Amor Vincit Omnia 》Phoebus Apollo

I.II

Chapter 2 - The Three Old Ladies From Hercules

I COULD TELL that Percy was frustrated with what had happened. I wanted to say something, I really did, but I was having a hard time processing what had happened myself. To make matters worse, Percy wouldn't actually tell me what had happened with Mrs. Dodds after Nancy fell in the water fountain.

The rest of the school year seemed to go on forever, as Percy was consistently trying to make people accidentally reveal to him that he wasn't crazy, and that Mrs. Dodds was a real person who really worked at Yancy Academy.

"Look Percy, I believe you, I really do. I swear I remember there being a Mrs. Dodds, but maybe it's just our ADHD tripping us up, y'know? I mean, nobody else seems to know what we're talking about, and I don't think the entire school could be in on the joke." I thought about it for a moment, "And let's look on the bright side, my allergies are gone, so that's always good...right?" 

He didn't want to seem to believe me, which if I was being honest, frustrated me to no end. Yes, I understood that it felt like he was going crazy, but Mrs. Dodds was gone! The woman who had a personal grudge against Percy wasn't here to torment him anymore, so who cares what other people say? But no matter what I said, he stayed persistent in his personal investigation.

Not only did he refuse to give up on his mission to find Mrs. Dodds' existence, but he started to become irritable. It felt like he would snap at teachers and pick fights with Nancy Bobofit at any opportunity he could. His attitude on the entire situation was becoming worse as each day passed and it eventually began to affect his grades as well. It was so bad, in fact, that the school ended up sending a letter to his mom telling her that Percy wouldn't be invited back the next year.

I could tell being kicked out of another school bothered him, but he consistently told me otherwise, always saying how he missed his mom and wouldn't mind going to public school somewhere close to her.

I pursed my lips. "Percy, I know how much you love your mom and all, trust me, I do, but don't sit here and lie about how you feel about being kicked out of Yancy. You're my best friend, okay? I know when you're feeling upset—hell, the whole school knows you're feeling upset at this point." I sighed, "Just talk to me, please?"

Percy took in my words for a moment before nodding his head, "You're right, I'm sorry. I haven't been honest to you in the past few weeks and it's not okay."

"...and?" I prompted, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed, "and you're right that I'm feeling upset. It's just...I dunno. I've been trying so hard to stick with the school, to make it till the end of the year, but it feels like I can't do anything right."

I listened intently as he told me about his thoughts. Once he finished, I bumped his shoulder with mine. "Well, who cares about what society defines as 'right'?" I told him, shrugging my shoulders, "they'll see they were wrong about you one day. They'll regret expelling you once you become one of the greats, trust me."