𝙰𝚖𝚘𝚛 𝚅𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚝 𝙾𝚖𝚗𝚒𝚊 》𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚜 𝙰𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘

1.03

PERCY WAS FRUSTRATED. That much was obvious. He had been kicked out of school, again. He knew how hard his mom had been working to get him into this school, yet here he was, blowing it.

His grades had slipped from D's to F's, he had started to pick a lot more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her goons, and he had even snapped at his English teacher.

To make matters worse, it seemed like no one believed him when he said there used to be a Mrs. Dodds at this school. The only one who did believe him was Kyra, but with the problems she had had with her memories in the past, no one would believe her, either.

"Look, Perce," Kyra said one day. "I believe you, I really do, there's no way I could forget someone like Mrs. Dodds, but you have to think. The entire school forgot she existed, even the teachers! Do you really think every person here would be involved in some elaborate joke?"

Percy knew that she was right, that it was impossible for everyone at Yancy to be in on the joke, but still. She didn't know what had happened when Mrs. Dodds pulled him aside. She didn't know that their former math teacher had turned into a giant, winged creature that attacked him.

And she wasn't going to know, either, because Percy wasn't going to tell her. At least, not until the both of them were out of that school. He didn't want to start something that would put her through unnecessary stress, especially since she had so much on her plate already.

"Let's look at the bright side," Kyra said later that day. "My allergies have been completely gone since the museum. I don't think there's been a day where I wasn't sniffling in months."

Percy laughed at that. Kyra always tried to find something that was good in a situation, even when it seemed like a complete disaster. He found that her words weren't entirely true, though, as there were still some instances throughout the day where she would erupt into a fit of sneezes. Still, it was definitely much better than it was before the museum fiasco. At least now she didn't randomly sneeze in his face.

Sometimes Percy wished that he could have the same level of optimism as his best friend did, but he knew it wasn't possible. Hell, he didn't even know how Kyra could keep it up. In all honesty, it made the boy anxious. He knew her, better than he knew anyone, and he knew that sometimes, her optimism was nothing but a facade, that on the inside she was breaking. But he never pushed her on the subject, knowing that one day, if she did break, he was going to be there to collect the pieces and put her back together.

And that was all that mattered to him.

THE LATIN TEST was the last straw for Percy. He had been unfocused, disinterested, and all above upset about leaving Yancy Academy.

So, when Mr. Brunner told him that it was for the best that he not be invited back next year, he broke down.

He stormed out the classroom, where Kyra stood waiting for him, and pushed past her.

"What happened?" Kyra asked, trying to keep up with him. "What did he say?"

Percy shook his head, trying to keep himself from crying, and kept going. He didn't stop until he got back to his dorm room, which was thankfully dormant.

He slammed the door shut, before throwing all the clothes out of his drawers and into his suitcase that sat on his bed. He didn't care whether or not it was neatly folded in it, he just wanted to get it over with and go home. His eyes were blurry with tears as his mind swam with thoughts. Why did he have to be such a stupid freak?