AVERY
.CHAPTER ONE.
howdy do fellow demigods, oh ew-
ONE THING WAS FOR SURE, avery quinn hated percy jackson with a burning passion. his stupid humour, his stupid mucked up hair, everything about him just gave her the ick. ever since they first met they've just clashed and immediately started arguing. first, it was percy immediately stereotyping her, thinking she was some shallow, bitchy aphrodite kid (which she kind of was sometimes). second of all, he got offended when she said that he looked like a dolphin (which was true!). and last, he didn't give her an oreo. like, how rude is that?
avery hummed along to taylor swift playing in the background as she picked out an outfit for a school dance. it wasn't technically her school dance, she was going on an extraction to a military school in maine. her friend grover had sent out a distress call saying that he needed help with taking a demigod to camp.
she could faintly hear her step-sister elodie next door chatting to her step-mom, mia. she smiled. elodie was one of her best friends in a way, even if they were sisters. avery had a feeling she was a demigod though, just a funny feeling. she told her dad, oscar, about it, so they decided not to tell elodie or mia about avery being a demigod to avoid elodie getting attacked.
avery changed into ripped jeans and a cropped strawberry top. she knew it was cold outside, but fashion always comes before warmth!
"avery, the driver's waiting outside for you, " oscar quinn, avery's dad called from the door.
"ok! coming dad!"
avery grabbed her crossbody bag and tied her blonde hair in a high ponytail, her bangs immediately flopping back onto her forehead. she then put on her strawberry necklace that turned into her dagger, opal, and her strawberry charm bracelet (she has a thing for strawberries).
she left her room, shutting the door behind her and going down the stairs into the living room, passing the couch and to the shoe rack where she grabbed her air forces and put them on, tying the pink laces she had threaded in. she then went to the cupboard, where she got out her black nike coat, a white hat, and her strawberry scarf, aswell as her white gloves. she put them all on as her dad came down the stairs. arlie just had to grab her shoes and put them on.
"have a good time birdie, see you soon?" oscar said as he went over to hug her and kiss the top of her head. "be careful! i don't want you dying on me. i'll tell mia and elodie you said bye" avery smiled at her dad, hugging him back.
"tell them that we can go shopping when i get back!" she gave her dad one last hug.
"bye papa, see ya soon!" avery waved as she opened the door, walking out into the corridor. avery went into the lift, pressing the button for the ground floor. she reached the bottom, going out of the entrance hall through the glass doors. on the pavement sat the limo. she waved at the driver and she hopped in the back seat, fastening her seatbelt and folding her hands in her lap.
it was a different driver than maria, her usual driver, but she was on holiday in the philippines to go and see her family, so she wasn't driving her. avery was hoping to go on holiday to greece with arlie and james later in the year, but her dad was worried about her going by herself, saying that he wanted to have someone go with the trio. he couldn't do it because he had work during spring break, so avery was hoping mia was coming. she would be the best chaperone!
avery stared out of the window, watching the snowy world go by. she loved snow, winter was her favourite time of year. mostly because it was christmas, but also because of the snow.
she curled up in the seat, leaning her head against the window and fell asleep, hoping to wake up when she gets there.
***
AVERY'S LIMO PULLED UP OUTSIDE the school hours later. she hopped out of the car, thanking the driver before skipping off. she saw another car pull up, assuming it was annabeth and thalia, but it wasn't the usual white van that argus drove. there was a woman in the front, with kind eyes and greying brown hair. then she saw the passenger seat.
you're joking.
it was percy jackson.
avery internally groaned as they all got out of the car, percy's mom (she assumed) talking to him. avery strolled up to the girls.
"hi guys! chiron assigned me to the extraction last minute" she smiled. annabeth and thalia smiled back.
"cool! glad you're here avery!" annabeth said. they hugged and percy had gotten over by then.
"why is she here?" he asked, folding his arms. avery rolled her eyes.
"i'm helping with the extraction, dolphin boy, what are you doing here?"
"same as you, princess, and don't call me dolphin boy!"
"don't call me princess then!"
"no."
"you're so annoying!" avery complained. she curled a piece of hair behind her ear, smiling mischievously. she put on her charmspeak voice.
"you will go home," she said, but before percy could do as he was told, thalia snapped her fingers in his face.
"percy, avery, if you guys don't stop bickering, i will murder you both!" she said. avery rolled her eyes, but agreed. she was way too pretty to die yet.
"we'd better get inside," annabeth interrupted. "grover will be waiting."
thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "you're right. i wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."
avery was stared up at the dark towers of westover hall. it looked like hogwarts, but less inviting.
"nothing good," percy guessed.
"no shit sherlock" avery replied, folding her arms.
the oak doors groaned open, and the four of them stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.
"whoa." percy said, his mouth wide open. avery brought her hand to his jaw and shut his mouth.
"your gonna catch flies, jackson," she said, looking around.
the place was huge. the walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. literally.
there was bad vibes to the place. avery laid her hand on her necklace. there was a fight coming, you didn't have to be an oracle to tell.
annabeth started to say, "i wonder where—" the doors slammed shut behind them.
"oo-kay," percy mumbled. "guess we'll stay awhile."
avery could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. it sounded like dance music.
they stashed their overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. they hadn't gone very far when avery heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them.
they both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. the woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to avery. they both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.
"well?" the woman demanded. "what are you doing here?"
"um..." avery realised that none of them had planned anything for if they were caught in the school, especially as they weren't students. they were goong to think they were going to kidnap someone, and avery had a bad enough police record as it was. percy stupidly said, "ma'am, we're just—"
"ha!" the man snapped, which made avery jump. "visitors are not allowed at the dance! you shall be eee-jected!"
he had an accent—french. he pronounced his j like in jacques, he was tall, with a hawkish face. his nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.
avery sighed and stepped forward, smiling sweetly.
"oh, but we're not visitors, sir," she said. "we go to school here. you remember: i'm avery quinn. and this is annabeth chase, thalia grace and percy jackson. we're in the eighth grade."
the male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. he looked at his colleague. "ms. gottschalk, do you know these students?"
the woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "i... yes. i believe i do, sir." she frowned at them. "avery. annabeth. thalia. percy. what are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
"we are very sorry ma'am me, thalia and annabeth were going—"
suddenly, grover ran up, breathless. "you made it! you—"
he stopped short when he saw the teachers. "oh, mrs. gottschalk. dr. thorn! i, uh—"
"what is it, mr. underwood?" said the man. his tone made it clear that he detested grover. "what do you mean, they made it? these students live here."
grover swallowed. "yes, sir. of course, dr. thorn. i just meant, i'm so glad they made... the punch for the dance! the punch is great. and they made it!"
dr. thorn glared at them. avery decided one of his eyes had to be fake. the brown one? the blue one? he looked like he wanted to pitch them off the castle's highest tower, but then mrs. gottschalk said dreamily, "yes, the punch is excellent. now run along, all of you. you are not to leave the gymnasium again!"
they didn't wait to be told twice. they left with a lot of "yes, ma'ams" and "yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.
grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music.
she could feel the teachers' eyes on her back, and percy walked close to her.
"how'd you do that?" he asked in a whisper. avery rolled her eyes.
"charmspeak, dumbass. you know, what i did to you earlier? and how i managed to get you to dump water on demeter cabin last summer," avery rolled her eyes.
"that was you? i got dish duty for a week for that!"
"payback for when you pushed me into the lake."
"oh, you-"
"guys, stop arguing, you're giving me a headache," annabeth sighed beside them.
grover hurried us to a door that had gym written on the glass.
"that was close!" grover said. "thank the gods you got here!"
the three girls hugged grover. avery knew him from being friends with juniper, who had a serious crush on him. he also liked her, and avery just needed to get them to talk to each other.
it was good to see him after so many months. he'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked human— a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. he was wearing a black t-shirt that took avery a few seconds to read. it said westover hall: grunt. avery wasn't sure whether that was grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.
"so what's the emergency?" percy asked.
grover took a deep breath. "i found two."
"two half-bloods?" thalia asked, amazed. "here?" grover nodded.
finding one half-blood was rare enough. this year, chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. these were desperate times. they were losing campers. they needed all the new fighters they could find. the problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.
"a brother and a sister," he said. "they're ten and twelve. i don't know their parentage, but they're strong. we're running out of time, though. i need help."
"monsters?"
one." grover looked nervous. "he suspects. i don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. i'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. it may be our last chance! every time i try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. i don't know what to do!"
grover looked at thalia desperately.
"right," she said. "these half-bloods are at the dance?"
grover nodded.
"then let's dance," thalia said. "who's the monster?"
"oh," grover said, and looked around nervously. "you just met him. the vice principal, dr. thorn."
ALEXA'S NOTES:
i start school on the sixth and i'm scared 😀
i also changed avery's fc to sabrina carpenter cuz like- why not?