STYLE,, percy jackson

two,, avery nearly gets her toes broken, but don't worry, she's fine!!

AVERY

.CHAPTER TWO.

avery nearly gets her toes broken, but don't worry, she's fine!!

weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. avery guessed it was because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

there were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. girls moved around in football huddles, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that didn't go with the outfit, at all.

fashion sense should be taught in schools. if you're gonna wear heels, in avery's opinion, you wear them with fancy trousers or a dress or skirt. not with black cargo trousers. it just looked weird. however, the tops were cute, and avery was tempted to ask one of the girls where she got hers from.

every once in a while, a group of girls would surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. some of the older guys were hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives.

"there they are." grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "bianca and nico di angelo"

the girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. the boy was obviously her little brother. they both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. the boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. his sister seemed to be scolding him about something. she kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

annabeth said, "do they... i mean, have you told them?"

grover shook his head. "you know how it is. that could put them in more danger. once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

avery had never really understood what half-bloods 'smell' like to monsters and satyrs, but she knew that your scent can get you killed. and the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"so let's grab them and get out of here," percy said.

he started forward, but avery pulled him back by the back of his shirt. the vice principal, dr. thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di angelo siblings. he nodded coldly in their direction. his blue eye seemed to glow.

judging from his expression, avery guessed he hadn't been fooled by her charmspeak trick after all. he suspected who they were. he was just waiting to see why they were there.

"don't look at the kids," thalia ordered. "we have to wait for a chance to get them. we need to pretend we're not interested in them. throw him off the scent."

"how?"

"we're three powerful half-bloods. our presence should confuse him. mingle. act natural. do some dancing. but keep an eye on those kids."