Percy Jackson One Shots and Short Stories

#6 - The Dreaded Day

#6 - The Dreaded Day
published: Monday, 6 August 2018

WARNING: This chapter includes slightly crude language.

Jason woke up with a yawn. He turned over on his side to see Percy still obliviously drooling away on his pillow.

There were dim rays of light entering their shared room from the small window above their bookshelf, casting blurry shadows in the bedroom.

Jason struggled into a sitting position, and sleepily flipped over the calendar on his wall.

The words "Term Break" in shiny gold pen were scrawled across the box for today.

Jason let out a satisfied sigh, flopping down on his pillow. Education was so much worse than he'd imagined. Up till a few years ago, Jason had only spent his years at Camp Jupiter. He had learnt similar subjects to what mortals did in schools, but he was always curious about mortal education.

First, high school was a nightmare; not only because of the shallow bullies, but also because the only thing Jason really remembered about high school was him and Percy studying into the wee hours of the night for tests, exams and projects. The two of them made a pact to get into college, and that involved a lot of hard work and Annabeth tutoring them, which was a feat for two demigods with ADHD.

Then, all their hard work paid off when Percy got into NYU and Jason started attending Parsons School of Design. And now, all the teaching was done in lectures that required them to sit still and take notes for hours. Jason was more fortunate; design was a degree with more hands-on activities. But Biology was all about memorising and studying into the night, so Jason often fell asleep listening to Percy muttering facts under his breath and flipping through textbooks under his desk light.

Leo and Frank liked their sleep, so they got over their mutual dislike. "The college smarties can room together," Leo had told them before hurrying Frank off into their room. Joke was on him, because Frank was sometimes called to work with a wailing firetruck on the ground floor.

Jason hopped out of bed, only dressed in his sweatpants. He threw on a shirt and traipsed outside, yawning away.

"Hey, Frank," Jason greeted in surprise. His firefighter friend was standing by the kitchen counter, sorting out a pile of things in front of him.

Frank looked up. "Oh, hey, Jason! Why are you up so early? It's only 8."

"I just woke up. Hey, do you remember me mentioning anything I had to do today?" Jason asked, something nagging at the back of his mind. "I think I had something important to do, but I don't remember what."

Frank shook his head. "Just that you get off school today."

Jason shrugged. "Maybe it's just nothing. Hey, shouldn't you be at the fire station?"

Frank sighed. "Nope, I've taken the day off."

Jason opened his mouth to ask why, when he suddenly noticed what exactly Frank was sorting out. The labels on one of the colourful packages read tampax, and there were a few hot water bottles next to it. There were also a pile of Doritos chip packets - one was already opened and emptied into a large bowl - and Ribena packet drinks.

"Hazel's on her time of the month?" Jason deduced warily.

Frank looked like he was about to tear up. "Yeah."

With a jarring realisation, Jason groaned aloud. "Oh, Hades, I remember what I forgot - it's Piper's time of the month as well."

Frank reached round and patted him on the back. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Don't worry, we can get through this."