Chapter Text
Percy wakes up the morning of his field trip with a massive headache. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, hoping the action will help soothe the pain, and squints his eyes open.
The first thing he notices is that his dorm light is on and that Grover is already out of the room. He vaguely remembers his roommate saying something about talking to Mr. Brunner about field trip accommodations and doesn’t give it much more thought.
Percy sees some floating colors to his right and rubs his eyes again, figuring it’s an afterimage of a dream. He opens his eyes back up to see the same colors, this time far more clear and recognizable as words. Translucent text appears and disappears within the range of a square, as if an online chatroom has been posted across a corner of his vision.
2ManySkrunklies: Oh my god, he’s so tiny!!!!
burntApplesauce: wait is this his Yancy dorm?
jilltheseal: BABY PERCY
Stephen_koi36: are we about to live-react to TLT?
bagofKris: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Hallucinations. Just what he needs, as if his ADHD and dyslexia aren’t already enough of a struggle.
[And why am I hallucinating an AOL chatroom of all things?]
New comments scroll by quickly. Surprisingly, despite his dyslexia, he finds himself able to read them.
definitelyALawyer: AOL???
jilltheseal: holy shit, i almost forgot it’s 2005
TheWhimsy7225: nah this is definitely Twitch
possessedHondaCivic: he can see us??????
InTheStars: Nope, not a hallucination
Lilly_the_menace: @InTheStars Well it’s not like he would *know* that
HistoryFan: I think i read a fic like this once
the_animal_kingdom: guys, Percy is freaking out
Percy squeezes his eyes shut and rubs at his temples. “What the actual hell is going on?” he whispers out loud.
He opens his eyes again to various comments about the “wrong religion”. Whatever that means. This is a new level of weird, even for him. Luckily, the chat-hallucination starts calming down, and he finds himself able to focus enough to go and get ready for the day. And the field trip.
If Percy wasn’t such a cynic, he would hope that whatever’s happening now would fill his bad luck quota for the day. He’s sure that it won’t.
The door to his dorm slams open around 20 minutes after his initial freak out, and Percy nearly jumps out of his skin.
“Oh, you’re up!” Grover says, maneuvering himself and his crutches through the doorway. “Good, we board the bus in 15.”
“Jesus, dude, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” Percy says, clutching his chest only half-dramatically, making Grover laugh as he makes his way over to his desk. They each both pack their backpacks and school-provided lunches, and Percy can’t help but yet again be distracted by the moving chat.
Thedrabbler: Grover!!
inspiteof: yo that’s my GOAT
th3cheeset0uch: GOATed GOATed GOATed
Return2Monke: I don’t think that acronym exists yet..?
pikaaaaaaaaa: the absolute GOAT
inspiteof: @Return2Monke sorry, lemme try again. *ahem* Whoa! He’s totally radical!
Return2Monke: @inspiteof this isn’t the 90s either!!
What does the 90s have to do with anything? What does GOAT mean? Why are they calling Grover it? Is it a good thing?
“Perce…? Hey, Earth to Percy. You good?” Grover asks, suddenly a few feet in front of him. “You zoned out there for a few.”
Percy scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, sorry man, just tired,” he replies.
Grover nudges him. “We should probably get going.”
Percy gives him a strained smile, “Yeah, wouldn’t want Mrs. Dodds on my ass before the trip even begins.”
Grover winces in response. Percy suppresses a wince when the chat picks up speed again. His hallucination seems very opinionated about Mrs. Dodds. Which, if it’s something Percy is unconsciously creating from his own thoughts, would make sense. Huh.
The two of them make their way outside to the loop outside the school building, and Percy incrementally relaxes as he sees Mr. Brunner taking attendance. If the chat picked up speed for Mrs. Dodds, it absolutely soars when Percy catches sight of his favorite teacher.
shiny_corvid_dragon: BOOOOO
Idkwhatshappened: Oh, here we go.
Lilly_the_menace: BAD HORSE
jilltheseal: would tipping his chair be considered a hate crime? no, right?
ohshitwaddup: and so it begins…
possessedHondaCivic: honse
HistoryFan: Technically nothing’s happened yet.
forever_19374802: wait i like him :(
definitelyALawyer: He sucks fr
the_animal_kingdom: duck doesn’t like him
Stephen_koi36: damn why the hate??
jilltheseal: @forever_19374802 ding dong ur opinion is wrong
TheWhimsy7225: gl bro
Percy is utterly baffled. If this is his subconscious, wouldn’t all the comments be positive? What’s their problem with Mr. Brunner? And what the fuck is a “honse”?
“Ah, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Underwood, glad to see you’ve made it,” Mr. Brunner says as they approach, and checks his clipboard. “That should be everyone. Tally ho!”
bagofKris: he’s so old 😭
randomlurker: british ass mf
MallowMarsh: unc 🥀
As if the day couldn’t get any worse, they’re seated on the bus diagonally in front of Nancy Bobofit, the most infuriating middle schooler on the planet, a girl who’s made it her personal mission to torment Grover at every turn. She’s a nuisance even as they get further into the city, pelting Grover with chunks of peanut-butter-and-ketchup sandwich and looking up innocently whenever Mrs. Dodds happens to glance back. And then smirking at Percy, as if begging him to do something about it.
“I’m going to kill her,” he mumbles.
Grover tries to calm him down. “It’s okay, I like peanut butter,” he placates, and immediately has to duck his head to dodge another piece of Nancy’s lunch.
“That’s it,” Percy says, starting to get up. Grover pulls Percy back into the seat.
“You’re already on probation,” Grover reminds him. “You know who’ll get blamed if anything happens.”
Percy knows that objectively, but it still doesn’t diminish his urge to deck her. He glances at the chat.
IntellectualBirb: Beat her up! Beat her up!
pikaaaaaaaaa: kick her ass! you can take her😤
pbJammin: is it wrong to want to punch a 12 y/o
voice_of_r3a50n: Guys maybe we *shouldn’t* be encouraging him to get in trouble with Mrs. Dodds, considering?
shiny_corvid_dragon: @voice_of_r3a50n i mean it’s gonna happen anyway lmao
Lilly_the_menace: Her freckles *do* look like liquid Cheetos
InTheStars: I can’t say I’m not curious what changes if he does it now
Percy lets out a noise somewhere between a groan and a growl and bangs his head into the seat in front of him. Grover pats his back as if trying to comfort him, but the sentiment falls flat.
After far too long, they arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mr. Brunner leading their group through the Roman and Greek exhibits. Percy thinks it’s crazy how all the pottery and statues survived for so long.
Mr. Brunner gathers the group around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and starts telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about Percy’s age. Except everyone around Percy won’t shut up, and he can’t actually hear. Mr. Brunner is motioning to the carvings on the sides, and Percy is rapidly becoming overstimulated by all the chatter. And the chat off to the side isn’t helping in the slightest.
The straw that breaks the camel’s back is Nancy snickering about the naked guy on the stele.
“Will you shut up?” he snaps, far louder than he means to. The whole group laughs, and Mr. Brunner pauses in his story.
“Mr. Jackson, did you have a comment?” he asks.
[No, but I’m sure the peanut gallery over here does.]
jilltheseal: oooooo wait, can we be called the peanut gallery?
Thedrabbler: Hm……
definitelyALawyer: IMO chat is better
obi_deathstar: i agree, chat flows better
jilltheseal: fineeeeeee
Percy nearly forgets to respond out loud.
“No, sir,” he replies, more exhausted than embarrassed.
Mr. Brunner pauses, then points to one of the pictures on the stele. “Perhaps you’ll tell us what this picture represents?”
Percy nearly sags in relief when he actually recognizes the image. He’s not sure how much more he can handle today.
“That’s Kronos eating his kids, right?”
The chat explodes. Percy ignores it the best he can, though it seems most of the comments are talking about foreshadowing.
“Yes,” Mr. Brunner says, clearly not satisfied. “And he did this because…?”
“Well,” Percy tries his best to remember, but he feels as though he’s hanging on by a thread. “Kronos was the king god— no, titan. King titan. And he didn’t trust his kids who were the gods…” He recounts the myth about Kronos eating his own children and barfing them back up, to varying reactions of people in the group.
Nancy in particular mumbles something along the lines of job applications.
“And why, Mr. Jackson,” Brunner says, “to paraphrase Miss Bobofit’s excellent question, does this matter in real life?”
Oh. That’s what her comment was. He distantly hears Grover and Nancy bickering behind him. Percy hardly has the mental energy to think of what Brunner expects him to say.
“I don’t know, sir,” he settles on.
"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine…” Percy zones out most of the explanation and zones back in when lunch is mentioned.
“Mr. Jackson,” Mr. Brunner says, wheeling his chair next to Percy. Percy waves Grover off to follow the rest of the students going back outside and turns toward his teacher.
“Sir?”
Mr. Brunner has an unreadable look in his eyes. “Are you alright? You seemed quite distracted today.”
“More than the usual?” he tries to joke, but it comes out weaker than he intends it to. Brunner shoots him a look as though he’s better than that, and Percy’s shoulders droop. “It kind of feels like someone’s watching me,” he admits, “but yeah. I’m okay.” Or, at least, he hopes he will be.
The man looks at him inscrutably for a few long moments. “Yes. Well, I do hope you’re remembering to get proper rest,” he responds.
“The weather’s been keeping me up a bit,” Percy admits, and it’s not even a lie. A half-truth, sure, but the erratic weather since the beginning of the year has gotten on his nerves a surprising amount.
“Right,” Mr. Brunner seems to take the statement at face-value. “Regardless, as far as what happened today, you must learn the answer to my question.”
“About the Titans?” Percy asks hesitantly. Shit, was he that obviously out of it that Brunner knew he wasn’t paying attention?
“About real life. And how your studies apply to it.”
Oh. Percy can’t find it in himself to be too relieved though, as Mr. Brunner gives him an intense stare.
“What you learn from me,” he says, “is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will only accept the best from you, Percy Jackson.”
Percy mumbles something about trying harder and clenches his jaw, trying not to cry in frustration. Mr. Brunner always pushed him hard in class, as if he was any other student, but today he really wishes the man wouldn’t.
celemytho: and thus starts the cryptic bullshit
BeThereInTime: @celemytho For real…
obi_deathstar: he never had a chance, did he?
NLove288: I thought what he said was kind of nice?
Brunner has already turned away, looking sadly at the stele, and Percy takes the opportunity to flee outside for lunch.
Percy notices most of their group sitting on the front steps of the museum while exiting the building. Grover gives him a wave from the edge of the fountain, and he gives a small smile in turn, heading in that direction. He shivers as the temperature begins to drop, likely from the huge storm brewing overhead, though Percy seems like he’s the only one who’s noticed it.
“Detention?” Grover asks as Percy gets within hearing range.
“Nah,” he replies. “Not from Brunner.” He plops down next to Grover. “He was just checking in.”
“Oh, good,” he says. “You are looking a bit rough.”
“Gee, thanks,” Percy snarks, elbowing him, and Grover lets out a laugh.
“You know what I mean,” he raises his hands up defensively. Percy sighs. He unfortunately does. Percy pops open his bag of chips, causing a few heads to turn his direction before they inevitably lose interest again and look away.
After a minute of silence, Grover asks for his apple. Percy gives him his carrots too.
Percy watches the stream of cabs heading down Fifth Avenue while he picks at his chips and feels severely homesick. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he really just wants a hug from his mom right now. She always makes it feel like everything’s going to be okay.
Percy eyes the road consideringly. How easy would it be to sneak off anyhow?
Percy does a cursory glance over the people in the area. Mr. Brunner is absorbed in a book and munching on celery. Nancy is laughing obnoxiously with her friends. The people on the stairs closest to him are deep in conversation. And—
Mrs. Dodds is staring right at him with a glare, as if he’s killed her puppy or something.
Yep. Not happening. It was a nice thought though. Percy goes back to his lunch, picking at his sandwich this time. He and Grover chat a little bit as they eat, Percy’s heart clearly not in it and Grover clearly too nice to say anything, when Percy hears footsteps approaching. He looks up in time to see Nancy dump her half-eaten lunch in Grover’s lap.
“Oops,” she grins, looking Percy dead in the eyes.
His mind blanks out with rage, being finally pushed past his limit. He doesn’t remember touching her, but when he comes to, Nancy is in the fountain, screaming about Percy pushing her. Everyone within a few-foot radius of the fountain looks like they’ve been splashed at a minimum.
Mrs. Dodds materializes next to them. He hears some kids whispering nearby but honestly can’t be bothered to strain his ears to hear them. Mrs. Dodds of course comforts Nancy first, promising to get her a change of clothes, before she turns to Percy, a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if he’s done something she’s been waiting for all semester.
“Now, honey, would you care to explain what’s going on?” she says, all sickly-sweet.
Percy just stays silent, thoroughly done. Maybe he would have grumbled or argued another day; right now, he just wants to get this over with. She grabs his arm and starts dragging him toward the museum entrance when Grover pipes up.
“Wait!” he yelps. “It was me. I pushed her.”
Mrs. Dodds narrows her eyes, “I don’t think so, Mr. Underwood.”
“But—”
“You. Will. Stay. Here.” she grits out.
Grover looks at Percy desperately. Percy’s hair stands on end.
“It’s okay, man,” he says anyway. “Thanks for trying.”
Mrs. Dodds lets go of his arm. “Follow me.”
Percy does, though he can’t seem to keep pace. By the time he catches up, she’s already moving into the Greek and Roman section.
The empty Greek and Roman section.
Lilly_the_menace: RUN, FORREST, RUN!
thepapaya: holy shit get OUT of there
MissKitKat: SHE’S A [REDACTED]
Idkwhatshappened: She’s [REDACTED] you need to leave!
IntellectualBirb: Wait, can we not say [REDACTED]?
MissKitKat: @IntellectualBirb oh FUCK
definitelyALawyer: Percy, if you’re reading this, she’s not as she seems. You need to go, NOW.
voice_of_r3a50n: [REDACTED]
shiny_corvid_dragon: [REDACTED]
2ManySkrunklies: I can’t watch…
pbJammin: [REDACTED]
Percy feels his heart sink into his stomach as he reads the messages. Across the room, though he closes the distance as he steps more and more toward her, he sees her standing with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods, and she’s honest-to-god growling at it. He gets close enough to see her expression, and it looks like she wants to pulverize it. Pulverize… him?
What does the chat know that he doesn’t?
“You’ve been giving us problems, honey,” Mrs. Dodds says, turning away from the art and giving him her full attention.
Percy stutters, thoroughly freaked at this point. “I d-dont know what—”
“Did you really think you would get away with it?” she interrupts him.
He freezes. Get away with what? What did she think he did?
“Ma’am, I promise, I have no idea what’s going on,” he pleads, trying his best to be respectful despite his every instinct telling him to move.
“We are not fools, Percy Jackson,” she hisses. “It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain.”
He looks at her, absolutely bewildered, his heart pounding, confused terror etched onto his face.
Mrs. Dodds blinks and takes a step back.
“You… did not do it,” she says, more of a statement than a question.
Percy barks out a sardonic laugh. “Do what?! I don’t even know what’s going on!” he yells and tugs at his hair.
Mrs. Dodds takes another step back and tilts her head at him, as if she’s truly looking at him for the first time.
“Apologies, child,” she says after a moment, surprising Percy enough for him to let his hair go. He stares at her, shocked. “Now that I know it is not here, that you do not have it, I must be off. Do watch yourself now.” Percy’s jaw drops as she turns into some sort of leathery bat creature and dissipates into the air.
Percy is frozen in place.
jilltheseal: …holy canon-divergence, batman!
obi_deathstar: what just happened?
Thedrabbler: She just LEFT?
AtomicGeoshark: conflict avoided?????
Idkwhatshappened: What are the ramifications of that?
Lilly_the_menace: HOLY SHIT
“Was…” his voice is a scratchy whisper. “Was she supposed to attack me?”
the_animal_kingdom: yeah. that bat creature is her actual form.
HistoryFan: She’s a Furry
HistoryFan: *Fury
BeThereInTime: ^^^ Yeah, like, from Greek Mythology
bagofKris: *furry* LMAO
possessedHondaCivic: furry🤣
pikaaaaaaaaaa: hehe
Finlay_Jackson-22: BTW [REDACTED] is about to try and gaslight you into thinking this didn’t happen.
Finlay_Jackson-22: Shit, sorry. Brunner***
InTheStars: Or at least he should? If [REDACTED] is still accurate
InTheStars: O
Percy shakes his head, and starts slowly moving back toward the museum entrance.
[Okay, I’m directing this thought at you guys. If you’re even real and I’m not actually losing it. Though if I am, I guess I have nothing to lose. I couldn’t have known she was a… Fury? Whatever you said? But you all did. I wouldn’t have even thought of that, so I sincerely doubt that’s my imagination either.]
Several messages of confirmation scroll by. Percy takes a deep breath.
[So, how do you all know this anyway?]
At least 20 redacted messages flood into the chatroom. The redacted messages are then followed by apologies and shrug emoticons that use Japanese text for the face. One person types “Wouldn’t you like to know, Weather Boy?”
He doesn’t know what he was expecting with that question, honestly.
Percy finally reaches the museum entrance again, his nerves thrumming with anxiety. Mr. Brunner is one of two adults that have ever actually cared about him. And the other one is Percy’s mom.
Please let them be wrong.
The chat races by. Percy ignores it. He steps outside to see it’s started raining. Grover is still sitting by the fountain, this time with a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit is still standing nearby, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. She spots Percy.
“I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt!” she yells.
No.
“Who?” he says, hoping he’s somehow misheard.
“Mrs. Kerr. Our teacher. Duh!”
Percy glances over at Grover, who’s actively trying to keep the guilty expression off his face and failing badly.
Percy heel-turns and walks toward Mr. Brunner, needing confirmation.
“Sir?” Percy asks politely. “I seem to have lost Mrs. Dodds, do you know where she’s gone?”
Brunner stares at him blankly. “Who?”
“The other chaperone, sir. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher.”
The man frowns and sits forward, looking mildly concerned. “Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?”
[What do I do?]