"Do we really have to, mom?" Percy asked as he looked at the building in front of him. It was just like another other school but it came with a sense of regency, it immediately gave him the urge to straighten his back. "Did we really have to move for this?" He asked quietly, the New York accent stood out among the chattering of general American accents.
He held a bag in his hand, and another was draped over his shoulder. He didn't explode the science lab back at his old school in New York, he wasn't even allowed near the Bunsen Burner or anything made out of fire for that matter. It was just a coincidence, and his mother believed that. But the school district representative didn't, the man argued that actions had to be taken.
Percy thinks the only reason he is doing something now is because his daughter was in the hallway outside of the classroom and had endured only a little scratch, but was very shocked about it.
"Yes Percy." His mother said solemnly as she crouched down to look him in the eyes, the swirling green eyes that she saw in the eyes of his father. "It's for the best." She said. Percy knew she also had no choice, the parents were starting to warn their children not to get close to him, because weird accidents happen whenever he is around. So he just got bullied a little, why did they have to move across the country for it?
"Okay." He could never argue against his mother's wishes. He had been a burden for so long that there was no other choice. "Can I come home during the weekends?" He asked quietly, he knew that he wouldn't be able to go long without his mother, not without her comforting food, her comforting hugs or her comforting smile. He's always calm whenever she's near him.
"Only if they give you an extra day off, otherwise you can only come home for your vacations." She said quietly and ran a hand through his hair, the wild wavey hair. "But I'll see you soon enough, and we will talk, you'll send letters to me, right?"
Percy nodded dutifully. He knows he will do anything to talk to her, even if he wasn't allowed to use a phone. They didn't have the money for phone privileges but letters were free, and they could be sent any time of day. "Yes mom." He said and gulped.
"You'll be old enough, soon." She said as she pulled his jacket closer to one another, so that the wind didn't make him any colder. "Then you'll have a car, be able to drive back home, and sleep back home. Maybe you'll have a job." She said and her smile wavered. "Soon you'll be all grown up."
"Soon." Percy repeated to his mother. The woman nodded as she stood back up, he saw the other parents wrap it up with their children and Percy just threw his arms around his mother's waist. "Don't forget me." He murmured into her jacket.
"Never." She answered, "You won't forget me either, will you?" She asked, amused by his antics. Percy laughed breathlessly, the thought of ever forgetting about his mother was funny to him. Anyone who would have ever met her wouldn't be able to forget her. Before he let go of his mother, his eyes fell on the girl who just stood face to face with her mother. She looked angry to be left at military school. "It's time, Perseus." She whispered, letting go of her son and running yet again another hand through his hair.
"Okay mom." Percy said quietly as he picked up the bag he dropped onto the ground. He looked over at the school and realized that he had never been away from his mother for long. It was always two days maximum and never longer than a month without vacation or an extra long weekend. "Bye." He wanted to throw a tantrum so that he didn't have to leave her, but the gray hairs between his mother's hair just kept appearing and he knew that he was to blame. They shared a sad smile before Percy had to turn around and walk through the gates.
As soon as he walked through the gates, he saw the crosses taped onto the ground and how new students were standing on them. Military school was known for its discipline and Percy fell in line, fast. Beside him stood a chinese boy, he was a bit big and chubby but he was tall. He was wiping away his tears while he kept a determined look on his face.
As soon as the alarm blared on a supervisor's phone, the gates closed and no students could walk in anymore. But all the crosses were occupied, everyone had arrived and was listening closely. "Cadets, welcome to your new school. We do it a bit differently here." The supervisor said, donned in his uniform. "We aren't a school for bad kids, we're a school for leaders. We do not correct anyone's bad behavior, because we mold you kids into exemplary students." The girl who was angry to be left at the school just snorted, certainly not impressed. "Here, you'll learn respect." The man said and gave the girl a sharp look.
"I see that you have your clothes in your bags." The man said, "Drop them." Instantly, Percy let go of the bag in his hand and yanked the bag over his shoulder onto the ground. "You won't be needing those anymore, because the school provides clothes for you. Clothes that will need to be worn on a daily basis, we recommend you wear thermal clothes under your uniform if it gets cold out." The wind kept raging. "Female students with long hair are required to keep it in a bun. Male students are required to keep it short." The man continued and Percy clenched his jaw, he wanted to go home. "Tomorrow, male students who don't have the required hairstyle can go to the auditorium and get their hair cut by a barber, right?"
Hesitant looks were shared but they all knew, they were at military school, there is no more fooling around, "Sir yes sir." The Chinese boy said it loud and clearly. The man grinned and asked for them to repeat it now, all together. "Sir, yes, sir!" The group repeated.
"Now pick up your stuff, boys will follow me and girls will follow counselor Sano." Percy did as he was asked and so did the Chinese boy beside him. From the way he walked, with his posture up straight and his hair already cut like it was required, he was a military kid.
"Is your father in the military?" Percy asked, quietly. He didn't want to stand out from the group of boys. If he did so now it would mean that he will be closely watched and dubbed as a troublemaker, like always.
"My mother is." The boy answered, "Your parents?"
"Neither of them are." Percy answered, maybe his father was in the military. That could be the reason why he wasn't around anymore, he wishes he knew. "My mother used to work in a candy store."
The boy nodded and stopped when the supervisor did. "These are the dorms, you'll share a room with only one other person. Room 1A, Rick Lang and Eric Stevens." The boys stepped up and both got a hold of their identification. "Clip those onto your t-shirts, tomorrow you will be expected to wear the uniform, for now, go into your room, talk with your roommate and wait for our announcement."
Percy watched as students walked up and into their room. Until he was the last one left, "Frank Zhang and Percy Jackson, room 10A." They were handed their identification. "Get to know one another, stay in your room until said otherwise, understood?"
"Sir yes sir." The two said and walked into the room. Percy looked at the Chinese boy, "So, Frank Zhang?"
The Chinese boy gave Percy a small smile, "Percy Jackson?"
"The one and only." He held his fist out, "Nice to meet you."
The Chinese boy bumped his fist and looked around the room. There was a bunk bed with a desk under it, and there was a twin bed in the other corner of the room with a desk pushed against the foot of it. "Which one do you want?"
"I'm more of a bunk bed person." Percy grinned and threw his bags down on the desk before pulling himself onto the bunk bed. He sat up there, swinging his legs while Frank sat down on his bed, testing how much it bounces. "So, we're going to be roommates." Percy hummed.
Frank nodded, "True."
"I snore, a bit in my sleep." Percy mentioned. "I thought you'd like to know." He hummed. Frank laughed softly. Maybe the thought of sharing a room with someone who snores entertains him.
"I snore too." Frank admitted.
Then came the unholy noise of an alarm and Percy jumped out of his bed to peek his head out of the door, "He's back!" Percy called out and stepped out, standing beside Frank outside of their door. Their backs up straight.
"Come on out Cadets!" The man called out, "We're starting the tour!" Boys came out of their rooms one by one and stood outside of their door. "Now, make a line! Stay next to your roommate." The man grumbled and it took a few minutes to stand organized. "Come on out." The supervisor said loudly and they started to follow after him, like little ducklings would after their mother.
They walked through the main administration building, it would be the place where detention happened and counseling. Percy personally thinks that detention is out by the entrance where everyone can see them because it has a little sadistic side to it, they want their detentions to be embarrassing. They walked between the little courtyard between the barracks, where the girls slept in a building opposite to the boys.
"We're facing the girl dormitories." Frank muttered and blushed. "We should get curtains." Percy let out a little laugh and nodded, agreeing with Frank. Then to the building disjointed from the main administration building or the barracks, was the school.
It was interesting to see students already donning their uniforms, just talking to one another because it is the first day of school. Teachers didn't wear uniforms because they weren't members of the army, Percy believes.
"This here cadets, is the mess hall." The man said, "You'll only have dinner with your grade and an older grade." He said, "We have two disjointed buildings with mess halls, the young cadets sit here while the older sit in another." The boys just shrugged and nodded at one another.
Then they walked through the physical training part of the school, which happened to be the big part of the school's motto which hung up by the bleachers. "Exercitus Fortis, Mens Vigilans." Percy read without any issue, unlike whenever he read english.
"Strong body, vigilant mind." Frank translated right beside him, they shared a surprised look. "Did you study latin before coming here?" They were only eleven, of course Percy never studied before.
"It just felt logical to me." The boy said, his eyes focussing on the motto. They followed the man through the gym, the outdoor running field and even the climbing wall where a few students were making use of it, gripping onto the smallest crevices.
Then they walked over to the drill fields and Percy looked at the trail that was made because so many students had walked over it. The patches of dirt between the otherwise grass fields stood out. Directly connected to the drill fields was the training grounds for what Percy assumes are military training exercises.
His eyes were locked onto the obstacle course, automatically trying to find out the fastest way through the course. He'd climb over the wall with the rope, jump down and just roll before crawling under the plate. The height between the wall that cut off the main course right above the crawl space and the person was just too big for him. He couldn't have done it.
Frank had to grab onto Percy's arm and take him along, they looked in awe at the rappelling towers. "You won't be doing that until your second year here, unless you advance to it earlier. Then you might be able to do it with older students who are built just like you scrawny cadets."
Then there was the closed bunker where the sound of shots being fired sounded, a kid threw himself onto the ground at the faint sound of it. Percy let out a breath and frowned. The supervisor pulled the kid up and continued the tour, as if the boy wasn't shaking in the boots that were too big for him.
They walked through a half-enclosed space, where some walls were made out of glass and the other just didn't exist. The training mats on the ground were being used just as an older student was thrown over someone's shoulder. "That's a judo flip right?" Percy looked interested, if Frank hadn't held him back, he'd be up against it with his nose, leaving behind condensation on the glass from breathing against it. "So cool." Percy muttered, Frank was once again, pulling him away by his arm. "You guys have mud pits here?" Percy exclaimed, looking at the two students, caked in mud just wrestling. Trying to gain dominance and win their match.
"We're not doing that." Frank muttered, "I'm not going to be a pig in the mud."
Percy immediately brightened when he saw the water, "We are doing that though." He said and reached out to put his hand in the water. "Are there any teams for this?" Percy called out, asking the supervisor.
The supervisor arched his eyebrow at the question and Frank just nudged his arm, whispering, "Sir." To him.
"Are there any swimming teams, sir?" Percy corrected himself as he stood up straight, his wet hand behind his back, drenching his shirt.
"Yes there are cadet." The man said, "Although they are for high school students." Percy deflated after hearing that. "There will be open hours to swim in the pool during weekends." Percy nodded enthusiastically and continued to follow after the man, with a little more pep in his step.
They walked through the assembly hall, quietly as there were parents of students asking questions to a person from administration. Percy's eyes looked over each parent, in search of his own. "I think my mom already left." Frank said quietly. "She had to report back to base."
Percy just patted his back, "I think that mom had to leave for work." He said quietly. Together in silence they followed the supervisor who then showed them the infirmary, it was empty but there were still two staff members, running around trying to stock up.
Then a few feet away from the infirmary was the library, Percy snorted, knowing that he wouldn't be going there willingly. "That concludes the tour." The man said as he crossed his arms in front of the group. He checked his watch and the sound of chattering sounded. The woman who stood next to the supervisor appeared and a group of girls stood next to their group. "We'll be splitting you up because smaller classes can cause you to have a few more than anticipated."
"You'll be split along with your roommate in order to make things easier and safer with testing. Stand off to the side there." The woman called out their names, "Janey Del Olmo," A girl with dark brown hair walked over to the tree and stood there, uneasily. "Percy Jackson." His head snapped up in surprise and he walked over to the girl, standing next to her, facing the group. "Clarisse La Rue." Another girl was called out and stood next to Percy. The girl who had looked so angry with her mother, but so defeated. "Raymundo Lobo." Another boy stepped up, hispanic with curls. "Maude O'Brien." Blonde girl with blue eyes. "Jameson O'Clery." Boy with ginger hair and blue eyes that just made Percy uncomfortable. "Chet Philips." Chet and Jameson high-fived each other, they're probably roommates. "Reyna Ramírez-Arellano." The girl with black braids stood up straight, with what looked like bruised knuckles. She pushed between Raymundo to stand beside Clarisse and they shared a look that meant trouble. "Larry Samuels." Another boy walked up and then Frank's name was called out, the boy also walked over to stand next to his roommate.
Three pairs of boys and two pairs of girls, ten cadets in total. Percy glanced at each one of them and winced at the smell of Janey. If they'd ever do an anonymous secret santa, Percy would leave behind some deodorant, because that girl had a serious smell to her. "Students that remain, follow me." The man said and Percy watched the other group walk away.
"You cadets can follow after me." The woman said and turned to look at them. "A reminder for you all, I'm counselor Sano. I provide academic guidance, personal counseling about feelings and such." Chet and Jameson cringed and Percy had to roll his eyes at their attitude. "I'm well versed in college guidance, and know the military service system very well. I will be your homeroom teacher, too." She said, "Every morning after breakfast, I'll be with you for only half an hour though, instead of the full fifty minutes." She said and Percy shared a glance with Frank. "That means you will have to behave," She said, her tone shifting into a strict one, "If I see a small glimpse of chaos in that room, or hear the smallest bad thing about your homeroom, I will be putting you with high school seniors."
Percy pursed his lips, that wouldn't be all that bad. "What will we be doing for the rest of the day?" He asked. They were walking through the school part of the campus.
Counselor just opened the door of an empty classroom and ushered them inside, "For now we'll just go over our handbook and make sure you know it. I'll answer any questions you have," Percy's hand shot into the air, "As soon as you're sat down." Percy looked at the classroom and saw that the desks were made for two, not for one.
Percy sat down by the desk that was by the heater and the window, the desk in front was taken by Reyna, something Percy can't pronounce for last name and the angry yet defeated girl. Frank sat down beside him and Percy looked at the rest. The table diagonal to them was taken by the two girls, behind them and beside Percy and Frank sat two boys, Jameson and Chet. Percy cringed at how close they sat.
"I don't think Lobo and Samuels like each other that much." Frank whispered to Percy, subtly motioning over to them. They sat on the edge of their seats, to be far away from one another. "I wonder if they allow you to switch roommates and classes."
"I think you need to do both." Percy whispered, "They said that you can't be roommates and not in the same class." Frank nodded, agreeing with Percy's thought. As soon as they were all sat, Percy stuck his hand out. The counselor motioned over to him to ask his question. "Do I really need to cut my hair? I kind of like it like this." He said, whining a bit about it.
The counselor gave him a sympathetic smile, "I'm afraid that you must, but I think you'll grow unto it, having a buzzcut. Looks like your roommate already has one, how do you like it?" Frank just shrugged, muttering that it was low maintenance. She motioned over to Frank and nodded, "See, you'll be just fine, cadet?"
"Percy Jackson." He replied.
"Cadet Jackson, you'll be just fine." She then clapped her hands, looking around the class to see if anyone else had a question. When no hands were raised she turned on the projector to the smartboard and opened a video. "Watch and maybe after, I'll listen to your questions."
They looked at the video. They talked about having elective classes such as ancient languages, talking about having an academic variety is important to the mind, repeating their motto, 'Exercitus Fortis, Mens Vigilans.'. Then it cut to a drill practice, where they talked about the physical education and drilling in the routines of a military into the heads of students. The importance of discipline.
Then came the close-ups of former students, talking about their life now and how it benefits their career. Percy cringed at the sudden close-ups. Then a military man showed up, he was a former student as well. He talked about how he was appointed leader of their drill group and that he was a high rank in the military now.
The introduction of their staff members, Sergeant Grant, was his name. The video touched on the subject of extracurriculars for middle school students, even social events. They mentioned that they had to go to their counselor for a brochure of it and to later sign in for the club.
The video even explained an old tradition of the school, to signify the last day before a vacation. Students have a tournament of the training grounds, the obstacle course to rappelling and at last, a clean fight until one taps out.
The closer for the low-budget video was the school motto which Percy immediately understood, 'Exercitus Fortis, Mens Vigilans.' it repeated. Reyna, the girl with the black hair in front of Percy whispered the translation, just as Frank had done. "Strong body, vigilant mind." She whispered and the two boys shared a look.
"Any questions?" Counselor Sano repeated. A few students had their hands up. She motioned over to Clarisse who had a wicked smile on her face.
"Are there any clubs for learning how to fight, like martial arts? Or wrestling?" She asked, the girl next to her lowered her arm, nodding. She had wondered that too.
"There are, we encourage younger students to start the clubs early because building up skills at your young age is easier than having to learn it later." The woman said and opened the cabinet beside her desk. She handed out flyers to the two girls. "Anyone else, interested?"
Percy raised his arm and nudged Frank's. "C'mon, it'll be nice." He whispered and the Chinese boy begrudgingly raised his arm. Two flyers were put out in front of them. Percy looked up at their homeroom teacher, "Do you have a flier for the swimming pool? Sergeant Grant said that there would be one."
"Of course." The woman hummed and put it down in front of his shared a look with Frank who looked reluctant to swim, instead of nudging him again, pushing for him to do it with him again, Percy just smiled.
"Why are you joining the MMA club?" The girl with the black hair asked as she turned around to face the two boys behind her. She looked confused and the frown on her face didn't really help.
"Mud pit." Percy immediately answered and Frank just shook his head softly. There was no convincing him to wrestle in the mud. The girl next to Reyna grinned though. She agreed with him, nodding.
"I would practice kung fu when my mom isn't deployed." Frank said shyly, blushing bashfully. "Grandma would make me meditate." He muttered.
"Like Kung Fu Panda?" Percy questioned as he looked over at Frank. "The kung fu and meditation, that's actually a part of it?" He asked, his eyes looking over at Frank in a new light.
The girl angry at her mother had already turned around her chair to face them. "I thought that was just for the movie."
"It isn't." The girl with the braids said, "My father used to meditate, before he got bad." Percy frowned looking over at her, a bit concerned. Frank then cleared his throat.
"I'm Frank Zhang." He said and motioned over to the boy next to him, "My roommate, Percy Jackson." Percy waved happily to be introduced as his roommate.
"Reyna Ramírez-Arellano and this is my roommate Clarisse La Rue." She introduced them. Percy looked at her with a slight frown on his face, he hadn't seen a parent drop her off, just a man in a suit with a suitcase.
He had seen Frank's mother leave though, at first Percy thought she was a member of the staff but that soon changed after Frank began talking about his mother. His eyes were pulled away from Reyna when counselor Sano started to spread out different books and pamphlets. "These are your school calendars, at the end of every class you'll get a moment to write down your tasks and such." She explained, passing them over to the two boys that didn't really like each other. "The pamphlets in it are for your grade's elective choices, the maximum is three but remember the clubs you might sign up for." She gave the four of them a pointed look.
Percy opened his calendar and took out the pamphlet, spreading it out over his desk. "Does anyone have a pen?" He asked and Reyna took out her jacket's pocket. He took the cap off after she had handed it over, "I might just do this," He hummed and circled ancient language. It was somehow a wonder that he didn't get a headache from reading the Latin motto on the bleachers, so Latin might just come naturally to him. Thus making his grades more impressive.
"I might do that too." Reyna said as she chewed her lip, Frank nodded, also having the intention of choosing it to be his elective subject choice. Clarisse just grimaced at the thought of it and didn't speak up. Reyna then grabbed the pen from Percy's loose hand and circled, "History/Cultural Studies and Public speaking." She muttered, surrounding it and writing down an 'R'.
Clarisse looked uninterested in everything and Frank looked slightly panicked, not knowing what to choose, or not really knowing what else he wanted to do outside of ancient language. Percy just patted Frank's back. "We're going to be busy." He hummed.
"Good." Reyna whispered under her breath and the two boys subtly frowned at one another. While they were just new friends, there was a silent understanding that they gravitated towards one another. The way Clarrise caught Percy's attention from just being angry. The way Frank caught Reyna's attention, both having arrived early, and being left at the school early.
They gravitated towards one another, the activities they chose, the seats to even their manners. Frank and Reyna's being more alike, already having a sense of discipline drilled into them while Clarisse and Percy had something unhinged to them.
They talked some more, listened to the counselor as she spoke and then it was time to wrap it up. They walked through the halls being let out earlier in order to avoid the incoming stream of students, "I can't believe that I have to wake up extra early just to have my hair cut." Percy whined. Frank let out an amused breath.
"I'll wake up with you." He said and Percy beamed at him, a true friend will wake up early with their friend just to do some casual chores. Normally his mother would be that person for him, but she wasn't around anymore.
"I should cut my hair too." Clarisse said as she took a hold of her choppy hair. Reyna looked at her with a frown.
"You know I didn't mean that-"
"You were right though." Clarisse said, "I didn't take care of my hair correctly and now it's all messed up." She said quietly to Reyna. The girl looked over at Percy, "I'll come too." Reyna and Frank looked at each other and shrugged, falling on the assumption that if one of them was going, they all were.
"I needed a trim anyways." Frank said offhandedly as he held the door open to the group. The taller girls walked through the door first and the two boys followed after them.
The group of eleven year olds walked through the doors, they gravitated towards one another, held by an invisible string of events. None of them knew that the future held but only one had a faint thought of it. Her father spoke of it, having seen it from her mother. The consequences of Rome stood in her hands and weighed on her shoulders.
The other's had an innocent weight on their shoulders. Frank was worried about his grandmother being alone in her big mansion. Clarisse was nervous about writing to her mother, if they would ever talk again after their last argument, the final drop in the bucket of water. Percy was just floating around, elated to have friends who didn't think of him as weird. He was happy to belong.
The Fates sat together, watching the ball of invisible yarn unfold, knot by knot showing the universe's wishes. It was a curious case, a son of gods surrounded by the children of gods. The only protection they had was their ignorance and the smell of teenagers around them.
However, one with the knowledge of her identity wasn't avoidable. They sat together, whispering, listening and creating a route of action to prevent the happenings of events happening too early. The son of Sally Jackson smiled and waved at his newly made friends before going inside of his dorm, blabbering about the school's swimming pool and going to their room. The boy sat down at his desk with the intention of writing to his mother, telling her not to worry. He belonged.