The New Faces (A Percy Jackson Story)

Mike

I hate those boys they keep stealing my stuff! I think to myself. I brush my hair out of my face. I stand up and look in the mirror. My curl black hair is getting so long that I have to brush it out of the way Justin style. My cargo shorts are too big so I have a thick worn out brown belt on. It is on the farthest hole and it raps around my waist almost twice. My green t-shirt is dirty and so are my tennis shoes. I hear my mom call "Your bus is gunna be hear soon Shelly!" I roll my green eyes at this I hate it when my mom calls me that. My name is Sheldon Michel Smith, not Shelly. I go by Mike, at school that is. My mom on the other hand keeps saying that Shelly is cuter. It isn't its a girl's name I will insist but she will never listen. I call back to her "OK mom I am coming!" I put on my blue cotton jacket, pick up my worn out black book bag, and my baseball cap of the Tampa Bay Rays. We don't live in Florida anymore no we live in North Michigan. I hate it here. I go to a school full of jerks and jocks. Which I was neither. But I hear my mom calling again and I run out grab a Pop-tart and run to the bus stop.

Its a good ten minute walk to the bus stop I am assigned to so I usually run. It's a 6 minute run if you took the road but a 2 minute run if you took a short cut through the woods. Today I take the woods seeing that I am about to miss the stupid bus. When I am about half way to the bus I stop for breath. Like I said before I am not athletic. Then I hear a crash and a smash. I turn around towards the sounds. A giant man who is in a skirt thing, is walking towards me with a club, a giant club. Well basically it was a tree, a big oak tree. I did the only logical thing, I ran. When I get to the edge of the woods there is a van parked but I don't really think much of it, I am more worried about a giant with an oak tree in its hands. The girls who have the same bus stop as me are getting on the bus. I run towards it but then the giant comes out of the woods and the bus speeds away. I look at the van because it is honking at me a boy about 15 not old enough to be driving without a parent is in the driver's seat. A girl with blond curly hair and piercing blue eyes is in the passenger's seat. She looks about my age and I was just staring at her with my mouth open and then I saw the giant again. I ran towards the girl and boy and bang on the side door yelling "LET ME IN! LET ME IN! ITS GUNNA KILL ME!" The door slides open and I climb in slamming it shut after me.

"Drive dude DRIVE!" He looks at me with a toothy smile. I was freaked out for a second, like maybe this was a rape van or something, but then I look at the girl. She comes into the back with me and says "George drive that thing will crush the van!"

She says this to the older boy and he chuckles and drives calmly away. I look out the back window and see the giant man coming after us! I'm about to say something when the girl says again "George do the go real fast thing again!" She smiles a knowing smile at me like it was some inside joke we shared. The van went really fast like I mean it was breaking the speed limit on light! The girl and me slid to the back of the van, since there were no seats. I turn towards the girl and say "Who are you?" She laughs and asks "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" I laugh to and try to catch my breath. She looks at me again and says "I'm Jill, this is George and who are you?" I swallow and say "I'm Mike." She smiles and asks George "Are we picking anyone else up? Before we get to camp that is?" George nods and says "Yeah we are going to Florida next. I got a phone call from another camper. She has four half-bloods with her!"

Jill then explains it all to me and I nod at the end. I don't understand like ninety percent of what she had said but I want her to think that I did. She then said "We are all half-bloods, and apparently we need to get some people from Florida. All of us are attacked my monsters. Like your Giant. I had an evil doctor." She shivers and I take off my jacket and give it to her. She smiles and takes it thanking me. George just plain out laughs and I want to slap him. I can feel my face turn bright red, and I look at Jill and so is hers. We then settle in for the ride.