Percy Jackson and the Goddess's Daughter

2: I Get Threatened By a Ballpoint Pen

   It was time for class to begin. I slid into a seat, bumping into the girl next to me. I realized with shock that it was the same girl I'd bumped into earlier.

   "Hey, watch it!" the girl said, scowling at me. She swung her stringy brown hair over one shoulder and pointed her pen at me like a sword. "You want me to use this?"

   "Sorry," I said, scooting away from her. How could a pen be intimidating? Whatever. I noticed the girl with the pigtails coming into class. She looked around like she was searching the room for someone. Her gaze fell on me, and, expressionless, she walked over and took a seat in the desk opposite me. She was starting to thoroughly creep me out. I looked back at my desk mate and realized that she was staring at the girl with a strange expression on her face. What the heck was going on?

   "Do you know her?" I asked, hoping someone would explain this to me.

   My desk mate shook her head, keeping a frown fixed on her face. "This can't be good," she muttered.

   "What can't be good?" I asked, frustrated. All this cryptic talk was starting to bug me.

   My desk mate finally tore her eyes away from Pigtail Girl. "Shut up, okay?" she told me with a fierce look. "I've got to think."

   "Sheesh, fine," I answered, scooting away from her. I felt like I was trapped between two loonies. Shaking my head, I reached into my desk and pulled out my notebook. I always drew when I felt stressed. It helped to relax me. I started drawing the face of my best friend, Emma Claire- her round face and blonde hair. Not to boast or anything, but I'm pretty good at drawing. My sketches always look like the real person. The only thing I never seemed to be able to capture on paper was the mischievous twinkle Emma always had in her brown eyes. My hand moved over the page, adding shading to the sketch, and I wondered where she was right now. Last I'd heard, she was leaving on a train heading for Vienna, Austria to study music. She liked that kind of stuff. Maybe because her father had been a musician. She was really good at it, too. When we were little, we'd made up a game. I'd thought of song lyrics and she'd made up a tune to it. My lyrics were always awful, barely even rhyming, but her song transformed them into something beautiful. I used to wish that I could do that too. You know, make up music and have it actually sound nice. But I've accepted it. I'm just not a talented person.

   If my dad had been here and heard my thoughts, he would've objected. He says that everyone has a talent- they just have to discover it. That's why he's always traveling. He's convinced that he has this all-important talent that's just waiting to be found. And once he finds it, boom, he'll have purpose in life. I didn't quite agree with him, but I never discouraged him. He needed something to keep his mind occupied. Did I mention that my mom had left years ago? Oh, I guess I forgot. 

   So, a year before I was born, my dad had been an artist. I guess that's where I get my love of drawing. Anyway, he lived in San Francisco working out of his tiny apartment. One day he was hired by a beautiful woman to do a series of sketches. Long story short, he did the sketches and fell in love with her. My dad says it was that kind of thing that "just happens". You can tell as soon as you lay eyes on that one person that you love them. And she must have been a pretty stunning person. My dad described her as "the most beautiful woman in the world". He laughs and says that everywhere they went, guys were always hitting on her. Think it's crazy that my dad would get someone that pretty? I don't think so. My dad's really hot- in a dad way. You should've seen how many single teachers started giving me A's once they saw my dad. So many people have told him that he should be a model, but he's never given that a second thought. He says that he wouldn't feel fulfilled in that kind of job. I don't know- it sounds kind-of fun to me, but I guess he has to do whatever makes him happy.

    Anyway, my dad married that same woman I mentioned earlier, and she got pregnant. That's when his life became very weird. She'd disappear for hours on end, and when she came back she wouldn't tell him where she'd gone. It was like she was living another life; a secret life. And as soon as I was born, she disappeared completely- with just a parting note saying how much she loved him and how much it hurt her to leave.

   My dad was heartbroken. He'd been planning a whole life with her, and she'd just left? Without even telling him where she was going? It was a pretty low-down thing to do, especially seeing as he was now left to raise a baby girl all by himself.

   I think it was good, though, that I was there for him. It helped to distract him from thinking about her.

   I filled in Emma's eyes with a brown colored pencil, wondering if I'd ever see my birth mom again. I didn't know if I wanted to. With a sigh, I pulled out an olive-green pencil and added light flecks of green to the sketch's eyes. Wonder if she was really as beautiful as my dad said she was.

   A kid walked into the classroom, drawing my eyes off my notebook. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder and messy black hair, like he'd just gotten out of bed. He looked around until he spotted me. Oh great. I slunk lower into my seat and tried to avoid him as he walked closer. Boys were always annoying me. I couldn't help it. They were drawn to me like I was a human magnet or something. I cringed as he came closer, trying to send out mental "Leave me alone" vibes, then let out a relieved sigh as he sat down behind me. Good. He hadn't tried to flirt with me. 

   I returned to my drawing, softly humming. I finished the sketch of Emma and stuffed it in my backpack, then started on another one. Without thinking about it, my pencil moved over the page and I found the boy's face staring up at me in my pencil sketch. I stopped and glanced back behind me. Did I know this guy? For some reason I had a strange feeling that I should know him. I glanced at the boy's face as he bent over a paper, writing. His face didn't ring any bells, but I still had a niggling feeling that somehow I knew this guy. He suddenly looked up and saw me looking at him. Oh, crud. 

   "Hi," he said, his face breaking into a smile. His eyes were the same color as the sea. Cool.

   I looked away quickly to hide my embarrassment. But, man, he was cute. Did I mention I had a thing for blue-green eyes? Wonder if he'll sit behind me the whole school year. I sneaked a peek back at him and found his eyes still resting on me. Smiling slightly, I turned back to my notebook, finishing up my drawing of him and shoving it into my backpack. After a couple minutes, the teacher came in and school began.

   I was whizzing through my schoolwork when suddenly I saw a note slide onto my chair next to my leg. I picked it up, smiling. Was the kid already sending me notes? Wow, he was kind-of forward. I unfolded it, making sure the teacher couldn't see it, and began to read. My face scrunched up in confusion as I read:

            Alexa

    Meet me in the study hall as soon as class is dismissed. Urgent!

                      Percy

   Hmm. So at least I now knew this kid's name. But what was he trying to do? I wasn't about to get detention by skipping out. But... I had this feeling. I had to find out what this kid wanted. I looked back at him. He was watching me again. His eyes were serious.

   I turned back. Man, I hope this isn't a bad idea.