Second Chances

Day One of Hell

"Luke! Come on, we need to go!" I yelled as I finished my self-proclaimed war on sandwich-making. I glanced nervously at the clock. Thirty minutes. Gods, I was stressing. "LUKE!"

"Coming!" The small, familiar voice chimed as its owner emerged from their room, dressed in a pair of blue shorts and his favourite Batman shirt, innocently grinning from ear to ear, emphasising the toothpaste remains that had been left to migrate to the corner of his mouth. Well, at least he washed his teeth.

"Come on buddy," I said as I gathered a tissue from the island bench and cleaned his face. "Go, grab your bag, then we can go!" He smiled before racing off to carry out his mission. Meanwhile, I made quick work of the mess that had seized what was once the kitchen.

"Ready, Daddy!" I always stopped at that word. I just really didn't know how I was meant to feel about it. Sure, after raising the kid for four years, I've grown some kind of attachment to him, it's just whenever he calls me dadd- that, I can't help but imagine the life Annabeth and I might have had; the two of us and our own kids. "Daddy?"

"Yeah kiddo?" I turned around to find him armed with his Superman backpack and his Panda Pillow Pet. I smiled. Despite how many times I told him that he shouldn't mix Batman and Superman together, he always went to the trouble of forgetting, because he's a smart kid, and subconsciously I think he knows that it always brings me out of my dark thorughts.

I crouched down to his level. "Now, you know you can't take your Panda with you. We don't want anyone stealing it, do we?" Octavian. He pouts—a pout, Mom says puts mine to shame—but he puts the pillow on the sofa anyway. "Ready?" He nods enthusiastically and the shiny light immediately returns to his eyes. "Okay, let's go!" I put his lunch in his backpack, took his hand and lock the door behind us.

<•>

Being in a rush makes me really grateful that I got to keep Mom's apartment after she and Paul moved to a house more appropriate for their growing family, I'm just thankful Luke's new preschool is just two blocks away.

"Dad?" The voice climbed up from next to me.

"Yeah?"

"Did you go to preschool?" I looked down at him as we weaved in and out of the maddening crowd.

"Ah, yeah?" I wasn't really sure what I was suppose to say. I mean it wasn't like I was a grade A student or anything.

"Did you like it?"

"Well, it was quite a long time ago, Buddy, I don't really remember." He looked a bit disappointed and that made me feel a little bad.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"What if no one likes me?" I stopped short, the preschool just across the road but I couldn't bring myself to take another step. My heart sank. I had been worried about this. I didn't know whether Luke still smelt like a demigod, or whether he had dyslexia—Mom had suggested taking him to the doctors to get checked but it turns out that Luke and I both have a mutual hatred for those evil men in white coats. I looked down at him, him looking back expectantly. Gods, I just hope he doesn't end up like me.

I crouched down and readjusted his bag strap, trying to put on a calm, brave mask. "They're going to love you. Your going to make some great friends. Okay?"

"But-"

"But nothing. Your a good kid, Luke, you'll make friends, trust me." Slowly he nodded and gave the preschool yard a quizzical glance.

"Can we get ice-cream after school?" He asked at random.

"But it's not even sunny today!"

"Pleasssssse?!" He pouted again, and I craved in.

"Alright... But only if you make at least one friend today, promise?" His face split with a toothy grin and nodded. "Pinky-promise?" I held up my pinky.

"Pinky-promise." He agreed and linked his own finger with mine. I successfully then led him safely across the road and into the school yard. Five minutes to go, thank the Gods. There were still kids playing in the yard and even a few parents, all of them mothers—it made me feel a bit out of place but I brushed it off because I was here for one reason and one reason only; Luke.

"Okay, kiddo, I'll pick you up after school and you remember our promise, yeah?"

"Okay! Bye Dad! Love you!" He smiled brightly, giving my waist a quick hug before fleeing into the mayhem of hyper young kids.

"Love you too, Buddy." I mumbled to myself, content just watching Luke finally mingle with kids his own age.

"They almost make me feel sorry for their teacher." Someone suddenly stated behind me. I looked over my shoulder to meet the warm chocolate eyes of a young woman with silky brown hair and a pleasant smile. "I'm Sarah, Julia's mom." She put her hand out and I shook it.

"Percy. Luke's dad." I gave general nod over to where Luke was attempting to play with some of the boys.

"His Mom at work?" Sarah asked, but not in a nosy way—more like a casual curiosity.

"Nah. She's... Ah... She's dead." Same lie I've told everyone.

Sarah's eyes grew almost comedically before she started rattling off an apology. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, no. It's alright, she died a while ago—car crash." I gave her a reassuring smile before looking back at the kids that were now beginning to line up in front of their teacher. Luke was alone at the back of the line. He looked nervous but then caught my eyes and gave a little wave accompanied with an equally small smile. I waved back.

"It's day one of hell for them." Sarah mused from my side. I gave her a sideways glance.

"You didn't like school?"

"No way! You?"

"Nope." The kids started going inside and I silently prayed to the Gods that their teacher wasn't a monster.

"Hey, a couple of the other parents and I are going out for coffee, just down the road—your welcome to join us if you want?" Sarah offered.

I gave a tight smile. "Yeah, maybe another time? Work." She looked a bit disappointed but carried on.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, sure. Rain check?" She started backing away. "And... um... sorry about your wife, I didn't mean, well... you know... um, bye." She left and I let out a long sigh I didn't even know I was holding. There was a low rumble of thunder in the distance, but no hint of rain, and I glanced around the deserted yard and noticed that everyone else had pretty much gone. Day one of hell, indeed.