Daddy Issues

Oh, You've Gotta be Kidding me!

Percy's POV: 

I hurried into my first class, trying desperately to leave this morning's incident behind me, and sat down at a random desk, which just so happened to be a window seat. 

"Well, you're early, mister...?" Asked the man behind the desk, decked out in a bunch of ceramic blowfish. 

"Jackson." I answered confidently. "Percy Jackson... This is the right class, right? Mr. Blofis, first period English?" 

"Yep, thought you'd be able to guess from my little collection. I've heard quite a lot about you." 

I laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, I've got a reputation for being... Quite the handful." I admitted. "But I'll be on my best behavior, I promise." 

"I figured. After all, you're the first one in my class, you're clearly a very eager student." 

I laughed. "Yeah, don't get used to it." I then noticed a fish bowl full of strips of black paper. "What's that?" I asked, pointing to it. 

He smiled. "Oh, that's a little game for later." 

"Oh, fun!" I cleared my throat. "... Um... Y-you got my 504, right?" I asked. "Just... Checking." 

"Oh, yeah, don't even worry about it." He waved his hand nonchalantly. "I've got it all under control." 

I sighed in relief. "That's great." 

After a little while, I saw other students file in one by one, sitting wherever they wanted. And apparently, none of them wanted to sit next to me. 

Once everyone was in, the bell rang, and the pledge of allegiance started to play. I never stood for it, and I wasn't about to start now. I always found it creepy, almost dystopian. And now that I was in high school, nobody could force me. 

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and I saw a kid in a black hoodie panting like a dying animal. "So... Sorry I'm... Late." He wheezed between heavy, labored breaths. "I... I had to change, and... And I... Missed the bus, and-" 

"Relax, relax, you don't need to explain yourself. Just take a seat." 

He nodded and turned to me, his expression whipping around from dazed to shocked when he saw my face. "Um, am I in the right room?" He asked, turning back to Mr. Blofis. "I mean, of course I'm in the right room. Is he in the right room?" 

He nodded. "Both of you are exactly where you're supposed to be." 

He groaned and turned back to me, and suddenly, I recognized him. 

Oh no. 

Nico diAngelo begrudgingly sat next to me, seeing as that was the closest seat to where he was standing, refusing to even look at me. 

"Right, where were we?" Mr. Blofis stood. "I guess we should start with some icebreakers. How about... Two truths and a lie?"

"Ugh, what is this? Summer camp?" A voice complained from the back, belonging to none other than Clarisse laRue, the face of fear at Goode high. "Hard pass." 

Mr. Blofis rolled his eyes, completely unfazed at her antics. "Fine, I'll go first then. My name is Paul Blofis, I've had to kill a snake before, I used to be a boy scout, and my girlfriend and I met online." 

"Oh, dude." Clarisse cut in. "I knew you were desperate, but come on!" 

He looked confused. "Desperate? What made you think that?" 

She laughed. "You know she's probably catfishing you, right?" 

"Well, I just asked her out last night, so I guess we'll see." He answered. "But we've Skyped before, so I'm not sure how she'd pull that off. In any case, if you're feeling chatty, how about you take your shot? Which one am I lying about?"