Lee — Education

Lee 16 - Luke 17 - Travis 10 - Connor 9

November

Lee isn't a year rounder per se. He lives only 15 minutes from camp with his mom in a simple two bedroom apartment. During the school year, he attends a public high school a few blocks from his apartment complex.

His mom is the choir director, the marching band director, the jazz director, and the wind ensemble director in his high school while also running an after-school club, "Battle of the Books".

His mom is a very, very busy person.

She's rarely home. She's never home actually. Lee is positive she is living on school grounds. But according to the bread crumbs he finds sometimes on the floor of their kitchen, she's still living in the apartment.

So he just never sees her.

He has free reign at all times. He can go wherever he wants, do whatever he wants, can join whatever grabs his interest, can laze around at home all day if he wants.

But he never does.

(Not because the empty apartment scares him. Not because the lack of warmth frightens him. Not because if he stays alone for one more hour, one more minute he'll go insane.)

He keeps himself plenty busy.

Monday nights are dedicated to marching band and only band as he goes over all the formations.

Tuesday nights he spends at Camp Half Blood.

Wednesday nights he's with his mortal friends either at their house or a cafe somewhere after more marching band practice.

Thursday nights, after dinner with the Yews, he's back at Camp Half Blood.

And Friday nights after the football games, he goes to Camp Half Blood.

The weekends, it depends if he has to volunteer with Leo Club or Key club. But if he doesn't then it's at Camp Half Blood pestering Luke and Annabeth to join him for Friday's praise band.

Back in middle school before he had responsibilities, he would bike to Camp after classes and hang out until curfew. Then he would ride his bike back home. Chiron would insist on him calling his mom to pick him up but she's busy with her life. And then when Chiron insisted on giving him a drachma to take the grey sister taxi, he refused. Camp really doesn't have money to spare.

Joining marching band when he entered high school did not make things easier.

But now that he has a car, everything! Is so! Much! Better!

No more horrible bike rides! No more fear of hitting a pothole! No more fear of flying to the other dimension and bruising every part of his body when hitting said pothole! No more crazy, full-power pedaling on Friday nights to make it on time to sing-a-longs with only five minutes to spare!

He shifts the car to park and turns off the ignition. The high beams from the headlights shine on the tree trunks and create this weird, horror-esque mood. Like any second, a monster or a possessed human will pop out from behind the trees. So he switches the headlights off too.

Lee stares at the night sky from the driver's window. It's tranquil. The star's silent twinkling. The crickets' slow chirping. The leaves' gentle swaying. His trumpet is sitting in the back seat and the temptation to whip it out and play something is so hard to ignore.

But it's already 7 pm.

And if he wants to get his homework done on time and still make a new song for Friday night, he better get to it.

So he snatches his flashlight, his backpack, and the tote bag on the passenger seat, locks the car, and heads for Half Blood Hill.

It's dark outside.

No normal person would be waiting in the dark without a flashlight or a lamp or a light source of any kind, but Luke isn't normal.

The one to always greet him first, the one to always send him off, the one to always complain about his flitting back and forth from school to camp then to home and back to school again.

"Lee, I see you're back again."

Luke leans against Thalia's Pine with crossed arms, the moon the only thing illuminating his bandaged face.

Lee hesitates.

Luke always does this. He always waits for him up at the hill but recently, and really, since Luke got back from the Golden Apple quest, he's been… awfully moody. Even the littlest thing seems to tick him off. It kind of scares him sometimes.

But this is Luke he's talking about. Luke will never willingly hurt them. So Lee bounds up with a smile and slings an arm over Luke's shoulder.

"Luke. Good to see you, man. The wound is healing nicely, I see."

Luke touches his bandage and raises an eyebrow. "Public school taught you x-ray vision?"

"Nope," he says, "I wish though. It would be a lot more fun than history. Dad just gifted me with some of his medic magic."

Luke scowls and mentally Lee screams at his unfiltered mouth. He keeps forgetting not everybody is okay with their godly parent like he is. Thankfully, the scowl didn't last long and Luke's eyes his tote back with apprehension.

"Did you bring more—"

"I brought more books!" Lee cuts in with a wide smile.

"You don't have to do this, you know. Chiron teaches us just fine without you bringing us textbooks." Luke rests his hands on his hips and there's exasperation written all over his face but Lee shakes his head.

"I don't mind," he says and starts sorting through the books in the bag. A lot of it are workbooks his friends gave him. Most are for elementary kids since those are the cheapest and the ones his friends were willing to give up, but there are a couple for Luke. Where are they… where are they…

"Here! These SAT and ACT books are for you. Some of the seniors in band don't need them anymore and they all love me so it was pretty easy to convince them I need it. Be grateful. They all think I'm a nerd for studying so early."

Luke takes the books from him with hesitancy. He thumbs through the pages, face unreadable. Which is not a good sign.

"Lee," Luke says and now that's really not a good sign, "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not going to college."

"What? Why?"

"I don't see the point of it." And Luke holds the book out for him to take back. Lee didn't move to take it.

"But didn't you say you want to be a social worker? You need an undergrad degree for that."

"I changed my mind."

"So what do you want to be now?"

Luke didn't answer him. And Lee didn't push.

Instead, he bites his lips and put the books back in the bag.

"I guess Annabeth and Connor can use it when they're older."

Luke's head lowers. His eyes narrow. There's a dark scowl and maybe it's the exhaustion from practice earlier wrapping what he feels, what he sees, but he swears there's another person in between them. Someone a lot larger than either of them. It drapes over the both of them.

It's harder to breathe.

It's harder to see.

It's cold.

He's back in his quiet, empty apartment with no one around but him. And no matter how loud he plays his stereos, it can't drown out the immense loneliness he feels.

"What makes you think they'll live old enough to use it?"

Lee recoils.

And Luke flinches, his scowl disappearing into guilt.

"Look, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything. Let's go find the others."

Luke turns his back to him and heads towards the Big House.

He can breathe again.

More than anything now, Lee wants to say something. Anything. 'You're scaring me, Luke.' 'Are you okay, Luke.' 'What's going on? Is there anything I can help you with.'

But he can't. He can't ask any of that. He can't make himself ask anything.

Luke sidesteps all of the sudden.

Lee flinches, bracing himself for reasons he doesn't know. A body collides with his, a head slamming into his chest with enough force to bruise.

"AH, sorry Lee!"

Luke smiles a little. Sadistic, little meanie.

"Annabeth is still trying to find Connor's special powers. She thinks it has to do with stamina. They're racing right now and I'm supposed to wait at the finish line!"

"In the dark?" Lee wheezes.

Travis waves his flashlight with the most measly light ever to have ever existed.

"Do you want my flashlight? You can probably see better." Lee grimaces and rubs his poor abdomen. Yup, it's definitely going to bruise.

Travis shakes his head. "I know every branch on camp. I can make my way around blindfolded. I guarantee it."

Lee guesses being contained here 24/7 does that to you.

"I gotta go. I can hear them coming. They don't know I'm racing too and I want to win. Catch you later!" Then Travis takes off in the dark, his orange shirt engulfed by the darkness.

No sooner Connor and Annabeth are beside them, gasping for air, really wheezing for air. In fact, they look like they are seconds away from collapsing. In fact, they actually collapse.

"I don't," Connor pants, gulping air down desperately, "Have. Super. Stamina."

Annabeth elbows him in the ribs. "Yeah. I can. See that."

Maybe right now isn't the best time but Lee never really can control his mouth. With a proud whoop, he pulls the books Connor requested. Out of the ten or so yearrounders here, Connor and Annabeth are the only ones to ask him to check out books from the library. He isn't sure if they're actually eager to learn or just in a competition to outread each other.

Either way, they're learning and that's great!

But before he could pass it to Connor, Luke snatches it from his hands and tuck it beneath his armpits.

"Stop feeding Connor's quest to make our lives a living hell," Luke says.

Connor pulls himself to his feet. "I don't do that! Don't believe him, Lee," he argues, still panting from exertion. He darts for the book but Luke's faster.

And taller.

Really, all Luke needs to do is use one hand to raise the book over his head, use the other hand to hold back Connor and Connor's powerless.

Connor struggles valiantly for a good minute before realizing that he can't outpower Luke. So he inhales sharply and let out a high-pitched wail and gods, why won't he join their Friday praise band? He got the lungs. He got the skills. All he needs is the courage to perform. It's not like anybody is looking at them. Everybody is too busy talking.

Connor let out another wail and they all wince, Annabeth going to cover her ears.

But Luke is still not giving in.

Good thing Lee is equally as tall.

(And that scary aura is gone. It's just Luke. It's only Luke. And Luke will never willingly hurt them)

With deft fingers, Lee snatches the book from behind.

Luke whirls towards him, frowning. "Hey!"

"Come on, Luke. Connor's 9. How is he going to make your life hell through," He glances down at the book and raises an eyebrow, "The 'Art of Origami'. You guys. Come on. It's origami."

Now Annabeth is back on her feet and she's siding up with Luke, glaring at Connor. "You're not here all the time. You don't understand, Lee. Connor is a menace—"

"You're a menace too, Anniebeth."

"The book you got him last week, 'Cool Chemistry Experiments to Try at Home,' already is making us suffer. Connor knows how to make smoke bombs now, Lee. He's almost done learning how to make a stink bomb and pretty soon he'll make a real bomb. If we die, it's your fault."

"She's exaggerating. Don't believe her, Lee," Connor defends.

Very subtly (not-so-subtly) Luke shakes his head and mouths 'believe her'.

"Well…" Lee falters, thinking it over before handing the book to Connor, much to his cousin's great delight and his other two cousins' extreme horror. "I'm happy he's so passionate about learning."

"If you make a spider, I'll punch you really hard," Annabeth threatens but Connor only laughs and when Annabeth threatens to do more, Connor laughs harder.

"Lee," Luke moans, waving a hand towards the bickering duo, "Do you see this? This is my life everyday. I deal with this everyday. Every. Single. Fuc—f-freaking. Day."

His words are said in despair, but his eyes, his mouth, his posture, that fond look, that little smile, it all says otherwise.

(He hates that he has to check. He shouldn't have to. It should have been obvious.)

"Tell you what," Lee says, smiling to follow the ruse, "How about we go for a joyride to lighten your oh so incredible burden? I'll let you drive if you want."

Immediately the bickering stops and two bodies are standing at his feet with the most damndest puppy eyes ever.

"We want to go," Annabeth demands, crossing her arms and straightening her back.

Connor follows with a, "Let us go too."

Lee shakes his head. "Nope. Not this time. It'll be just me and Luke."

Connor's puppy eyes grew wider and it's coupled with him tugging on his shirt.

"Please, Lee? We're so bored here," Connor pleads, the only one out of the two of them with no qualms about begging.

"Nope. Go back to your competi—"

"Please?" Connor begs, this time with tears in his eyes. "It's so boring here. There's nothing to do."

God damn it. This is so unfair. He knows Connor's faking it.

Luke is laughing behind his hand. Annabeth's eyes twinkle. On the Big House's porch he can see Chiron, face illuminated by the lamp outside, smiling at their situation.

Lee has no illusions about his willpower which is astonishingly nonexistent. He went vegetarian cause a friend asked him too. He's in about 7 different clubs cause his friends wanted moral support. He has dinner with the Yews because Ms. Yew asked him to join. He goes out of his way towards the public library because Connor and Annabeth wanted certain books the camp library doesn't have.

Easily persuaded. A people pleaser. That's what everybody says about him.

So he grabs Luke's arm and runs for the hills.

Thank gods for marching band for keeping him fit and genetics for making him tall. He gotta use his height while he still can before all the younger ones grow up to his height.

"Hey!"

"Wait!"

They didn't wait.

And when he and Luke is in the car, he laughs as Annabeth and Connor pouts at Half Blood Hill, he laughs as his audio system comes alive and Luke's groaning ("what the fuck are you listening to?" "A masterpiece, Luke, a masterpiece you uncultured swine."), he laughs as he drives down the gravel road leading out of camp to the outside world.

He thinks he's really content.

Life can't become better than this.

That is until a voice pipes up from the back.

"Where are we going?"

"Hooooo my god."

He slams on the brakes.

There shouldn't be a voice back there.

There shouldn't be any noises at all save from them two.

Lee turns around and looks behind to find Travis looking entirely unguilty and Beckendorf and Chris looking very, very guilty.

"What are you doing here! How did you even get in?! I locked the door!"

"I unlocked it," Travis says while Chris and Beckendorf mumble apologies.

"And I didn't teach him that. He's just that gifted," Luke says with pride, a smug smile on his face. He doesn't look broken up over the fact that there are 5 of them and they're probably acting as a huge magnet for monsters. ("Don't worry, Lee. I got us covered if monsters attack," Luke assures him).

And Chiron. Oh gods, Chiron is going to be pissed. Chiron is going to be so fucking pissed. Shit!

To take this many campers out, he needs to sign a paper, get some monster repellant, make sure each camper has a weapon and shit. Shit, shit, shit.

He's going to be lectured.

He's so screwed.

He's not content.

His life is over.

Goodbye, world.

"You're too much of a good boy, Lee. Live a little."

Author's Notes: I always thought about how Annabeth and the others get their education since they live year round. I'm sure Chiron teaches them. And then some of the older kids could possibly donate their old school workbooks.

Huge thank you to everyone for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts, good or bad! Next chapter will be either Lee again (ugh, it's at 5k and still not finished) or Kronos depending on which one is finished.

To guest: I still use Tumblr religiously lol but I just train myself to not care about the discourse and what people are accusing me of. If you want to know my Tumblr account, I don't mind telling you! (just make sure you're logged in. I can't PM a guest.) It's part fandom, part general stuff, part prompts, and part discourse.