If there was one thing no one wanted to do, it was to be around Adrestia Jackson when she's in a panic.
There are five stages, with a 50/50 percent chance of what the sixth stage will be.
Curiosity: Having ADHD, her mind can jump from one idea to another, leading to areas getting turned inside out.
Confusion: This is where things start to get concerning. If she has not yet found what it is she is looking for, Adrestia will look for it in unexpected places and start interviewing people.
Fear: Adrestia will be hit by a tsunami of anxiety. Her energy spikes, leading to her endlessly pacing around the room, giving people a headache with her speedy movements. There is a chance she'll hyperventilate, but this depends on the importance of the object.
Annoyance: This is your only chance to calm her down. You will not get another.
Anger: This is the point of no return. Her nostrils flare with each snarl, her voice deepening, and she stomps around like an elephant. Swears inhabit each sentence she speaks, and staying out of her way is as smart as getting away from a hungry lion. Even if Adrestia looks like she's calmed down. If her eyes are as wide as saucers and her breathing is heavy, she. Is. Not. Calm.
Once the sixth stage is underway, pray to whoever you believe in – even if you don't believe in anything – that she dwindles into despair and not calm rage. If your prayers aren't answered, reassurance won't save you.
She won't be in the mood for food.
Hiding will be futile.
And she is on the track team.
Once again, pray.
Yancy Academy must've not prayed hard enough because instead of despair, they received calm rage.
The moment Adrestia woke up and found that her pendant was gone, she was desperate to find it. It had nothing to do with the rule she received from her godfather about wearing it; she'd worn it for so long it was a part of her identity. She felt safe with it on, felt connected to her godfather. Adrestia felt weird without it on. She needed it back. Now.
In one swift, hard kick, the door burst open, lock breaking on impact. Laughter dies down, the girls' heads snapping to the doorway, where an eerily calm Adrestia stood. Her unreadable expression hid the fury simmering behind her judging eyes.
The girls didn't move a muscle, fearing she'd notice them like a frog notices a fly.
Finally, after a minute that felt agonizingly long, Adrestia's gaze landed on Nancy, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Where is it?" she asks, drawing out every syllable.
Nancy glances at the others, assuring herself there were witnesses, and looks in Adrestia's direction. "Where is what?"
She growls, sneering. "Don't play dumb. I'm not that dense."
Nancy chuckles nervously, trying and failing to keep her composure. "I seriously don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie!" Adrestia yells, stepping forward until she towered over the girl. "You're a kleptomaniac," she snarls. A hint of satisfaction washes through her when she sees Nancy's confidence fall. It was enough to convince her she did take it. "I know you only steal useless junk, but I also know you steal money as well; and my pendant must cost a lot. But it's priceless to me, so hand it over –" Adrestia extends her hand "–and I won't sue your parents."
"You can't sue my parents over nothing," Nancy argues. "I didn't take your stupid pendant."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I didn't take it!"
"She didn't take it," one of the girls spoke up. Adrestia doesn't look her way, eyeing Nancy's hands. "She's been with us all morning."
Adrestia is silent. Nancy squirms under her unblinking gaze. The rumors perpetuating Adrestia's troublemaker reputation hadn't been started for no reason. The stories about her fights are true, and she did always win. Everyone knew her godfather had given her a one hundred and ten pound dog with teeth as sharp as razors and she joined many self-defense classes; enough to know how to end a fight without taking much damage.
"My pendant wasn't stolen this morning," Adrestia muses, her voice so quiet her lips barely moved. Her brows rise in realization. "It was stolen last night, so that begs the question, where were you last night?"
"I was with my friends," Nancy answers.
"Were you?"
"Yes, I was."
Nancy was beginning to get annoyed now. She'd never admit she was a kleptomaniac – and who would? – but she also wasn't going to let a girl she felt was inferior to her accuse her of something she genuinely didn't do.
"Nancy," Adrestia says. "You have ten seconds to hand over the pendant. If you don't, your parents are going to get a call from my godfather, and believe me, you don't want that."
Nancy stands. She barely reaches her height, but still tries to look intimidating. "Oh, yeah? And what will your godfather do?" She mocks. "Complain?"
"No." Adrestia takes another step forward, her gaze hard. "My godfather will make their lives a living hell. He's richer than rich, richer than Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark."
Nancy's brows furrowed. "Who?"
Adrestia scoffs, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't matter. What matters is, my godfather has enough pull to make sure you and your parents regret living off of family money and end up on the streets. So hand. The pendant. Over."
Nancy didn't believe Adrestia. She'd never seen her wear anything that said her family is rich, especially not Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark rich. She always wore thrift-store clothes, ate at the cheapest restaurants, worked in the summer – there's no way she knows a filthy rich person. However, the seriousness in Adrestia's voice – a tone she rarely ever took – told Nancy she isn't kidding. Glancing at Adrestia's muscles, recalling she's a boxing champion, the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
Her voice quavers, tears burning her eyes. "Look, I-I seriously don't have your pendant. I swear."
To Adrestia, the tears and the quiver were a sign she was lying. Her emotions from not finding her pendant, the room she'll now have to tidy up, and Nancy lying overrode any common sense of how to handle the situation without getting in trouble.
She grabs Nancy by her shoulders, her nails digging into her skin. "Where is it, you thieving bitch? Give it up," Adrestia roars, turning on her heels and chucking Nancy at a dresser. "NOW!"
The other girls cower in the corner. The commotion startles the people outside the room. Nico, who'd been on the phone explaining to his father Adrestia had lost her pendant, raced down the hall. He'd never been on the receiving end of his sister's anger, but he has seen her fight. Getting a fine for disorderly conduct is one thing. Going to prison for sending a student to the hospital is another.
Without looking, he presses the disconnect call button and shoves his phone into his pocket.
Nico arrives just as two teachers and two security guards pull Adrestia off Nancy. His unreadable expression masks the relief he feels that his sister hadn't hurt Nancy, choosing the safe route of scaring her instead.
The teachers and security guards were too preoccupied with hearing the girls' stories to notice Nico slipping Adrestia out of their hold. Keeping a tight grip on her shoulder, he dragged her out of the room and down the hall. Nico pushes her into his bedroom, hastily locking the door behind him to prevent her from storming out.
She steps to the right and Nico mirrors her movement. "What are you doing?" Adrestia demands, growling in frustration as she steps to the left. Nico does as well. "Stop that!"
"No," Nico replies, his tone firm. "You don't have any proof Nancy stole your pendant."
"She's –!"
"A kleptomaniac, I know." He rolls his eyes. "But just because she is doesn't mean she took it."
His eyes darted to her arms, spotting the slight contraction in her muscles, the subtle ticking of her fingers. Nico met her flaring eyes, his narrowing in warning. Adrestia's sea-green eyes darkened, resembling a tumultuous sea spurred on by a disastrous thunderstorm. He tilts his head slightly, doing his best to mimic the look their mother always gave them, challenging them to do the thing they were about to do knowing the consequences.
To Nico's surprise and relief, Adrestia backs down.
She rips her gaze from him, snorting like a horse. Adrestia slumps on his bed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. As her anger subsided, grief's cold hands shot up and gripped her heart, planting a heavy weight on her chest. Tears pricked her eyes, burning, threatening to break through the dam and flood the school in her melancholic desperation.
She forcefully shuts her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I just want the damn pendant back," Adrestia whimpers pathetically, her face reddening. Her body shook with the force of her sobs.
Nico sits beside his sister, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to his chest. She lays her head on his shoulder, her tears soaking his shirt as he rubs her back in a comforting manner.
Hades, who'd been silently listening since Nico thought he hung up on him, hung up the phone and called Alecto, his anger bubbling to the surface.