The Olympian Of McKinley High

Chapter 24: Nothing But News

Percy spent the whole day thinking about Beth. He couldn't imagine having a kid at his age and he was 18. Quinn had been 16. The whole idea terrified him and he didn't blame her for giving her daughter up for adoption. However, he was confused about her intentions to get Beth back. If she was safe and being taken care of by Rachel's mom, then how did she plan to regain custody?

When the bell finally rang signaling the end of the school day, Percy headed towards the locker room to change for Swim practice. He was suddenly nervous after his conversation with Kurt about his scars. Not so much because he was insecure about them, but if Kurt's reaction was considered normal then he didn't want people to think he needed to seek help for of them. He personally found slaying monsters to be very therapeutic.

But the more he thought about it, he realized he had gone shirtless at the last swim practice and no one had said anything. Maybe people just didn't care and Kurt was more invested in his wellbeing?

He quickly changed into his swim shorts before heading out into the pool room. He was immediately confronted by a group of boys wearing matching red bathrobes.

"What do you want your swim robe to say on the back? It should be a water themed nickname." A blond boy that Percy had never spoken to asked.

Percy remained quiet for a moment as he considered his options. He inwardly laughed when he realized that every nickname he had ever been given was aquodic. His first idea was 'Son of Poseidon' but he felt that was too on the nose. After another moment Percy smiled brightly to the boys surrounding him.

"Seaweed Brain"

***

When Percy was finally alone in the hallway after practice he used his powers to dry his hair. The water had relaxed him after a long day of overthinking and feeling stressed. He had enjoyed swimming with the other guys and Percy thought that many of them weren't half-bad, but it was obvious that they had no intention towards spending time with him out of the pool. Percy figured this was due to him being in Glee Club.

He knew Quinn had already left school for the day since Booty Camp had been canceled. Percy was heading towards the parking lot and preparing himself to walk home when he heard a classroom door open and close beside him. "Hey Percy!"

Percy looked up and was surprised to see Paul in front of him. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I had an interview with Principal Figgins this afternoon. I am officially a teacher here at McKinley! I was just checking out my new classroom." Percy recognized it as the classroom he had English in every other day. He smiled broadly back at his Step-Father.

"That's amazing! Congrats! Are you going to take over all the English classes?"

Paul smiled broadly. "Just the Junior and Senior classes for now. They needed a replacement for the temporary substitute they have now."

Percy nodded. His current teacher was an older women that seemed on the verge of either retiring or dropping dead. "Well this is great news! I'm excited for my first class with you."

Percy and Paul began walking towards the parking lot together. "How have your classes been going so far?"

"Pretty well actually. I'm getting help from the teacher in my math class and I've made a bunch of friends that I share the rest of my classes with." Percy smiled as he spoke. He realized this was very different to all his past experiences with school. At least since he discovered he was a demigod and had classes with Grover all those years ago.

A pang of nostalgia overcame Percy as he realized it had been a while since he had spoken to his oldest friend. He was grateful when Paul moved to ruffle his hair playfully, as it brought him back to thinking about how good his current situation was.