Mortals meet Percabeth (and others)

Frazel meet: Eloise Miller

Eloise Miller

MIST

"Ms Miller and Ms Levesque please pay attention to what I am telling you instead of talking!" Mrs Dickson sharply says, her voice cutting through me like diamonds and Hazel goes red in the face and mutters an apology whereas I just slumped in my chair and hid behind a curtain of auburn hair "Now as I was saying, we will have be having someone from the military come into college  tomorrow, to tell you all what it is like to be in a war and in different places around the world where people are maybe not as lucky as you. I expect you all to be here for half past nine sharp but after the talk you are free to go home" 

As she had finished talking the clock on the wall ticked onto four o'clock and many people got up and started brushing their things into their bags or carrying them in their arms as they begin to chat noisily over what they were doing that evening and I turn to my best friend and roomate here and ask as we walk out of the classroom after waving to the professor "So what do you think about this military talk?"

"I think it'll be interesting" Hazel replies

"That it?" I ask her to which she nods "Well I think'll it be boring"

"Don't knock it until you try it" Hazel chirps 

I laugh and  sling my arm around the dark skinned girl's shoulder as we walk side by side back to the dorms as I think back to the first time I met the girl and it was in first year and when I met the girl she was shy and quiet and generally stuck to herself basically completely the opposite of me however since meeting the girl, I've got her to come out her shell and she mellowed me down a little, I'm still wild and crazy but not as much as I was. This girl has helped me out in some tight spots -- especially when my brother died in a surfing accident eighteen months ago -- and I was forever grateful  for that and so I stayed friends with her

* * * * *

Holding a mug of hot chocolate I hiss as the scalding liquid burns my tongue and Hazel hits me on the back to help me breathe more easily and then she laughs "I told you, it was going to be hot but once again you didn't listen to me El" 

"Oh shut up" I snapped at her "You know that I hate mornings"

"You haven't told me a thousand times before" Hazel shakes her head her curls bouncing  around and  slapping her on the cheek causing her to sigh as she tucks her tight screws behind her ear as we sit down on one of the chairs in the front row and Hazel leans back as she leans over to me and whispers "Why don't you tell Mrs Dickson to change the time of the lectures to noon?"

"Think she'd go for it?" I scoff

"Probably not" Hazel chuckled before a cough draws our attention away from the conversation towards the stage where the Principal was standing in a suit and tie looking pristine as his greying hair was combed back and his shoes looked like they had been shined as he strolls across the stage, hands clasped behind his back as he started his speech

"The US military spends four billion a year dealing with foreign and domestic threats and that money is used to keep us safe and secure in our homes while men and women out their fighting in wars to keep in that way and many of you probably doesn't know what it is like to fight for your life to always look over your shoulder but the twenty four year old man that is going to talk to you Petty Officer Zhang"

Hazel covers her mouth  and tears stream down her face like a river as a stocky guy of Chinese descendant strolls out  across the stage, his hair in a military style buzz cut and his narrowed eyes scanning the crowd as if he was  looking for someone before they land on Hazel and I and because we were in the front I could see the slight smile in his face but his face remains expressionless as he opens his arms and for a moment or two I was really confused until Hazel suddenly squeals and rushes upon the stage holding  onto Petty Officer Zhang as if her life depended on it 

  "Frank!" She squeals "I didn't think you were coming back for another few days"

A low chuckle emits from Frank's chest "The guys and I got earlier thanksgiving leave and we thought we would surprise you, Percy is in New York with Annabeth and Jason's gone back to New Rome to surprise Piper"

"Best holding ever!" Hazel says and I don't think I've ever seen my Hazelnut so excited, she's practically  bouncing up and down as if she was on a sugar rush and i blink a few times as I  witnessed  Hazel bringing the Petty Officer into a long kiss, she never told me she had a boyfriend? What else hasn't t she told me and what happened to the young and innocent Hazel that I thought I knew?

But all my thoughts are pushed aside when I realise how happy my best friend looks, I don't think I've ever seen her this happy and it's nice to know there was someone looking out for her and someone who can break through to her lovable yet sarcastic centre like i had been trying to do for the last few years but didn't quite know how to go about it or how to start. I know that Hazel had been through a lot, it was obvious by the cracks in her eyes and scars littering her dark skin that were hardly noticeable but she didn't want to talk about it no matter how hard or how much I pushed

So it was good to know someone was there for her