Friday, 5-4-18

"What ho!"

"What ho!" the class chanted.

Rachel sprinted to the white board and scribbled something down. Beckendorf did the same, at the same time. Rachel rushed back and hit my hand, and I charged to the board to write the answer for the next question.

That was Greek mythology class for you. The second to last class of the day for most sophomores, and the best one of the day for most students. Mr. Brunner always came up with fun games that reviewed what we had learned, such as that one. We lined up in two teams and Mr. Brunner wrote a list of ten questions relating to the unit down the center of the board. He covered them with construction paper, and the first one to leave the board had to take it down each time. Whichever team finished first won, and the team members got to choose a snack from the large bucket Mr. Brunner kept.

Sounds awesome, right? That's why Mr. Brunner's class was one of the only classes I wasn't failing before I started studying with Annabeth.

I wrote the answer, ripped the paper off of question number three, and ran back to tag Annabeth in. Our team repeated the process until we eventually won.

The blue team roared with excitement, while the red team wallowed in despair. It wasn't that intense, actually. But it was still a great accomplishment.

I chose my snack and sat back in my seat, where Mr. Brunner wrapped up the class. Once the bell rang, I jumped up and was ready to flee.

"Percy," the teacher called.

I held in a groan. "Yes, Mr. Brunner?"

"Could you stay back for a second?"

I nodded, trudging to his desk. "Did I do something wrong, sir?"

He shook his head, chuckling. "Goodness, no. I just wanted to congratulate you. Not only do you have the highest grade in your class, but you have the highest of anyone taking my class in this school, Percy. That's a pretty fantastic feat."

I smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"As long as you manage to keep this for the final few weeks of school, I will award you at the end of the year ceremony."

I felt my cheeks warming. "You don't have to," I mumbled.

"Oh, Percy, you're so humble. But you deserve it. You deserve to be recognized, Percy Jackson."

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Monday, 5-7-18

The weekend flew by in a blur. Not much happened, to be honest. I slept in past ten o'clock both days, and lazed around for the remainder. I texted with my friends a bit, planning a sleepover for the night of Spring Fling. Other than that, nothing of importance occurred.

Monday, on the other hand, was a completely different story. I got held after four of my classes, and let's just say the things the teachers had to tell me weren't as comforting as Mr. Brunner's words.

During Annabeth and my small detachment almost two weeks ago, I had definitely let my grades slip. I wasn't studying as regularly, and had no extra help. I hoped that since Annabeth and I were on better terms, that would change.

As we walked home together, I brought the matter up to her.

"Annabeth, do you mind coming over some time soon?" I asked her.

"Sure," she responded. "What's up?"

I rubbed my neck, almost embarrassed. "I can tell you what isn't up: my grades. We haven't gotten the chance to study in a while, and I've been...distracted. I need some help."

She squeezed my forearm comfortingly. "I'm free all week. I can come as often as you want."

"How about today," I asked sheepishly. "I want to get started as soon as possible, especially since we have less than a month of school left."

"That's crazy," Annabeth breathed. "It feels like just yesterday we were struggling with our new lockers and schedules."

I laughed. "Yeah. We're almost juniors, Wise Girl."

"Then we'll be seniors, and then we'll be in college, and then - "

I held Annabeth's arm. "Don't go too crazy. You'll make yourself sick."

She stared at me with wide eyes. "Percy, I have no idea where I want to go to college. Even if I did, would they accept me? Would I make any friends?"

I directed her to a nearby bench, seeing as we were passing the park. We sat together, and Annabeth held her face in her hands. I rubbed her back soothingly.

"You have two years," I reminded.

"Yeah, but look how fast this year passed. College is as far from us as the beginning of freshman year. Oh my goodness, Percy, I don't feel well."

I kept doing my best to comfort my best friend, but I was also spiraling into deeper, heavier thoughts. What did my future hold for me? I didn't even know if I was passing sophomore year, let alone if I was graduating from high school and getting accepted into a college.

Even if I went to a college, where? Would I leave my mom and Paul? Would I leave Grover, Rachel, and Calypso? Would I leave Annabeth?

I shook my head, focusing on my best friend. "I'll stick with you, Wise Girl. There is no need to worry, because I will be right with you the entire way."

"You're not leaving me?"

Annabeth stared at me, her grey eyes boring into my own green ones.

"Never."

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"That's a wrap!" Annabeth exclaimed happily, snapping the textbook close.

I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"

"A little before eleven o'clock."

"You hungry?" I asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "Yeah, but it's fine."

"Let's head out. I'm sure we can find somewhere good that's still open."

She laughed under her breath. "Alright. I'll text my family and say I'm sleeping over...if that's okay?"

I nodded vigorously, before abruptly stopping and crossing my arms. "I mean, if you want."

Annabeth giggled. "Okay. Let's head out."

We quietly plodded out of my bedroom and made our way out of the apartment. We raced down the stairs, laughing all of the way. We won't talk about who made it to the bottom first.

Annabeth and I walked down the side walk. She pointed up at the stars.

"That's Orion's Belt," she told me.

I nodded. "He was killed by Artemis, the goddess he was in love with, while the twins were having an archery competition. He got put in the sky, but he still died. Shoddy reward, but maybe that's just me."

She nudged my shoulder. "Orion will forever be honored as one of the best hunters to ever live, and the only male to join Artemis' hunt."

I shrugged. "I would rather spend time with the girl I love than be looked up to by loads of strangers who don't even know the true story."

Annabeth smiled, blushing a little. "I feel the same way," she told me, staring at me.

I ripped my gaze from hers and glanced down the street.

"Look, it's the pizza place. They're open 24/7 during finals season. Want to go?"

"I'm always in the mood for pizza."

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Did you like it? I tried a different style of writing more smaller parts and putting them into one chapter, instead of focusing on one topic for a whole chapter. I hope that it was good!

If things go to plan, chapter 25 will be the Spring Fling, so mentally prepare yourselves! Leave a vote if you liked it and comment the latest you've ever stayed up studying. I've woken up at three am to study before o.O