undoing [percy jackson]

i. welcome to westover hall

Andi yanked open the other wardrobe and grabbed the nearest blazer, squinting at the small font on the emblem. Did that...no. That wasn't possible. She turned to face her supposed best friend and asked, voice shaking, "Do we go to Westover Hall?"

"Duh!" the girl exclaimed. She frowned. "You're actually being serious right now. You really don't remember me or where we go to school? Did you like, hit your head or something?"

Andi forced a laugh. "Or something. Definitely 'or something.'"

"Maybe I should take you to the nurse." The girl stepped forward, raising a hand presumably to check Andi's temperature. Andi shot backward, accidentally ramming her back into the wardrobe behind her.

"I have the distinct feeling the nurse won't be able to help," Andi said. Her chest felt tight. Probably because she was having a panic attack. This couldn't really be happening, right? She couldn't possibly be at Westover Hall in Bar Harbor, Maine. First of all, she knew for a fact she'd fallen asleep in Manchester, New Jersey, in her bedroom she shared with Cass. Second of all, Westover Hall was a fictional military school invented for the Percy Jackson series.

Andi slid down to the floor, her back against the wardrobe. She pulled her knees close to her and attempted to ground herself. Five things she could see: the girl kneeling beside her, the beds, the doors, the rug, and the rafters. Four things she could feel: the drawer knob pressing into her back, the soft fabric of her pajamas on her bare skin, the hot tears racing down her face, the burning in her chest. Three things she could hear: her own sobs, the creaking of the floorboards, and birds chirping outside. Two things she could smell: fabric softener and her coconut-scented shampoo. One thing she could taste: the saltiness of the tears that had managed to slip into between her lips.

All of a sudden, Andi could breathe again. Her brain flooded with oxygen and the cogs began to turn once more. She looked over to her roommate, who looked legitimately concerned, her hand hovering by Andi's shoulder but too scared to close the distance. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Andi just focused on her breathing and the girl looked on, tears pooling in her eyes.

Finally, Andi asked, "Does a boy named Grover Underwood go here?"

The girl let out an indignant noise. "Oh, so you remember Grover, but not me?"

"Sorry," Andi muttered.

The girl's face softened. "No, no, don't worry about it. I was joking...mostly. My name is Leila Patil, I'm your roommate and your best friend here. And yeah, we have a friend named Grover. He's a little weird, but he's really sweet."

Andi managed a smile. "Yeah, that sounds about right." She offered her hand to Leila. "Pleasure to meet you...again, I guess."

"Pleasure to re-meet you too," Leila said, shaking Andi's hand while giggling. She dropped Andi's hand and fiddled with the end of one of her plaits. "So, uh, how about this? You stay here, I'll go on to class and tell the teachers you're sick, and then we can just skip the dance and I can catch you up on everything."

"No!" Andi exclaimed. Leila recoiled. Andi winced. "Sorry, it's just...I need to go to the dance. I can't explain it, I just need to."

Leila raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure? Because if you want to go to the dance, you have to go to class and well, I don't know about you, but if I were an amnesiac, I wouldn't exactly want to take a quiz on the Renaissance."

"We have a quiz?" Andi threw her head back and groaned. "Of course we have a quiz. Look, I know it doesn't make much sense, but I need to go to that dance so, yeah, I'm going to my classes."

"In that case, you better hurry up and get dressed," Leila said. "If we rush, we might be able to grab a bagel before classes start."

Andi nodded grimly and stood, turning to grab clothes from her wardrobe. She was in the middle of putting together the pieces of her school uniform when she stiffened and whirled around to face Leila, who had moved over to her bed. "Wait. Do they have everything bagels with—"