In honour of the TV show finally coming out, I present this chapter that came from my TLT reread.
Story #49: Percy's Blue Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di
"Percy, stop!"
Percy drops his pencil, not at the sound of his name because he's used to hearing that being yelled by many people — his mom, Gabe, his past and present teachers, random passers-by on the street who don't appreciate a barely teenage boy running by, his neighbours, anyone — but the strong command telling him to stop poking the yellow flowers in front of him. In his defence, they looked fuzzy, kind of like cotton balls - or, better yet, the cotton candy his mom sells in the candy shop. There are no yellow ones, but who likes yellow-flavoured anything?
When Percy picks up his pencil, he sees his teacher crouched over him with a scowl etched across her old face. Despite never seeing her smile at him, it's always a fright whenever she scowls at him (which is often given his troublemaker status. He's only been at this current school for a month and she's yelled at him more times in a week than days in a month). Mrs. Gallard was a definite wench if he ever saw one, so much so that it brought him joy to irk her.
"Percy Jackson, you should be grateful that you are on this school trip to the botanical gardens," Mrs. Gallard tells him.
It's not that he wasn't thrilled to be here. Percy is always stoked not to be in a classroom. He got fresh air, a chance to walk around and not be confined to his desk. Sure, the field trip worksheet he was obligated to fill out wasn't amusing, but the paper airplane he made with it was fun for about thirty seconds.
And the plants were nice to see.
"I was collecting a pollen sample," he responds with a snarky grin.
Some of his classmates snicker. Mrs. Gallard didn't. She didn't find it amusing whatsoever. Percy rolls his eyes when she turns around and gives a sincere-looking apology to their tour guide, an underpaid college student who couldn't care less if Percy was prodding a common flower with a chewed-up eraser tip. He wasn't the one to gnaw it since he found the pencil on the school bus floor.
As per usual, he stalked to the back of the group during the tour. Sometimes he wandered off the path like he did when they went to the theatre to watch a play. Percy somehow ended up on the balcony and got the best seats in the house until Mrs. Gallard found him during intermission.
But now they're in a botanical garden for their science unit, something about learning "biodiversity" and the "vast horticultural, agricultural and arboricultural knowledge" …. not his words. He doesn't know what they mean.
It was an open-roof labyrinth for the season, something about getting natural sunlight and rain. The day isn't bright as there are grey clouds in the sky, but it's warm and breezy enough for Percy and his class to walk through the gardens. They follow a stone path as various flowers, trees, and plants surround them. Often, they hear a spiel about the plant they're supposed to write but Percy always found himself staring at a fountain instead (but the Venus fly trap was fun. One of his classmates threw his sandwich at it and the plant swallowed it whole).
Far more entertaining, if anyone asked.
Nobody asked.
Percy walks on his heels, turning as he watches the clouds move. The weather predicted rain and oh how he wanted a storm now more than ever.
He looks ahead and his eyes draw to a group of horrendous flowers so ugly that he can't look away. Percy walks closer and gawks at the licorice-red stems and tiny white bulbs at the end, each having a black dot.
He squints at the little plaque describing the freaky plant. The letters dance for a bit before the big title comes into focus: White Baneberry/Doll's Eyes. Do not touch.
"What are you looking at?" Percy asks the beady-eyed flowers, tempted to touch.
The flowers don't respond. Instead, the bulbs move as if following a breeze but there's no wind at this moment.
Goosebumps creep onto Percy's arms as a pit of his stomach squirms inside of him. He steps back. Something creepy had to happen at every school he went to. If not, did he really go to that school? Besides, Percy does not see anything new in these gardens. But the thing is, he's been here before and never saw that plant. It couldn't have been a sudden new instalment in the garden because the tired tour guide would've mentioned it.
"Please, please rain…" Percy begs as he scurries back to the group.
If it doesn't rain, then his prior trip here yesterday after school wouldn't matter.
Percy knew the weather predicted rain for today so he had to prepare the garden in advance. After school, on his way to his mother's candy shop, he stopped at the convenience store to pick up some supplies: boxes of instant mashed potatoes and blue Kool-Aid. He mixed the drink powder into the instant potatoes, shaking the boxes before putting it in his bag.
He walked into the botanical garden, blending in with an after-school group. Someone even gave him a worksheet he threw away right after.
So Percy frolicked the garden, sprinkling his instant mashed potato and blue Kool-Aid mixture in the gardens. It was almost like a fertilizer. Powdery instant potatoes were plants at one point, or so he believes, and blue Kool-Aid requires water so it's all safe for plants.
As with creepy happenings, was it really a school trip if Percy didn't prank them?
Which is why Percy needs for it to rain. His recipe needs to be activated.
Then, as if someone up there heard him, a raindrop hit his forehead. Percy grins, rubbing his hands as the rain starts building and falling. The clouds darken as the rain pours. His classmates cover their heads with the flimsy worksheets or throw on their hoods as Mrs. Gallard freaks out as if it's a tsunami. She tries to restore order, but then she shrieks.
Blue blobs start forming from the ground up. His classmates scream and start running amuck. Percy jumps excitedly. He didn't expect his plan to look like martians but this is more than he bargained. He kicks some blue slush around. Some specks fall from the tree and land on his classmates or decorate the plants. The tour guide stares at the chaos in shock as she yells into a walkie-talkie.
And during it all, Percy laughs. He can't help but swipe a sample off a bush and taste it. He gags at the grainy yet sugary taste with traces of dirt in it … the mud wasn't even the worst part of it.
"Percy Jackson!"
Percy licks his blue lips. This prank was so worth a month's worth of detentions or even suspension.
Demeter is plotting revenge somewhere.
I haven't watched the show yet, but I'm hoping that it will not only be amazing but give me more ideas.