I wrote a thing. Itās literally just intro I actually plan on adding on to this one and not abandoning it like the other few
āItās not jail, Percy, itās a school.ā
Percy laughed when his mother said it, as if the two werenāt directly related. His final mess up was enough to get sent away from home, even if it wasnāt to juvy, his new boarding school was as close as it got. Boarding schools were all Percy knew growing up, however, unlike before when he could go home for weekends and holidays, his mom would now have to come to him. Scheduled visits and the occasional care package if the teachers, no, guards thought it safe enough to be brought inside.
A victim of circumstance, his mom called him, but he knew he just wasnāt what society wanted him to be. This was just the last straw and his friendly neighbourhood police officer finally decided to slap on the cuffs and if it wasnāt for his lawyer neighbor heād be going somewhere far worse. Somewhere his mom assured him he wouldnāt get the privacy he had at home.
āBlackjack is going to stay at Ms Valdezās shop while youāre away, sheās already called her son and told him to sign up for orientation duty,ā Sally said, finally zipping up his suitcase.
He stayed watching her from his desk, his face saying he didnāt care but the picking at his ripped jeans saying the complete opposite. He was great at hiding his emotions that way. Sally loved it, it made life easier.
āGreat, Iāll have a friend on my first day. Whatās his name again? Larry?ā
āItās Leo and yes you need a friend, Percy, you should be happy someone is willing to be it.ā
He knew his mom was angry but she never came right out and said it. She was too nice for that. Instead she took her little jabs at him that he would never admit hurt a bit.
If Percy could choose to not disappoint his mom he would. He hated making her hate him. Okay, maybe she didnāt hate him but he sure felt like she was getting there. From his first day of preschool up until the last week, heād found ways to make her feel like a horrible mother. Even if it wasnāt his fault most of the time.
Sally gave him one last look before walking out of the room, leaving him alone with his packed up suitcase and his new level of self-pity. He kicked his chair once he stood up, but picked it up when it fell. The last thing he needed was his mom yelling about a messy room too. Even if he didnāt spend much time in his bedroom he still hated the fact he was leaving it for the next two years. His skateboard will get dusty, his stolen, or āsecondhandā, snapback collection will be forgotten in a box and his pile of receipts for Hawaiian pizza wonāt be as impressive as it used to be. Nothing in his bedroom will give him the same feeling of joy as they used to, not after going through what he would assume would be the worst two years of his life.
It was a knock at the door that finally pulled him out of his room, standing there was a man in a crisp tailored suit he didnāt recognize, flanking him were two police offers who Percy had seen wondering around the station when he was brought in.
āWho are you?ā Sally narrowed her eyes at him, telling him to be nice. He didnāt want to be nice to someone who looked like he could buy the entire building and turn it into office space only because he was bored.
āIt does not matter who I am, it matters who you are. Perseus-ā
āI prefer Jackson but Percy can suffice, Perseus is reserved for angry mothers and very, very happy people.ā He smirked as he said it and he could feel the eye roll his mother gave him. The man in front of him, however, was still looking as amused as a little boy walking into a gag shop.
āAlright, Percy. You will have five minutes with your mother and then I will see you downstairs. If you fail to show I will have one of these fine gentlemen handcuff you again and forcibly take you. Understood?ā He nodded and watched the man turn and walk off. The officers closed the door and Percy could imagine them standing guard as if he were some high profile criminal that had any chance of actually escaping.
His five minutes with his mom were the shortest five minutes if his life. He felt like it was five years ago again, back when he was twelve years old getting dropped off by his school principal. All he did back then was steal a few dollars for the fending machine at school. He wasnāt the Percy who now was getting arrested left and right or the Percy who can only get into schools for child criminals. He was back to being scared.
He shuffled his feet and bowed his head, He was grateful when he felt his mom wrap her arms around him, āIām sorry, mom,ā he dug his face into her hair, taking in the smell that hadnāt changed since he could remember, āIām so sorry.ā
āJust behave yourself when youāre there, canāt have you be kicked out in the only school thatāll take you,ā her laugh was complete with a few wet drops landing on his shoulder, āwhen did you get so tall? I canāt even hug you properly.ā It was Percyās turn to laugh.
āAround the same time you started hating me.ā She seemed to gasp as she pulled away, but before Sally could open her mouth to tell him how wrong he was there was a warning knock on the door. āGuess itās time to go,ā he bent down and grabbed his only suitcase before opening the door, āLove you, momā
āI love you too, Percy, I love you with everything I have.ā
The drive was silent. No radio, no talking, just him and the mystery man with nothing but the sound of the engine between them. It was after the two hour drive when they pulled into the school did he finally speak. Even then it was just to uselessly inform him that theyād arrived.
If Percy had ever been wary of a place it was this one. The school wasnāt a grey bricked building with barred windows that he had imagined it to be. Instead it was a house that dwarfed any mansion heād ever seen. It was white, not quite made of complete marble but it was whatever material that could compare to that sheen. The pillars on the front reminded him of the white house, better yet the buildings he learned about during some ancient Greece unit he vaguely remembered. It was sitting on almost three acres of land surrounded by an iron rod fence as tall as his apartment building. He wasnāt sure if he was in the right place or not.
āOlympus Academy, where juvenile delinquents, such as yourself, learn to be something greater.ā Percy held in a scoff, āsomething greaterā was just a nice way of saying that heād be put through things that will turn him into an accepted member of society. Something he was not. āThe initial design looked like a prison but we learned that students learn better when they enjoy the look of their surroundings-ā Percy tuned the man out as he spoke about the architect who designed the building and the gardeners who kept the grounds in tip-top shape. Percy was more interested in the other kids his age he saw and how they seemed to be watching him without really turning to look. He was back to being the new kid and he was an expert so he wasnāt fazed.
The other kids didnāt look like criminals, they all just seemed like regular teenagers spending their lunch period outside in the sun. A beautiful girl with dark choppy brown hair caught his eye and seemed to smirk before walking off, heād have to find her later
It was at the giant front doors where they finally stopped walking, standing there was a boy who hardly stood taller than Percyās chest. He looked exactly like Ms Valdez and Percy wanted to run the other way when he realized who it was.
āYouāre Percy? When mom described you I pictured you looking less, scary?ā Okay, maybe Leo Valdez would grow on him. Percy smirked and held out his hand for the other boy to shake, āIām Leo Valdez, but of course you already knew that.ā
āThought your name was Larry, not going to lie, Iām Percy Jackson.ā He turned to look at the man next to him expecting a word or two explaining how Leo was going to show him around but instead he was met with an empty space next to him.
Seeming to think the disappearance was normal, Leo proceeded with his tour by opening the door and sticking his arm out signaling Percy to step inside, āWelcome to Olympus Academy, first stop on our tour will be the most pretentious foyer you will see in your entire life.ā
