Chapter 4:
So, that could have gone better. The rest of my Wednesday night was fairly normal. I grabbed dinner at the student center, picked up my books from student services, and made my way back to my dorm for a quiet night watching YouTube with Nico. The guy didn't get out much, but he was always willing to listen to someone else's problems over food.
"It was just so odd. I mean, why would they combine two classes that have little to nothing to do with each other? And a major partner project? As freshman?" I was talking in Nico's general direction, but really, I was just venting about the experience to get it off my chest.
"Did you at least get a good partner?" Nico reached for another helping of the orange chicken spread I had placed out for us. My cousin was small, but he could eat his weight in whatever food you put out in front of him!
"That was the other rough part, her name is Annabeth, and she seems like a total hard ass. All she could talk about was schedules and preparation." I fell back on my bed earning a small laugh from Nico. I searched in the ceiling tiles for an answer to my problems, but nothing jumped out at me.
"Look, it could always be worse. It sounds to me like you got paired with someone who will do most of the work for you!" I had to admit that Nico was right, Annabeth did seem the type to make life easier. That is, if I could survive being around her for that long. "And maybe it was just a rough first meeting."
"We can hope, I'll see her again on Friday." The rest of the night Nico recapped his first week and how his English professor ironically spoke with a heavy Italian accent and a student in his U.S. History class wouldn't stop talking about how Rockefeller was his great great grandfather twice removed or something. Nothing he said was super crazy, but the way Nico explained it, you would have thought he had a 3 headed dragon in class with him. Regardless, it was nice to know I wasn't the only one having an interesting start to college.
Even with Thursday being one of my busiest, the morning seemed to slip by in a relatively uneventful manner. Algebra and Biology were boring, but I welcomed a sense of normalcy in a few classes. Then came the class that was anything but. I walked into the theater to find Mr. D on the stage, upside down, performing a tripod balancing act with his eyes closed. The other students in the room appeared to be looking around at each other for answers as to when class would start or if he might even be stuck that way. I walked over and took a seat next to Will who appeared to be fascinated by Mr.D's ability to stay so calm.
"Hey Percy, isn't this just incredible!" He beamed a smile at me, but only for a second before returning his eyes to the man on the stage.
"Uh, sure, the core strength is impressive if nothing else." He had been on his head now for at least five minutes which proved he was at least a little more in shape then I previously would have assumed. At long last, Mr. D lowered his legs and rolled up into a kneeling position to look at us all. His smile was soft, but his red face and slow heavy breathing indicated just how difficult that was. He took only a moment to gaze over each of our faces before rising up and walking to the edge of the stage before us.
"Now class, what does this exercise present to us about acting?" He looked out expectantly in the crowd. Again, eyes shot around the room to see if anyone knew what this crazy guy was talking about. I panicked as it seemed all eyes fell on me, that was, until I realized the hand that was raised behind me. "Yes, Mr. Solace."
"Acting on a stage is a balancing act. It will be hard, people may not understand, and you might have to fight through the pain of hushed comments and silent stares, but making all of your hard work look effortless is the real challenge." All eyes turned back to Mr. D who was grinning from ear to ear. He began a slow clap that was picked up by everyone in the room.
"Well done Mr. Solace, well done! It's not every day that I have a student who is able to grasp the deeper meaning of my exercises so quickly. You would all do well to make friends with such a bright young talent." The class's collective gaze remained on staring in our direction. I wasn't even the subject of their view, and I went a little red in the face with embarrassment. Will Solace, however, sat just as tall as ever in his chair and displayed his signature smile. If I had learned anything from the people I had met at this school so far, whether it be Rachel, Piper, Luke, or Will, confidence was never an issue.
Mr. D broke us into partners to work on our own "balancing act" by attempting to balance plastic plates on the end of a wooden dowel. To my surprise, it seemed Will wanted to be partners with me more than I did with him. The exercise began with the sound of multiple plastic plates smacking against the stage floor, this was going to be interesting. I grabbed a plate from the pile in the middle of the stage and carefully placed it on the skinny stick in Will's hand.
"So, was your cousin okay the other night?" Will's eyes never left the plate he was balancing. "I came back after my game, but Rachel said he left in a hurry." I reached back for another plate and held it out for Will to tell me when he was ready.
"He was fine, just a little overwhelmed, I think. He doesn't get out much." Will gave me a hand wave to show he was ready for the next plate, and I placed it, ever so gracefully if I do say so myself, on top of the stick.
"I gathered that from how often the boy is wearing headphones." Will laughed and almost lost his concentration. The plates wiggled and danced dangerously close to falling off. "You really need to get him out to meet more people, and I don't just mean in that cute little cafe either." Will looked at me with a knowing glance. Apparently, everyone knew about my secret hideout getaway. With the third plate safely on top and balanced, Will removed the plates and handed me my weapon. I know I had just seen him manage to do this while talking without any real struggle, but I could already hear the plastic hitting the floor. Will placed the first plate in the staff.
"Hey, this isn't actually that hard." To showcase my ease, I danced in a little circle. My awful dance skills clearly amused Will as he joined in. I grabbed a second plate from the pile and dropped it on top.
"Should I ask Nico out?" My dancing plates hit the floor. I looked up at Will, now blushing and clearly embarrassed to have asked the question, but also holding back a laugh. From across the stage I made eye contact with Mr. D, who took it upon himself to make his way over.
"Half of being balanced, Percy, is keeping a clear head and staying in control." He smiled at me as he retrieved my plates from the floor.
"My fault, Professor, I threw him off." Will was laughing through this apology, but Mr. D seemed to take it sincerely. He walked back to help another group who appeared to be having a fake tea party with the plates as opposed to balancing them, he joined in on the fun.
"Sorry for that Will, I just…" He raised his hand to wave away my thought.
"Don't worry about it man, I was trying to throw you off. You seemed a little too laid back." He began to spin a plate on top of the stick I just dropped. I really had to get into the Will class of magical arts and theater if I was going to pass this class. "And Percy," He threw the plate up in the air and caught it in his hand, "Maybe don't be so obvious with the answer next time." He laughed and we cleaned up the plates as class came to an end.
1:30 pm rolled around and I started to make my way towards study hall. I don't normally arrive to class early, in fact I'm usually a five minutes late kind of guy, but I wanted to make the best second impression I could. I strode into the room a whole eleven minutes early, head held high, just to see that Annabeth was seated at the back of the room already working. I let out a sigh, walked over to the table, and sat down.
"Hey partner, working hard or hardly working?" I shot her a smirk and held up finger guns only to see that she still hadn't looked up from her computer. She ceased her typing for only a moment, long enough to glare at me from her screen like I was a fly buzzing in her general vicinity. That dad joke usually killed, but I guess she wasn't one for lame humor. I holstered my finger guns and decided to take a more direct approach. I sat up straighter in my chair which appeared to grab her attention a little more.
"And done." She slightly pushed her computer towards me and spun it around so that I could see the screen. I had never in my life seen so many events, classes, study sessions, and just general life activities organized and color coded on one calendar. The vast array of colors would make a rainbow jealous! Before I could respond she spoke up again. "So, that schedule we were talking about on Wednesday, this is what I have come up with to ensure we stay on track." She clicked the screen and all of her personal info was removed to reveal only the dates, times, and activities we would be pursuing. My head felt a little less scrambled looking at the screen, but not by much. "The green represents our classes on Wednesday and Friday study halls, the pink is when I am free to meet outside of class to do work, and the blue is when you should be practicing your photography to ensure it's improving throughout the year. Any questions?" Wow, she really wasn't one for social pleasantries and generic small talk. I looked at the crowded screen, then at her face, then the screen, then back at her. It felt like my brain was trying to catch up with the last few seconds and process it all.
"Only one question." I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the absurd situation. "Are you serious?" Her face somehow fell from a look of pride to one of genuine confusion. She didn't speak, but I could see in her eyes that she needed some explanation as to what was wrong. "Meeting in class is one thing, but you have me down to do an hour of photography per day?" I looked at her expectantly and her confused face slowly shifted back to her standard judgy look.
"Well, you said you were bad at photography, and Professor Argus seems like a stickler for perfection, so I figured if you take pictures every day and email them to him for advice then you might be half decent when it comes to my…I mean…our final grade." She sat back in her chair and looked at me expectantly with a small smirk on her lips, clearly proud of her explanation. Now it was my turn to have a puzzled look on my face. She really was serious about all of this.
"Look, Annabeth, I appreciate a color-coded calendar as much as the next guy, but one, I never said I was bad at taking pictures, and two there is no way I can make all of this work with my schedule." Now it was my turn to be proud. "I am on the school swim team, and we practice every morning, then classes all day except for Tuesday, not to mention trying to make friends. I mean, honestly, doesn't this all seem like a bit much?" I looked up at her to see if any bit of understanding was in her eyes. What I saw was that she had spun her computer back around and was click clacking away on the schedule again. After a few seconds she smiled at her work and turned the screen back to me with heading Improved Schedule for Fish Boy at the top. At first glance things seemed better, she had removed the hour of photography on Monday. Then my eyes hit Tuesday. "3 HOURS OF PHOTOGRAPHY?" Even I had to admit that I was a little loud on that one. A panic came over me as I shot my head around the room to see all the new arrivals were looking straight at me. I sunk down in my seat and glared up at Annabeth. She smiled at those around the room as if to apologize for my outburst.
"Well, I figured you would have to make up for lost time during the week. It doesn't all have to be in one place, and since you have the day off you can always travel…" I sat up in my chair and closed her laptop slowly. I may have been upset, but that didn't mean I was going to break something I couldn't dream of paying for.
"I have thought of a second question." Annabeth sat up straighter with my change in tone. "Do you know what 'day off' means?" She went to speak, but I continued before she could get a word out. "I want to do well in this class just as much as you do blondie, but that doesn't mean I am going to give up my life for it." I was trying to do my best to stay calm, but the confusion mixed with the embarrassment was getting to me.
"I am not asking for your life!" Now it was her turn to speak up a little. She wasn't screaming, but there was a new seriousness to her tone. "I am simply trying to ensure that my GPA doesn't flounder my freshman year because you don't know how to take a damn picture."
"You haven't even seen one of my pictures!" Now this time, I was yelling. I could not believe the arrogance of assuming I was going to be the one to make this project fail. "I mean honestly, how many buildings have you built? How many cities have 'Designed by Annabeth Chase' written on their welcome sign?" She stood up suddenly and started to gather her things. She was moving quickly, but I noticed her eyes were starting to burn with fresh tears. I really had been yelling, and the rest of the room was glued to our table. I started to feel sheepish at my outburst. I began thinking of some way to apologize.
"You know Jackson, I thought it was a mistake we were partners when we first met, and as always, now I know I was right!" Her words came with a bitter vengeance, ensuring to speak loud enough for the entire room to hear. She stormed past me, but I didn't bother watching her out. Her quick footsteps were punctuated with a slamming of the door, then the room fell silent with other students making hushed side comments about what they had just witnessed. I sat on my own, refusing to turn and meet the piercing eyes of the room. What felt like a lifetime passed before a new figure appeared next to me. I looked to my left to see an older looking gentleman in a wheelchair. He had long brown hair that fell just below his shoulders and a beard that was of a similar length. His presence was simultaneously comforting and unwanted.
"I assume I need to leave the room for my disruption." I started to reach down for my school bag when the man let out a small but unexpected chuckle.
"No no, you can stay. Nothing quite like a little excitement to spice up a two hour study hall." The man wheeled his chair around the table to face me. It was only upon looking at him that I saw his University nametag. "I am Dr. Chiron, and you must be Poseidon's son. You are the spitting image of your father."
"My name is Percy." I let out a slight sigh and slumped down in my chair. Most of the other students had gone back to their respective tasks so a small chat didn't seem too harmful.
"Do you always make an effort to anger your project partners on day one Percy?" He looked at me with genuine eyes and a small smile, a laugh obviously just inside his throat.
"This would be the first, but I have a feeling it will also be the last." I sat up straighter in the chair, but still slumped my shoulders in defeat. "I apologize for yelling; I honestly don't know how it all happened. I am usually a pretty calm guy."
"As it appears." Dr. Chiron reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small handkerchief. He carefully used it to wipe off a few small droplets of water on the table where he sat. Where Annabeth sat. I had really made her cry. "Now tell me, what exactly led to all of this 'un-Percy-like' behavior?" I am not sure why, but I recapped the entire semester so far all leading up to my first-time meeting Annabeth in class and the events of that afternoon. Dr. Chiron held eye contact the entire time, only interjecting to make a small sound to ensure I was aware he was listening. He had such a calm manner to him, like the wisdom of the world was all held in his mind and he had spoken to hundreds of students in my exact situation.
"So yeah, basically I am only two weeks into college and I am already exhausted." I finished my tragic tale with gusto, even going as far as to take a small bow for dramatic effect. Dr. Chiron let out a small laugh.
"I can see your Shakespeare class has already made you a world class performer." Wait, what? How did he know I was in that class? Apparently, my confusion was all over my face. "It is my job to know my students well, Percy, as I knew your father and Uncle well when they were here."
"Wait, you knew my dad when he was a student?" How long has this guy been here? From the looks of his tweed jacket and neatly ironed pants he looked straight out of the 1800's. I was going to have to ask Nico if he knew how long this Dr. Chiron had been at the school.
"In fact I did, it feels like only yesterday I was having a similar conversation with him. Always so busy with class and sports and being the most popular person on campus." As he spoke, his eyes drifted towards the ceiling, as if recalling a good memory he had saved. It made me wonder how many other students he stored up there for later reliving. "And the two of you remind me of another student I have, also very busy in her own right."
"Who?" In all of my excitement about who he could have possibly met at this school I had almost forgotten why the conversation had started in the first place. He raised his eyebrows at me with a knowing look. "Oh, right, Annabeth."
"She is going through all of the same struggles you are my boy, and perhaps a little compassion could go a long way in discovering new things about her. I have always found that patience is the key to any friendship, relationship, class project-ship." He laughed at the last one, clearly amused at his own joke.
"Thank you Dr. Chiron." I looked up to meet his wandering eyes and let out a small laugh. His joy was infectious and full of hope for the future. It was hard not to feel a little of that hope myself.
"Please," He waved his arms in a lazy 'x' in front of him "Just call me Chiron, 'Doctor' makes me feel older than I am." One last smile in my direction earned a real laugh. He slowly wheeled himself over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. Without another word he made his way back to the front of the class. I couldn't help but keep smiling after he left. I wasn't sure how I was going to fix this with Annabeth, but I knew there had to be some way!
When 3:00 pm hit I walked out of study hall and towards the student center. Chiron had at least instilled a little hope that this could all work out, but I wasn't entirely convinced that little miss sunshine would ever come around to seeing anyone as being as important as she thought she was. Regardless, all of that yelling made me hungry! I walked over to Hestia's and grabbed a slice of New York style pizza. Annabeth may have ruined my afternoon, but almost nothing could ruin a perfectly good slice of home. I took a page out of Nico's book and opted to spend the afternoon alone catching up on shows that I had missed.
The campus had a few places that students liked to congregate outside, namely the central green and a small seating area by the science building. On any other day I would have happily made my way out to meet new people, but I just needed a mental break. The spot of choice today was ironically just outside the small building that Annabeth and I had met in only two days prior, the Atlas Humanities Building. When I used to visit my dad on school holidays he would always take me to play in the garden ever so neatly tucked away under the trees behind the building. It was one of his favorite places on campus because, if you blinked, you might just miss it entirely.
I opened the small gate and made my way to a bench near the center. The area was small and shadowed by the trees planted around it, but the sun shone brightly through the unrestricted center. The spotlight of sun gave an almost angelic glow to the fountain in the very middle of the small square space. Surrounding the fountain were four wooden benches that looked sun dried and chipped with age. The only company I had were a few chirping birds and a squirrel that appeared to be bathing in the warm water. Never in my life had I been so jealous of a rodent! I dropped my bag on the bench and took in a big breath of the northwest afternoon air. As much as I loved back home, I had to admit that the air here felt cleaner. I would have to make sure I took in as much as I could before returning to that familiar burn of the city oxygen. I closed my eyes and felt the chill breeze of fall on my face. Why couldn't everything be this easy?
My heart was racing. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Coach Hedge giving me a determined smile. With a pat on the back he stepped back to the edge of the pool with the other coaches. I stepped up on the blocks. Senior year, national championship, one swimmer to rule them all. Focus Percy, this is not the time for stupid pop culture references! I set my feet and prepared for the next 100 meters of pure speed. The gun sounded and we were off! I felt like I was flying. My limbs felt lighter than air and the water seemed to be parting before me. My turn on the opposite wall was perfect. I didn't bother checking up between breaths to see where the others were, because it didn't matter. This was my happy place, the only time my ADHD brain fell into perfect silence and the world felt bearable.
I touched the wall, the crowd cheered. I launched out of the water to the beautiful sight of 'national champion' and 'new college record.' I turned to the cheering crowd to look for my mom and Paul. They were both jumping up and down, my mom was bawling her eyes out and looked like she had never been happier. She turned to hug someone next to her, but it wasn't Paul. I froze. The greatest moment of my life, the most perfect moment I could have ever dreamed of, and my mom was hugging…Annabeth?!
My face hit the ground. I shot up and grabbed my stinging cheek that had just met hard dirt. I could feel a cool breeze sending goosebumps up my arms, and that's when I realized it was dark. I guess I had fallen asleep on the bench and dreamt the afternoon away. Speaking of dreaming, what the hell was that? I decided to take the route of the many ADHD philosophers that had come before me, I stood up, grabbed my bag, and ignored my problems! If I was going to have a creepy dream about my stuck-up project partner, I was at least going to self-medicate with a snickerdoodle!
I pushed through the door of the cafe ready to relay the events of the afternoon when I saw Jason wasn't behind the counter. In his place stood a shorter boy with shaggy brown hair. He was sitting at the counter with his head resting on his hands. He was slightly swaying back and forth like he was listening to music. I walked over to a table near the middle of the room and sat next to a familiar face. Even if I couldn't get the expert life advice from Piper, I could at least rely on Rachel to listen.
"Hey Dare, who's the new guy?" She looked up and smiled at me, then let out a sigh.
"His name is Dakota; he helps Jason run the cafe every once in a while." She leaned in and waved her hand for me to come closer. "But honestly, Jason always asks him last minute, so 90% of the time he's already a little drunk." She smiled and let out a loud belly laugh that earned her a look from everyone relaxing in the cafe. I cracked a small smirk but wasn't exactly in the laughing mood. She gave me a sideways look and squinted her eyes questioningly. "What's up Jackson?"
"Rough afternoon that ended with me literally eating dirt." Her mouth closed with pursed lips and big eyes that were clearly holding back another peace disturbing laugh, but she managed to keep herself together for my sake.
"Come come," she said, gesturing to the chair across from her. She leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. She picked up her coffee to sip it and pretended to adjust her non-existent glasses. "Talk with Dr. Dare and we'll make it all better." Even though she was making fun of me, I honestly needed to debrief the day. I dropped my bag and took a seat. "Now," she continued, "Allow us to start with some prescription strength medication." Rachel turned in her chair in the direction of the counter and called out, "Dakota, two of your finest snickerdoodles, stat!" The boy looked up at her, rolled his eyes, and sluggishly moved to retrieve the baked goods. Rachel turned back to me, and I started from the beginning.
"I just don't know what she wants from me!" I scarfed down a bite of my snickerdoodle and threw my hands in the air dramatically. Rachel was listening intently but couldn't help but laugh at my cookie filled frustration.
"Oh, come on Jackson, it can't be all that bad." She leaned her elbows on the table. Her eyebrows raised in a questioning gaze up at me, "did she really storm out of the room crying?" My head sunk into my chest.
"I'm pretty sure I saw a kid take a stray lightning bolt to the head on her way out." Rachel twisted her face in deep thought, then just as quickly as she looked lost in defeat, she shot up in her chair with a confident smile.
"Well, that's just because she doesn't know you yet!" She reached over and lifted my chin forcefully, squeezing my cheeks and making my lips stick out like a fish. "One bad study hall does not a failed partnership make, so turn that frown upside down, or I'll get Piper to beat you up!" She took her left hand and used her thumb and finger to force my cheeks into a crooked smile. Her threat was empty, but it nevertheless cheered me up enough to earn a grin on my face without her help. She laughed and retook her seat across from me. I was starting to realize that I could always count on Rachel to make me smile.
"Thanks, Dare." I sat up a little straighter and raised my eyes to meet her, a childish forced smile beaming across the table at her, eyes closed and all. In my moment of weakness, she reached over and, once again, stole the remaining half of my snickerdoodle. I was really going to have to start being more vigilant of my sweet treats when she was around. It was a wonder she didn't swipe the entire kitchen and put Jason out of business! She leaned back in her chair and started looking at the decorations around the room.
"And hey, if getting to know you doesn't work, you can always just melt her heart with those eyes and that smile of yours." My grin fell away and was replaced with a look of mixed confusion and fear. I looked in her direction, but she was still gazing at the art drawn on the walls around the room. Even though she was avoiding eye contact, she didn't seem anywhere near as fazed as I was. Did the cookie in her mouth just slur her words together, or did she just say what I think she said?
"Umm…wait…huh?" I fumbled for words to respond to her, but she caught me incredibly off guard. She swallowed the remaining cookie, let out a sigh, shook her head disapprovingly, and leaned forward to make direct eye contact. Her blank stare somehow made me feel immensely uncomfortable and completely safe all at the same time. From what I could gather from watching her interact with Nico, Piper, and Jason, she seemed to have that effect on everyone.
"Now now, don't play dumb with me Jackson, even an experienced hiker could get lost in those green eyes, and that stupid little smirk is enough to melt a New York winter snow." She never broke eye contact. She spoke so simply, as if this was a fact that everyone learned one day and just accepted as the truth. "I'm sure you left a trail of broken hearts back home." I could feel my cheeks beginning to burn as she spoke. I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn't muster a sound out of my increasingly dry throat. My mind raced, just 30 seconds ago I had been ranting non-stop, and now here I was, left speechless by a girl I had only met a week before. How could she so easily say these things without a trace of embarrassment or fear? In fact, she almost seemed amused with herself. I watched on as Rachel put on a coy smile and stood up from the table. "Oh Jackson, you poor child, you have so much to learn about the world." She walked over to my side of the table and gave me a very childish and pitiful pat on the head. As much as I wanted to make a snarky comment back at her, I was still a little shocked at the entire situation. She put her hand on my shoulder and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "It's fun making you speechless Jackson, we should do this again sometime."
And with that, Rachel turned and skipped out of the Cafe, leaving me sitting there like a loser. As soon as I snapped out of my daze, I stood up to run after her, but the door had already closed and all I saw was the streetlights outside the cafe lighting up the campus. I picked up my school bag and started back to the dorm. I needed to talk to Nico about…well…whatever the hell just happened! As I made my way through the surprisingly quiet campus for a Friday night, my heart continued to beat out of my chest with every step. I walked into the Cafe that night looking for answers but left full of so many more than my brain could handle. Did Rachel just imply that she found me attractive? Was I overthinking it? Was she just being nice? Did she like me?! Did I like her!? And as if my head wasn't rushing with enough thoughts, I still had no idea how to deal with Annabeth! Oh well…here's to another weekend!
A/N – Chapter 4 is here! After only a few months, which is not what I planned, but here we are. I feel like the characters are finally getting more developed and the story is picking up!
Can Percy find the hope he needs to start of with a great…third impression?
Did Rachel really just say that?
Is Will Magic?
What does it all mean?!
Thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know your thoughts!
GrnLep1309