Nick Fury Adopts Percy Jackson

Chapter 9

Don't you dare wait till it is too late to tell your loved ones you love them

  On the north shore of Long Island, the valley marched up to the water, glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, Percy simply couldn't process everything he was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture-an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun.

  In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and some of their horses had wings that Percy remembered were called pegasi.

  Percy lived by his guardian's motto, well it was not like Nick actually had a motto but Percy liked to think that. One of the things he learned from Nick was to always look around the area and to never judge a book by its cover, be suspicious of everything in simpler terms Percy thought. It was a tedious job to not trust even a small rock on the ground- but given that Percy's new life in this world was new in every way he will go by that rule.

  It wasn't hard to hind irregularities in his daily life, and now he knew what and how that happened Percy was determined to observe everything.

  This is why Percy was now glaring at a bush as Grover walked next to him Percy could vaguely hear that Grover was trying to explain the things they saw as they walked but he was busy staring at a plant that he knows doesn't move and wave at people. He continued glaring at things that shouldn't be alive- like that river lady that appeared out of nowhere to wink and wave at him.

He snapped out of his awkward staring when they reached their destination.

  Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. A blond-haired girl was leaning on the porch rail next to them.

  The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of cherubs. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger pattern Hawaiian shirt. Percy got a sudden vision of a certain man that made Percy clench his hands and teeth it didn't help that the cherub guy would've fit right in at one of that man's poker parties.

  "That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to him. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron... ." He pointed at the guy whose back was to Percy.

  "Mr. Brunner!" Percy cried. The Latin teacher turned and smiled. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B. All of Percy's friends liked their teacher too.

  "Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."

  He offered a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at the half-blood with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."

  "Thank you, sir," Uncle Phil always told him to be polite, because if you are wary of the person you are wary then they knew that you are wary (well duh but Percy could understand what it meant. Showing a person you are cautious of them didn't do well) He did try and scoot a little farther away from him without being obvious because, if there was one thing Percy had learned from living with that man, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. Nick never drank in front of him which Percy was very grateful for. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, Percy will let Mark keep his game system and his skateboard