I Nearly Drown in the Toilet… Wait, Didn't That Already Happen?

"Sorry we're late-ah! You're that kid from the library!"

"Kid from the library?" Luke repeated, looking at me. He looked like a senior. He was definitely older than the rest of them, anyway. Other than that, he was the same. Same good looking face, blond hair, blue eyes… same scar.

"So you two have met?" Thalia asked, shoveling down the salad she brought from home.

"He fell asleep in the library and didn't wake up when the bell rang," Annabeth explained. "I woke him up and he hit me in the face."

"You what?!"

"It's your fault for hovering over me like that!" I protested angrily.

"My fault? I was doing you a favor!"

"Next time, just let me sleep!"

"And let you embarrass yourself by drooling all over your textbooks?! Maybe I will!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

Luke laughed nervously. "Annie, why don't you calm down…" He put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her lightly back down onto her seat. She had stood up and so had I. I sat back down.

"Aaaanyways," Thalia said. "Percy, Grover, this is Annabeth and her boyfriend, Luke. Annabeth, Luke, this is Percy and Grover." So Annabeth and Luke were dating, huh? In my dream, she did have a crush on Luke. But the guy turned out to be a backstabbing, lying cheat. That bastard. Leaving me for dead in the woods. I reminded myself that that had been in a dream. The real Luke seemed perfectly fine.

Thalia glance around the table, and her eyes settled on two people who had yet to be introduced. "This is Hazel, she's a freshmen, and her boyfriend, Frank."

Hazel was a cute, African American girl while Frank was a very baby-faced, yet muscular, Chinese guy.

"Hi!" Hazel greeted. Frank smiled. Cue awkward silence.

Piper was the one who broke the tension. "So, Percy, Grover, what are you guys interested in?"

Grover enthusiastically launched into his "saving the environment" speech. Amazingly, almost everyone seemed to be drinking it up, with the exception of Annabeth and Jason, both of whom were busying themselves with books. Leo hadn't looked up from the contraption in his hands, but I could tell he was listening.

Before I even realized it, lunch was over. "What class do you have next?" Thalia inquired.

"History with Pau- Mr. Blofis," I corrected.

"Hey, me too!" Thalia grinned.

"Me three!" Piper added.

"Me cuatro!" Leo.

"Me five!" Grover said happily.

"Me six." Jason.

"Me seven," Annabeth chimed.

"That worked out well," Piper laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in our faces," Luke said. "You all get the same classes together."

"Your fault for being born too early," Thalia told him.

"And being smart," Leo said, somewhat bitterly. "I mean, if you were dumber, you could still take the same classes as us!"

Luke laughed good naturedly. Maybe he really wasn't so bad in real life. Then again, that's what I had thought when I had first met him… in a dream. Di immortals, my life was going crazy.

So our group of seven made our way to Paul's history class. When we entered Paul's class, he looked up and saw me immediately.

"Ah Percy! Made some friends already, I see! Oh, and hi Grover!" He nodded at my friend.

"You two know each other?" Annabeth questioned.

"Pa- Mr. Blofis is kind of dating my mom…"

"Man, you're so lucky!" Leo told me, an mischievous grin on his face. "This class will be an easy A for you, huh?"

Paul shook his head, smiling. "While I am acquainted with Mr. Jackson, I don't plan on giving him, or his friends, any special treatment." He looked pointedly at us. "Sorry, but you'll all still have to work your very hardest. Got it?"

Seven "yes sirs" were given, but only Annabeth and Jason really seemed to mean it. In all honesty, I had a little sinking feeling in my stomach. History was one of my worst subjects and I wasn't about to deny that it would have been helpful if…

"Now get to your seats," Paul ordered, still smiling.

We all bunched together at the desks in the back of the class. The bell rang and Paul- or should I say, Mr. Blofis- began the teacher welcome speech that seemed to be a ritual with every teacher in the entire world.

As Paul began to explain what we would be learning in class, a folded note dropped onto my desk. I glanced behind me at Leo. He pointed to the paper and mouthed, "read it". Glancing up at Paul to make sure he didn't see me, I unfolded the note and stared at the paper.

A blinked. My brow furrowed with concentration as I tried to decipher the message and unscramble the letters. It didn't help that Leo had the handwriting of an elephant on drugs. By the time I had worked out the words, class was going to end in five minutes.

Welcome party for Percy and Grover :-)

Jason and Thalia's place. Meet after school. In front of the main doors.

I glanced around. Grover was clutching his own note in his hand. Piper was giving me a thumbs up. I smiled to myself. I could already tell it was going to be a very fun school year.

Piper, Jason and I had English together. On the way there, I remembered something.

"I forgot to ask, does this school have a swim team?"

Piper and Jason looked at me, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Piper said. "Goode's the best in the state."

"Do you swim?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. Do you know who I have to talk to so I can join?"

Jason and Piper pondered this. "You should probably ask Coach Hedge. He's the swim team's coach," Jason informed me.

"And the basketball team's, and the football team's, and the soccer team's, and every other sport this school has to offer," Piper added.

"Do you guys do any sports?"

"Jason's the school's all-star when it comes to the long jump and high jump. You should see him! He really flies through the air!" Piper glanced at her boyfriend with admiration. "I used to run track, but I quit so I could put my effort into debate. I'm very good at persuading people." She smiled proudly, then quickly said, "Not to brag or anything, of course."

"Of course," I repeated. "I think I'll talk to this Coach Hedge after school. Would you guys mind waiting up for me a bit?"

"Not at all. Do you want me to come with you?" Jason offered. "Coach Hedge can be a little…intimidating."

"Nah, I'm fine. How bad can he be?"

"WHADDAYA WANT CUPCAKE?!"

I was pretty sure weapons weren't allowed in school, but apparently nobody had a problem with Coach Hedge brandishing a baseball bat around, threatening to hit students. I took an instinctive step back.

"I just wanted to ask if I could join the swim team," I said, holding my hands up warily, just in case the coach thought I would make a good target dummy.

Coach Hedge glared up at me. He was a tiny, hairy little guy with the buff arms of a pro wrestler. His curly hair was hidden under a baseball cap and a permanent growl seemed to be etched onto his face.

"AND WHY SHOULD I LET YOU ON MY SWIM TEAM CUPCAKE?!"

"Well, I'm pretty good sir and-"

"WHY DON'T YOU PROVE THAT TO ME AT TRYOUTS NEXT MONDAY CUPCAKE!" It wasn't a question. "NOW GET OUTTA MY SIGHT BEFORE I BAT YOU FROM HERE TO GREECE!"

"Thank you, Coach," I said quickly and tried not to sprint out of the gym. That had to have been the most terrifying experience of my life. Getting screamed at by a short, angry coach with a baseball bat who called me 'cupcake'. Now that was a dream that would haunt me forever.

I started to walk back towards the school entrance. It was crazy, really. First, Annabeth, who I was pretty sure had been a figment of my imagination up until now, happened to be attending my new school. She had a friend named Thalia, who had also appeared in my dream. And Luke. I still didn't know what to make of Luke. If my dream had told me anything, it was that he couldn't be trusted, but I wasn't quite ready to make assumptions about him based on some fantasy I had had five years ago. I wondered what else from my dream would be made a reality. Hopefully, Clarisse La Rue wouldn't jump out at me with her Ares cabin thugs and try to dunk me in the toiled again.

I really shouldn't have jinxed myself.

As soon as that thought even entered my mind, somebody grabbed me by the collar. I tried to shout, but a hand clamped over my mouth. Hand grabbed me from both sides and began to drag me towards the nearest bathroom.

"Loser was trying to get onto the swim team," I heard.

"Let's see how long he can hold his breath!" Both voices were masculine.

I struggled, but there were three of them and one of me. I managed to elbow one of the guys in the nose. He leapt back, cursing, before kicking me in the gut. Little white dots appeared in my vision. I was vaguely aware of being forced to my knees. Then all I could see was the toilet, ready to welcome me with open arms.

In my dream, I had made the toilets explode. In my dreams, I had gotten the better of my attackers.

This wasn't my dream.

I wasn't the son of Poseidon.

I didn't have magical control over water.

I was going to be drinking out of the toilet.

Suddenly, there was a shout of pain and the pressure that was forcing my head towards the toilet bowl was released. The hands that were holding me down let go.

"Shit! She's here!"

"Scram!"

The sound of running.

"Yeah! Run like the sissy you are, Octavian!" a female voice shouted.

I looked up at my savior.

If I had a dime for the number of times I had been shocked speechless that day, I would have… a lot of dimes.

Because standing in front of me, the person who had saved me from a swirly, was none other than Clarisse La Rue herself.

A/N: So that was chapter two! I'm trying to get a few chapter out of the way as quickly as possible since I'm anticipating the new school year... You know what they say- fanfiction is good for the soul... I made that up. Obviously. Again, I really appreciate constructive criticism. I try to avoid using overused cliches in my writing so we'll see how the story turns out. Thanks for reading! Again, I don't own anything except my own hopes and dreams XD