A/N: Thanks to all that have read my story. Any reviews (hateful comments as well) are appreciated, because it lets me know that you took the time to let me know how you felt about my story. Also, thank you to those who favorited/followed my story so far.

Review responses (from time of chapter upload):

Guest #1: I was not aware that another fan fiction had a character named Ebony, but it's a little late to change the name now.

Guest #2: I am sorry that you hate this, but it is your own decision on what you want to read. I chose the name Ebony for a specific reason. Yes, I know the name means black, but I imagine that Sally was surprised that she was having twins when she gave birth to Percy and Ebony and had to come up with a name on the spot for her daughter. I imagine that Ebony had been born with a full head of her black hair, which then inspired Sally to name her Ebony, because of her beautiful black hair.

REMINDER: I would appreciate it very much if you guys, the readers, could help me think of a pairing for Ebony. I would like to know soon, because then if the character were to be at camp during the course of the first book, I could have Ebony meet the guy and become friends or something similar to that. If you do leave a review on who you want, I would be very, very happy.

Disclaimer: I do not, have, or ever will own the amazing Percy Jackson series. They belong to Rick Riordan, the person who dreamed up this amazing series. Ebony Jackson's character does belong to me, though.

Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks Of Death

I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. For the entire rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some type of trick on Percy and me.

I had given up hope that people actually would remember Mrs. Dodds a week after the museum trip. Percy… not so much.

Percy would occasionally spring up a Mrs. Dodds reference but whoever he brought it up to would stare at him like he was a psycho.

I had never been so confused in my life. I almost believed that Mrs. Dodds had never existed, except for the fact that I constantly think about it since Percy can't let it slip his mind.

And not to mention the fact that Grover was a terrible liar. Percy had sprang a Mrs. Dodds reference on Grover at least once a week, but Grover always had some obvious sign of lying when he said she doesn't exist.

It makes me feel like I'm not insane for knowing she existed.

The freak weather had also been continuing. One night, there was a thunderstorm so I had been up with Percy in his room when the windows in his dorm room blew out. I don't remember being more terrified during a storm when that one happened. Then, just a few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only 50 miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies was the unusual amount of small planes that had gone down in the Atlantic that year.

Percy's mood had started to become cranky and irritable, which also became my mood soon after. My grades—that I am very proud of, by the way—of Cs had slipped down to Ds. Percy got into multiple fights with Nancy Bobofit and her stupid friends, that just so happened to be roomed down the hall from me. In almost every class, Percy or me, and sometimes both, got sent out into the hallway.

Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked Percy for probably the millionth time why he was too lazy to study for spelling tests, he snapped. He called him an old sot.

The headmaster sent our mom a letter the following week saying that we were not invited back to Yancy Academy for the next year.

I can't tell you how overjoyed I was by that.

I was miserable, and Percy even more miserable than me.

We had come to a mutual agreement that we wanted to be with mom in our Upper East Side apartment, even if we had to put up with Smelly-Gabe, our obnoxious stepfather, and his dumb poker parties.

I can say, the only things I would miss at Nancy would be Grover and Mr. Brunner. I love Latin class, with all the tournament days that made me happy no matter how sour my mood was that day.

The closer exam day got, the more I tried to study, so I could make mom happy. Latin by far was the hardest subject to study for, with memorizing a whole bunch of Roman cities, differences between people with similar names. Conjugating Latin verbs was probably the easiest thing on the final, even if I only just started to understand how to do it.

I decided I needed to take a break and go see Percy, as the silence of my dorm room was killing me. I didn't get assigned a roommate, as there were an uneven amount of girls at Yancy, with rooms that only held two people at once. I had been happy at first, because not once in my life had I not had to share a room with someone, like my brother.

I walked to the boy's dorm area, taking note that it smelled faintly of sweat and dirty socks. Ew.

I knocked on the door to Percy's room, and after hearing movement but no answer, walked in, having my eyes mostly closed, because, hey. You never know what you'll find in a boy's room.

As soon as I walked in, a book hit my ribcage and I groaned. I doubled over and almost fell, because that was the amount of force that went into the book that had gotten thrown across the room.

Percy had looked up when he heard me groan. His eyes looked tired, like he had been trying to study, and that's when I looked down to see what the book's title was. Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology, the book read.

"Are you all right?" Percy said worriedly as I put my hands on my knees and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine," I wheezed out, trying to catch my breath. "I only got impaled by a Greek mythology book."

"Sorry," Percy said. "I was trying to study."

Is this really Percy? Percy studying? Has the world come to an end?

"Are you sure you're Percy?" I said, squinting my eyes like I'm studying him.

"Hilarious," he said.

"You know," I started to say, "if you want help studying you could always ask Mr. Brunner."

"That's a good idea!"

"Of course it is. That's why I'm the brains for the two of us."

"Do you want to come with? I mean, you don't have to, I was just wondering."

"Nah," I said. "I only came over here to check how you were doing before getting a snack from the vending machine down the hall. I'm too tired to try and study anymore."

"Okay. See you in the Latin exam tomorrow, I guess."

I left the room and walked towards the vending machine, intent on getting some Doritos I had seen in the vending machine.

Once I get there, only one bag of the nacho cheese kind is left.

I put my money in the machine, pressed the numbers, and waited for the Doritos to drop into the collection area. The thing holding the chips moved, but stopped right before the Doritos could even fall down. I was angry, because I just spent the last of my money on a bag of Doritos that I didn't even get to eat.

I banged my fist on the machine, and a whole bunch of snacks fell down into the part of the machine that you collect your food from.

My eyes widen. I didn't think I hit the machine THAT hard…

I grab my Doritos and some candy that I like from the machine before heading back to my room, thinking about how I somehow managed to get at least half the items sitting in the front slot of the machine to fall down.

The next day, during the Latin exam, I was thinking about what happened. I tried to concentrate on my test, but with the words blurring together and my mind wandering off, I had problems focusing.

Somehow, I managed to get my test finished and see Percy getting up at the same time as me. I don't think he finished, but as we leave the three hour Latin exam, Mr. Brunner calls us back in.

"Percy, Ebony," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's…it's for the best."

His tone was kind, but I felt embarrassed and like I let him down in some way I don't know about. He had been speaking quietly, but the other kids taking the test could hear him. Nancy looked at us and smirked, before turning to Percy and making sarcastic little kissy motions with her lips.

"Okay, sir," we mumbled at the same time.

"I mean…" Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the place for the two of you. It was only a matter of time."

I had never wanted to cry more in front of people I hated than then.

My favorite teacher, who had believed in Percy and me the whole year, was telling us we were destined to get kicked out.

"Right," I said.

Percy was trembling.

"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say… you're not normal, Percy, Ebony. That's nothing to be—"

"Thanks," I blurted.

Percy continued my statement.

"Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding us."

"Percy—"

But we were already gone.

On the last day of the term, I was packing up my room. I put all my clothes and junk into my gigantic black duffle bag.

All the other girls were squealing and shrieking as they told each other where they were going with their filthy rich snobby families for the summer. And as for me and Percy… well, we were probably going to find a job to help our mom out and find a school for next year.

They didn't approach me, as I was glaring at them when I left to go find Percy, who, of course, was near all the idiotic guys.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey, apparently Grover is riding the same bus into city as us."

"That's cool, I guess."

The whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. I suddenly thought of how whenever we left Yancy, he would always be nervous and fidgety, as if he expected something bad to happen. I had always assumed it was because he would get teased, but there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.

"Looking for Kindly Ones?" Percy said.

"For what?" I said, not knowing what he was talking about.

Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"

Percy confessed something about eavesdropping on a conversation between Grover and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.

"Wait," I said, "why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because," he said. "I didn't want you to be all nervous if I did tell you about it."

"Idiot," I muttered.

"How much did you hear?" Grover asked.

"Oh … not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"

He winced. Okay, now I was really curious as to what I am missing out on.

"Look, Percy … I was just worried for the both of you. I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers…"

"Grover—"

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you guys were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and …"

"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."

His ears turned pink.

From his shirt pocket, he pulled out two business cards. "Just take this, okay? In case either of you need me this summer."

The fancy script on the card was murder to my dyslexic eyes, but I managed to read it. I think the card said something like:

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800)-009-0009

"What's Half—"

"Don't say it aloud!" Grover yelped. "That's my, um … summer address."

I couldn't believe Grover had a summer home. I mean, not to be rude or anything, he just didn't seem like a rich kid with a nice summer home.

"Okay," Percy 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?"

That came out really harshly. Jeez, Percy needs to get a filter on that mouth.

"Percy," I hissed.

Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, Ebony, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."

I blinked, shocked.

Protect us? All year we were the ones protecting him from the bullies and he had to protect us?

"Protect us from what?" I said.

A huge grinding noise came from under our feet. Black smoke filled the dashboard and the bus smelt of rotten eggs. The driver cursed and drove the Greyhound bus to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes of clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we would all have to get off. Grover, Percy and I filed off with everyone 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.

I was hungry and the good-looking stuff on sale looked really good to me: heaping boxes if bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.

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.

Just looking at them made my stomach kind of queasy and gave me a bad feeling. I knew something was off with them, similar to Mrs. Dodds.

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 Percy and me.

We looked at Grover and I saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.

"Grover?" Percy said. "Hey, man—"

"Tell me they're not looking you two. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"

I gave him my are-you-serious look.

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."

The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.

"We're getting back on the bus," he told us. "Come on."

"What?" Percy said.

"It's a thousand degrees in there," I whined.

"Come on!" He pried open the door, climbed inside, tried pulling me in, but I stayed outside with Percy.

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching us. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks.

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 sicker than I had earlier when watching the old ladies. I could Percy wasn't feeling too good either.

Even Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.

"Grover?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you not telling us?" Percy asked.

He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, Ebony, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies?" Percy asked him. "What is it about them, man? They're not like … Mrs. Dodds, are they?"

His expression made it look like the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse that Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."

"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn," I croaked out. I was on the edge of crying from how sick I felt.

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 that seemed older.

He said, "You saw her snip the cord."

"Yeah, so?" Percy said, making it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but his facial expression said otherwise.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

"What last time?" I asked, panicking.

"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."

"Grover, you're scaring me," I said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."

We promised.

"Is this a superstition or something?" Percy asked.

No answer.

"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?" I asked.

He looked at us mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers we'd like best on our coffins.