These drabbles were written for: Percy Jackson Fanfiction Challenges - kitty132383: The 100 Prompts/100 Drabbles Challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series, all rights go to Rick Riordan.
7. Handprint
Words: 364
Thalia Grace hated when she couldn't do something.
Thalia hated to fail someone.
That's why she was sitting in the same position for the last ten minutes (which was hard with her ADHD) and she was thinking as hard as she could.
"Are you ready?" Thalia looked up when her teacher stepped in front of her desk. Mrs. Smith raised her eyebrows and looked at the young girl disapprovingly.
"You haven't done anything. Your classmates have already finished," she declared. Thalia nodded politely and she looked at her paper. It was her handprint on it.
"You have understood the task, haven't you?" the teacher asked and the six-year-old nodded again. She wasn't dumb; she knew that she had to write the things she loved in her mother in the place of her five fingers.
"So, you think you are too good to do it?" Mrs. Smith asked.
"No, madam," the black-haired girl answered politely.
"Then why haven't you done the task?" the teacher asked impatiently. Thalia didn't answer, she didn't know how to. It was the first Friday in May, which meant that in two days it was Mother's Day. All her classmates very happily chatting about their wonderful mothers and Thalia felt lonely. She really wanted to be able to do the project, but she didn't love her mother.
She tried, but she failed. She has seen what her classmates have written:
Mommy loves me
Mom plays with me all the time
She gives me a cookie when I'm good
Mommy helps me with school
Mom is always there for me
None of that described her mother. Her mother was never there for her...
"I don't know what to write, madam," Thalia answered honestly.
"You said that you know what you have to do," the teacher said confusedly.
"I do," the little girl nodded and Mrs. Smith raised her eyebrows.
"Then do your task," the teacher said impatiently and stormed away, leaving a tearful six-year-old back. Thalia put down her pencil and lacerated her red handprint.
She has failed the task.
She has failed her mother.
She wasn't like any of her classmates.
She was alone.
She felt lonely.
She had no one.