reminder of the previous summer wasn't enough, Chiron demanded Annabeth to promise she would keep Percy safe. (Cue a slap on the forehead from Leo; Chiron should have known to articulate his instructions properly!)

"There's a prophecy?" Jenna scowled as she dug into her memory to retrieve any mention of this prophecy. All she got was one tiny sentence uttered in passing; no reaction. Nothing. They'd moved on as though that was what they were supposed to do. Her eyes flickered toward the window before she settled on staring at Lyssa.

Lyssa didn't look much better. Her brows knitted together while she muttered some muted words under her breath. She had not once glanced at Leo. Contrarily to the rest.

Mike shot a look at Leo then back at Lyssa and Leo again. Leo was… befuddled? Lost? It was hard to tell, but he didn't grimace as much as he had when he did know what the story was about.

"I—What's it about?" Lyssa jolted out of her contemplation, landing her eyes on Leo.

Leo? He stayed silent. Mostly.

"Something that was a bitch to deal with," he grumbled.

Then he remained quiet for sure, not once reacting to his name being called out or Casper snapping his fingers in front of his face. He seemed dead-set on not sharing anything of use, instead examining a screwdriver in his hand.

"All riiight," Lora drawled out, turning back to Mr. Blofis. "I think… Yeah. If you could?"

"But we heard nothing!" Levi shouted in outrage; his face was shadowed by grimace as though it hurt him.

"There was nothing, smartass," Lyssa sniped back, clapping her hands together to the horror of those who sat closest to her. Levi opened his mouth but wisely kept quiet, just watching her intensely. Lyssa rolled her eyes. "We could spend the whole day wondering what prophecy it is and nagging Leo, but we can be smarter and just listen to the book. They'll tell us sooner or later."

She turned back to Mr. Blofis, who snapped out of his stupor and cleared his throat.

No one confronted her on the statement. Lyssa not being too curious to save her life was even more terrifying than her scouring the library, the internet and every single book in the world to find out an answer to the simples of questions.

Lora sent Mike a quizzical look, but he was just as lost as others.

Might as well listen.

"Right," I muttered. "Just checking."

"Oh, Percy's being optimistic!"

Apparently, everyone had made the same decision and settled on acting the usual. They'd die before allowing Lyssa get to them.

"I'd be too if a potentially deadly prophecy was hanging over my head."

Of course, no one listened to Percy. All because Chiron was too busy making Annabeth swear to take care of Percy.

"I–I swear it upon the River Styx," Annabeth said.

"He didn't!" Leo yelled despite himself, instantly drawing attention of others.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, indicating that Chiron, indeed, had made Annabeth swear upon river Styx that she would keep Percy safe.

How hadn't she died yet?

"Care to fill us in?" Mike wondered absent-mindedly, figuring that no, no one was going to let them in on that big secret of theirs. It was simply a reflex kicking in.

Cue the strongest surprise one could ever experience in this class, for Leo not only acknowledged Mike's existence; he also gave a detailed answer!

"It's a very dangerous promise to give," Leo clarified, swinging the screwdriver in the air. "Percy's prone to… um, accidents. Promising to keep him alive is as impossible as holding the weight of the world." I bet they've done that, too.

Well, as detailed as Leo could offer as he knew next to nothing about the old quest of theirs.

"How any accidents have they had so far?" Lora inquired, not ready to give in.

"Percy?" Leo raised his eyebrows. "If we count getting missing—" he faltered and stared at the screwdriver in his hands.

Was there a megaphone somewhere in his toolbelt? Leo was certain he'd put it in this morning—or was it yesterday? Anyways, if he adjusted this tiny part and changed the control, they would be able to use it for the games—Chiron would waste less time searching for them and simply called them from the house. Well, that was worth the effort.

Leo dug into the toolbelt and pulled out the said megaphone. His hand reached the screwdriver as he looked up.

"What?" Leo asked in worry. "Am I on fire?"

Leo's hand flew towards his head. Thanks the gods, it didn't seem to burn nor was it hot. He wasn't burning! That would be so unfortunate if he exposed his secret abilities to a bunch of mortals.

"What?" he repeated when it became evident these kids were watching him not because he was on fire. What did they want?

"What's Percy gotten himself into so far?" Levirepeated.

"When?"

"Did even you listen?"

"To what?"

Mike was the first one to give up. He was too young to deal with so much stress!

"Mr. Blofis!"

This time Leo listened with less attention, for there was nothing he didn't know. He even knew not to question Percy's ignorance regarding Tantalus… unlike Lyssa, who all but slapped her forehead in disgruntlement. He was so hopeless!

Needless to say, no one gave Percy a straight answer, leaving him figure it out on his own. Precisely, through a long, hard, and painful trial and error experience.

Not to mention things Percy had forgotten to share.

…about my dream of Grover.

"What dream?" Cassandra frowned, but knew better than stare at Leo. Something was telling her he wouldn't be able to help her.

Just as she expected, Leo started and looked at her groggily; lost and disturbed by the outside sounds, he cast a glance around the class until he found Cassandra. She appeared as bemused as he felt. What had she said? A dream? Something about a dream?

"A dream? I dunno, sorry."

That was a wonder he was still listening. On the other hand, this particular group of people would always drag him out into the real world when they needed.

…The best teacher I'd ever had was gone, maybe for good.

"He really is a pessimist," Lora sighed. "How did he survive, again?"

Honestly, with how much they were learning about Percy, it was such a wonder he'd gotten out of all the potentially fatal situations unscathed.

Tyson started bawling almost as bad as Annabeth.

Coos went through the class, being interrupted by a muffled snort—Leo imagined a bawling Annabeth and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of such an occasion.

On this happy note, they all moved to the dining pavilion. And, turned out, Percy wasn't the only one apprehensive of another of the gods' incomprehensibly ridiculous decisions. Well, at least, children hoped they were as disgruntled as Percy. These people sure were. However they didn't get a real chance to learn the facts right away, all because Percy saw it fit to introduce the campers. Again. Heeding the dead look on Leo's face, he either didn't listen or was mourning these people—not very reassuring.

Although most of Percy's commentary could have been cut out completely (Lyssa and other extremely nosy kids would be arguing, but the prevailing number of their classmates agreed whole-heartedly that it was excessive), there was a part that was destined to catch your attention.

…the guy who'd fought with Thalia and Annabeth on top of Half-Blood Hill.

"He's not here anymore?" someone asked. "Why?"

Leo rendered silence, looking as dead, exhausted, and nonchalant as he possibly could.

"…Thanks."

…and then he'd tried to kill me.

Silence wrapped them like a heavy and unbearably itchy blanket. So many of them had too much to say but didn't know how to articulate those comments correctly.

This boy had tried what?

"He… huh, he tried… what?" Lora all but sputtered.

"Luke has tried to kill him?" Jenna inquired almost nonchalantly, which might have put her neighbors out.

As if on cue, everyone stared at Leo. Leo let out a hiccup, visibly ashen and disturbed as well, but most likely for a different reason completely that none of them would love to delve into right now.

"Leo?"

Leo blinked and shrugged his shoulder as though it explained anything.

Someone groaned.

"Dude, c'mon!" Levi complained. "It's not the time to be skittish."

Leo raised his hands in defeat; his expression turned sour, almost mournful. "Listen, I'd love to help. Whatever this is," he made a circle with his hand, indicating the class, "it's been worse than I've seen either of them react, and they've been—" he close his mouth and gulped. Had they imagined the pain on his face? No one was eager to find out. "I don't know much except that Luke was working for Kronos. They did—"

"He was doing what?!"

Leo jolted at such an unexpected vociferous noise. His eyes landed on that overzealous chick—Lyssa? She didn't look excited anymore like she'd been these past few weeks. She had her eyes firmly trained on him, evoking Leo's usual twitchiness out of the depth of his self-control. He hated being stared at so intensely; it made his brain overanalyze and signal danger where there was none.

He rubbed his neck and waved at her. Lyssa blinked in response, having not taken her eyes off him. Come to think of it, none had.

Leo's mind now reeling at all the attention he was receiving. It never mean anything good oir positive. Usually it meant big trouble.

"Uh… what?"

His question seemed to have snapped them out of the trance. Lyssa was the first one showing signs of life, but it was some other boy asking questions.

"Luke was working for Kronos?" Mike asked an obviously distraught Leo.

Leo shrugged. "That's all I know."

"How dared he?" Sarah exploded; her body tensed as though she were ready to jump to her feet or to Luke and yell the same right into his face. "What ever Percy has done to him?"

Leo could only shrug helplessly. The truth is, he had never really asked. The camp had been in the state of constant panic from the war, then losing Percy, gods being silent and dismissive again, and Jason. No one had ever outright stated it, but Jason's presence unnerved them more than Percy's absence. Hera's stint meant that yet another war was imminent and inevitable, and they had barely recovered from the last one. They'd been low on campers, supplies, and spirits. Hephaestus' cabin's curse had kicked them down more than anyone was willing to let on.

It had been one hit after another for months on end, and Leo quickly learned to focus on present, fairly believing they would have time to share tragic stories later. There might have been a few times on Argo II where those pieces of nightmare would have fit the conversation, but Percy and Annabeth had been stranded in Tartarus for far too long to speak on anything that would even remotely remind of them.

Weeks and months had passed, and Leo still hadn't asked a single question about the previous war. Seeing his siblings' grim expressions and pained smiles was enough for him.

But Leo would have never guessed this information might be useful to him.

He hadn't met this people. (He would love to rewind back to the moment Chiron first voiced the idea and lock up in Bunker 9 until left alone.)

"I can't believe it!" Sarah bristled, massaging her temples a tad bit too dramatically.

"I can," Mike countered, ever-so-serious; nothing in his posture nor his expression suggested he was messing with them. Lyssa scowled deeply, sending him a quizzical look. "There's a better question, Why'd he work for Kronos."

"Why'd anyone work for Kronos?" Lyssa echoed in a dead voice.

Leo coughed upon seeing a few curious glances sent his way. "I don't know. All," he gestured toward the book, "that is the reason. I wasn't there yet."

In his head, it might have been a sufficient explanation, but others didn't share the sentiment, eyeing each other apprehensively as though wondering who'd be the one confronting Percy on that one.

(It was easy. Lyssa would be unleashed on him and his friends in no time.)

"So we'll just skip that part where he tried murdering Percy?" Sarah recurred to the old topic. "Anyone?"

She was met with grim expressions. Sarah groaned softly and dropped onto her desk, wishing for this day to be over.

(Everyone wished so if they were being honest.)

It goes without saying that Paul had plenty of time on his hands to dedicate to reading now, when children were too aghast to interrupt him every other sentence. Not that there was anything remarkable to discuss anyway.

Almost. Tyson remained the #1 priority to all of them, so when some unfortunate Kamikaze showed disdain toward the Cyclops, several people hissed; three more promised themselves they would hold a serious talk on the subject of respecting others, even if those weren't human.

If Tyson were here, he'd gain a lot more of new friends. If Percy heard it, he'd shed a tear of rejoice.

…My millennium is complete."

"And who is that?" Lora grumbled, feeling like life was slowly sipping out of her.

Somehow, they still have strength to move forward and react to the story.

…"Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever."

"Mr. D?"

Levi shrugged when his classmates gave him incredulous looks. Well, he didn't see any point in keeping names of random characters in mind.

"Dude, that's the god you're talking 'bout," Mike reminded him. Levi shrugged again and turned to Paul, who all but gaped at his students.

What mess had he willingly gotten himself into?

...Angry and frustrated and hungry all at the same time.

Students blinked. What the hell would they have a prisoner in the camp? What?

"Why's there a prisoner in the camp?" Steven marveled.

To his horror, Leo shrugged. It meant Leo's guess was as good as Steven's.

"Tantalus," Kylie said, instantly drawing attention to herself. At mystified looks she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I still read!"

"Tantalus?" several people repeated, all eyes rested on Lyssa.

"He was the man who cooked his kids and fed them to the gods."

To say they were aghast, would be an understatement. The whole concept of cooking people didn't want to settle in their heads. Feeding the said people to others? Nah, it's better not to think of it. Ever.

"Why there's so much cannibalism in those stories?" Sarah whined, as he neighbor patted her on the shoulder.

"How did Dionysus allow that?" Cassandra asked at the same time, equally terrified and disgusted at the idea.

All Leo could do was shrug. Was there really any need to delve into that part of their world?

What was worse, Dionysus seemed to be on good terms with the man. Just why?

…Thirteen-Year-Old Lunatic Torches Gymnasium.

Several people groaned. Here goes another story they would never hear. Asking Leo was pointless: not only had he paid little to no attention to the book, he also looked confounded every time another fact from Percy's life came up. Soo not helping!

…had almost gotten into a civil war?

The rumble of the thunder and a lightning did show that, yes, Zeus believed exactly that. (And was glad he'd caught Dionysus stare off in the distance.) Of course, it didn't sit well with students, which led to quite a shouting match between them, the essence of which could be said in one sentence: Zeus could shove his bolt up his ass and choke on it.

In any case, the suggestion was ignored—such a pity; Zeus with a stick up his ass would fit perfectly with his character and bearing—and children were, once again, immersed in the story.

Unfortunately, the chapter was boring. There wasn't much going on—if you don't count Tantalus' obsession with chasing food, the said food's dedication to killing itself off before he could get his hands on it (cue the nervous laughs), and overall defiance of Percy's.

…I'm sure your old curse will fade eventually."

"He soo loves you!" Lora said sarcastically.

"It's Mr. D," Leo chimed in, causing a round of loud gasps throughout the classroom. "He doesn't like anyone. Wonder why."

He joined the wire to the base, evoking a strong wave if electricity and yelping in the process. (No, they would not ask.)

…how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?"

"Say that again!"

Lyssa rolled her eyes upon hearing Steven's exclamation. Why—why—hadn't any of them picked up a book yet? There honestly wouldn't be any more silly questions asked!

…but you can't eat or drink."

"That's harsh," Cassandra frowned.

"Cass, he cooked his children," Lora said from the other side of the class.

Cassandra fell pensive for a spilt moment then school her head. "Never mind, he can rot all he wants."

'Rot' was the advice students had. Mostly because of the ugly person this particular man was.

No—one—picked—on—Tyson!

Unless you are a dead cannibal from Ancient Greece, that's it.

…We must decide what to do with it."

"It?" Steven repeated in disbelief. "It?"

"Yeah, who he thinks he is?" Levi added, equally appalled.

"Tyson seems so far from a monster—" Sarah noted.

"Unlike this man!" Lora finished in all but a screech.

Paul cleared his throat and quickly—quickly—read through the excerpt, afraid if he didn't finish now, they would riot.

Thanks the Olympians for Percy and his defense! Otherwise, his classmates would've gone ballistic—even angrier than from a thought that Luke had tried to kill Percy.

…I knew I couldn't disobey a direct order from the camp directors. Not openly, anyway.

"Aww, he's such a toddler!" Sarah said. "How could anyone he so… cruel?"

"These are gods for you," Leo stated calmly.

…We'll find you a good place to sleep tonight."

The more the chapter progressed, the more respect they had for Percy. He tried. He really did. Tyson being Cyclops clearly had been a nasty revelation to him, but Percy had brushed it off and endeavored to offer Tyson as much support as he could!

If only Tantalus could have shut up! At least, they had funnily acting food to make up for the distress.

…interact with each and every one of you children.

"Torture?" Cassandra squealed. "He said 'torture'?"

"Yes, Accardi, he meant torture," Kylie answered from her place, wishing for this class to end already.

"Torture!" Cassandra moaned again. "Who in their right mind would—"

Her went muffled as her neighbor put a hand over her mouth, to the biggest gratitude of all involved in this mess of a class.

Could they back out just as Percy had done?

You all look good enough to eat."

Cassandra's face reddened as she struggled to voice everything she would like gods to know, but a second pair of hands prevented her from achieving her goal—the girl behind her wasn't feeling it.

…"We are reinstituting the chariot races!"

A thud sound broke the silence. Cassandra twitched and stopped fidgeting, which allowed her neighbors to let go of her while others stared at Leo. He was sitting with his mouth wide open, watching the book—or space—apprehensively. Struck. Astonished. Disgruntled.

That man wanted what?

"Did he—did he say they'd be reinstating the chariot races?!"

Several people blinked.

"Err, yeah…" Mike faltered, having noticed the flinch. "Is it… bad?"

Leo heaved a breath and grasped the screwdriver again. "So I've heard."

"How bad is it?" Sarah wondered.

"They had to cancel it… again."

Leo's commentary didn't reassure anyone. Nor did Paul when he read other campers' objections.

"How many mutilations?" Lyssa gaped.

"Twenty-six, McKeenley," Kylie snorted.

It got worse. Mostly because Tantalus was pushing the concept of perilous and fatal games and enjoying potential outcomes. Just how many kids had died that year?

…will go to the winning charioteers each month.

"Each month?" Leo yelled, startling good three-fourth of the class. "He wanted them happening every month? What was Mr. D thinking?"

…The first race will be held in three days time.

"Three days! He wants them dead in three days!"

…to prepare your chariots and choose your horses.

Leo groaned. Loudly. Then rubbed his forehead, pretty annoyed by the events he hadn't been a part of. Thanks the gods for that! Leo would always take life on the run over a day in this man's presence.

…no chores for the month in which they win?"

Leo slapped his forehead and slid down on the seat. Dionysus would be soo dead!

Then the last person I expected to object did so.

Leo perked up. Who in this gods-forsaken place had a modicum of sense?

It was Clarisse. A very worried Clarisse, which made Leo pay excessive attention to the book. If Clarisse was against the activity, then it was surely a trip to Hades—the hard way.

That was a pity Tantalus chose to ignore the voice of reason by being obnoxious. Seriously, no one cared that Clarisse had slain the bulls; Clarisse didn't care she had slain the bulls! She, however, was very much concerned about the tree dying, which Tantalus just had to overlook in favor of being obnoxious and evil.

"He's such an asshole," someone grumbled.

No one complained, for they agreed with him wholeheartedly. Even more so when that soon-to-be-dead-again excuse of a ghost crossed the line.

No one had the right to attack Tyson if they could help it!

…to bring this here." Tantalus waved a hand toward Tyson.

Angry murmurs broke through the classroom as children were making up plans to go down in the Underworld and teach this ghost a lesson or two on how to be a decent human being. This bastard truly deserved a good punch for every time he badmouthed Tyson.

…Hermes's cabin, possibly?"

"He's mocking him on purpose!" Cassandra exclaimed in outrage. "How despicable do you have to be to hurt an innocent creature like—"

"Cass, he cooked his children!" Lora reminded her. "I don't expect anything good of him."

Cassandra heaved a breath in attempt to calm down and closed her eyes. It was terrible to vent her anger out on her classmates. They weren't that man. They didn't deliberately degrade another human—Cyclops, whatever. They were as disgruntled as she.

"I'm fine!" Cassandra announced.

But it got worse. For one, campers seemed to share the sentiment and were uncomfortable near Tyson. No one wanted him as a buddy. No one even wanted to look at him, terrified, disgusted, and apprehensive of him. Poor Tyson didn't even realize just how cruel they were being!

(Which wouldn't have surprised anyone if they'd remembered how these same people treated Percy after his claiming. For someone who'd been outcasts their whole lives, these people seemed eerily comfortable with excluding others for their differences without as much as knowing them first.)

Suddenly everybody gasped.

"What else?" Sarah groaned. "They have a dragon as a pet? Tantalus decided to send him to Olympus?"

Paul chuckled, which made several people perk up.

…image that had appeared above Tyson's head.

"Err, what?"

Outrage was replaced by confusion fairly quickly, as everyone wanted to see what other terrible occurrence had taken place in that damned camp of theirs.

…Well, one god in particular, usually …

Lora gasped as it dawned on her.

"No way!" she turned to Leo, who flinched and stared at her. "Is it—"

"Yeah…"

A huge smile appeared on Lora's face. That was all confirmation she needed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lyssa smirk and rolled her eyes. Of course, Lyssa would have figured it out ages ago!

"What?" Levi asked, but no one answered him. Those who'd realized, preferred to keep quiet until the book revealed the fact; those who didn't, were equally as lost and simply waited for the book to tell them.

Thanks the gods, Paul didn't possess an ounce of maliciousness and read the part right away.

…Poseidon had claimed me as his son.

"What?" rang through the class as Lora, Lyssa, and several other kids were smiling brightly.

This was so damn cool! Yes, Tyson was a Cyclops, but he appeared the most kind-hearted and tender creature they'd witnessed so far. It was an honor to have him as a brother.

"Percy has a Cyclops for a brother?"

Leo nodded.

"Cool!" Steven yelled.

The excitement was short-lived, however, because Tantalus was still there humiliating Percy and hating on Tyson.

…By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!"

"He's such an asshole," someone muttered again. Kids nodded in agreement.

…how cruel people were.

Several people sighed in adoration. He was such a cute kid!

…I had a monster for a half-brother.

"Percy!"

Somewhere half-way to his house Percy jerked and began looking around, wondering what the he was going on and why he was having hearing hallucinations.