"Now you're on my case, how could I go? You never dreamed I'd be so cold And then with venom on your tongue You ask me who I have become" ~girl I've always been/Olivia Rodrigo~
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WHEN MR BRUNNER ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD BE GOING FOR A TRIP TO THE MET IN NEW YORK, Mal almost started banging her head repeatedly on the desk. In fact, the girl felt a sort of irrational hatred for that museum and this only because, two years earlier, she had met Percy Jackson there for the first time.
At the time, meeting Percy had seemed like the best thing that had ever happened to her, but now everything was different: now, she and Percy were no longer friends. Even though Mal had been attending Yancy Academy for two months now, things between her and the boy had never been resolved and not that Percy hadn't tried: more than once, he had tried to talk to her and consequently, Mal had once lost her temper more than once, even going so far as to punch him and obviously, that had earned her a week of detention, but honestly, it had been worth it. After all, Mal had wanted to punch Percy ever since he betrayed her. In any case, not even her physical aggression had managed to stop Percy, in fact the boy had tried another route, first trying to give her another pack of M&M's, which Mal had shamelessly ignored and then, one day, he had brought her a cone with two huge scoops of mint and chocolate ice cream, which in response she had taken and then thrown into the bin without too much ceremony.
Maybe Mal's behavior might seem a little cruel and indeed it was, but the girl couldn't help it. Percy had hurt her too much and now she was no longer capable of trusting anyone and although the boy's efforts managed to soften her from time to time, Mal simply couldn't afford to open up to him again: if Percy had betrayed again, the girl would not have been able to withstand the blow again. Furthermore, there was also another problem: Grover Underwood. Although Percy continued to try to pick up the pieces of their friendship, he also seemed perfectly happy spending all his time with Grover and Mal couldn't stand him and she hated how it made her burn with jealousy. Percy seemed to have replaced her just fine with Grover, so she didn't understand why he couldn't just leave her alone.
Regardless, Percy had been keeping his distance for a couple of weeks now. Maybe, the failure with the ice cream had made him give up for good, but Mal didn't care, because she didn't need Percy. She didn't need anyone.
"Kids! This way! "-Brunner called them back and Mal, who was at the back of the group immersed in her thoughts, increased her pace in annoyance.
Always keeping aside from her classmates, Mal continued with her head held high, ignoring people's judging looks, because the girl wasn't exactly dressed in the right way for a museum, in fact, given that outside of school there was no obligation to wear the uniform, Mal had taken the opportunity to wear a purple long-sleeved shirt, short black torn shorts with her usual fishnet stockings underneath and obviously, her precious Dr. Martens platforms. Her colored hair, then, certainly contributed to making her rather flashy, but she didn't care, because Mal adored being able to express herself through her clothing. It was probably the only peaceful and violent way she knew to do it.
