You never know - Pjo Fanfiction

23- Don't practise until you get it right. Practise until you can't get it wrong

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Life at the academy was simple. They danced, studied, even gossiped and had fun. It was all Hazel's heart could have hoped or desired. And she finally had friends to share it.

Finally, everything seemed ok. Until ir came...

...finals.

"You will perform a choreography of your own with music of your choice with your partners. You will be graded on it, and the best pair will dance the centre piece in the end of term performance. Good luck everyone!" Terpisiochore had announced.

And, at the same time, Kleio told them "You will have final exams on everything we have studied so far, and which your final mark will depend on. Good luck! And remember, in order to assist to the end of year performance, you have to pass"

So there they were, in the common room, with books thrown all over the floor, notebooks open, pointé shoes on and pens everywhere.

Leo was trying to teach them the formula for second degree ecuations for the seventh time.

"What don't you understand?" He asked, desperate "Put everything to one side and apply the formula! Minus B plus/ less the square root of B minus four times A times C divided by two times A"

Calypso let herself fall in the floor, groaning.

"I'll never pass this thing! It's impossible!" 

Leo rolled his eyes, but sat beside her, holding the notebook.

"Here, what part are you lost on?" He asked, softer this time.

Annabeth was going over the Physics and Chemistry topics again, slowly explaining it to Percy.

"You need to learn the elements and their abreviations, Percy! Otherwise you're lost" She told him "Let's see... What's gold?"

"Au" He replied.

"And platinum?"

"Pt" He smiled.

Annabeth kissed his cheek.

Piper was doing her middle split while reading the English novel once more. Jason was asking her questions about it.

"Pull up my leg whenever I'm wrong" She told him.

Long story short, fifteen minutes later, her split was against the wall, in 240 degrees, and the questions remained unsolved.

"Have you even read this?" He asked.

"Yes!" She said, angrily "How about you, Mr Perfect? Know what a simile is? Hyperbole?"

Jason blushed dark red and kept studying.

Hazel sat beside Frank, holding open the History book, which she already knew by heart, as she had studied every morning when dawn cracked.

Uncounciously, she placed her hand under Frank's sleeve as she studied.

"Tell me the periods in History" She asked.

"Prehistory, Classical Era, Middle Ages, Early Modern Era and Modern Era." He answered

"Good" She smiled "Now..."

They were interrupted by the alarm in Annabeth's phone.

"Switch time!" She said.

Five seconds later, they were all warming up. They had been doing the same thing the whole week. They studied for an hour, trained another. Exams were in the next day, and the choreography was the day after. They were mentally and physically exhausted, but they knew they had to survive. No one said it would be easy.

Songs started to play. Annabeth and Percy danced 'How Far I'll Go', from the disney movie Moana. They had a nice dance, with some complicated steps, but still needed work. They all needed it.

Piper and Jason danced "Symphonies", by Clean Bandit. The song had deep feeling, and they tried to show it with steps that were hard, but when done right, breathtaking.

Leo and Calypso, who had ended up together, danced 'Girl on Fire'. They had a strong dance, with steps that seemed to move the whole room.

And Hazel and Frank danced 'Shine your way'. Hazel had chosen the song, as she'd felt as if it was calling her. She knew they would be alright.

She spun in her feet and jumped, as Frank danced beside her. With the last note, when the song said "All of our tears will dry faster in the Sun", Frank held her waist and rose her to the air, as she did the split in midair.

They all needed work, but dance hour had finished.

Back to studying.

They had been doing it for the past eight hours, but were still going strong. They snacked on some carrots and crackers and went through the topics once more.

Annabeth taught formulation of chemistry elements to everyone. Leo explained ecuations, congruent triangles and justification. Hazel helped them with History and Piper with English. Frank did his part with Physics and Jason with the book they had to read, while Calypso explained Geography.

And then they returned to dancing. Their feet were blistered up to a point where they could not feel them no more. The moon already shone in the night sky.

And yet they kept training. Because they wouldn't practise until they got it right. They would practise until they couldn't get it wrong.

Once more, music started and the pairs started dancing, correcting steps, adding new ones and just working as hard as they could.

Because, one mistake, a single one, and their career was over. If they were expelled, they could say goodbye to dancing. If they failed a single subject, they could pack their things.

"I always fail everything, I'm useless at this!" Percy groaned.

"No you're not. You just need a bit of help." Annabeth grabbed the notebook "Let's go through this again"

Hazel switched on an alarm for half past six and brought blankets. No beds for that night. They would collapse whenever their body decided it.

At the end, they could not study no more. Hazel placed her head on Frank's shoulder and, once more, slid her hand under his sleeve.

"Good night, Hazel" He whispered.

"'Night" She muttered a reply and fell asleep.

Annabeth had collapsed with the book over her face. Percy pushed it aside and threw the blanket over her silouette before falling asleep beside her.

Leo was sleeping literally over Calypso, his small frame over her tall figure, while Piper held onto Jason while snoring.

Because even dancers needed the sleep, after all.