Lost

3

"You know, Percy, I think you should have friends over more," my mom said as she pushed a plate of blue pancakes towards me. "You seemed so happy yesterday when Thalia visited."

I took a bite of a pancake and swallowed before answering. "Yeah, I guess so."

After being practically force fed my breakfast, which I barely touched, and refusing several ride offers, I was on my way to school.

When I arrived to my first class, we were all told that we were meeting with some career counselor person since we were close to graduating.

When it was my turn I was less than thrilled. The counselor I got was this uptight looking brunette lady with a clipboard in her hands. She was writing furiously when I went over to her.

"Jackson, Perseus. Hello, there, I'm your career counselor," she greeted. Her calling me Perseus made me flinch. "Do you have any careers or plans for future education in mind, Perseus?"

"It's Percy," I corrected. She scribbled that down on her paper and told me to continue. "And, uh, no, not really."

To be honest I really didn't think I'd live this long.

She sighed, as if that was the most disappointing answer I could've given her. "Alright, then. What about colleges, any in mind?"

To be honest, I hadn't thought of colleges ever since Annabeth died. We had always had a plan to go to New Rome together, but now if I went it would always feel empty. As if something wasn't right.

"No, I don't think I'm going to college," I admitted.

"Really? Your grades are fair enough that you could. If it's financial, you could always apply for aid—"

"It's not financial," I snapped. She glared at me. "It's not, really. I just...don't want to go."

She shook her head and sighed softly. I was used to this. "I just hate seeing wasted potential. Are there any careers you feel inclined towards? College education or not?"

I shook my head. "No."

"No? What about...any skills you have? Writing, math, art, sports?" she asked. "You must be in some sort of sport?"

"No, ma'am, I'm not," I responded, "and I don't know what I want to be. I don't have that many outstanding skills."

"Everyone does," she assured me. "Just give me something to work with. It doesn't even have to be big. Like, horse riding or collecting stamps."

I snorted, which caused her to glare at me. "Well, horses tend to like me, but I'm not seeking a career in that. And no, I don't collect stamps. Although I'd like to see what career you could come up with for me that involved collecting stamps."

"Have you ever had an interest in...finance?" she asked as she scanned down the paper attached to her clipboard.

"No, ma'am."

"Biology?"

"Uh, not since I last checked."

"Motor skills?"

"No."

"Dentist?"

"No way."

"What about an Architect?"

Her words hit me like a punch to the jaw. Architect. Of course she had to say that. Of course she had to remind me of the future Annabeth could never have. Especially when it was my fault.

"Perseus...? Perseus...?" she asked. My mind continued to spin away from the session, away from school in general like it always did. But this was worse, and different.

"It's Percy..." I murmured before everything went black.