Zero to Hero (Percy Jackson Fanfic)

Chapter Four-Hope on the Horizon

I just had to forget my homework.

I had even taken extra care this morning to be sure I wasn't late. I woke up early, skipped breakfast, grabbed the backpack I'd packed the night before, I even finished my homework yesterday. But it was now at home, sitting on the counter, and here I was, in math class, without it.

Plopping down in my desk, I flipped my hood up and rested my head on top of my arms. I didn't bother taking the backpack off; I didn't have to take anything out of it.

The bell rang.

Mrs. Dodds walked to the front of the classroom, probably having already taken roll before the bell even sounded. She wore a prim black suit today - just like everyday - and her hair was up in a tight bun. Her glasses clung to the tip of her nose for dear life, and her talon-like nails clicked on the clipboard in her hands disdainfully.

"Homework out!" she barked loudly, making me jump, "Pass it to the front!"

I groaned. I did not need to give the other kids in his class another reason to laugh at me. I'm not used to deadlines, and having to be punctual; at Camp Hero, it's much more relaxed. Sure campers had classes and such, but they were much less mandatory. I learned a lot more there in one day, than I did here in three. However, my mom thought it best to send me to a normal school for a little while, claiming that I should at least know what normal teenagers are forced to experience everyday.

It's not like I've never been to school; the youngest kids allowed at camp were about eight or so, so I had gone to kindergarten and first grade, before Mom enrolled me in this camp that was producing great results with kids like me. Normally, being dyslexic and/or ADHD would be really tough for a kid going through normal public school. However, at camp, Chiron made it his specialty to teach kids who have a hard time learning.

A throat cleared, snapping me out of my reverie. Mrs. Dodds stood above me, her arms folded and an eyebrow raised. I stared at her for a few moments, unsure what she wanted, before she shook her head and reached behind me, pulling back with a stack of homework. She looked at me expectantly for a minute, then when I didn't procure my nonexistent homework, she huffed and stalked away.

There was laughing from the back of the room. That blond boy from the lunch table yesterday was staring at me, leaning back in his chair, grinning in amusement. His Asian friend was snickering into his hand.

I whipped my head back around, feeling the heat creep up my neck. I tried to ignore the feel of their gazes on my back as Mrs. Dodds began talking about logarithms and other gibberish. But the problem with being ADHD was: it was hard to focus. The annoying guffaws echoed in my head the entire class period.

By the end of it, I decided I was done. I needed a break. I decided to call Thalia during lunch and ask if she wanted to hang out. I needed to be with someone who didn't laugh at my every word - not that Thalia was any better.

As I was walking out of the classroom, I caught sight of the blond boy smirking at his friend. Blood pounding in my ears, I shouldered my backpack and tromped out the door.

Second period was worse. So much worse. There were three girls in there that seemed to think everything I did was ridiculous, the same girls that had been there when Clarisse tried to give me a swirly. I managed to walk in right as the bell rang, and Mr. Johnson raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything.

I carefully surveyed the class, immediately picking out the three girls sitting in the second row. The blonde one, whose hair was pulled up into a mess of curls, was staring at a piece of notepaper so hard, she could have burned a whole through it; she wasn't paying any attention to me. The second girl had crazy red hair that she tamed by tying a tie-dyed bandanna around her head, she was doodling idly on her hand, glancing at the third girl expectantly.