amour || percy jackson

005

005

Percy was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. this twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than he could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on him. the students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr— a perky blond woman whom he'd never seen in his life until she got on the bus at the end of the field trip— had been the pre-algebra teacher ever since Christmas.

Every time he would bring up a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, they only looked at him like he was psycho.

but that's not what he was worried about. it was Olivia whom he was worried about. she hadn't been at school ever since the museum tour, when her and Percy were finally getting on the right foot.

but he stopped caring after a week or two.

"I'm not letting you go to that freak camp anymore!" Olivia's father had yelled at her, throwing an empty beer bottle on the floor. "Dad, i have to!" she cried, screaming as the bottle almost hit her foot.

Grover couldn't fool him. When he would mention the Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. it was quite obvious he was lying.

Percy didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery winks would wake him up in a cold sweat.

"don't be such a baby, Olivia! that camp is no good for you!" her father yelled again, getting in her face. "camp is good for me." she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks with every second.

the freak weather continued, which didn't help his mood. one night, a thunderstorm blew out windows in his dorm room, a few days the biggest tornado ever spotted in the hudson valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy.

her father slapped her across her cheek. "snap out of it!" he yelled at her once more, as she held her cheek, trying to suck in her tears. "go get me some vodka." her father said to her, pointing to the cabinet. "no, dad, you've had enough." she whispered, crying.

One of the current events the students were studying in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden deals in the atlantic that year.

"i said, go get me some fucking vodka!" her father screamed at her, grabbing her by the hair and tossing her to the ground as she was in tears, she quickly pulled herself together and stood up, her arms full with bruising from her father, she still had her shoes on, but her nose was bleeding, considering she fell on her face when her father tossed her.

Percy started to feel cranky and irritable most of the time. his grades from Ds to Fs. he got into more fights with Nancy and her friends. and he was sent into the hallway in almost every class.

Olivia walked out to the living room with tear stained cheeks and a cup of vodka filled to the brim. her dad passed out cold on the sofa. his car keys on the coffee table.

finally, when their english teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked him for the millionth time why he was too lazy to study for the spelling tests, he snapped, calling him an old sot. he didn't know what it meant. but it sound cool.

she set down the cup of vodka, grabbing the keys quietly, walking to her room in the same manor, avoiding the shards of beer bottle glass on the floor. she closed the door slightly and grabbed a backpack, an off white one. she took time, but also went fast packing stuff in it, little energy bars and two bottles of water, also an extra set of clothes and some makeup. sad day to be aphrodite's kid, the backpack filled quickly so she grabbed another one, this one navy blue with some band pins on it, all raggedy because she found them on the floor.

the headmaster sent Percy's mom a letter the next week, making it official he wasn't going back to Yancy next year. he was okay with it. he was homesick anyway, missed his mother.

she filled that one up with a little more serious things, like money, and... makeup. she grabbed the keys again and walked back out of her room. "bye dad. for now." she whispered softly and walked out the door, opening the car door and getting in. she may not know how to drive, but she'll get it half way there to camp. eventually.

but there were things he would miss at Yancy. the view of the woods from his dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. and he'd miss grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. But how would he survive without him next year.

Percy would miss latin class, too— Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that he could do well.

as exam week got closer, Latin was the only test Percy studied for. he hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told him about this subject being life-and-death for him. he wasn't sure why, but he'd started to believe him.

"Olivia's going to miss exams." Percy told Grover. "no she's not. i know she isn't." Grover said.