Perseus Jackson Son of the Sea: The Stolen Bolt

Chapter 6

The finals soon arrived, and many students could be seen studying for them; Percy spent much time tutoring and training. He also kept an eye on Grover, who became a third member of his little group. A few days later, Percy was walking down the school hall as he always does when he needs to think when he came to Mr. Brunner's office and heard voices.

A voice that was Grover's said, "... worried about Percy, sir."

Percy was not usually an eavesdropper, but he was pretty curious hearing his name. Peeking inside, he saw Grover talking to Mr. Brunner, who was, for once not, sitting in his wheelchair; from the waist down, he was a white stallion.

"Percy is going to be alone this summer," Grover said. "I mean, a Kind One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."

"Mature more?! Chiron Percy is the smartest demigod I have ever met; he knows more than we thought he did. The summer solstice deadline— "

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."

"Sir, with all due respect, we both know Percy is not ignorant. Remember what he told you at the Museum? It was hard, but I found the Norse Demigod!" This caught Chiron's attention.

"Who is this demigod?" Chiron questioned.

"Nancy Bobofet, sir. She is always with Percy, so I got close to sniffing her when she was alone, and she smells like a frost giant."

"We have no choice but to bring her to camp also," Chiron muttered.

"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again," Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."

"You haven't failed, Grover," Chiron said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall; I feel he is the child of the Prophecy," The sound of a book falling outside was heard, and Chiron went silent. Taking a leap of faith, Percy drew mist around him, hoping Chiron wouldn't see him.

Percy watched in interest as Chiron drew a bow and left the room. Percy could hear him walking around, and somewhere in the hallway, Chiron spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."

"Go back to the dorm," Chiron told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me." The lights went out in Chiron's office. Percy waited in the dark for what seemed like forever. Finally, Percy slipped out into the hallway and made his way back up to the dorm.

Nancy was lying on his bed, studying her Latin exam notes. Percy raised his eyebrow when he noticed she was wearing his hoodie.

"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?" Percy plopped down on his bed and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, I think I can pass; you look awful." She frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Just... tired." Percy yawned and, grabbing his things, went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

The next afternoon, as Percy and Nancy were leaving the three-hour Latin exam, Nancy was complaining about how hard the exam was. Percy heard Chiron calling him back and told Nancy to rest up as the testing was done. Chiron congratulated Percy and told him he would be leaving this year; when Chiron asked about how he knew Nancy was a demigod, Percy pretended he didn't understand what Chiron was talking about and left.

The Finals results arrived and were posted, and no surprise, Percy was the top scorer in the school; what was a surprise was that no student failed the final thanks to Percy's tutoring. Except for Sophia and her friends, she forced them not to attend his classes.