Fangirl School (Percy Jackson)

Meeting Prep

Surprisingly, Lucas didn't even mention the conversation we had. I guess what happens over text stays over text. Neither of us talked about it, but I felt subconsciously closer to him.

Delphine, of course, was left completely out of the loop, due to her inability to keep a secret. I felt bad about it, because she was my friend and she deserved to know, but I still had a slight trust issue after what had happened with Janet last year.

Meanwhile, I was looking deep into the fight for the fandoms.

I asked Lucas to ask his mom if she knew anyone in charge. The next day he told me she didn't but Mrs. Golde definitely knew, since she had been working in Fangirl School since the very beginning.

So I stuck around after homeroom. Fiona and Delphine waited for me outside while I went up to her desk, where she was turning on her computer.

"Hey, Mrs. Golde?" I asked.

"Yes, dear?" she said, looking at me.

"I was wondering if you knew anyone in charge at Fangirl School- besides the principal."

"Why?"

I explained the fight for the fandoms and how we needed to talk to somebody in charge to convince them to change what was happening next year.

"I'll look into it," she promised. "I might be able to find someone. And Mr. Rick Riordan may have written his email or phone number somewhere on the shifting box he gave you, so you might want to check that."

I did a thorough scan of the box and the manual that night and found nothing. But I stayed persistent, asking all my teachers the same thing, even though none of them knew anyone. Every day I'd ask Mrs. Golde for an update on her search for somebody in power.

It wasn't until a week later that she finally said something other than "Not yet, Y/N."

"Yes, actually," she told me, smiling. "I found one of the people who started the Percy Jackson branch of Fangirl School, along with Rick Riordan, of course. His name is Walter Meyers. I scheduled a meeting for you."

I pumped a fist. "Yes! When?"

"Next Tuesday, directly after school, here in this classroom."

"Can I bring my friends?"

"Of course. Fiona alone would be able to convince him to let you see a higher power."

"Okay. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, dear."

I replayed the conversation to Fiona and Delphine.

"Awesome! Who are you bringing?" Delphine asked, practically glowing with excitement.

"You guys, obviously. And Lucas and Walker. Maybe Jacqueline and Mitchell. And Brandon, of course," I added with a glance at Fiona. She rolled her eyes, and didn't even turn red, but I could tell without touching that her face was feeling hot.

"We have to prepare every single argument and counterargument possible," Fiona said, pushing her glasses up and tucking her hair behind her ear.

"And we need to tell the others!" Delphine added.

"Well, we have three classes before lunch, so we'd better go," Fiona said. "What do we have now?"

"Character Life, I think," I told her.

"Well, let's go," Delphine said, now bouncing.

I pulled them both aside at the last minute before the lunch bell and said we shouldn't break the news at lunch, but rather text them separately so that Giovanni and Jeveskia wouldn't get upset. They were alright, but not very good at being convincing, and I didn't want them to hurt our chances. Which, again, made me feel horrible, but Fiona and Delphine backed me up and said it needed to be done.

So I texted Walker, Jacqueline, and Mitchell, Fiona texted Brandon, and Delphine texted Lucas. I don't really know why that last bit bothered me so much.

The eight of us met at my house every day after school to work on our arguments and counterarguments. It felt weird to mix Fiona, Delphine, Lucas and Brandon with Jacqueline, Mitchell, and Walker, since I always felt like they were two separate groups. It turned out okay though. Jacqueline and Delphine clicked instantly with their sass and rhyming names, and Walker and Lucas seemed to find common ground in video games. So all turned out well.

All of us were on our toes the next Tuesday. Every minute felt like hours. Mrs. Golde excused me, Fiona, Brandon and Lucas from classwork during Advanced Fanfiction Writing, giving us that hour and forty minutes to go over everyone's parts.

We all met at recess to finalize what we were going to say. We practiced in front of Mrs. Golde, and as I talked, I felt actually confident. Nervous, but also confident.

We wouldn't be overlooked. We wouldn't be ignored. We were going to make our stand for our fandom and the others.

We were going to fight for the fandoms.