Thursday, 20th August 2009

When Percy woke up his head was pounding. He wished he could blame it on alcohol or staying up all night or something remotely less embarrassing than hitting his head on the corner of a booth after trying out roller skates for the first time. They hadn't been his idea, but Piper could be very convincing when she wanted to be. Besides, they were an official part of their work uniform at the diner. Percy, Leo and Piper had started working there when he was thirteen and yesterday was the first time he even went near the things. He preferred his transport to have four wheels and a board.

Percy eventually rolled out of bed, stepped over the accumulated coffee cups, plates, knives, forks and glasses on the floor, and picked up a clean looking shirt from the back of his desk chair to pull on. The t-shirt had a mysterious stain on the front but he chose to ignore that detail as he left his room in said shirt and pyjama bottoms.

'It's about time, sleepyhead.' The warm, smiling voice of his mother greeted Percy as he walked into their small kitchen.

'It's a Sunday,' he muttered.

'It's twelve o'clock, is what it is! I was about to send Piper in to get you.'

It was only then that Percy noticed the other person in the room. His best friend sat at the counter dividing the kitchen from the living room, looking bright and cheery as per usual.

She grinned at him over her pancakes. 'I wouldn't have done it for what it's worth. I've seen your bedroom and have no intention of returning there any time soon.'

'What are you doing here?' Was his response as he rubbed a hand through his hair, leaving it even more haphazard.

Piper feigned innocence. She was very good at feigning innocence, but Percy knew her too well to believe it. 'What? I can't come and see my best friend without being interrogated?'

'And my mom's cooking didn't have anything to do with that?'

'Speaking of,' his mother interrupted as Piper stuck her tongue out at him, 'sit down, yours are nearly ready.'

Percy did as he was told and took the stool next to Piper's, leaning over to pick at a bit of her pancakes with his fingers. She slapped his arm and grinned when he pulled a face after stuffing the food in his mouth.

'Ugh, I forgot you have maple syrup,' he muttered, picking his teeth out dramatically, 'weirdo.'

'And banana,' Piper informed him, eating a forkful and batting her eyelashes at him. 'I like to be healthy,' she said with her mouth full.

It was true; Piper was all for smoothies with ten different fruits in them and always insisted on organic food produce, but Percy had seen her chow down a few too many tofu burgers to ever believe that she was a lady. She had never acted like her family's wealth would suggest. Her father was an actor, an A-lister. Tristan McLean, to be exact. He loved her, but unfortunately wasn't around all that often to remind her of that. Since Piper's mom split when she was barely six months old, Piper was basically brought up by Sally and Esperanza - Leo, their other best friend's mother - who both used to work in the McLean household.

All of this meant that Piper, Percy and Leo essentially grew up together; and having two male best friends rubbed off on Piper McLean. She was still beautiful. Even having a brother-like status, Percy could see that; and the way the guys at the skate park and the customers at the diner looked at her told him he wasn't the only one to see it.

A plate of pancakes topped with butter appeared before him and he threw his mother a smile before scooping the first mouthful in.

'So what are we doing today?' Piper asked when she finished her breakfast, propping her feet up on Percy's stool.

Percy shrugged. 'I was planning on sleeping.'

'Percy,' she whined, 'we have two weeks left of summer.'

'Hence the sleeping,' Percy replied slowly with a mouth full of food.

'Oh, come on! I'm bored.' She nudged his leg with her feet until he slapped her off. 'This is the first Sunday I've had off for weeks. Play with me.'

His mother smirked at him over her cup of coffee as Piper rattled on about why exactly he should spend the day outside of his room and his pyjamas. The summer had gone by too quickly and too much had happened for it to be over yet, but Percy was in a bubble of unproductiveness which meant that he was unwilling to even leave the apartment.

But he caved eventually. Because it was Piper, and of course he did.

He was walking from the bathroom, towel-drying his hair when he saw his mother leaning against the wall next to his bedroom door. 'Hey,' he said warily, 'what's up?'

She shifted, standing upright. 'Percy, have you made a decision yet? I know this is all very overwhelming for you...'

Percy felt his jaw clench. 'I don't know, mom. Why does it have to be? We were fine before he showed up.'

'I know we were, sweetheart.' She walked to him and cupped his cheek. 'And if you want to say no then that is entirely your decision. But please don't ignore an amazing opportunity because any resentment you might have towards your father.'

He's not my father, he wanted to say. He wasn't here for sixteen years, so why should he have any say now?

But his mother was looking at him with those pleading eyes and he couldn't argue with her. 'I'll think about it,' he said.

She released him. 'If it helps, the deadline is tomorrow.'

Right.

Wonderful.

Percy rummaged around his room for ten minutes, drying himself off and searching for some clean-ish clothes to wear. Piper was waiting on the same breakfast stool, chatting his mother's ear off about something whilst absent-mindedly spinning one of the wheels of the skateboard in her lap. She grinned at Percy when he walked in, still zipping up his hoodie.

'Here's the belle of the ball,' she sing-songed, hopping down from her stool. 'Later, Miss J.'

'Bye, Piper,' she replied, looking up from her laptop screen at Percy. 'Be back for dinner.'

'Yup.'

He picked up his skateboard and keys on the way out and slammed the door behind them, as usual.

The building he and his mom lived in was a huge white house that used to be home to a wealthy family. But today was owned by an old woman who went by the name Mrs Maybles. Percy didn't know if she had actually ever been married, but she still pinched his cheeks and gave him a nickel to "Buy some sweets, don't tell your mommy." The building had been converted into three separate apartments above hers on the ground floor. Percy and his mom lived in the top one.

The town of East Summers was, in a word, quaint. It had community watch for monitoring the non-existent crime rate, town meetings, twelve shops selling porcelain dolls and old stamps, a historical society, a town centre with a white gazebo which was the venue of most town events; it had one school, four churches, two diners and not one McDonalds in sight. Percy both loved and hated it.

Piper's house was a little out of town, huge and imposing with a gravel driveway and a security gate - again, to deter the thriving criminal community - marble staircases, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms and five ponds within its gargantuan gardens. Piper absolutely hated it.

They both rolled down the street on their boards, past old people and young people and couples and families on their Sunday days out. Some had returned from church and were still in their Sunday finest; some called to the teenagers by name, asking how Percy's mother was and if Piper's father would be coming home any time soon - the novelty of having a movie star living in such a small town would never wear off - and they answered briefly, not stopping on their way to the diner.

The Shack was one of the two diners in town, and the very one that Percy, Piper and Leo had been working at for two years. It was a throwback fifties style place, with red fake-leather booths; chessboard floors; records framed on the walls; a jukebox in one corner that was usually playing Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly and mint green uniforms for anyone unfortunate enough to work there.

'Leo should start his lunch break in a few minutes,' Piper informed him as they rolled up to the diner and pressed their noses to the glass. Sure enough, a mere twelve seconds later, their friend Leo Valdez appeared from the kitchen with a burrito in his mouth. Leo was short and looked like a madman to those who didn't know him - though he still looked like a madman to Percy and he had known him for ten years.

'Hey chicas!' he yelled as he bounded out the door. 'You came to take me on a date for my lunch break. You gals are so thoughtful.'

Percy rolled his eyes as he stepped onto his board and pushed off again. 'You're riding on Piper's board.'

'Buddy!' Leo called after him. 'Don't be so sensitive, sweetheart. We can make this work! Don't throw away three years of marriage on something so frivolous- OW!'

Percy didn't have to look back to know that Piper just smacked their friend upside the head. He laughed to himself and slowed his pace as they caught up. The three of them had mastered sharing a board over the years, but seeing Leo and Piper balancing on Piper's bright purple skateboard still made Percy laugh.

'Does that mean you forgive me, darling?' Leo inquired, taking another bite of his burrito and keeping one arm around Piper's waist as she pushed them along.

Their usual skate park was only a street down from the diner, behind the large town hall building, ducked out of sight. Taylor Mitchem, their incorrigible self-appointed town leader, had been trying to get rid of the park for years, or at least clean off the graffiti covering most of the ramps. Piper had used her father's influence and her own charm to protest otherwise, and she had been successful. To Percy's and Leo's eternal gratitude. The skate park was their second home, it wasn't Taylor's to ruin.

The skate park wasn't all that big and had barely any ramps. It was dug into the earth, with concrete bowls cut into one end and steps on the other, all with worn metal railings that Percy had gained far too much experience falling off over the years. Beyond the concrete was a stretch of green before the border of the forest on the West of the town. There were a few kids rolling around and a few more lying on the nearby grass, stretched out like puppies under the sun.

Percy handed his board over to Leo before he could start pulling faces and whining at him, and walked to sit on one of the unused concrete benches on the town side of the park. Away from the kids in the sun; they were far too happy for him to be near right now.

He watched his friends skate around, yelling to each other and barking out wild laughs to the blue sky. After a few minutes, he drifted away from it all and lay down on the cool concrete, closing his eyes to the bright sunshine. He would usually be joining in with his best friends, yelling at them and daring Leo to pull a trick they all knew he couldn't pull off. But Percy had been withdrawn all summer.

You see, after they broke up from East Summers High School in June, Percy from his Sophomore year and Piper and Leo from their Freshmen year, something very big happened to Percy. Up until then, the biggest drama in his life had been when he broke his arm when he was thirteen and he could see the bone poking out through his skin. This had been a different kind of drama, one that would affect him more than a cast on his arm for six weeks.

This summer, Percy Jackson met his father for the first time in his life.

Before June, Percy didn't even know what the guy looked like. His mother had told him that he looked like him, his father. So Percy envisioned green eyes, black hair and permanently tanned skin on an older face. But he didn't have any more than that. His mom always seemed sad when he asked so after a while he just stopped asking. He didn't even know why the guy left, only that it happened before Percy was three months old and that apparently he wasn't a bad person, he just had a complicated life.

Percy didn't buy it. He resented the guy before he'd even met him for leaving his mom in such a state. Sally had done a pretty good job without him, raising a kid alone was hard enough, never mind one with ADHD and behavioural issues. But his father was by no means forgiven.

'Hey,' Piper's voice appeared above him, 'scootch your butt.'

Percy opened his eyes and frowned at her until she held her board above his stomach threateningly. He sat up, running a hand through his hair distractedly as Piper sat next to him. She was the pinnacle of summer; denim cut-off shorts; her usual pink, ink covered converses; a loose blue vest top and sunglasses, which she now pushed into her messily braided hair.

'So, what's up, misery guts?' she asked, leaning back on her hands and closing her eyes to the sun.

Percy copied her actions and let out a long sigh. 'My mom wants me to make a decision by tomorrow.'

Piper sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. 'What's her stance on it?'

'She's playing the neutral card.'

'Well, what do you want?'

He groaned and lay down on the bench, letting his head hang off the edge. 'I don't know,' he said, staring at the red brick wall of the town hall. 'I feel like he's just swooped in and fucked everything up. Like, why should he even get that privilege?'

'So don't go.'

'But my mom keeps going on about how it's a great opportunity...'

'So go.'

Percy lifted his head to frown at her. 'Are you being this unhelpful on purpose?'

She opened her eyes and stared down at him, raising her eyebrows delicately. 'What are you so afraid of, Percy? You think your dad will win if you go to this preppy school?'

'Maybe?'

'You know that's exceptionally idiotic of you, right?'

'Well, at least I'm consistent.'

Piper was silent for a moment and he watched her fidget and purse her lips until she eventually spoke. 'Do you want me to be completely honest with you?'

'Please.'

She sighed and swiveled around to sit cross-legged in front of him, Percy sat up and watched Leo as he attempted one of the ramps.

'I think you're afraid. And let me finish before you start whining at me,' she said, holding a hand up to him as he opened his mouth to object. He closed it again and clenched his jaw as she continued. 'You're afraid of change; you've had the same job and the same friends and the same home for years. And now that something - someone - has come along to change that, you've burritoed yourself into a comfy little denial bubble.' Percy gave her a funny look. 'Percy you've been dull to be around all summer and the only reason I haven't said anything up until now is that I know you have stuff to work through. But I've had enough, I want my best friend back.'

'I'm right here,' he murmured grumpily.

Piper poked his arm. 'Are you though?'

Percy looked at her, her pouting, concerned face, and nudged her leg. 'Sorry, I've been a shitty friend lately. But Pipes, if I go to this school, I really won't be here.'

'Oh, man, you haven't told him yet?' Leo called as he scrambled up the slope and sprawled out on the floor in front of them.

Piper huffed at him. 'I was trying to figure out what he wanted first, Leo. We talked about the plan, remember. And you just walked through the plan and ruined the plan, you're a plan ruiner.'

'Hold up,' Percy said, holding up a hand, 'you have a plan?'

'Yes, it had steps.'

Percy looked between his friends, feeling nervous all of a sudden. 'Okay, so what was the next step?'

'Dude,' Leo said, almost bouncing with excitement, 'we're going with you.'

A beat of silence passed as Percy attempted to understand.

'What?' he asked, looking at Piper who bit her lip, looking sheepish all of a sudden.

'I told my dad about the whole thing and you know he wanted me to go to Moncada instead of E.S. in the first place, so he jumped at the opportunity. Even offered to pay Leo's tuition as well.'

'Yeah,' Leo jumped in, 'she took a little convincing, but mom agreed to it. She's saying it's only a loan and she'll pay him back - you know how she is about taking money, but I convinced her.' Piper cleared her throat pointedly and Leo shifted. 'Okay, Piper convinced her.'

'I still don't understand,' Percy said.

Piper rolled her eyes. 'We're saying that if you go to Moncada, we'll come with you.'

Percy stared at them, Leo's grinning face and Piper's hopeful one. His best friends, who would leave behind their school, their friends, everything, for him. And all of a sudden he could see it; the block in his mind disappeared and he saw himself at this new school surrounded by new people with Piper and Leo next to him. Because they always would be.

'Are you guys sure?'

'Does that mean we're going?' Leo asked excitedly.

Percy felt a smile creep across his face. 'Yeah, I guess it does.'

And as Leo leaped up and started whooping like a maniac, Percy met Piper's eyes. She was laughing at Leo's reaction, but sobered a little when she looked at Percy.

'Are you sure about this?' he asked.

Piper leaned over and punched his arm. 'Yes, I'm sure, you moron.'

Percy felt himself smile and before he knew it he was yelling along with Leo and hauling the shorter boy over his shoulder as Leo whined about his dignity. Piper watched them from the bench, laughing wildly and refusing to help Leo as Percy skated them towards one of the ramps.

Tuesday, 1st September 2009

From there, it went faster than Percy would have liked. His mother looked like she might cry with relief when he told her and called the school with one arm still wrapped around him. His father had reserved him a place at the beginning of the summer, but Piper and Leo were a different story. When Percy asked, Piper told him that her father used his charm to talk the principal around to letting them start classes in September. Charm. She also mentioned that the school would be getting a new tennis court that fall due to some substantial donations from an anonymous sponsor.

Moncada boarding school was situated five miles outside of East Summers, and the fact that it was a boarding school meant that Percy was packing his room up for the first time ever. He, Leo and Piper would be reducing their shifts at the diner, mostly to the weekends, and would be commuting by the shuttle bus that drove in and out of town from the school twice a day. Other than that, Moncada would be their new home. Percy could barely get his head around that.

Two days after he made his decision, his father visited. He was not a man of many words, he grunted and put a hand on Percy's shoulder for an awkward moment. It did shock Percy quite how alike they looked; same hair, complexion, eyes; he was taller and stockier than Percy, and had a beard. But the alikeness was uncanny. Percy wondered if he'd gotten any of his mother's genes.

'Are you really going to take all of these skateboards,' she asked him from behind a mountain of boxes.

They were packing up his room today. Term started in six days, he was leaving in five. Percy was lying on his bed with a comic book in his hands; he had yet to start packing, but for the four skateboards he's piled into a box. Despite his mother's nagging, he hadn't seen the need to start yet. Percy didn't really see a deadline until it was staring him in the face, and he had a few more days before that would happen.

'I'm not gonna stop boarding just because i'm going to a fancy school, mom.'

She sighed. 'Percy, you don't need four. You can take two.'

He frowned at her over his comic. 'What if one breaks.'

'Then you can use the other one.'

'What if that one breaks too?'

'Then you can come home and get another one. This school is five miles away, Percy, it's not in Alaska.'

Percy put his comic down and sat up, pulling a pillow into his lap. 'Is this just something to get me to come home more often?'

Sally shook her head at him, smiling at his mischievous grin. 'I should hope that wouldn't be the only reason.'

'Well, I don't think they make blue waffles at Moncada, so I'll have to.'

She pursed her lips at him and he grinned.

'Oh come on, mom. I'll be home every weekend and every time I have a shift. I'll probably end up sleeping here most nights.'

She pointed the lamp in her hand at him. 'No, you wont. I want this to be a real experience for you, Percy. You have to put an effort in to this.'

'I will.' And when she fixed him with a stern look, he held up his hands. 'I will. I promise, mom, I wont mess this up.'

She walked over and sat on the end of his bed. 'I know you won't, sweetheart.'

'You'll miss me?' Percy asked.

'Oh terribly.' She smiled that warm smile of his and he took a mental photograph. That smile was home. And he was leaving it behind.

Saturday, 4th September 2009

Piper had taken a similar approach to packing as Percy. She was now lying in the middle of her vast bedroom as Leo and Percy sprawled out in the bean bag chairs, throwing a skateboard wheel back and forth to one another. Piper had looked around her room for a full five minutes before groaning and throwing herself on the floor. Her problem was that she was moving from bedroom bigger than Percy's entire apartment, into a box room that she would have to share with another person.

'Just don't take all your crap,' Leo suggested as he launched the wheel back at Percy.

'We have to wear uniform anyway,' Percy said, returning the wheel.

'That should be fun. Do you even know how to tie a tie, Percy?'

He snorted. 'Do you?'

'I'll figure it out. I'm just lookin' forward to all the new ladies in their uniform.'

'Dream on, buddy.'

Their conversation fell like a tennis match, back and forth following their makeshift ball, as Piper ignored them from the floor.

Percy had spent so much time in this room since he was a kid; it had been their playground when the weather outside wasn't kind enough. They used to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings, play hide-and-seek, make blanket forts, pretend the floor was lava, play with Leo's creations and try not to burn holes in the walls (Piper still has an Adventure Time poster over the scorch mark Leo's flaming tennis ball made when they were twelve). But Percy wasn't sure he was ready to say goodbye to the room any more than Piper was.

He caught the wheel again and dropped it to the floor, standing up and walking over to Piper. She opened her eyes and blinked up at them as Leo moved to join him.

'What?' she asked.

'Pipes,' Leo said, 'you're our leader.'

'We need you to take front on this.'

Piper huffed and held her arms up to them. They each grabbed a hand and hauled her upright.

'I'm not gonna be able to look after you two forever, you know,' she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

'Shut up and start telling us what to do.' Leo replied with a mad grin.

And so she did. In half an hour they had three boxes and a suitcase full of Piper's belongings. She had internally debated over clothes and they had externally debated over posters, the record player, the bean bag chairs, books, photos, the dozens of little presents Leo and Percy had given to her over the years. Piper was in full motivation mode; her hair was tied back and her bossy voice was on. It could have been eight years ago as she instructed them exactly how to build a den in the small woods near her house.

Percy just hoped this wouldn't change any time soon.