Chapter Text
Today was Percy Jackson's first day at a new school. What was new?
Percy looked down at his blue backpack, sitting mindlessly on his bed, dirty, and he zipped it up carefully. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had settled on jeans, a blue sweater, and red converse.
He reached into his pocket, feeling his pen sitting there. Riptide. A gift from his father years ago. The only thing he had ever given Percy, actually. He kept it on him at all times.
"Percy, you ready?" His mother called from down the hall. Percy didn't answer, instead he grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder and ran to meet her in the car.
The car ride was silent. Percy fidgeted with his fingers in his lap, looking out the window. He had done this many times before, moving all the time. But it had never gotten easier. He had learned a few things, but still, he always ended up just as nervous as before.
His mom reached over and grabbed her hand. "Everything's going to be okay, Percy. This is a good school."
"You say that every time." Percy grumbled under his breath.
"I mean it this time," she sighed. "You just have to try your best, you know, not to get expelled." Before Percy could retort, she continued, "I know it's not your fault. You don't do it on purpose. But I mean, theres not many other schools I can send you too..."
"I'll try my best." Percy answered sarcastically. His mom sighed again, not saying anything, and the car fell back into a heavy silence.
Then, they finally arrived.
He stepped out of the car, and slung his backpack over his shoulder. The fresh hair hit his face, and he took a deep breath. He looked up at the Goode High School sign, surrounded in a completely new environment. From behind him, his mother called out,
“Fresh start. Remember? I love you, Percy.”
Percy turned around, giving a small, forced smile to his mom. “Right. Fresh start. Love you too.”
He couldn’t wait til a monster bared its teeth, and the lie of a “fresh start” would crack open all over again
Transferring mid-year certainly gave him more attention than he would’ve ever wanted.
Goode High School looked ordinary enough. Lockers dented with age, championship banners hanging over the gym, students laughing like the world wasn’t full of monsters outside. Ordinary. Completely fine, right?
Percy Jackson knew better than that, though. Normal never lasted.
He could pretend for a little while, though, before he wound up expelled from this school just like the others.
He found his way to the main-office, somehow. The lady at the front didn’t even pay him any mind. She was busy talking to a girl who was arguing about a detention she had gotten. When she saw him walk in out of her peripheral vision, she handed him a crumpled up schedule, and a map of the school underneath it, without saying a word or even acknowledging him.
“Thanks,” Percy said. The lady didn’t even look over. The girl she was talking to glared at him. She eyed him up and down, and then spoke, "Who are you?"
"I- I'm Percy." He stuttered over his words, and then his face flushed, embarrassed. The girl didn't say anything, she just laughed at him. Right in his face. He closed his mouth quickly.
He looked down at his schedule. He didn’t remember signing up for any classes. His mother probably put him in them. Most of them were classes for kids that were struggling. His ADHD and Dyslexia meant his academics were never going to be good. No matter how hard he tried too... and trust him, he had tried.
His first class was Speech & Debate, downstairs and right around the corner.
Percy followed the map he was given, and found his class, after a while. He got a little lost, went in a circle, even tried going upstairs, ignoring the strange glances from kids around him all the way, before he finally found his class.
Percy walked in late.
Of course that means, all eyes are immediately on him. He froze at the door, looking around at a full classes eyes on him. At the front of the classroom, a girl with a confident, clear voice was in the middle of a speech when she stopped, glaring at Percy. She had grey eyes that pierced through him and gave him a full body shiver.
She was beautiful, sure. But not in the magazines, or movies type of way. There was an intensity that made her almost dangerous. Percy swallowed hard, immediately aware of his position and how out of place he was. He felt like a kid again, encountering monsters for the first time. It was a silly feeling, he realized.
“Hold on, hold on Chase!” The teacher rushed to the front of the classroom. “Sorry, sorry.” He pushed past her and made his way to Percy. “I’m Mr. Carrier. I’ll be your Speech & Debate teacher. Percy, right?”
Percy nodded. He still felt the girl glaring at him. Her jaw had tightened. She opened her mouth, almost saying something, but snapped it shut just as quick. She looked deep in thought, probably thinking, Who is this loser that just ruined my perfect speech? Percy grimaced. Making an enemy on his first day was the opposite of what he wanted to do.
“Class, class.” Mr Carrier turned to the front. “This is Percy Jackson. He’s new to the school, and to our class.”
Percy gave a forced smile to the class. He learnt over the years smiling just enough helped him look harmless, innocent, friendly, may he add, charming as well.
He turned his head when he heard the sound of the door opening. The girl from the office pushed past him into the class, giving him a small disgusted look when she saw him, before she slouched into her seat at the very back of the class.
"Clarisse," Mr. Carrier scolded, "Where were you?"
She leaned back in her seat, "In the office."
Mr. Carrier sighed, and then turned back to Percy. He gestured to him the only open seat in the class, the very first row, right in the middle. It was in between the girl who had just been giving the speech, still looking at him intensely, and a boy with curly brown hair, and wide, understanding eyes who gave him a smile like he understood what Percy was thinking. He made his way to his seat and sat down awkwardly. Mr. Carrier turned too Annabeth.
"Sorry to cut your presentation, Chase, but we're running out of time and Percy reminded me that the next person has to go- so... go take you seat." Mr Carrier ordered.
“New kid, huh?” The boy with curly brown hair leaned in. “I’m Grover. Don’t worry. Annabeth’s scary, but not crazy scary. She just wants everything to be perfect. All the time.”
“Uh… right. Thanks.” Percy gave him a small smile before looking back straight ahead. Annabeth was her name. It fit her. Her head turned like she could hear Grover talking about her, but it quickly turned down and into her notebook.
Percy had a feeling this was going to be a long semester.
The rest of his classes were fine. No one else really cared about him. Maybe the first period had just gone like that, because it was the first class, and he was nervous, on edge, about how things would go at this school. In his English, a girl tried to talk to him. That was cool. Girls usually scowled at him or looked at him in disgust. Maybe things really would turn around for the better.
Then, of course, the first assignments came very quickly. Frankly, the very next day, in Speech & Debate, the teacher ordered them to pick out a random topic out of a can and talk about it for a maximum of 2 minutes to the class. They had only one day to prepare.
Percy’s stomach flipped. He didn’t have much of a problem with public speaking… he could easily swoon others. Sometimes. But he wasn’t perfect, or organized, and could come up with perfect deliveries like Annabeth Chase could. Well, he had just assumed that from yesterday, of course, he didn't know anything about her...
“Why should pizza be considered a vegetable?” The topic that Percy got out of the can.
A perfect topic for Percy.
“What’d you get?” He heard a girl speak from behind him. From beside him, Annabeth flipped to a blank sheet of notebook paper and immediately began preparing an outline. “The Ethical Responsibilities of Government Officials in times of crisis.” She replied.
Percy felt like throwing up. Next to him, Grover laughed.
“Better get to researching,” Grover told him. Percy gulped. “Yeah.”
By the time third period rolls around, Percy is lost again. The map in his hands is no help. The words on it are in the littlest print he's ever seen, and they mush together and swirl around because of his dyslexia, so he's unable to read it. He debates on just throwing it away, but he only ends up stuffing it into his pocket instead.
He walks down a hallway he hasn't been through. Teachers wait at there doors, all of their eyes watching him like he's a ball of trouble that could pop at any second. He looks down at his feet, uneasily, trying not to meet any of there eyes.
He's trying to find his English class. Unfortunately, he has no luck.
Percy then spots someone at the end of the hall, analyzing him. It was Annabeth Chase. When he met her eyes, she quickly looked away, and walked confidently, and quickly to her class. Percy then quickly realized that if her class is here, then he's definitely in the wrong hallway.
He quickly retreats back where he came from.
Lunch rolls around. Percy waits in line, and it takes him a while to get lunch, because he keeps getting shoved and people keep cutting in line in front of him. When he finally grabs a tray, he's not even hungry anymore.
Percy looks around the cafeteria. He doesn't even bother going to sit down with anybody. He throws his tray into the trash and then runs to the restroom immediately.
When he gets in, he expects the restroom to be empty. But it's not. There's a boy leaning against the wall, headphones in, and he's chewing on a... can?
He notices Percy, despite the wired headphones in his ear, and he quickly stops and throws the can to the side, ripping his headphone out, and laughing nervously like he had just been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. Percy recognizes him. It's Grover from his Speech & Debate class, from the very beginning of the day.
"Oh- what's up, Percy!" Grover crossed his arms, trying to be nonchalant. Percy's still looking down at the can on the ground that has a giant bite mark in it. And he thought he was weird.
"Hi..." Percy spoke uneasily, he then opts to go for the sink and pretend he came in here to wash his hands, not to sit in the stall alone until lunch ended.
Unfortunately, Grover could read him. "Didn't have anybody to sit with at lunch?" He spoke softly, like he genuinely did care.
Percy looked over at him. "Um..."
"Look, I get it." Grover shrugged. "I don't have anyone to sit with, either. So I come in here. But hey- we could sit at lunch together!"
Percy paused. No one had ever really offered to sit with him, before. It had always been the other way around, Percy practically begging the first person who was nice to him at every school if he could join them at lunch. And... Grover seemed nice, even if he might be a little strange, so, he'd be stupid to pass this offer down.
"Sure." Percy smiled at Grover. He watched as Grover's face lit up, his face beaming. "Really? Oh- okay. Great!"
"Yeah, great." Percy wiped his hands on a paper towel, before he turned to Grover again and listened to him talk about something he didn't really understand.
The next day, Percy came to class prepared. He knew his delivery, he knew exactly what to say. This was going to be an easy A class. His stomach didn’t even feel uneasy.
When it was his turn, he stood up, cleared his throat, and stumbled to the front of the room. He immediately started talking, weaving humor and logic together, and talking on pure instincts. He didn’t have note cards to guide him on what to say like his peers did.
It wasn’t perfect. But by the end, the class applauded. Some laughed, some nodded their heads, truly interested. Grover gave him a big smile and thumbs-up. Percy grinned back at him.
Percy let out a breath of relief and slumped back in his seat. Even Mr. Carrier looked impressed.
“You can’t just wing it.” A voice next to him snapped under their breath.
Percy turned, seeing Annabeth and her fierce eyes narrowed on him. He was surprised to see her talking to him.
Confidence was the key to success. “Well…I made it work anyways.”
Annabeth pursed her lips. She didn’t say a word, turning back to the front of the classroom as the next person went up. But Percy could feel the tension.
Annabeth’s speech was perfect. Down to every little detail. Somehow, Percy knew it would be. At the end of her speech, he clapped, and he saw a small smile on the edge of her lips. He could see Grover staring at him, but he wasn’t really paying attention to him.
This time at lunch, Percy found a seat with Grover in the cafeteria. He spouted about the cafeteria food, while Percy sat there and listened, before he interrupted.
“I kind of… like speech and debate.” Percy admitted. “I didn’t think I would. Especially after the first day.”
“When you interrupted Annabeth’s speech that she had been preparing for a month?” Grover bit into his apple and laughed at the thought. Percy’s stomach flipped.
“A month?” His eyes widened. “Are you for real?”
Grover nodded, nonchalant. “Yeah. Mr. Carrier had assigned us a big speech. We had a week to research, a week for a rough draft, a week for a final draft and peer editing, and then a week to practice rehearsing. Whoever he thought did best would be given a free entry to compete in a Speech & Debate competition for the state. Most of the class didn’t really care, but Annabeth was determined.”
Percy’s eyes landed on Annabeth from across the cafeteria. Even at lunch, she had a book out.
He couldn’t believe he had basically ruined it for her.
“I ruined it for her, didn’t I?” Percy looked down. He felt terribly guilty, even though, how could he have known anything? She didn't blame him, right?
“Yeah.” Grover only shrugged. “But it’s whatever. Mr. Carrier knew she would win, that’s why he didn’t give her another chance, or let her continue. He wanted someone else to have the opportunity. I mean, she’s already in the student council, track, the debate club—“ Grover stopped himself. “Um.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry.”
“Are you guys friends?” Percy asked.
“Yeah.” Grover nodded. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. Before you showed up, she was the only person that would talk to me in our first period. She’s really nice, honest, and caring. I think you two would get along!”
“No.” Percy said immediately, “No, no way.”
Grover tilted his head, raised one eyebrow at Percy, and then laughed, before taking another bite of his apple. He didn’t say anything, but Percy could tell he wanted to.
The end of the week rolled around. Percy found himself at the end of the first period. The bell rang throughout the class, and students immediately began picking up their notebooks and slinging their backpacks over their shoulders.
From beside him, Annabeth Chase gathered her papers with precision, every movement sharp and deliberate. She didn’t look at him, didn’t even acknowledge his existence, but Percy couldn’t help but stare at her. Somehow, the way she moved made him even more intimidated.
Grover was leaning over him, backpack already on, looking at him expectantly. “Um… Percy? Just so you know, don’t fall into the trap of staring. You’ll freak her out.” He lowered his voice into a whisper.
Percy blinked. “Right.” He hadn't even realized he was staring that hard. It's not cause he was checking her out, it wasn't like that... Really. He quickly got up and put on his own backpack. He could feel Annabeth judging him without even having to look at him.
Percy and Grover walked out of the class together. Grover spoke easily about everything and nothing, all at the same time, while Percy listened, like he had found himself doing everyday of his first week here. Annabeth lingered beside them, although she still didn’t acknowledge him, giving a small smile to Grover and keeping her eyes forward, holding a new book that she tightly clung to her chest.
Despite the fear, Percy Jackson wanted to see what she would do next. How she would react, he dared say, if he challenged her.
The demigod in him, itched for something fun in school. But he didn’t want to get kicked out of another school. The last one a girl falsely accused him of pushing her into a water fountain.
Though if they ever did talk, Percy wouldn’t be able to help bringing out the cocky, Poseidon, godly side of his.