𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | P. Jackson, A. Chase¹

2. 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦

They were new kids who must've been visiting, because they were all wearing those stupid HI! MY NAME IS: tags from the admissions office. They must've had a weird sense of humor, too, because they'd all filled in strange names like: MARROW SUCKER, SKULL EATER, and JOE BOB. No human beings had names like that.

"These guys are moving here next year," Sloan bragged, like that was supposed to scare Percy. He tossed the photo of Olivia back to Percy. "I bet they can pay the tuition, too, unlike your dumbass friend."

"Watch your mouth," Percy ordered, fighting the urge to punch Sloan in the face. The comments he'd made about Percy in the past already irked him, but now, he was just a few moments from pulverizing him over what he'd said about Olivia and Tyson.

"You're such a loser, Jackson," he jeered. Good thing I'm gonna put you out of your misery next period."

His huge buddies smirked as they walked off. If Sloan only knew who Percy was, the bastard would be too scared to ever enter the pool again, let alone a beach.

The bell rang.

As Tyson and him were leaving class, a girl's voice whispered, "Percy!"

Percy's eyes darted looked around the locker area, but nobody was paying him any attention. Like any girl at Meriwether would ever be caught dead calling his name. But before he could consider whether or not he'd actually heard that, a crowd of kids rushed for the gym, carrying Tyson and him along with them. It was time for PE. Their coach had promised them a free-for-all dodgeball game, and Matt Sloan had promised to kill Percy.

🌣⸻➳⸻🌣

OLIVIA FELT IFFY ALL DAY.

No matter what she did, she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen this summer. She hadn't had a premonition, but the feeling alone was enough. Maybe it was just nerves because of Luke's visit.

Andrew was supposed to take her to camp a few days later. Despite her mother's disapproval, she was eventually given permission. Still, her anxieties had not been soothed. In the dead of night, she snuck away from home to catch a train headed east. She waited patiently while the surroundings outside her window changed to a new place very quickly and very soon (yet still not soon enough), she was in New York.

As soon as she was off the train, she immediately began looking around for Percy's house. When she got there, Percy's mother had informed her that he'd left for school already. Olivia had been tempted to leave for Percy's school, but Ms. Jackson had insisted that she was sending him to camp afterwards. Olivia's nerves told her to ignore that and follow Percy to school, anyways, but she brushed herself off and caught a taxi to camp.

Her phone rang suddenly, making her jump. Very few people had her number, as very few half-bloods could afford to have her number. Daedalus, wherever the hell he was, supplied her and her mother with this technology in exchange for Alisha's silence on his whereabouts. Technically, this probably went against the ancient rules, but if it helped Olivia out, she didn't mind not telling.

She checked the contact name at the top. Mama <3

Oh, no.

Olivia hesitantly answered, holding the phone at a distance. "Hello?"

"Where are you?"