Just Add Water

fish out of water

Percy saw Ximena the next day. She stood next to him and Grover outside the dorms hallway as Mr. Delancy, a tall bald man who was the first-grade principal, did the daily roll call.

"Hi," she said, when she noticed him watching her.

"Hi," he said in return.

"Did you know that Dax got off with only a warning strike?"

"No?"

"Well he did. I asked Mr. Bruner about it since I stayed behind when he and the boys were talking to the Headmaster."

"Oh."

"And that's not fair," she added, wanting to keep the conversation going. "He chased you and made a mess of Mr. Bruner's classroom."

"Some people get off easily," Grover muttered.

Ximena nodded along. "Yeah! They do!"

"Perseus Jackson?" Mr. Delancy said.

"Here!" he replied. "But Mr. Delancy?"

Said man lifted his pale spectacled face from the clipboard he was holding. "What is it, child?"

"It's, um, it's..." he stammered, suddenly shy as everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Spit it out."

"I...uh...go by Percy."

The man sighed but didn't argue. He scribbled something on the clipboard and carried on. He had promised to change the students' names on the list if they went by something else, but it was November. Mr. Delancy never cared about Percy enough to change it, despite him insisting every time.

"Hey," Grover said, nudging him. "At least he wrote it down."

"I guess."

"Oh, you should see when it's my turn," Ximena cut in. "He always gets it wrong."

Just like she promised, Mr. Delancy pressed his glasses back into the bridge of his nose and narrowed his eyes as if having a difficulty reading. "Ex-ee...Eximena Fuentes?"

The two boys looked at Ximena, who merely wrinkled her nose. Percy remembered, now, all the times Ximena had corrected the principal.

Ximena raised her hand. "Present! But it's pronounced Hee-meh-nah."

"Look, child," Mr. Delancy exhaled, taking his glasses off. "I'll just say it: your name is strange, and frankly, I always forget how to pronounce it. I'm sorry about that, but I am kindly asking you to not correct me anymore."

"And I kindly ask you to pronounce it correctly." She crossed her arms. "It's not that hard, you know. I'm six and I can do that, at least."

"Yes, but I'm old, and there are a lot of you."

"You're old and you don't care," she said.

There was a chorus of "oooh's" at that. Ximena ignored them all. Both Percy and Grover looked at one another.

Mr. Delancy's face reddened. "You should watch your manners, young lady. I'm old, and your name does not make sense, at all, with English grammar. Here we speak English, meaning I will pronounce it the English way." He nodded, as if that was final, and called out the next couple of names.

"But that's the point!" Ximena said, interrupting the roll call.

Mr. Delancy glanced at her again, this time more exasperated than before. "Do you want me to inform the Headmaster—"