Chapter 17: It's Just Chaos
...like everything in this story. They keep on distracting me and themselves.
All rights to recognizable characters and bold texts belong to R. Riordan.
It's been sitting in the drafts since August. For whatever reason, I keep on being enthusiastic about this story and have at lest five pre-written chapters. Wow.
Either way, Happy Birthday to me! ;D
"—it went KA BOOM!" Leo outstretched his arms. Jenna let out a short laugh and shook her head, disbelieving.
"What did they do?"
"After putting out the fire?" Leo asked back. "Chased them around the camp for violating safety rules."
Jenna bit her lower lip to not burst out laughing in the middle of the hallway, but the mental image of a few trees—tree nymphs more likely—chasing five startled, dusty kids around the forest was the funniest thing she had ever envisioned.
"Tree nymphs?" she asked in a strained voice.
"I wouldn't underestimate them," Leo opened the door to the class, allowing Jenna to enter. "They can put up a fight, trust me."
Jenna halted at the doorjamb and peered at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"How many times have you burned down their forest?"
Leo hoped his face was a mask of nonchalance, but judging by Jenna's expression, he was failing miserably. "Uh…"
Jenna chuckled and resumed walking.
Leo followed her only to stop dead on his tracks upon seeing sour faces of his friends.
"Hey, what's up? What's the Principal told you?" he called from the front, instantly drawing attention of those few people who were in the class.
Jenna sent a curious look at the back and hummed before widening her eyes at Leo. Kylie and Lyssa, who had been arguing in hushed whispers, perked up and were listening in intently. The others, they just watched patiently for any breadcrumbs to clutch onto.
All Leo got were the most unimpressed looks all three could muster.
He rolled his eyes and strolled toward his desk.
"Uncle Leo's listening," he plopped on the seat and smiled widely at them.
Percy was twirling the pen impatiently, perhaps, to cool off. Jason couldn't stop scowling but otherwise showed no reaction. Annabeth was staring at her binder with agony. (Leo started to suspect it was not about detention.)
"Three days of detention for skipping," Percy grumbled, halting for a moment before dropping the pen and crossing his arms. He did appear slightly pained, sort of shrinking into himself and trying to turn as small as he could.
Leo pushed the worry aside, allowing his smile to grow. "Serves you right for leaving me behind!"
"We said we were sorry!"
"Sorry won't cut it."
"What do you want us to do?" Percy groaned, though there was a tinge of urgency as though he genuinely wanted to know how to fix it with Leo. "Write you an apology note?"
Leo hummed pensively as he leaned closer. From this angle neither Percy nor Annabeth looked ghoulish pale anymore. "Yeah, I'd like that. And photos from detention!" at Percy's bemused look he chuckled. "For the history. How many times has Annabeth wound up in detention?"
Annabeth huffed loudly but offered no other reaction to his comment.
"Fair," Percy nodded, relaxing just a bit. His eyes rested on Leo; so big and pleading, Leo knew where it was leading. "Are we good?"
"If you promise not to do it again," Leo said solemnly.
"Deal."
Nothing could ruin Leo's mood from that point on. Jenna's selfless act of defense awakened that deeply buried sense of gratitude Leo hadn't had for anyone but the camps in a long while. Maybe not everyone in this school was as horrific as he'd been led to believe. Horrific and nosy and constantly demanding, they had exacerbated that itch at the back of Leo's mind; the itch he had not acknowledged since… since last year before he'd ended up in Wilderness School and met Piper and Jason. The itch to drop everything and set off, somewhere. Somewhere where he couldn't be reached but would be able to start over. It would be easier now when he was sixteen and had skills to actually survive.
He'd almost bolted the other way just last night, having noticed a bus station on his way to camp. His hurt side had flared up and been nagging him to stop and change the route, to grab Festus and run. To travel as he'd promised Calypso before they settled on visiting the camp just in time for being shoved into this school.
He should have stayed in the Atlantic a little longer—now Leo was more than certain. Cal didn't mind one bit, having missed thousands of years and world. They could have sunbathed on some faraway island, drinking cocktails and having no worry in the world.
Cal might like school, came to Leo, making him sit straight up.
"Leo?" Jason frowned at him. Leo waved him off and stared at the clock above the teacher's desk.
Cal might like school! This school. She might enjoy mingling in with people and being a mortal! That was everything she'd ever wanted but got stuck in camp instead.
How come he had never thought of it before?
They were hostile.
They were not anymore. Leo's eye flickered toward Jenna who was scrolling through her phone, nodding along to something her neighbors argued about. There was Jenna. And Mike. And their friends. And Lyssa—as terrifying as she appeared. They would not be hostile to her. Overzealous, curious, and annoying maybe, but Leo had a feeling Cal would take anything after centuries of downtime.
His day might have just gotten better.
The feeling wouldn't last, however. That Leo realized once he saw a dejected Paul in the front of the class. At a quizzical look, Percy shrugged, equally as perplexed.
"Uh, I would like… ahem," Paul faltered. It did not seem possible, but his expression grew ever darker and more waxy than before. Something flickered on his face when he glanced at Percy. "Be ready for next week, everyone. I'll start the reading in a moment."
Both Leo and Jason turned to Percy, who shrugged again, this time more feebly; his face a mask of pain.
"I don't know," he whispered in a strained voice, clearly lying through his teeth.
Soft groans could be heard all around them; others were not willing to question Paul much, on anything it seemed.
Paul might be enjoying the lack of vigor, though, for he didn't hesitate to start reading even before they were able to return their eyes on him.
"We meet the sheep of doom," he scowled upon reading the title.
He was the only one, for it did not spark up much interest from anyone. Contrarily to the place described in the very first sentence. A few people blinked, suddenly having scrambled that still fragile flame of curiosity inside of them.
"Where. Are. You?" Jenna inquired, looking straight at them now.
That was a good question, which was left unanswered.
Because, really, only Leo was still in the mood to interact with the world. And Leo was blinking slowly, mouthing the words from the book over and over again like a broken record.
A plethora of questions instantly popped up in the minds of everyone, but they wisely remained silent.
…like the island of the Sirens.
"What island?" Peter frowned. His bemusement deepened after a quick look around and realization that he was not the only one who didn't quite follow the books.
"Yeah, what island?" Levi said.
As one, they turned toward Percy, who shrank into himself and huffed under his breath. Annabeth seemed to have blanched, her eyes definitely had grown bigger; though, she rendered silence, too. That left Jason and Leo, but no one had a heart to disturb them, so confused both appeared.
"All right," Lora clapped her hand, scaring off the person sitting next to her. "Where are you?"
"You did get there?" Lyssa marveled at the same time.
She was watching the book with an unreadable expression, seemingly frozen in time and unable to move. What. Were. Their. Lives? How could something of that sort exist and not once been exposed to the world? Was that mist thing truly that strong?
Steven rubbed his chin and glanced at Mike in search of assistance. But Mike wasn't looking at any of them, staring at the desk. Riley, who remained as silent as he possible could, eyed him wearily and even shrugged almost amicably at Cassandra's concerned glance.
Talking of inexplicable.
"What's the island of Sirens?" Lora asked at the same time, effectively keeping the major part of class engaged.
She was also pretty bummed when no response followed. The only reaction they did get was Jason furrow his brows and a curious glance at Percy.
His fault.
"Where are they?" Steven asked loud and clear, staring at the four unabashedly.
Jason grimaced but said nothing. Leo started and dropped the pen but also remained quiet. Percy and Annabeth… they were harder to crack.
"The place they were supposed to get to, duh!" Mike responded in the same tone. He caught Lyssa's look and shuddered, instantly turning away only to see Riley eyeing him incredulously.
"Mike?"
Mike waved him off, which, to his biggest surprise, worked quite well since Riley could get incredibly clingy for no reason at all and it was always pain to get rid of him.
"They were supposed to get somewhere?" Peter asked meanwhile, watching the clock above the whiteboard.
It must have snapped something somewhere, for everyone turned to the four, now peering at them intensely as though expecting them to combust.
Annabeth was the first to give up and barked: "The Golden Fleece!"
Percy instantly leaned away from her, eyeing her sternly.
Annabeth didn't react, instead returning to the papers in front of her. She itched to take a pen and fix the small imperfections she'd pointed out just with once glance. The angle of the shrine was a little weird; she had to move it to the left by an inch then it would allow her to—
She snapped out of it and crossed her arms, hunching on the seat. Her mom's shrine kept on jumping up at her at the worst time. She wished Daedalus' laptop had still been in her possession, so she would occupy herself with something less grueling.
"The golden what?" Sarah cried.
"Why are you still getting surprised?" Peter asked, sounding a little too apathetic.
Sarah opened her mouth to retort but closed it and froze up. No; no, she was not.
They descended into awkward silence in vain hope to fish out more information from Percy, but all they got was a withering glare and some incoherent mumbling that might have been helpful, had it been, well, louder.
"Percy?" Leo spoke up, eyeing him with something akin to concern.
"Why this part?" Percy added some volume to his voice. Leo's scowl deepened, and he shot a glance at Annabeth who appeared a little too engrossed in her doodling or whatever she had been busying herself with nowadays, so he turned to Jason. Jason shrugged, just as lost.
"Percy," he uttered slowly and distinctly, ensuring Percy had no real way of dodging the question. Percy instantly stiffened. Well… it was certainly something that was actively making him unhappy then. "What part are you talking about?"
Leo nodded vigorously; his eyes trained on Percy's face.
Percy's face scrunched up in disgust? Apprehension? Aversion? No one but the closest to him would be able to tell. But… they appeared as clueless as the rest. All they could do was sit and wait.
"Why'd they decide to include only parts of the quests in this book?" he asked… whined. Complained. Percy was totally complaining.
At his question even Annabeth looked up and gave him a glance over before diving back into her work. Both Leo and Jason stilled themselves which was unnerving on its own since none of them truly sat still, ever. Not in any of their classes could they not move, and here they were, doing something not one person would have predicted.
"Huh?"
Jason stared at Leo who stared back; both puzzled.
"How—How is it a bad thing?" Jason marveled.
Whatever they did expect from Percy, it was probably not what they got. Percy leaned forward with such speed, Jason recoiled and crashed into the desk, then grinned at them. A pain-filled grin nonetheless. "It makes no sense!" his eyes went comically wide. "What's the goal? Why'd gods take random parts and throw them in one book without explanations? If they want people to understand us, why not include something, I don't know, more useful? You know how dangerous the Sea of Monsters is?"
"The Sea of what?" Sarah muttered, exchanging a glance with Cassandra, who could do nothing but shrug in response.
Jason's eyebrows knit together. He seemed to be trying to see Percy's dilemma but kept on hitting the wall.
"Where'd you get the 'want to understand us' part from?" he asked, but to no avail since Percy had gotten on the roll and fully focused on his… rant? What was it even? And why had Annabeth not reacted yet?
"If you want to show people what it's like, wouldn't it be sensible to squeeze in as much as you could?" Percy wondered, his gaze gradually getting glazed over. "I lost the count of times we almost died that summer! All the drama has been skipped too!"
"Wait, you're mad the book hasn't revealed more of your secrets?" Leo asked, dumbfounded.
Percy's face contorted as though he wanted to ask, what secrets.
"What's the point then?!" he all but yelled instead, forcing Jason to lean away from him. "Why aren't they answering the questions?"
All he received in response—and no one could blame Jason and Leo—was more silence. Percy rolled his eyes and slumped on the chair, heaving a sigh.
"Uh, can I—" everyone turned to Steven, who gave a faint shudder at all the attention. Especially, a glare from Percy. At least, others were more bemused than angry, so he didn't feel fully terrified. "Maybe it's a sneak peak? Maybe it's designed like that to make us read the whole thing when it's out?"
Stares intensified. Steven shifted under their gazes and let out a strained laugh.
Peter snorted. It set off some sort of chain reaction because soon everyone was laughing hard at his admittedly preposterous suggestion with no plan to stop anytime soon. Steven gave a couple weak laughs like he agreed with it being ridiculous, but all he could see was a dark expression on Percy's face. He couldn't see others, but something was telling him they weren't amused either.
At last, after excruciatingly long few minutes everyone quietened down and Percy seemed to had gone down from his high, they were ready to continue.
"Mr. Blofis?"
Paul jerked up and returned to the book.
The Cyclops's island was nothing like that.
Jason momentarily looked up from his own drafts, repeated the sentence in his mind and put the blueprints aside.
"There's an island for Cyclops?" Leo muttered under his breath.
…SOMETHING EVIL LIVES HERE.
"How much evil are we talking about?" Lora narrowed her eyes.
"On a scale from one to ten?" Steven asked.
Lora's eyes widened. And not just hers. Every person around her swiveled toward Steven, eyeing him defiantly as though afraid he had gone completely nuts. He raised his eyebrows.
"Whole eleven!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands to the sides. His neighbor yelped and pushed him away, which did nothing to Steven's mood. "Yes!"
The last word brought everyone out of their slumber. Cassandra scowled and cast a brief glance at Lyssa. Lyssa being quiet was unnerving on its own. Lyssa not arguing was appalling.
In fact, she paid them no attention, staring pensively at her desk, oblivious to the outside world.
She was of no use to them. Neither were any of the four.
All right, they could as well just listen. That wouldn't hurt either.
Percy's description allowed them to draw pictures in their heads. A luxurious resort on some faraway tropical island. It was beautiful. But why would the Fleece be so desperately needed?
Thalia's tree. That's why.
Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."
Jason scowled, taking in the new information regarding the… poisoning of his sister. The Fleece's story did ring a bell to him, but it was buried beneath more significant pieces that always demanded his attention first, so he'd never actually sat down and read up on that. They had no use of it in Camp Jupiter.
And if they did… No, he mentally scoffed. Why would there be any need for it? Their magic was more complex and less dependent on a random blessing from a god, so it wouldn't… no, they wouldn't. Who would want to poison the only thing that kept them safe? Not even Octavian would venture there as far and Jason was concerned.
But what if. A faint possible if. What would they do then? A traitor working from the inside was something generations of praetors had been trying to eradicate; with no comprehensible reason for any of them. (Now he felt like the invisible traitor was supposed to be a hypothetical graecus, but back before that he and Reyna had had too many discussions that seemed quite pointless to both but were highly encouraged by the old senate.)
It was insanity. The Greeks were insanity for him, and he loved them for it. Romans would have never issued a quest to the sea; they most likely would have up and moved to a different place. The sheer complexity of the move was the only thing that kept them from committing. The city could not protect itself as much as they would love it to; the city would be their biggest concern if they truly ever faced same troubles.
Still, they would most likely build a new city if there were nothing to salvage anymore. But would they search for something as outlandish as the Fleece?
Questions this book made him ask himself! As if he hadn't suffered enough with indecision and uncertainty regarding himself and his footing with both camps! Leo might have been angered by Chiron's proposition, but Jason was secretly glad to take a break from both and get away for the time being, just for a few hours a day. If he had a chance—
Something hit him on the shoulder. Jason started and leaped to his feet, instantly taking a defensive position. Leo, still clutching a screwdriver tightly in his hand, blinked then put his hand down as though determined to hide it from others. Jason caught a faint laugh from behind but remained focused on his friends.
"Yes?" he asked tentatively, almost hesitantly.
"Dude, you were out for good five minutes," Percy told him bluntly. Jason's eyes widened as he searched for Annabeth's help. All he got was a mournful nod and a screwdriver salute.
"What?"
All three exchanged looks.
"You were mumbling under your breath," Leo explained, his brows knit together. The screwdriver was now lying a few inches from him while Leo fiddled with the toolbelt's zipper; his eyes trained on him, Jason.
Mumbling?
"I did what?"
He turned more somber if possible.
"You were mumbling something about the fleece and R—er, the camp and kept on saying 'impossible'", Percy told him, his eyes boring into Jason's face. Jason hoped no emotions reflected on him, for he had no answers for them.
Jason scratched the back of his head. "I'm good?"
Their looks hardened.
"Jay…"
"I'm good! I was distracted… a little."
They had not turned away just yet, which was making Jason anxious. He hadn't noticed the foot tapping until someone from behind him asked him to stop.
"Okay," Annabeth broke the silence; her eyes flickered toward the grey binder before she glanced at Percy then Leo. Jason knew what it meant. We're dropping it for now, but this conversation isn't over!
Jason was glad she didn't want to share more than was already being shared. It allowed them to avoid all painful topics. Sometimes Jason wished he didn't have to return to the camp at all. He would not mind staying the night in this school.
Maybe he should find a school that had sleeping accommodations in them?
"Jay," Leo called him in a hysterical whisper, snapping Jason back out into the reality. Jason raised his eyebrows as he examined Leo's somewhat terrified expression. "Now you remind me of Aeolus, and that's a mental image I'd love to go without. Good?"
Jason blinked as the words were sinking in.
"Wait, I look like Aeolus?" he repeated, a little perplexed by the admission.
Leo's mournful expression was all the explanation he needed.
Still a little dazed, Jason turned to Paul. And to the class by extension. They were lost and confused and a couple petrified ones—they were scared but too scared to confront them; Jason would not mistake the look for anything else.
Then there was that loud boy. Steven? He was sure it was Steven. He was pouting, his eyes burning with fire.
"Man," he snapped, evoking a yelp from the girl not far away from him. "If we don't have time for reading again, I'll gag you."
A few people gasped. Everyone stared at him in disbelief and horror. Paul cleared his throat, and Steven instantly shrunk into himself.
They descended into heavy silence. The kids were staring at Steven, who had lost color and kept on muttering something under his breath, his eyes darting wildly around the classroom.
Jason mulled his words over and over, but the meaning didn't really want to sink in. He turned to his friends. "He said he'd gag me?" he inquired just to make sure he hadn't misheard it.
Percy nodded profusely then cracked up. Annabeth soon followed, a little more enthused and louder than him. Leo inched away together with his chair, having not taken his eyes off them, genuinely horrified by their outburst.
"They've lost it," he stated. "Will Athena smite us on the spot?"
Jason shrugged, a little lost. He slowly turned to Paul. Bless him, Paul understood him perfectly fine and picked up the book, clearing his voice again.
Jason motioned Leo to get Annabeth as he himself was pulling Percy off his seat.
It might be a long day.
Just as the door slammed shut behind him, followed by the vociferous ringing of two voices laughing, Paul pressed his lips together and shook his head at Jenna's questioning look.
"I think we should continue."
Thing went a little bit more smoothly from there. At least, the book opened.
They couldn't tell what should be working anymore.
…Camp Half-Blood was in trouble.
"Right…" Cassandra muttered under her breath. Something had happened at camp, and until this very moment she had not even thought about it.
And Tyson… Tyson would still be with us if it wasn't for this quest.
This statement brought everyone out of the daze. Kids stared at the book with varying degrees of horror and stupefaction, unable to comprehend the words it said.
"Sorry, what?" Steven yelled, momentarily disorienting his neighbors. "Where'd he go?!"
"A better question, was he with them in the first place?" Sarah countered.
As one, everyone reflectively turned to the desks at the back only to remember those were empty. The echoes of now muffled laughing could still be heard somewhere in the background, but for them the four might both be at the end of the hallway and in the gym on the other side of the school.
"Right…" Cassandra sighed again, rubbing her cheeks. "Any guesses what went down wherever they'd come from or we can continue and learn from the book?"
The decision was unanimous.
But also they would like to have Percy to explain them his thought process since the adorable enormous sheep sounded too cute to their ears. Them and the peaceful, gorgeous green field that they were grazing on. And the book Percy did agree with them!
"This is too easy," I said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"
Lyssa involuntarily snorted and shook her head at Sarah's questioning look.
Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "There's supposed be a guardian. A dragon or…"
"Of course, there are dragons too," Peter groaned, clutching to his temples.
Somehow, with each passing sentences the whole thing would go even more ridiculous than before.
That's when a deer emerged from the bushes.
The class blinked.
"A deer?" Lyssa repeated incredulously. "What's a deer doing there?"
"It's living there, McKeenley," Kylie snapped from behind you.
As expected, Lyssa whirled toward her.
"But it's not their natural habitat," she complained in what could only be described as a whiny child's voice. A few people glanced at Mike, whose expression now was a mask of defiance. Not that Lyssa had noticed, seemingly having gotten on a roll as she took a terrifyingly deep breath and continued. "Not to mention––"
"Mr. Blofis!" at least five people chorused. Lyssa scowled at them but couldn't deny stalling the reading would not be beneficial to anyone.
It got even more ridiculous. Or was it terrifying? Levi would be certain he felt his heart throb in his chest once those words had been pronounced out loud.
A pile of clean white bones.
That was what those sheep had left of a deer.
"I'm s—Did I hear it right?" Jenna all but demanded, though her voice trembled.
Out of all the things they had learned—all the things Leo had told her in the short five minutes—somehow flesh-eating sheep had never come up in the conversation.
Perhaps, next time she should be asking him a top ten of the most murderous monsters. Provided, he even had a list. It didn't seem like he was taking many of those seriously.
"The sheep are carnivore; what else is new?" Sarah leaned on her seat and covered her face with a hand. Whatever. She had no strength to worry about any of this.
They couldn't tell how much time they sat in silence. It could have been hours or just a couple minutes, but by the time everyone began stirring, most of them seemed to have forgotten what was being discussed anyway.
They had more relevant parts to worry about.
"No way!" Levi all but yelled, spreading his arms wide as though it would help him win an argument against Lyssa. Who did even win against her anyway?
Lyssa rolled her eyes. "Last time I checked Google was free."
It was inexplicably satisfying watching most of her classmates pick up their phones and diving into the world of greater knowledge. Just one word had set them brimming with curiosity and Lyssa could finally feel like they were not a hopeless case. Probably knowing that now definitely real ancients Greek beasts and villains could eat you was a good stimulus to learn everything you could about them.
She exchanged a look with Mr. Blofis, whose expression had been slowly transforming into bemused all this time. Mr. Blofis offered her a soft smile, receiving one of Lyssa's in response. He had always been one of her favorite teachers. He'd been the most understanding one by far and now she knew why; with Percy Jackson in his life there was nothing else he could be.
"I wish they were as excited about classics," Mr. Blofis joked.
"Give 'em time, sir," Lyssa sighed. "Maybe if a Shakespeare ghost crashes our class, they'll be interested too."
Both suppressed snorts and glanced back at others. That was the most engaged either had seen them since, well, ever. Most of the time, and classes that Lyssa shared with Steven, he'd been dying of boredom. She was sure he still was dying of boredom most of the time, though. But not now.
"C'mon!" Steven shouted, glaring at his phone as though it personally offended him. "How can you—" he surprised everyone by inhaling deeply and closing his eyes.
His neighbor raised their eyebrows and scooted away in case it backfired at them all.
Steven opened his eyes again and took a few more breaths before turning to Levi. "Man, will Percy answer me if I ask him about the girl who cooked her own kid and tried to feed the meat to her husband?"
A beat of silence, a nervous giggle, and a few side-looks later, they settled back into their research.
"Maybe I should borrow a few tests from Mr. Galaher," Mr. Blofis mused, watching them sternly.
"They'll fail, sir."
"I'll make sure to include myths Percy has mentioned."
So, he, too, was certain they'd been spending an unhealthy amount of time reading up on things that had been just a fairytale mere months ago.
Lyssa heard creaking behind. She and Mr. Blofis swiveled toward the door right on time to see Leo's butt sticking right in the middle. He was slowly moving backwards, cursing under his breath (she hoped; it was some weird mixture of Spanish and… was it Greek?!), and pulling a dead-looking Percy after him.
Lyssa cast a glance at Mr. Blofis, who had gone ashen at seeing them. Whatever had gone down in the last few years, it was enough to scar them all forever, including her favorite teacher.
"Aquaman," Leo hissed, "if you step on my foot again—Hey!"
He halted. Percy automatically crashed into him but was saved on time by Jason, who yanked him back. Both disappeared in the hallway for a few moments before reappearing. If Percy looked a little dead, Jason seemed to reflect a confused dejection, for he kept on glaring somewhere to the side and frowning.
The second most stunning fact hit her. Lyssa peeked at her classmates. As she expected, not a single person looked up even if they had heard noises. They appeared so engrossed in whatever information they were absorbing now, she half-wished to pick up her phone and follow them. Instead, she returned to watching Leo and Jason leading Percy into the classroom. His face was devoid of emotion, his look glazed over as though he was not in this room right now—or this school. His lips were moving, but no sound was produced.
Lyssa stared at Jason who jolted as though having felt her glare and gave her a curt shake before motioning Leo to move Percy to the back of the class. A second later, he disappeared back into the hallway.
Mr. Blofis let out a strained yelp, his eyes trained on Percy and Leo. Lyssa could see why. If it were her family or Mike, she'd be sick worried.
Speaking of Mike. He didn't move an inch when Leo pushed Percy past him, both crashed into the backpack Mike had a tendency to leave on the floor next to him. His eyes, however dead to the world at the moment, rose as he intended to check the source of noise. For a full long second Lyssa believed he'd get it, but all he did was scowl and huff then return to his phone.
Another loud bang came from the hallway. Jason walked a dazed-looking Annabeth into the classroom and, whispering something into her ear, moved them both to her desk, sitting her down gently. Lyssa's eyes flickered back to Mike who, at last, was staring at the four with an unreadable expression on his face.
Jason rubbed the back of his head as he made a few weird gestures. Leo shook his head and tipped his chin at Mr. Blofis. Both remained silent for a few more seconds.
Jason heaved a sigh and jogged toward them, looking as pained as was humanly feasible.
"Uh, they had," his eyebrows knit together, "I—I'm not sure actually, but Will said to keep an eye on them for the time being or, better, get them to the camp so he could keep an eye on them. He thinks, uh, he thinks they might be breaking."
Lyssa didn't mean to eavesdrop. It was obviously a private matter. Mr. Blofis played the role of a parent, not a teacher. But they were standing right in front of her and Jason wasn't as quiet as he might have been led to believe.
"What's—How—" if it were possible, the color drained from Mr. Blofis' face, leaving him looking sickly grey. He pressed his lips into a thin line and exhaled loudly. "Is someone coming?"
Jason nodded. "It'll take another half an hour at least; probably more. Will's been adamant and refused to wait any longer."
"How bad is it?"
"We barely managed to make them stop laughing then," Jason faltered for a brief moment and cast a look at his friends. "I don't know what happened. Like it was a switch. They went quiet and refused to move. When I… Percy was ready to attack and I had to tackle him before—I think we'll have more hours of detention after today."
The last part was so unexpected, Mr. Blofis blinked.
"Will will know what to do," Jason said quickly as though it was supposed to fix the situation. "He's the best healer in the camp, bo—He's the best. He'll figure it out."
Now it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything. Mr. Blofis hummed in assent, but it was obvious he didn't believe him much. Was he really a son of Zeus? He looked so… unsure? Nothing like Heracles and other gazillion kids. He mostly looked pained and sheepish and Lyssa had not yet had a chance to see him be arrogant or prideful.
"We haven't finished reading yet," Mr. Blofis informed Jason after a long beat of silence.
As though having hit by a whip, Jason straightened up; his eyes swept through the classroom; his expression had gone from concerned to bemused within moments. He reminded of a soldier examining the battlefield.
"What are they—"
"Reading up on all the ancient Greek cannibals," Mr. Blofis responded nonchalantly.
Jason turned even more lost. His eyes landed on Lyssa, who nodded. "They've been out of it for good twenty minutes."
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. "If we leave them like that, will we be able to avoid reading?"
Thunder outside rumbled aggressively. Jason's frown turned into a grimace.
"Of course, not," he said mostly to himself. "When were we that lucky?"
He stepped away from Mr. Blofis, still muttering something under his breath and made his way toward his desk.
Lyssa refused to look at Mr. Blofis. It was none of her business anyway. (No matter what others said, she knew when to back off.)
Another long minute passed, when someone groaned loudly. Lyssa started and caught a glimpse of a bewildered Peter. She followed his line of gaze and snorted. Hooray, they'd finally noticed!
And Peter clearly planned to inform others.
"Dude!" he yelled, snapping everyone around him from their self-imposed slumber. A few people blinked bleary and sent him irritated looks that instantly transformed into alerted once they saw who he was talking to.
"When'd you get back?" Jenna asked, equally as stunned as the rest.
"Uh, listen," Leo looked straight at her. "Continue—Do what you've been doin'; or read. No importa. We're having—Don't mind us, okay. Continue exploring the awesome world of a postcard vacation resort and leave us alone."
There was an edge in his voice that no one had heard him use in all those weeks they'd seen him at school. He hadn't been as tensed even this morning while he'd been pushed around by two idiots.
(Coach needed to change his criteria. Three team members being assholes was a little too detrimental to good-natured rivalry Goode High practiced. Though, Riley had been present at school only physically these past few weeks; Mike had said he'd been withdrawn and unusually quiet and they'd hardly talked outside of school.)
Perhaps, urgency and dejection in his voice were not a trick, for no one had a heart to argue with him, instead looking at Mr. Blofis expectantly.
If he did not agree with the reading, he said nothing.
It was hard to get back into the story, however, so they had to re-read the last paragraph too.
"Carnivore sheep?" Levi repeated, exchanging a look with an equally pale Steven.
Complete silence and dead looks on all the four just reinforced the idea that demigod lives sucked. Even more so when even the said demigods agreed.
"They're like piranhas," she said.
"That's promising," someone said loudly with no hint of cheerfulness.
"Well, furry piranhas aren't the guys you'd feel excited about," Jenna noted, her eyes flickered toward the four. As usual, and it seemed a theme of this class, Leo and Jason were watching Percy; she simply couldn't tell what expressions they had.
Not that it mattered to anyone since Annabeth found a more pressing issue.
…the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham.
"Uh, what?" Levi furrowed his brows. His eyes flickered toward the four, but, of course, no answers were provided. All he saw were bemused looks and complete indifference.
Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly
A few people blinked, trying their best to both comprehend the announcement and recall any mention of it before. They failed, obviously; they were not planning to disturb the four, however. Whatever had befallen them in the hallways seemed serious enough to keep their spirits at the lowest. Nobody in the classroom was ready to tackle that issue.
and grab the Fleece, but in the end I convinced her that something would go wrong.
"Something always goes wrong," Leo muttered, eyeing the bunch of wires he had pulled out of toolbelt. Might have been too worried to notice.
…And if that happened, I'd be too far away to help.
They turned to the four as though internally wishing to confirm or deny the probability but saw only the dead looks and a wince. And Leo, who kept on vacillating between listening to the book and doing whatever he was doing with the wires. (Where had they come from?)
Besides, our first job was to find Grover and whoever had come ashore in that lifeboat–
Lyssa instantly whirled on her seat. If there indeed had been a whoosh of wind, no one would admit. Lyssa's eyes focused on Percy, though deep down she would be glad to hear any response from any of these people.
"What happened to Grover?"
Percy grimaced but remained silent. Contrarily to Leo and Jason both of whom had momentarily forgotten where they were and demanded answers. In whispers and hisses, of course, but those were enough to realize something extremely terrible had gone down on that island.
Percy's expression of pure pain could not mean something else, right?
assuming they'd gotten past the sheep.
Leo and Jason raised their eyebrows. Percy offered them a curt nod, which might have been the most detailed and explicit answer anyone ever received in this class.
I was too nervous to say what I was secretly hoping… that Tyson might still be alive.
The reactions were instant. The class blew up in the firework of colorful words, exclamations, and screams; all of them revolved around Tyson having possibly passed and them not being informed on that beforehand.
Jason furrowed his brows and turned to Percy. As expected, their eyes met.
"Scylla and Charybdis," was all he said, maybe confusing Jason a little bit more.
Annabeth chuckled darkly, her eyes still glued to the pencil in her hands that she'd been twirling mindlessly all this time. "I'm surprised it's stuck with you."
"It tried to eat us," Percy said simply, having the audacity to shrug like it didn't matter. "These things tend to stick with you."
"I would hope so."
"Would you?"
Both winced and fell silent and still.
Jason traded a look with Leo and both stared at Paul pleadingly, hoping the book would distracts the kids enough to give them some space.
Paul was definitely one of the coolest mortals they'd met.
…where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet…
"They had a ship?" Peter marveled, a little stunned and perhaps a tad bit appreciative of this tidbit.
"What they don't have in these stories?" Lora shot back.
"Self-preservation," Kylie stated.
They descended into awkward silence which was broken by an amused chortle.
"That's the most accurate thing I've heard," Percy said, having regained a little of his previous humor.
"Seaweed Brain, I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Annabeth's voice carried that level of threat and indignation that you couldn't ignore even if you wanted. "You've caused enough trouble as it is."
Percy grimaced. "It was Hera mostly," the thunder rumbled in the background but with less… vigor? A few kids stares out of the window, wondering what had happened now and why they had to see it while Percy let out a derisive snort.
Paul instantly returned to the book; just in case some enraged goddess tried to smite them all.
…At least it was free of sheep.
"That's obviously for the best," Cassandra muttered under her breath.
I hoped that Polyphemus did not also keep carnivorous mountain goats.
The class stared.
"A who?" Levi asked into the void. As one, all students looked at Lyssa, expecting her to blow up at him, but all she did was stiffen.
Kylie arched an inquisitive eyebrow at Mike, who could only shrug. The whole Percy Jackson wild life adventure had clearly been affecting not just Percy himself. Her eyes flickered toward Riley who'd yet to even say a word to Mike or her or anyone, let alone pretend he was listening.
The rest of the class dissolved into an argument on who Polyphemus was which ended as abruptly as it had started.
Especially, since Percy himself wasn't as concerned with the monster.
We only came close to dying six or seven times,
A few people started.
"Only?" Levi all but squeaked, his eyes as wide as saucers.
Jason and Leo perked up at the exclamation then stared at the book.
"Only?" Leo blinked, taken aback by the revelation. "What kind of luck serum were you taking back then?"
Of course, all Percy did was grimace. Annabeth did bother to react at all.
Contrarily to others.
"Luck?" Sarah repeated incredulously. "That's luck?"
To her horror, Jason nodded.
"That's pretty mild," Leo confirmed with a slight flinch. "It's not a quest if you didn't almost die at least a gazillion times."
No one had a heart to ask for more.
which I thought was pretty good.
"Good?" Peter was sure his eye twitched.
"They're insane," Levi commented, in full agreement with him.
With a great difficulty and not without humor which was extremely impressive but alarming they eventually climbed up the mountain.
…we hauled ourselves over the top of the cliff and collapsed.
"That's pretty impressive," Mike pointed out, swiveling toward Percy. "Ever thought of joining the team?"
All he got was silence.
"Ugh," I said.
"Ouch," moaned Annabeth.
"Garrr!" bellowed another voice.
Kids scowled at the book. What now?
Leo, however, nodded, taken aback by the long break that they had.
The prolonged break it seems because Annabeth did the smart thing and not allowed Percy to make any noise. For a confusing conversation that it was, of course.
"You're a feisty one!" the deep voice bellowed.
"Challenge me!" Clarisse's voice, no doubt about it.
Several people knit the brows, striving and definitely struggling to understand what was going on.
Perhaps, it really was just a sneak peek as Steven had put it. God—or gods in case of those who had been eerily unperturbed by the new world—knows they'd pay any money and sacrifice their firstborns to get their hands on the rest of the draft—if it ever existed.
Same way Jason and Leo would absolutely join them in this honorable undertaking, had they learned of it of course, for both blinked and peered at the book intensely, silently urging Paul to disclose even more information they could work with. What was Clarisse even doing there? could be a good start.
"Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"
"Is she... what's she doing?" Jason and Leo asked in unison.
"Something that'll get you murdered if she ever hears a word of it," Annabeth answered in a little dazed voice.
At least, she seemed to be coming to her senses, which was fine by them.
Same couldn't be said about mortals, but neither bothered to check in with them to begin with.
The monster roared with laughter.
Jason rubbed his face down, leaning on the seat. A groan caught in his throat.
"Is it even worth asking?" he wondered absent-mindedly into the void.
A loud chorus of disjointed voices was drowned out by a short but firm, 'no' from Leo.
…Below us stood Polyphemus and Grover, still in his wedding dress.
"In his what?"
Judging by Mr. Blofis' furrowed brows, he was not aware of the fact either.
Slowly, as those they were trying out for some sci-fi movie about turtles, everyone turned to the four. Two of the four instantly stared at the other two, but those remained stoic under the intense looks.
"We're not getting answers, are we?" Peter asked.
"I bet we'd know by now if it were a full book," Steven announced, raising his arms. His neighbors ducked, cursing him under their breaths, and shifting farther away just to avoid another hit in the eye.
Others, however, provided no reaction, watching him in mute astonishment. Steven shrugged and offered them a more dazzling smile as though it would explain everything.
Percy groaned—a muffled sound that reminded a howl of a dying bison, yet could resonate with every person in this room. They glanced at him but saw nothing out of ordinary except Jason sizing him up with an unreadable expression on his face and turned back to Steven.
"Something tells me Percy doesn't agree with you," Mike commented with sarcasm all but dropping from every word.
It seemed to have not deterred Steven at all.
"Not my problem," he shrugged, turning his eyes back to Mr. Blofis, whose own expression was a mask of pure pain and agony as though he was burning in the blazing fire and feeling every moment of it.
"Mr. Blofis?"
If anyone noticed his jolt—and they did, so violent it was—, no one drew attention to it. They could understand. Maybe. They might understand his feelings regarding his stepson's secrets being disclosed so shamelessly.
They simply didn't care.
The book-Percy seemed equally unperturbed by Clarisse tied up over a pot of boiling water. If that evoked a few nervous chuckles and side-looks, no one bothered or dared to confront them either. Percy was more preoccupied with looking for Tyson; wherever he was, of course.
"It's confirmed he's alive," Levi broke the silence, drawing attention of the others to himself. Even Leo and Jason shot him curious glances, internally marveling where he'd gotten this idea from.
(Percy didn't even jerk at his brother's name. But it was Will's problem for now.)
"Why so?" Cassandra inquired with a slight frown.
"Percy's been mentioning him too much for that matter."
Everyone stared at Levi with something akin to bemusement. Levi rubbed the back of his head and let out a strained chuckle.
There were more pressing issues to take care of.
…"Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?"
"Bride?"
The short question was largely supported by a round of loud hums.
And no one paid much attention to Leo and Jason eyeing Percy and Annabeth with barely concealed confusion. Just how much had they not been told?
All right, Leo had been too busy in the bunker, but Jason had been mingling in and bonding! Had they not shared?
Judging by wide eyes, no. They had not shared anything of substance.
He turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train.
Their heads whipped toward Mr. Blofis. For the first time in this class today, a huge smile spread across Leo's face.
"Grover?" he asked in a fake-surprised voice, leaning to the side to have a better look at Percy. Percy's eyebrows slightly rose, but it was the most he did. Leo's smile grew bigger as he plopped his elbows on the desk. "Percy, my man; tell us everything!"
Feigned exhilaration. That's how Lyssa dabbed it upon seeing over-exaggerated interest with which Leo was nodding along to Percy's curt responses and less than stellar comments. In fact, from those few words that Percy had said only Leo and Jason were able to draw any conclusions.
"So unfair!" Steven complained. His neighbor patted him on the back in soothing.
"Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps–"
"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded.
Someone groaned. Loudly. They might be lost roughly ninety-nine percent of the time, but even the dimmest people in this class had realized it was not the right thing to do. Not at all.
"Clarisse did not get the memo, did she?"
Percy let out a strangled snort. (Which might have not even been a snort to begin with. Who the hell knew?)
Clarisse obviously had not been let in on the plan, for she kept on digging a deeper grave for the both of them—and, by extension, Percy and Annabeth if they'd ever be found.
"She's so damn stupid!" someone exclaimed after Clarisse had divulged the fact Grover was a satyr.
Thunder rumbled, but they couldn't care less, still standing firmly by their point.
That was until they faced grim faces of the four. "C'mon! You know I'm right!"
Silence was the ultimate winner in this battle, for no one bothered to come to the defense or argue with actual people who knew Clarisse in any way. In fact, even Riley let out a derisive snort which sort of sealed the deal for the rest. If he agreed, then it was huge.
"Please, refrain from insulting Clarisse or any of our friends," Leo said in an unsettling tone. What was more eerie, Jason hummed in agreement, leaning against his seat as though ready to pounce on anyone who'd dare to come up to him. Percy's scowl deepened, but he was yet to snap at his friends, which meant he was in full agreement with them. Annabeth was barely visible behind them and it was clearly the intention.
"He would've done worse under pressure," Percy spat out in un uncharacteristically hostile way. Annabeth instinctively put a hand on his shoulder in a calming gesture and muttered something under her breath; something neither Jason nor Leo were willing to eavesdrop.
Despite having been unanimously elected and dabbed as the luckiest bastards of the whole school, none of the kids felt like they were lucky. Neither did they feel safe anymore if they were honest with themselves.
Mike fidgeted on his seat, sending a dirty look at the person who'd ruined it for them. There was no remorse either, which meant more work-out today; just to ensure whatever it was would not interfere with the games… of course. Riley sent him a confused look; he did not react any other way, however.
But it was not the time to open this can of worms. Not now.
Almost everyone was eyeing the four cautiously, still and frozen up on their seats, waiting for the outcome of the… what was it even? A dumb insult, born out of stress and emotional turmoil? No one even cared anymore. They didn't want to know how they'd react in a similar situation.
Leo nodded to himself. "I see you got the message. Continue, please. And try not to make fun of our friends, thank you."
He dissolved back into his own world a moment later, leaving a bitter aftertaste in everyone's mouth and a faint sense of dread that would occasionally tap at the back of their minds.
At least, Grover tried to save himself, even if not really successfully. Even if he was against an almost blind Cyclops. Who really cared when they'd rather never meet the guy in their lives, blind or not? He was still ugly, exuding rancid smell and dressed in a wedding outfit. Whatever Percy had seen in his dreams, they did not envy him.
"Blech, dude," Leo scrunched up his nose. "I'm not jealous. Cyclops are the worst."
"The ones in Chicago were just dumb," Jason argued so unexpectedly, Leo froze up with a screwdriver aimed at him and bulged his eyes.
Of course, everyone had to listen in.
If only there were something to listen in since they objectively knew just about zero about Jason except the fact he was Thalia's brother and Zeus' son.
"Jay, you were out cold the whole time. How would you know?" Leo asked incredulously.
Jason grimaced at that as though the sole memory was giving him a headache. "Not my proudest moment."
"It was a bad day for everyone," Leo placated him with a serene smile.
"A bad week."
"A bad year."
Both flinched slightly at that but offered no further comments.
"They're still doing it on purpose, aren't they?" Steven complained in a loud whisper.
Maybe they were. Most likely, they tried to derail the reading since Percy seemed in no condition to react. He might not want to sit through the day at all if his empty look was anything to go by.
He might not even listen. He sure would have reacted to Clarisse declaring that Grover was a satyr, were he in a better shape, right? Because the book-Percy was ready to kill. (Not the sentence any of them would have thought about their classmates before this book.)
…Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil…
Someone hiccupped at the reveal, probably having not really expected things to turn so ugly so fast.
"Speaks volumes of his intelligence," Leo noted. Jason raised his eyebrows at him. "Grover spent however long there playing the bride and he didn't even notice. He's lucky the dude's dumb as a brick."
…But YOU'RE–NO–LADY–CYCLOPS!"
Leo shook his head, still exasperated.
The rest were just terrified, for the Cyclops didn't even hesitate to attack Grover.
"Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I–I have a good recipe!"
"Is that—Is it supposed to help him?" Jenna asked, pretty horrified by the story.
It was not a story anymore but a memory. A memory of her classmate who was sitting in the same room as her right in this moment.
Perhaps, others had the same kind of revelation, for no one interrupted for the next few paragraphs. Unheard of in this class.
But they really wanted to know whether Grover would get out alive by the sheer power of a goat stew recipe. With mangos. Someone whimpered when they heard of mangos, hoping and praying it would work. Being witness of a goat murder was not really on anyone's bingo card this week—this life even.
And they entered a second phase of horror.
"You a satyr, too?"
Polyphemus remembered of Clarisse's existence.
"Please, don't fuck this up," someone whisper-chanted. "Please, please, don't fuck this up."
"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled.
The same person groaned.
"I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!"
Cassandra covered her face.
"What is she doing?" Jenna whispered, now vacillating between awe and terror that was slowly spreading across her body. These people…
"She's brave," Sarah noted; surprisingly, her voice carried none of the fear but all of the overwhelming curiosity that she struggled to contain. She shot a glance at the four, but none were really reacting much to the story—or they were that good at hiding it—reducing her to wild theorizing.
"She's foolish," Kylie shook her head.
Thunder rumbled.
"Look, Ares is eavesdropping," Leo commented nonchalantly, staring straight at his toolbelt before shaking it violently. Jason didn't hesitate to recoil; just in case.
"Kylie's right," Lyssa uttered, instantly sending half the class into the state of a bigger terror. Levi's eye twitched as he shifted away from her. Lyssa rolled her eyes. "She's too self-assured. It's bound to end badly."
This time thunder remained silent. Perhaps, Ares was agreeing.
If anything, Clarisse was too forthcoming in her threats which would end badly if she couldn't act on them right about now.
…"Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"
"Wait, he's still getting married?!"
Mr. Blofis suppressed a chuckle as he continued. "But… you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt.
People chuckled as well. Leo blinked and stared at Percy for confirmation.
"He—" he faltered, frowning. "Is there something we didn't know about him?"
When Percy didn't answer, he turned to Jason for help. (Mostly to bully Percy into replying.) Jason shrugged. "Sorry, man. I wish I could help."
Leo heaved a sigh and returned to his toolbelt.
"Who's the bride?"
Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot.
Only to get snapped right back into the real world. His eyes widened. Jason's expression was a perfect reflection of his own, so he sure had not misheard that.
"You can't tease her for that, y'know," came in a calm, almost sinister voice from behind him. Leo yelped and dropped the toolbelt, whirling on the seat to have a better look at Annabeth. A muffled huff from Jason and some thudding were completely ignored.
Annabeth's face had no expression. There was literally nothing. Not even exhaustion. Her face was blank; her eyes glazed over his face then she looked down at the binder she'd been putting on this desk for far too much these past few days but never really doing anything about it.
"She's gonna pulverize me, I know," Leo nodded somberly. His eyes flickered toward the binder again. "You can take a day off today."
Annabeth started and stared at him with something… he couldn't find a proper word to describe the wild, absolutely mad flame in her eyes and her pursed lips. As though she was gritting her teeth or trying to bite her own tongue off. Something… was it what Will had meant?
He leaned closer, ignoring a gust of wind that was totally produced by Jason and whatever he was busy with, and looked Annabeth right into the eyes. He'd always had trouble with doing that. Just looking her in the eyes. There was always something in them. Determination. Anger. Calculation. They exposed all of her better than her face ever could; they were always filled with something. Now… they looked almost dead. Yet, Leo didn't budge. He bent forward, all but bumping into her head. "Will said you need to take it easy. Take it easy, please. They won't disappear tomorrow."
Something flashed in her eyes. Leo frowned. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was hope. Or regret. Like she hoped it would disappear to never be seen again and was regretful of the thought.
Annabeth nodded before he could drop himself further into this rabbit hole. Leo didn't even notice his smile growing bigger.
Of course, Clarisse was not happy with this new development. Neither was the grumpy cloud if the ear-piercing thundering was anything to go by.
"Just ignore it," Leo advised while Jason winced.
Reassuring? Not much.
Less reassuring were the next few lines.
…Polyphemus plucked her off the rope…"…I come back at sundown for big event!"
Leo halted for the umpteenth time this class and stared at the book. Was the monster really hell-bent on following whatever line of action he'd selected? How come most of his weren't that committed?
A loud snap brought him out of contemplation. Leo blinked and focused on Jason impressively worried expression. (He would swear Jay's glasses had just gleamed deep blue, which was something he was not ready to unpack at the moment.)
"If you look even more concentrated right now, you'll combust," he informed Leo cautiously, fully aware of a couple dozen people hanging on his every word.
Leo offered him a huge smile and saluted Jenna and Lyssa, both of whom were watching him sternly.
…a mixed flock of goats and sheep…flooded out of the cave…Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name–Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, etc.
"Should we—?" Peter asked—practically croaked out which was an admittedly hilarious reaction to something as mundane as monsters' absurd names. "No? No. We sure don't want to know."
"Good choice, my friend," Leo told him, offering another big smile.
Peter could do nothing but nod feebly at that.
It didn't get less weird after that if they all were honest with themselves. Which Leo was. He was determined to be honest with himself these days as per Will's professional prescription. (He still had the crumpled paper tucked somewhere in his toolbelt.) He was so honest with himself that he had to admit the chapter was gradually getting funny and he might as well enjoy it. If Jason was disturbed by sudden enthusiasm, he didn't say a word. Though, the amused glint definitely could be seen in his eyes.
There were a few things to unpack there. First, a boulder now guarded the cave entrance, which meant Percy and Annabeth would have a hard time to work around that. (A muffled groan further confirmed his presumption.) Secondly, Grover had managed to stall Polyphemus with his mango comment. (They gotta send him thank you, you rock postcards for that or something.) Thirdly, they indeed tried to move the boulder which was instantly declared as the sole dumbest and useless decision they'd made by now wheezing Leo.
"Don't look at me," Jason immediately said, raising his hands. "I have nothing to do with it."
"Is he gonna fall into hysterics too?" someone whisper-cried behind them.
At once, Percy and Annabeth glared at the source, looking scandalized and a tad bit hurt by the question.
"We're okay," Percy declared in a strained voice which just so efficiently cracked on the last syllable and sent him spiraling in the vicious cycle of what sounded like angered curses as he all but sprawled on his seat, glaring at the ceiling.
Leo's laughter grew in power, and soon he was lying face down on the desk, shaking and hollering into the tabletop.
Jason pressed his lips into a thin line and turned to Paul. "Uh, could you—Let's all pretend it isn't happening, okay?" Leo hiccupped loudly in the background; Jason's features sharpened as he himself glared at the floor.
As one, the whole class looked at Mr. Blofis who coughed and returned to the book.
Which wasn't sparse on hard choices and frustration
…Grover and Clarisse would die inside that sealed cave…A large rock is not the kind of enemy you can fight with a magic sword.
"I'm glad you've realized," Mike commented quietly, refusing to look at Percy for confirmation. At any of them. In fact, only Jason seemed not on the verge of a breakdown but he was clearly hanging by the thread of irritation, which was also not the risk Mike would take.
Annabeth and I sat on the ridge in despair…The only way across was the rope bridge…
And other equally puzzling stuff combined with some of Percy's amusing thoughts. (And a rhythm provided by Leo's wheezing that no one seemed to care much about anymore.)
…since Circe turned me into a guinea pig—that maybe it was time I joined Grover and became a vegetarian.
Paul faltered and blinked, which was his biggest mistake to date.
Riley was the first to break. He let out a snort then in what felt like a pretty uncharacteristic bout of mirth, lay his head on his hands and burst out laughing. Mike scowled at him, not sure what to do about that before sending an obvious helpmewhatamidoing plea at Lyssa.
What contributed to the absurdity of it all was Annabeth(!) chortling and Percy gasping in offense.
It was as amusing as it was terrifying to be honest.
At least, Cassandra, thanks the heavens, he could hug her in gratitude right now, caught on and all but pleaded Mr. Blofis to continue.
Which he did, even if a little perplexed by the revelation.
Or maybe he was perplexed by their plan. It was hard to tell between the reminders of marrying Clarisse and eating Grover.
"How much do you like sheep?"
"Let me guess, you don't like sheep," Steven said in a loud voice hoping to attract attention but received nothing but a few chuckles in response.
Come to think of it, no one liked sheep. While not as hard as one would think, it still felt gross. Just gross. Wool in your nose. And the smell of dirty sweater that had been not cleaned for the longest. Forget it. They would not need to know any of it.
The only highlight of the whole passage would be a pensive look that Mike had. It meant he'd try to trick Percy on the team—whenever the opportunity arose.
The sun was going down. Paul continued, a little distraught by the fact kids had not interrupted him yet. That and Leo and everything that he was actively overlooking the past hour.
He had the urge to look at the clock. Jason had said half an hour. Percy and Annabeth would be taken to safety in less than an hour; but the time dragged on and he was slowly losing hope.
Then there was a knock on the door.
The class perked up while Paul all but ran to the door and forcibly opened it. There was a tall blond boy with such a warm, sunny, smile that it illuminated his whole face. When he stepped into the room, he brought the warmth with him. Like a small sun that kept you safe and hopeful.
His smile fell a little when he noticed a scowling Jason and his face darkened, transforming into a frown when he saw Leo sprawled on the desk, shaking so violently he might cause a mini-earthquake any moment now.
"What's with him?"
"We can move them out?"
They stared at each other for a few moments then Will heaved a breath. "I'll call Kayla. Gimme a second."
He disappeared behind the door just in time for Jason to nudge Leo.
An ear-piercing screech that Leo would later claim was just a yelp, cut through the deafening silence of the classroom. Instantly, Percy straightened up and leaned toward Annabeth as though it would keep her safe; his eyes darting from Leo to Jason wildly as he muttered something too low to understand.
Jason did not want to do it. He certainly would not want to leave Will and Kayla alone with them, but there was more harm in the two staying in school.
"Perce," he said as softly as he could manage, leveling with Percy. A jolt went through Jason when he saw the look on Percy's face. The last—and only—time he'd ever worn this dark look was when he had to get Annabeth out of his sights after Tartarus. "Will's here. You wanna come to camp?"
That seemed to have caught his attention—perhaps the notion of familiarity—and his expression soften ever so slightly. Jason offered him a tight-lipped smile and slowly got to his feet. He caught Leo move cautiously as well but drew no attention to that. It was hard to tell what might set him off at the moment.
"Will's brought Kayla," he continued just as soothingly. Leo stilled himself at the wall, hanging nearby but not hovering over Annabeth and her binders. "You can pack… Or we can do it for you?"
Percy shook his head and pushed Annabeth's binders toward himself, which snapped her out of whatever it was. Their gazes met.
Leo exhaled loudly and muttered something about averting the crisis.
They still needed Will.
Will barged into the classroom roughly forty-seven seconds later and instantly put his finger to his lips, indicating to keep quiet to otherwise enthused Kayla. If there was anything Jason admired about Apollo's bunch, it was their belief your health had to be taken seriously.
"How long?" Will asked.
"About an hour."
"Trigger."
"Gagging."
Will grimaced. (Same as Kayla who said a few choice words and moved to Leo.) "You take Annabeth; I take Percy." He turned to Leo. "A full recount by campfire."
With that he beaconed Percy toward him and soon they were out of the classroom, Kayla hot on their feet, muttering something to Annabeth that made her honest-to-gods smile.
That's where the peace was just bound to be shattered.
"Will we be able to finish the chapter?"
Jason had rarely seen anyone harp on another so… gingerly?
Peter seemed to have realized what a stupid question it was, for he shrunk into himself and made a weird noise which felt like him apologizing profusely for messing it up.
"Well, we did last time Leo was here alone," Lyssa reminded them.
Somehow, it made all the difference for them, as the mood ameliorated tremendously and kids were more than eager to hear the rest of the story. Had they sort of bullied Mr. Blofis into reading? No one would ever be able to prove that. (Apart from Leo and Jason, both of whom looked longingly at the door and might have not ever heard them.)
No sooner was I in position than the Cyclops roared, "Oy! Goaties! Sheepies!" Paul's voice carried much of the dejection that he was unwilling to hide behind a chipper tone anymore. It was like the hardest of withdrawals that brought nothing but remorse and pain.
And no one was ready to confront him on that, even if Leo and Jason exchanged quite a few quizzical looks.
The flock dutifully began trudging back up the slopes toward the cave. And Annabeth was ready to… whatever her plan was. It was good anyway. All her plans were usually good and did not require any correction. Even Percy was ready to admit she was a genius and the two seemed stuck in the weird inferno of not being nice to each other.
"I'm kind of happy we're reading it," Leo whispered to Jason, startling him a little.
"Wh-what?" Jason asked, bemused.
Leo shrugged as though he were not planning to explain himself but surprised Jason by replying, "we've learned so much about them, even if not everything. They wouldn't have told us otherwise."
"What ever they told us?" Jason muttered under his breath. Annabeth had been succinct on details, and the campers didn't hold much information on most of the things the two had been doing for years. Even Annabeth's siblings couldn't tell much beyond what she'd told them and that was never anything of significance.
Leo chuckled in agreement.
My sheep taxi started plodding up the hill…But if I didn't hold on, I was sure I'd fall off right there in front of the monster.
"That would be unfortunate," Leo commented dryly, not giving enough to decide whether he was serious or just messing with them.
"Hasenpfeffer!"… "Einstein! Widget–eh there, Widget!"
"Where he'd gotten those names from?" Sarah blinked.
"He's one creative guy," Lora agreed.
Both had an urge to glance at Jason and Leo, but something was telling them it wouldn't help much.
The next few paragraphs? Pages? They couldn't tell, but the new sequence of event was read to a morbidly silent classroom. Such an unheard thing in this school—and it certainly made Paul's skin crawl—but somehow a little soothing. They were willing to just listen and absorb… even if it wouldn't do much for their future. Or life. Or anything.
At least, Percy made it into the cave without much trouble; a win on its own indeed.
And then Annabeth's plan was set into motion.
…"Hello, ugly!"
Absolutely everyone frown. Paul tilted his head to the side as if it would help him to see some hidden text then stared at Jason. Jason shrugged, equally mystified by whatever Annabeth had set out to do.
"C'mon, it's Annabeth. The plan is already brilliant," Leo said dismissively, which instantly released the hold the tensed atmosphere had on all of them.
"You're right," Jason nodded, leaning on the seat and crossing his arms.
Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?"
"Nobody!" Annabeth yelled.
Jason's face brightened. Of course! What was a better plan than the one already used!
"Uh, what's up with that?" Peter inquired, his brows knit together.
To his horror, quite a few classmates rolled their eyes at him in what he interpreted as derision.
But… the plan was simple. And famous. And absolutely genius. And Annabeth was moving through it smoothly like the boss that she is.
"You're too stupid to remember anybody," Annabeth taunted. "Much less Nobody!"
"That's one way to taunt," Cassandra let out a feeble laugh. Truth to be told, she did not really want to know how this plan would pan out. She had enough of stress as it is.
…because Polyphemus…grabbed the nearest boulder…and threw it toward the sound of Annabeth's voice.
Aaaand it doubled.
"Damn!" Mike winced.
"Poor Annabeth," Cassandra added with sympathy.
"Please, tell us it went OK!" Lora turned to Jason only to see a lost look on his face. Her mood all but dropped at that. "Oh, right."
…Then Annabeth shouted, "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"
Kids released their breaths.
It couldn't get any worse, now could it?
It could if Polyphemus was as salty about Odysseus and the trick as Annabeth seemed to believe he was. At least, he was so angry, he'd forgotten to seal the door—the sole highlight of this trip for sure.
(Or the fact he might be not bright enough to realize the voice was different. But who cares when it helps?)
Still, the whole thing was a little nerve-wracking. Annabeth's plan did not look as good anymore now when they'd realized that actual boulders were used. And with Percy gone to look for Clarisse and Grover? They couldn't even begin to imagine what might pass down there without Percy narrating it in his overly-detailed, horror-packed story-telling.
Of course, absolutely no one was surprised when a loud bang disturbed the silence. A few people jolted and stared out of the window, a little confused by the noises and plenty grateful for the distraction.
Jason and Leo exchanged a glance and all but ran to the window, almost crashing into the glass.
Jason cursed loudly, as a crease between his eyebrows turned more prominent.
"Why is it always us?" Leo sounded more sardonic than appalled which threw the others off for a moment.
Jason turned to Leo. "If we run now—"
"We'll get more detention days," Leo shrugged, sort of enjoying a flinch that Jason did. "They've gotten rid of it though... Whatever it was."
He frowned and looked out of the window again, almost pressing himself to the glass. "I'shee sofin bvack."
Jason's scowl couldn't get even deeper but somehow he managed. When Leo tore himself away from the window, he sighed. "I saw something black, like a burning mark. And idea what we'll have to fight out way out through?"
Jason's face darkened.
They were most definitely done with this class.
A tiny draft I made sometime last year, fully intended to use it. Should've gone after Piper learned about the book (oh, and the hellhound, yep), but either I forgot (mostly likely) or the next part went in a different direction. I can't remember now.
Piper tried to charmspeak the whole school.
"It will!" she said stubbornly.
"Pipes, I'm not sure—Wait!"
Jason sent a glance toward his other friends, but they were equally struck. He began moving even before his mind had registered it. Soon, he caught up with Piper, who was seriously stomping across the parking lot, determined to get to the cafeteria before her resolve had dissipated. She could hear faint yells somewhere in the background, but her mind was screaming much louder.
She barged into the cafeteria like a badass. The doors flew forward like in all the romcoms she'd seen; her head held high as she took a step into the cafeteria. Chatter did not stop as she'd expected, though, which deflated her confidence a little. Her smile wavered at that.
No! You can do it! You're McLean! We don't give up!
Piper cleared her throat. That did nothing either, but this time she was not feeling defeated. A few tentative steps forward later, she found a perfect spot. A moment of hesitation, and—
"PIPES!" Jason's voice rang through the hall, not just catching attention of the other but wounding Piper's resolve too.
Everyone was staring at her now. Suddenly slightly self-conscious, Piper shifted on the spot and brushed hair behind her ears. The smile, a faint echo of which had been present, disappeared altogether.
"Jason," she hissed. Jason: red, exhausted, pumped up and messy. Cute but annoying now.
Piper looked around.
"That's… not… work!" he managed between fits of heavy breathing.
"You can't know that!"
"That's a whole school!"
"It worked under Athens!"
"We're not under Athens!"
"Watch me, Grace," she spat. "Hay, everyone, look at me!"
That was the most pointless order she'd ever made because, frankly, everyone was watching her intently. Suddenly Piper realized what Jason had meant when he'd said they were terrifying. But she couldn't back down now. Piper cleared her throat, ignoring Jason's soft groan and muttering.
"The book that you all are reading about Percy, it's not real! It's—it's work of fiction! Percy and his friends have pranked you all! You found it funny, didn't you?" a few kids laughed dryly, which meant her plan worked. Piper squared her shoulders and continued: "You do not take it seriously, right? I don't!" mutters of agreement went through the place. "It was a bad joke. You won't remember it tomorrow, are you?" more mumbles of agreement. (More details about THE BOOK).
Piper sent Jason a dazing smile, to which he blinked, quite taken aback and dazed.
"Go back to your food and don't forget to remember it's all a bad, very, very bad joke!"
She pushed Jason toward the entrance, and soon both were standing in the hallway. Piper happy, Jason stunned and fascinated.
"It worked!" he exclaimed. Looked at her like a superhero.
When they were a few feet from the cafeteria someone exited it and called them.
"You're one of them?"
"I'm sorry?"
"One of the demigods! Who's your godly parent? Wait, I'll guess myself…" mutters.
"It was a bad joke, dude." Jason.
The boy let out a chortle. "Thought you could trick us, ha! That was funny. We know it's real."
"It's not. It was a joke."
"And a hellhound everyone saw?"
"A hellhound?" Piper whispered.
"Jackson's hellhound. So, who's that? Is it a god or a goddess?"
Piper recoiled, horrified. Jason moved between her and the boy, who took no notice, still mumbling theories.
"I told you," Jason hissed at her. Piper didn't move. "Let's move slowly. When he attacks, run."
She nodded. The boy looked up at them. "I know! Aphrodite! You're beautiful!"
"RUN!"
That was the last time they tried tempering with the school.
I've been thinking too much about Trials of Apollo these past few weeks and come to the conclusion that they happen in this reality, just a little bit later and with minor changes. The main points and whatever results are the same. (Haven't read the last book, not planning to. Know a rough outline of their lives a year later.) It means I gotta give Jason a taste of normal life so the boy goes down knowing he's had happy times in his life.
Also, I've read enough reading the books fics and it's heartwarming to see gods trying to better themselves, but it's definitely not that story. These gods most likely will try to save their asses at the expense of Percy's sanity (they're failing, obviously) than listen to them. Zeus will never allow that, which canon shows times and times again. I mean, apparently, it took Apollo whole mortality to decide to be a better parent. If THAT'S what it takes, then there's no hope for them. I just can't see them suddenly changing so much as to be attentive parents just from reading random memories of a random demigod, however great he is. Even the best of them still abide the rules and miss a lot.
Needless to say, mortals aren't amused. If there's ever gonna be an attack on the Empire State Building, it'll consist of those appalled mortals demanding to shove it and be better parents.
Also fixed typos and changed some words fin older chapters for continuity purposes, nothing big so nothing will affect the plot. I've mostly noticed they were getting a bit too violent for no reason at all. Plus, I do love re-writing stuff *looks at her school essays*, so this being published stops me from reworking the whole thing completely and making strictly minor changes. Small blessings.