Half-Blood High

VII

Leo

"Tuna again? Aunt Rosa really needs to figure out how to cook."

I waged a mental tirade against my aunt as I sat down. I'd lived with my  mother's sister since I was six. My dad had left home when I was born, and my  mother had died in a machine shop when it caught on fire. The police had blamed it on arson. Only I knew the truth.

I fiddled nervously with the zipper of my camouflage jacket. Normally, I would have built something or experimented with wires, but tools and parts weren't allowed in school, unless they were used in shop class. Oh well. I would survive until the end of the day.

"Hey," Piper sat across from me, paper lunch bag in hand. "You know that guy from first period? The blond one?"

I nodded. "You mean Jason Grace, the new kid? The one you were stari-."

Piper cut me off, an embarrassed flush reddening her face. "Yeah yeah. Him." She opened her lunch bag and pulled out an apple. "I invited him to sit with us. I think he's coming over now."

I glanced over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of Jason. He was carrying a lunch tray, a fruit cup and a pork loin sitting on it. He glanced around, then spotted Piper and me, and waved. Piper waved back, although a bit awkwardly. Her smile was wide as Jason came over and took a seat, right across from her, next to me.

"You must be Leo. Nice to meet you." Jason held out his hand for me to shake. I gave him a high five instead. "Nice to meet you too man. Thanks for coming to sit with us."

Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't thank me. Thank Piper. She convinced me to come. Which reminds me," he looked at Piper, who blushed. "Why have you been to eight schools? Is your family in the military or something?"

Piper shook her head, a teasing smile on her face. "Not really, no. It's actually because I'm a teenage delinquent."

Jason was, surprisingly, unphazed. "Oh really? What crimes have you committed then?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "I stole a BMW last year. That's what got me into this school. Two years ago, I kind of stole a phone from a store. And about three months before that I-."

Jason stopped her. "Okay, I get it. A lot of crimes. But, why did you steal that stuff?" Piper's smile disappeared.

"Well, it's hard to explain. But I don't really steal stuff anymore. I've stopped doing that since Dad and Jane said I would have to go to boarding school if I kept it up."

"Who's Jane?"

"Man," I thought. "This guy doesn't miss anything." I watched the two of them, entertained.

"She's my, uh, my aunt!" Piper stammered. I felt bad for her. I was one of the few people who knew who Jane, and Piper's dad, really were. She preferred to keep that information to herself.

"Oh. Cool."

Jason took a bite of his pork loin and chewed slowly. I did the same with my tuna fish sandwich. Piper bit into her apple.

We were silent for a bit. Around us, the cacophony of trays slamming, people talking, and seats screeching filled the silence. I finished my sandwich first. Piper and Jason were slow eaters.

"So, what's your next class?" I asked Jason. He chewed, swallowed, and answered: "English. You?"

"Shop class. This should be fun."

"Leo likes to build things." Piper said. "It's his hobby. What about you? Do you have any hobbies?"

Jason shrugged. "I don't know really. I mean, I like to study Greek and Roman gods, and I've sketched temples and shrines for them when I'm bored. Other than that, nothing really. Do you have any hobbies?"