𝙸 𝙲𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜

𝚂𝟷𝙴𝟷𝟸: 𝚂𝚊𝚢 𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚘𝚏𝚞

Inspired by Community S1E21: "Contemporary American Poultry"

Piper POV

Piper has a superpower. It's called Charmspeak. Anything she asks for, she gets. It's the power of persuasion and boy, is it sweet!

Well, technically it's more of a soft skill, but it gets her just about anything a girl could possibly want.

And today, Piper wants a tofu sub from the dining hall. It used to be her little secret. Most people never even looked at the vegetarian and vegan options before this semester, but now, tofu subs are a delicacy that few can get. It's all the school newspaper's fault. That Silena Beauregard leaked what's really in the meat a couple of weeks ago, and the dining hall hasn't been the same since.

Piper stares up at the clock. She used to eat lunch at a reasonable time, but now that her favorite meal is a rarity that few can come by, she's been scrambling to get some lunch in her around eleven.

She's going to miss out on her tofu sub sandwich if she can't rally the study group together soon. There's a big Greek history exam today, and Piper can't take it on an empty stomach.

Sometimes, Piper's friends bicker. It happens with all friend groups. People make mistakes, feelings get hurt, then everyone makes up and it's all great.

But nobody fights like Piper's friends do.

"All I said was that she's not interested in you, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth shouts. "You've been hanging out with Rachel for like, three months now. Give it a rest."

"She wants to get to know me as a friend before committing to anything!" Percy shouts back.

It's a recurring argument. Percy says something about how great Rachel is, and then Annabeth bursts his bubble in a totally non-friendly way. Fighting ensues.

"Hazel," Jason says. "You know I look stupid carrying your Lisa Frank notebooks! Please just get a new backpack or something!"

"No!" Hazel whines. "I like my backpack, and people leave me alone when they see you."

"They don't leave me alone!"

Jason and Hazel's one-sided friendship has also begun to take a toll on the group dynamics, but luckily, Piper can handle it. At the very least, she can put it off long enough for them to get some actual studying done.

"I wish Leo wasn't so mean to me..." Frank mumbles, picking some pieces of pink gum from his hair.

Piper rests her hand on his buff shoulder. "I know, Frank. I know."

It's time to put an end to this. Piper's hungry. No, Piper's hangry.

"Everybody!" she says. Six pairs of curious eyes find Piper at the head of the table. "Is this really what we came here to do? I thought we were studying Latin!"

"Piper, you of all people should talk," says Annabeth. "Aren't you the one who's been dipping out early all week?"

Piper ignores that and puts Annabeth on the spot. "Why do you care so much about Percy and Rachel, huh? Are you into him?"

"Oh, gross, no!" she shouts.

Check.

"Jason," Piper says. "You know Hazel and her brother have a hard time fitting in. Imagine how cool she looks hanging out with a guy from the Ultimate Frisbee team! And I find guys with big enough balls to carry unicorn notebooks very attractive."