Percy Jackson And The Girl No One Expected

Chapter 5: My Teacher Is A Horse

I went in and out of consciousness. What I saw made no sense. The first time I came to, there was a boy with blond hair, with a worried expression on his face. He said something, but I was already drifting back to unconsciousness. My dreams were filled with flashes of dark roads, barn animals,and Percy screaming in rage. When I finally woke for real, I was in what looked like an old fashioned infirmary. I looked around the room, I was completely alone. I tried to sit up, but a shock of pain went through my leg. My leg was wrapped and was laying on top of a pillow. I decided to push through the pain. My curiosity trumped the pain. I limped/hopped to the open door. When I got to the door, I noticed Percy sitting in a rocking chair, sipping on what looked like iced apple juice and talking to Grover. Grover noticed me standing there and leapt to his feet, or should I say hooves? "LJ! Are you okay? You need to sit!" He helps me get to the rocking chair next to Percy's. Once I was sat down, I noticed how terrible Percy looked. His hair was a rat's nest, his shoulders were slumped and his eyes were heartbroken. He tries to put on a smile for me. "Hi," Was all he said. I muster a smile back,

"Hi." I stare at my leg, thinking about what happened. Then with a start, "Where's Mrs. Jackson?" Percy looked down sadly. "Gone," He whispered.

"Oh, Percy, I'm sorry."

I noticed a shoe box in his lap. It had a jagged horn in it. It was the minotaur's horn. I looked at Percy, he had killed it? We all just sat there in silence. "Well, come on guys," Grover said. "Chiron and Mr. D are waiting for us."

"Who?" I asked.

"You'll see, come on." Grover helps both Percy and I out of our chairs. Percy was in better shape then I was so Grover took my arm around his neck and helped me walk to the big house with a huge porch wrapped around the house. By the time we got there, sweat was dripping from my face and I was wheezing. Grover grabbed my inhaler from his pocket and handed it to me. I took a puff from it, "Thanks."

"Mr. Brunner!" I heard Percy cry. I turned, and there he was. Our Latin teacher.

"Ah good. Percy, LJ." Mr. Brunner said. "Now we have four for Pinochle. Grover helped me to a chair beside a small chubby man, in a tigger-pattern Hawaiian shirt. I guessed he was the Mr. D, Grover had mentioned. Mr. D looked at me and Percy, "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to camp Half-blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."

"Um, thanks?" I mumble.

"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to a blond girl that I hadn't noticed.

"This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy and LJ's bunks? We'll be putting them both in cabin eleven for now."

Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron." She looked at me with narrowed eyes and then looked at Percy. "You drool when you sleep," She said to Percy, before sprinting off down the lawn. I tried not to laugh. I then looked at Mr. Brunner and my smile melted. I still hadn't forgiven him for what he said to Percy and now I was just confused on why he was here. "So," Percy said. "You work here Mr. Brunner?"

"Not Mr. Brunner," My Latin teacher said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron." My eyes widened but I said nothing.

"Okay," Percy said slowly. He then looked at the chubby man next to me. "Mr D...does that stand for something?" I had a pretty good guess on what Mr. D stood for, but again, I said nothing. Mr. D stopped shuffling his cards and looked up at Percy. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Percy stuttered.

"I must say, Percy," Chiron broke in. "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper, I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."

"House call?" Percy asked.

"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have Satyres at most schools of course. Keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special. So I decided to come upstate."

I held my hands up, "Hold it. So, Grover alerted you about Percy, and both of y'all watched him all year right? Well, I hadn't started becoming friends with Gover until like last month. If satyres are supposed to sense half-bloods, then why didn't he sense me?"

Everyone just stared at me. Except for Grover, who was looking at the ground guiltily. "That is a very good question young lady." Mr. D said looking at Grover disapprovingly.

"Well LJ," Chiron cut in. "We don't know why Grover didn't sense you, but I would very much like to know as well."

"Well," Mr D said. "Are you two brats playing?"

"Playing what?" I asked.

"Pinochle of course. You do know how to play don't you?"

Percy and I both shook our heads. Mr D exasperatedly explained the rules. I had no interest in playing, but if Mr. D was who I suspected he was, I did not want to anger him by not playing. I vaguely heard Percy asking questions about the gods, and Mr. Chiron answered. But a weird feeling began in my spine. I looked across the camp until I noticed a climbing wall. I wasn't just a normal climbing wall. It wasn't just a normal climbing wall. It shook violently and had lava pouring down it. There was a young boy climbing up the wall. I could see a black aura around him. My hands began to shake, I could somehow sense how afraid the boy was. "LJ," I heard vaguely. I was trembling.

"LJ!" Percy yelled. I flinched and came out of whatever trance I had been in. "Huh? What?" I mumbled.

"Are you okay child?" Chiron asked.

"Oh, um, yes. I'm fine," I said. "What were we talking about?"

"Nothing worth repeating," Chiron said. That's when I noticed Mr. D and Grover were gone. At that moment, Chiron did something really weird. He stood up from his wheelchair. "Huh." I said looking up at my old teacher, who now had the body of a horse.

"What a relief," The Centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my feltlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come on you two. Let's meet the other campers."