Demonology (a Percabeth AU)

The New Thesis

Annabeth was excited to talk go to office hours again. She was taking Thalia's advice and though she worked hard on her thesis, she also gave herself a little bit of downtime everyday. Today, she had enjoyed lunch with Thalia instead of eating these disgusting lemon sea-salt flavored protein bars her dad had sent her in her dorm room.

    The doors to Dr. Chiron's office opened and Nico stepped out. He gave Annabeth a curt nod. "You can see him now."

Annabeth shouldered her backpack and knocked on the wooden door. "Come in," Dr. Chiron said.

He smiled as she came in and sat down on the cushioned, wooden chair that stood opposite of Dr. Chiron. She set her backpack to her left and took in the sights before her. His office was lavish in a cozy way. Shelves of books were always the first thing that drew Annabeth's attention. Dr. Chiron's personal library was filled with ancient literature such as The Odyssey and The Iliad, But he also had more contemporary books like Animal Farm and The Hate U Give.

     The next thing that drew Annabeth's attention were the maps hung on the walls. They were replicas of maps that long-dead humans had used and it was fascinating to see how much the human perception of the world had changed.

     "Your room is as exquisite as ever," Annabeth said.

    Dr. Chiron smiled. "Would you mind if I played some tunes in the background as we spoke?"

     Annabeth shook her head and Dr. Chiron put a record in his record player. Annabeth was thankful that "The Greatest Hits of Dean Martin" was played at a low volume because it was a sound that would scare away even mythological creatures.

"Now, Annabeth," Dr. Chiron said, laying his hands on the desk. "How is your thesis going?"

"Well, I've read both of the works and gathered information," Annabeth said. "I've been working on it daily."

Dr. Chiron laughed. "I hope you have been taking breaks?"

Annabeth nodded. "I was stuck on the actual thesis for my paper for quite some time," she said. "About a week and half."

Dr. Chiron shook his head, smiling the entire time. "You do realize some of my students write their entire thesis papers the night before?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I cannot do that. I need to carefully plan everything out."

"And I admire that quality in you," Dr. Chiron said. "You are an inquisitive student. Now, what is the thesis you decided on?"

"Actually, my friend, Thalia, helped me decide on it," Annabeth said.

"Thalia Grace?" Dr. Chiron asked.

Annabeth nodded. "I had her for English 1000," Dr. Chiron said. "She was a spunky student. She wrote a paper analyzing the lyrics of Green Day's song, Basket Case. Her final essay, though, was criticizing the premise of English 1000 classes."

Annabeth smiled. That was such a Thalia move. "Well, I was discussing how frustrated I was and she told me to take a break. Before that, though, she helped me decide on a thesis. In The Book of Job, the Adversary is an evil force who is subservient to God, while Satan is simultaneously romanticized and mocked in Paradise Lost as the enemy of God."

     Dr. Chiron nodded. "A solid thesis. I cannot wait to see how the paper will turn out."