Party in the Dark, A. Chase & P. Jackson

A Manticore At A Party Is A Massive Party Foul

          The next few days went by in a long, drawn-out blur. Lydia has never attended a normal school, given her being homeschooled alongside her twin half-brothers on their family's commune before they started living at camp year-round. At camp, Chiron made sure all campers still received an education, even if they did not go to normal school. Sitting through the classes at Westover Hall, Lydia was actually impressed that her education at camp was better than at the private school. At camp, they were taught things that were not only the standard lessons to ensure they were learning what their age group should be learning, but also things that were intended for their survival such as basic training and courses in Ancient Greek. Not to mention the accommodations made for campers that allowed campers with disabilities like ADHD and Dyslexia, much like herself, to learn with little difficulty. Sitting amongst the kids in her grade at Westover, Lydia actually had a feeling that she was one of the smarter kids around. Not that it mattered, of course, since this will be her only week in these classes.

          Luckily, Lydia was paired up with Grover since he could no longer realistically pull off younger than her grade. Grover seemed antsy throughout the day and kept muttering about it being the last day before break. Not that Lydia can blame him for that worry, as if any monsters were going to try something, today would be the day. She kept a cautious eye out to ease his stress, though there wasn't much to do as the two sat and waited throughout the day.

          "The others should be here before the dance tonight," Grover told her the game plan during their lunch hour.

          "Wait, wait," Lydia said, interrupting him with a grin growing across her face, "A dance? Nobody mentioned a dance!"

          "Oh, right," Grover said with a blush, "Westover has a dance at the end of every semester."

          "So what I am hearing is that we get a night to party," Lydia pushed.

          "Maybe? I have a feeling that he's going to try something tonight though," Grover whispered to her while glancing over at Dr. Thorn, monitoring the lunch hall with his hawk-like features.

          "Right, so we'll be on the lookout, but until then...."

          "Fine, fine. Yes. We can party a bit."

          Lydia punched her fist into the air in quiet victory. While the dance tonight is likely going to be some snobby, rich kid kind of event, Lydia is willing to make the most out of that. Being the child of Dionysus, she is never one to turn down any kind of festive event.

          Later that evening, Lydia was dressed in a casual, but fun outfit. Adorning her usual Doc Martens, she paired it with some loose-fitting black jeans that frayed at the bottom hem at her ankles, a white turtle neck top tucked into the jeans, and a fuzzy leopard print jacket. The jacket had been a joke amongst her and her brothers, but she would be lying if she said she didn't like the garment. Her messy brown hair was left down with her curtain bangs purposely looking like they had tussled in the wind. Of course, understanding the underlying threat of tonight, Lydia had on her celestial bronze ring shaped like a vine wrapping around her finger. The ring would transform into her weapon of choice, a rapier when commanded. She hoped that it would not be necessary, but as a demigod, you can never be too paranoid.

          Lydia agreed to help Bianca and Nico get ready for the dance as Grover took on greeting and sneaking the others in. Bianca and Lydia have grown closer over the past few days, becoming actual friends. The breaks in between classes were spent with the girls hanging out with watching over Nico and the nights were filled with whispers and giggles floating through their shared dorm. Bianca continued to be guarded when it came to hers and her brother's past, but she loved learning about Lydia's unconventional childhood and the pseudo-hippie commune that she, her mother, the twins, their mother, and a few others resided on. Lydia did not leave out the fact that the commune began as a cult that followed Dionysus, but she of course held off on revealing Dionysus as her father. All in all, Lydia was quite happy to have met Bianca di Angelo. While the girl was happy to spend more time with the di Angelos, her heart was fluttering uncontrollably at the fact that she'll be seeing Annabeth here soon.