𝙸 𝙲𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜

𝚂𝟸𝙴𝟷𝟸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙴𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚍𝚎, 𝙴𝚡𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝙼𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝

Inspired by Community S2E21: "Paradigms of Human Memory."

Hazel POV

"We are so going to ace our mythology final!" Hazel says. Her friends have been moaning and groaning about spending their entire day working on a diorama, and Hazel can't say she isn't sick and tired of gluing snakes on Medusa's head, but it's her job to maintain a semi-positive atmosphere.

Sometimes, Hazel's favorite—and only—half-brother, Nico tells her that she doesn't have to be so happy all the time, and she knows she doesn't even though the pressure to be happy is sky-high. It's just... sometimes, she feels like these people have priorities higher than their friendships, and not acceptable priorities like grades and family emergencies. Nope, Hazel's thinking of how Percy and Annabeth are always bickering, how Jason and Piper haven't made eye contact since April, or how Frank and Leo suddenly are co-hosting a morning show despite hating each other for the past two years.

The fake sun falls off the diorama and onto the floor. "We are so not going to ace our mythology final if I can't get this damn ball of Model Magic to hold!" Annabeth whines.

Percy reaches out like he wants to touch her, and then hesitates because apparently, a friendly pat on the back breaks some sort of boundary between them. "Hey, maybe we should take a break. We've been at this since like eight am."

"I don't know about you guys," says Jason, "but this might be the earliest I've woken up for anything ever."

"Anybody down for a coffee break?" Piper asks.

Frank shuffles his feet. "I'm out of dining dollars, but don't let that stop you." Pro-tip: Spend your dining dollars on whatever you want, but make sure you budget them wisely. Having extra money to spend on snacks and coffee is great, but not if you run out at midterms or have too much leftover during finals week. You'd think extra dining dollars at the end of the semester is a good thing, until—poof! Your money disappears.

"I'm out too," says Leo.

"Same here," says Percy. "I blew my last twenty on a gift card for Mother's Day."

"Oh, shit," says Frank. "I forgot about Mother's Day. My grandmother—ugh."

This part of the year makes Hazel feel good about not having a mom anymore. Finals week is always right before Mother's Day weekend. Most people finish their last final on Friday and then BAM—they're scrambling to buy a gift for their mothers. Hazel, for once, gets a lucky break. She can focus on studying for her finals, and not shopping for tacky cards and candies that nobody wants.

"Oh my god!" Frank shouts.

"What is it?" Piper asks.

"It's... It's Annie's Boobs!"

"Excuse me?" Annabeth fumes.

But sure enough, a bulldog with cankles and a slobbery grin squeezes his way out of the vent and into the study room, stopping only a moment to drop a pen at Percy's feet. Then, he makes a getaway back into the vent.

"Oh no, you don't!" Leo shouts. He dives penguin-style into the vents, completely vanishing.

It's probably the most athletic thing Hazel's ever seen Leo do besides sprint to the front of the pulled pork line in the dining hall. She can't blame him for that though since there's nothing else worth sprinting for. On the other hand, she does question his judgment when his beat-up work boots disappear inside the air vent.