I'm a Mermaid (a PJO / H2O crossover) - Complete

Chapter 17

Percy's POV

1 week later...

I put my application for Dr Denman's job forward, and today is the day of my interview. I don't really need to worry, because I know I'm going to get the job. She only put it out to get me to be close to her work, so she can find out more about me, so she can discover why half of my DNA is missing. It's simple really. I wouldn't have known all this if it weren't for Cleo warning me about her though. She told me to gat as far away from her as possible, but then Dr Denman will know I know something is up, and she'll know for sure something's wrong. It wouldn't work.

That brings me on to Cleo. Ever since she asked me the question about my DNA, I've been trying to avoid her. We've been together at breakfast and at home, but that's it. I feel bad about not telling her, but there's no way I can tell her about the Gods. We all came here to get away from them, not to bring them back up and tell our only normal family (well, as normal as a family with a mermaid in it) about them. The gods cause all of our problems- if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have the problem of Dr Denman in the first place.

Life would be so much simpler without them (well apart from Hestia and dad, they're cool). Sometimes I wish they could face the same stuff Demigods did, you know, fix their own problems.

I wait outside of Dr Denman's pop-up lab with some other people for y interview. Someone immediately catches my eye. "Lewis? What are you doing here?" I say as I walk up to him.

"Oh, hey Percy. I didn't know you'd be here," He says, obviously lying. He's like the worst person at lying I've ever met.

"Cleo sent you, didn't she?"

"What, no..."

"Really?" I give him a slight death glare to get him to talk.

"Yes, and she told me everything about you."

"She can't keep a secret, can she?"

"No, she can't. Especially if she cares about a person and they're in danger."

"Perseus Jackson. We're ready for you." Someone says, popping their head out of the lab door.

"Percy, think about this. Think about what she did to the girls, think-"

"I know what I'm doing Lewis, honestly."

I walk away from Lewis and into the lab. There is equipment everywhere- fish in tanks, microscopes, and other things that I don't know what they are, but they look sciency. I see Dr Denman sitting on a chair behind a desk and an empty chair in front of it. She gestures for me to sit down.

"Hello, you're Perseus Jackson, am I correct?"

"Yes, but I prefer Percy if that's alright." I say, still trying to look interested in the job, and polite to her even though I know who she really is. I keep hearing all the voices of the marine life in their tanks shouting out to me to free them, begging for my help. She treats her fish horribly it seems. I'll set them free once I get the job.

"So, Percy, I had a look at your application and it seemed very promising. You seem to have such a passion for marine biology. Is this what you would like to do later on in life?" She asks me.

"I would love to do things like this later in my life. Once I graduate and go to college, this would be my dream job." Yeah, sure. I would treat them so much better than you do.

"Do you have any medical conditions that would put any strain on the internship?"

"I have strong dyslexia and ADHD. I can loose focus on things pretty quickly, but that's only because I'm constantly focus in on everything around me." I say to her. I knew a question like that would come up- I hate talking about it.

"Do you know much about marine biology?"

"I have an extensive knowledge about arise life, but not so much all of the science and equipment used." I answer honestly.

"Ok, that won't be too much of a problem. I'll be in touch if you got the job." She says.

"Is that it? Aren't you going to ask about qualifications, why I want the job? None of that?" I ask, pretty surprised about how short the interview was.

"No, I can get everything I need from that. Feel free to have a look around the lab while I get the next person." She says.

Before I can look around, an IM opens in front of me. "Percy, we need your help at camp, quickly!" Grover appears in the image, looking really worried.

"What? What happened? And why didn't you call me? We have phones now."

"I know, but there's always a possibility that you won't answer. Where are you? It looks like you're in a lab. Wait, never mind, you can tell me when you get here. Now please be quick- it's Annabeth!"

"What?" I shout. The IM cuts off. I frantically vapour travel to camp, not worrying about people seeing me. They need my help. And Annabeth is in danger.

Dr Denman's POV

Percy seems like a good candidate for the job, which is good. I would have hired him regardless, but it works out better if he's skilled in marine biology.

"Isabella Rosings, come on in. The past candidate is still in there, but he's just looking around the lab. We're ready for you." I say, calling the next person in. None of these people are going to get the job, but I couldn't just hire a someone without giving anyone else an interview. Percy will see through my plan then. All I know about him now is that he was a wanted criminal for a while, half of his DNA is missing, and he has ADHD and dyslexia. That could be a little hard to work with, but I'm sure I can cope with that. I need him for my research after all.

I suddenly hear him talking to someone in the lab, probably on the phone, but why would he have it on speaker?

"Percy, we need your help at camp, quickly!" An unknown voice says. Interesting, what camp? And why would they need Percy's help? The voice sounds American, so I guess he's calling from America. Percy couldn't get there quickly, he would have to book a flight, and pack, and fly there. It would be impossible to get there in less than a day.

"What? What happened? And why didn't you call me? We have phones now." So, he isn't on the phone. Then how is he talking to this person? I open the door slightly to reveal a gap I can look through. Percy is talking to a floating image in a rainbow. What?

"I know, but there's always a possibility that you won't answer. Where are you? It looks like you're in a lab. Wait, never mind, you can tell me when you get here. Now please be quick- it's Annabeth!" Annabeth? Who's that? Wait- that was one of his accomplices when he was wanted! He must really care about her, because this really makes him srtessed and worried.

"What?" He shouts. Almost everyone can hear it. I look around to see everyone in the waiting room shocked, and confused. Including, Isabella Rosings, who was just getting up to enter the room. I look back through the door to see, no-one in there! At all! Where did he go? How did he leave without me seeing?

I'll have to get to the bottom of this.

"I'm sorry, but the rest of the interviews are cancelled. I've found someone anyway, so you can all go home, I'll be in touch with the person who has got the job."