Half Blood High

Half-Blood High Part 9-Zoe x Bianca

Zoe had done everything she could to stay in the middle crowd at Half Blood High. Not a popular girl. Not a misfit. Just Zoe Nightshade.

But that didn't mean people didn't know of her.

In her freshman year, there was the "Heracles Incident" in which said boy (a senior) whood her, betrayed her, caused 12 separate accounts of nearly destroying the school, and was finally expelled.

There were also the recurring "Calypso Accidents", in which her little sister would go to parties, get Percy Jackson way drunk, be found making out with him, and act completely innocent over the whole affair. Zoe would tell her sister to stay away from those parties, but every other week she'd get a call "requesting" a ride to get Calypso home.

Zoe was happy her little sister was adopted.

--

Zoe was spending the afternoon in the library "researching" for her astronomy class. She was reaching for a book when another hand grabbed it at the same time. Zoe looked over at the girl, familiar, as if from another life, in an olive green skirt and beanie cap, and a dark grey sweater. She remembered the accident. She remembered seeing this girl heading for the hospital. There was a story about it in the school paper. But Zoe had never known this girl. She'd never read the article, never learned the girl's name, but she knew what it said.

This girl was thought to have died.

They'd never spoken before the accident\, and yet here she was. Alive. Breathing. Her skin warm where their fingers had touched.

The girl held the book out to Zoe and she was brought back to the present.

"Do you need this one?"

"Yes, actually."

Zoe took the book from the girl. "You take it first. I'll get it later." And she was gone, leaving Zoe standing between two bookcases in the dark library, wondering if the girl had actually been there at all.

--

It was almost a week later when Zoe saw the girl again. It was in the lunchroom and Zoe was sitting with Calypso; Khione, who became Calypso's best friend not long after she showed up; and their friends, Octavian and Rachel. Zoe didn't really care about any of them but at least it was somewhere to sit since Naomi had run off and Phoebe had moved away.

But Zoe couldn't help and stare at the girl she'd met in the library. At least, she thought it was the same girl, same long black hair under a beanie and a skirt (grey today), and a black sweater. She was sitting with the popular kids and their friends, between Nico and Hazel. Nico seemed to be lecturing her about something and she left with Thalia soon after.

Zoe turned to her companions. "Do you know that girl?" They all shook their heads. Zoe thought it over for a minute before leaving her forgotten lunch on the table. (Someone would eat it.)

Zoe walked into the library. Though she wasn't much of a scholar, she was still saddened by the fact that it was housed in the basement with the ballroom and the cosmetology room, but what should she expect from a public school?

Zoe froze in the doorway. There was the girl talking with the librarian, Mr. Perdix. Zoe walked up to the desk and set the book down. "Just returning today."

Before she could leave, the girl seemed to brighten. "It's back! Did you like it?" Zoe shrugged. "It's one of my favorite books." Zoe watched the girl hold the book to her chest before turning away. Who was this girl?

--

Bianca was arguing with her brother again. Over two years of her life had been taken from her. For two years, she'd been healing and hiding and having the occasional tutor so she could spend 12th grade at Half Blood High after the accident which crippled her. Her father's excuse had been "she's too ill to receive visitors" and she'd missed out on so much. Her cousins had nearly forgotten about her, and their friends didn't know her. And then senior year came and she was allowed to go back to school and be around people and no one knew her. Only Thalia realized she'd run screaming from the building when she'd taken a wrong turn during her free period and found herself where the accident happened. And why wouldn't she? She'd nearly died if the archer hadn't come to her aid.