THE NEW KID

s e v e n

Annabeth walked into Greek mythology. It was a huge room with lots of artifacts on the walls. The teacher, Mr. Brunner, turned from the door and looked at Annabeth. "Good morning, Annabeth. Have you been practicing your Greek terms?" 

Annabeth waved to her teacher. "Yup. I've got them all memorized and ready to go."

"Annabeth?" She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned. It was Percy. 

"Hey, sorry I couldn't talk in math. This annoying girl-"

"It's totally fine, Percy," Annabeth broke in. She smiled. "This class is way more chill though."

Percy nodded. He and Annabeth both sat down next to each other in the second row. "So, Percy, why'd you take Greek?" Annabeth asked. 

Percy shrugged. "My dad was Greek. He left me and my mom a few years back, but before he did he taught me some. I want to do Greek-"

"As a way to remember him," Annabeth finished. She smiled at Percy. "I get it. My mom died when I was younger. She was Greek too. I took Greek...I don't know. I guess so I can feel more connected to her."

Percy gave her a reassuring smile, and Annabeth felt grateful that he didn't say that he was sorry. Even though she knew people were trying to be comforting, it still hurt in a way. They were sorry it happened, but they never understood the pain that they truly felt.

But Percy was different. Even though his dad didn't die like her mother did, he understood.

"Okay, everyone. Let's start the lesson," Mr. Brunner said. He wheeled his chair away from the door and towards them. "How is everyone doing?"

"Good!" The class chorused. Normally high school students didn't exactly do that, but Mr. Brunner was different. He was actually curious and cared about their lives, which everyone appreciated.

"Okay, so everyone can pass their homework to the front, before we start." Mr Brunner said. Everyone did, and then he continued, "So yesterday we talked about using Greek applicable in conversation. So, this class, I will be calling two random people to talk in Greek to each other. If they can hold a conversation successfully, we will have a free class for the rest of the period. If not, we will call more pairs until one successfully talks in Greek. Now, everyone count off!"

Everyone quickly counted off. Annabeth was 7 and Percy was 14, since they counted from up and down. Then Mr. Brunner turned to the board and picked two random numbers from a random generator. "Okay, our numbers are 7 and 14! Come to the front!"

Annabeth frowned. She really wanted the free period to be able to go to the library and work on her latest building plan, but she didn't know how good Percy was at Greek. He did say he knew some already, though, so it may turn out well. Percy followed her to the front and they stood across from each other.

The whole class stared at them. Percy's hands were stuck in his pockets. He didn't look nervous outright, but Annabeth was good at reading people. She could tell he felt uncomfortable, so she decided to begin the conversation.

"So, you can understand me right?"

Percy smirked. "Yes. I'm not as bad as you think, Wise Girl." It was like he'd read her mind.

She chuckled a little. "I think you know more Greek than most the class with that sentence."

"See, I'm a genius!" 

"Actually, still a Seaweed Brain."

Percy opened his mouth to retort when Mr. Brunner cut them off. He had an odd twinkle in his eye as he spoke. "Nice job, you two! That was an amazing conversation. Everyone else needs to study more. Class dismissed!" Everyone started getting up to get their belongings. "Oh, and I almost forgot. I know we can't share about drills, so you didn't hear it from me, but you have a fire drill today." He winked. "Okay, now you may leave!" A chorus of goodbyes ensued from the students (once again, he was their favorite) as they began to filter out of the classroom.

Percy and Annabeth picked up their bags and followed the group. 

"Hey, Wise Girl," Percy began. Annabeth noted that he looked a little more nervous. She nodded encouragingly. "Do you maybe want to..."

"Percy!!!" Oh no. It was Olivia. She and her best friend Madison pulled Percy away, who rolled his eyes at Annabeth. She sighed and decided she might as well go to the library and work on her Architecture design since she had a free period.

She walked up the stairs alone and went into the library hallway. It was long and more old-fashioned than the rest of the school, which Annabeth thought was interesting. She loved the grooves etched onto the walls, which gave it a hint of a Greek style. The library itself was across from a small teachers lounge. She had only ever seen two teachers in there, so there was an even greater feeling of privacy, which Annabeth appreciated in the large, crowded school.

She went inside, barely paying attention to the surroundings as she grabbed a book that was on her TBR list for a long time. She sat down at her usual table, pulling out her project. She had been chosen by her Architecture teacher as a class representative to design a monument styled after the Greek gods outside the school building. She was definitely going to model it off Athena. Not only was she her mother's namesake, but also her favorite Greek goddess.

She was lost inside her thoughts, chewing on the end of her pencil as she contemplated erasing a couple of lines. A faint scent of smoke hit her nose, but she ignored it. Weird smells were pretty normal in their school. Any high school, really.

But the smell grew stronger. And it began to change. No more was it just smoke, but something smelled burned. Charred. She realized she was feeling hot and sweaty. She wiped her forehead. Sopping wet.

She turned around.

Orange flames greeted her. They were licking the walls of the library. The books alongside the windows began to catch fire, and the surrounding smoke grew exponentially larger.

It all got closer and closer.