Powerful | REWRITE

꓄ꃅꋪꍟꍟ ꂦ꒒ꀸ ꒒ꍏꀸꀤꍟꌗ ꓄ꋪꀤꍟꌗ ꓄ꂦ ꀘꈤꀤ꓄ ꓄ꃅꍟ ꌗꂦꉓꀘꌗ ꂦꎇ ꀸꍟꍏ꓄ꃅ

“Just forget about all of that. If she fails, that’s on them,” Poseidon said dismissively.

“Oh? Is that because, in your eyes, she does everything better no matter what?” Athena asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” Poseidon replied without hesitation. “If your daughter isn’t as smart as mine, then that’s just too bad.”

I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.

I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the
best from you, Percy Jackson.

I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.

“He clearly has a death wish,” Poseidon muttered under his breath.

“But why is he putting so much pressure on her?” Hera said, exasperated. “Why not target someone else for once?”

I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some
pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.

I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's
door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.

"You did try, Percy. Blame the people around you who didn’t care enough to help," Rhea said, her voice filled with sympathy.

"Exactly," Poseidon agreed. "You had good grades—he’s the one who ruined everything.”

I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said ". . . worried about Percy, sir."

I froze.

Poseidon's eye twitched with restrained fury. "Why are they talking about her behind her back?" he growled. "They have no right to keep secrets from her—especially when it concerns her well-being."

Apollo nodded, his expression tense. "Exactly. Why not just tell her the truth? Sneaking around only makes things worse for her.”

I'm not usually an eavesdropper, well I am. But I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult. I inched closer.

They chuckled a little.

". . . alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we
know for sure, and they know too — "

"We would only make matters worse by rushing her," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the girl to
mature more."

"But she may not have time. The summer solstice deadline — "

"Will have to be resolved without her, Grover. Let her enjoy her ignorance while she still can."

Poseidon could barely contain his fury. "They're talking about keeping her in the dark? About something that dangerous? A Kindly One at her school, and they think she’s better off ignorant!?"

Rhea remained calm, but that still doesn't mean good. "This secrecy is a mistake. If Percy is already encountering monsters, how do they expect her to survive without knowing what she's up against?"

Apollo crossed his arms, his frustration clear. "If anything, they're the ones being ignorant. She doesn’t even know who she is—and somehow she’s the one at fault?”