Daylight (A Percy Jackson Novel)

Cute Guy, But Is That A Sword?!

Antigone D'Ignoti was very anxious about making a good first impression at her new school. The fact that she'd been accepted into a school this good was a miracle with her behavior record. Which, in her defense, wasn't entirely her fault. Sure, there were multiple instances of violence, but she'd only ever fought to defend herself. Of course, no one expects that they'd have to stop themselves from being eaten by their middle school principal. Still, the fact that all she'd had to do was touch him and he disintegrated into ashes was enough to send her into her room for three days in tears. She'd been fully convinced that she was going to be arrested.

But, to her surprise, she went back to school that Monday and there was perfectly normal, non-child eating principal in charge, and no one had even heard of Principal Ellamia. At that news, Ginny had been relieved and highly scared. It was official. She was losing her mind and she could tell no one. If she did, she'd be taken away from Shelby and Shelby was the best Foster Mom and guardian that she'd ever had. She couldn't be taken away. She had to be better this year.

More than that, Shelby had met with multiple teachers at Goode High School, and they had personally intervened on her behalf to give her a chance. She was determined to prove that everyone who had put their faith in her weren't completely delusional. That she wasn't a bad kid. She just...had the worst luck. 

Every single year previously, she'd done all she could to have a school year proceed smoothly. She'd gone out of her way to make teachers and other adults see how hard she tried. Then, when that hadn't worked, when nothing she did was ever enough, she took the opposite approach. She receded into the shadows. She did all she could not to draw attention to herself.

Still, despite everything, she'd been kicked out of her last school and forced to Goode in a cloud of shame. 

She'd only had two weeks left in the school year. Yancy Academy was a private boarding school and, according to Shelby, had been a great opportunity for Ginny. She'd been there on scholarship and with her good grades, she could have stayed there. Until she couldn't. Ginny had gone to retrieve a salad at lunch when she saw a lunch lady using a spear instead of a spatula. The older woman, whose eyes had started to glow and whose teeth had begun to look awfully pointy, was terrifying. 

And she'd focused all of her attention on Ginny. She'd raised her spear up, ready to strike the poor girl down, and she would have if Ginny hadn't lifted her tray up to block the blow. It all happened in a matter of seconds and without thinking twice, the moment the tray broke, she slid to the side and doing a spin, she knocked the woman out with the full force of her body weight and the plastic trays. She was completely knocked out, and Ginny was relieved to be alive...at least before the heavy hand landed on her shoulder. 

"Ms. D'Ignoti," her least favorite gym teacher said, face red and salted mustache twitching, "Principle's Office. NOW." 

Because of course, no one saw the lunch lady trying to murder her. They saw Ginny attack a poor old lady serving chef's salad, and the school had done the logical thing. They'd kicked her out.

There'd been talk of criminal charges. Of course there had been, because that was Ginny's luck. Ginny knew the only reason that she hadn't been arrested after that was because Shelby had talked them all out of it. The fact that the lunch lady disappeared without a record of her ever being employed there, well that had helped Ginny's case, too. If anything, really, Ginny did them a favor and it was their fault that they'd let a stranger walk in and feed innocent children food. Who knows what that woman might have done if given the chance?

The principal hadn't found that argument to be entirely persuasive, although the police had some lingering questions. Ginny had been asked not to return to Yancy.