CHAPTER THREE - THE FATES ARE CRUEL

Keeping up with my plan was proving difficult.

The only people that knew Mrs. Dodds was, in fact, a teacher at Yancy were Percy, Grover, Mr. Brunner, and myself. Yet, the only people that acknowledged her existence were me and Percy. If it were up to me, I would go along with Grover's charade, but I was there. I saw Percy defeat Mrs. Dodds. And he saw me watch. I couldn't pretend that I didn't know who she was.

Percy was growing agitated. He was convinced that the whole school was pretending that Mrs. Dodds never existed, that Mrs. Kerr – a blonde woman that got on the bus with us and the rest of the class at the end of the Metropolitan field trip – had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.

Grover wasn't convincing. Whenever Percy sprung a Mrs. Dodds reference on him, he would hesistate, before saying that he had never heard of her. The only person he could talk to about the incident, was me.

I tried to sway him off of it as much as I could, but he was insistent that something had happened that day. I had no choice but to indulge in his conversations. But the more I did, the more I realized that it was a very bad idea. So I resorted to my most desperate option: I ignored him.

I tried to focus on my schoolwork, but something was wrong. I couldn't read like I used to anymore. The words seemed to float off the page, the letters rearranging themselves. I got a massive headache every time I tried to read my textbooks. Of course, I was dyslexic. I probably had ADHD as well, I just didn't notice it before. Perks of being, apparently, what I am.

When Percy would see me in the halls, he'd call my name, try to talk to me about why I was avoiding him. I'd duck into the nearest classroom and wait until he passed me. He was upset with me, I knew it. I was supposed to be his friend, one that shared a near-death experience no less, and I was treating him like everyone else did. I felt horrible.

He started getting angry. He picked fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. His grades dropped. He would be sent out to the hall in almost every class. Every time he was, he'd look at me, his eyes full of betrayal. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore: I pretended that I didn't see him.

The worst outburst was in English class. Mr. Nicoll was lecturing him about studying for spelling tests. I had watched his neck get redder and redder after every word. Then he snapped. Percy jumped up from his chair and called him an old sot. I banged my head against the table in exasperation. Percy whipped his head around so fast, I heard it crack. His eyes blazed with fury. "And you're no better!"

My mouth dropped open, and my eyes sprung up with tears. Percy's face relaxed a bit, as though he realized what he said. He made a gesture like he was going to apologize, but Mr. Nicoll sent him to the headmaster's office. Percy stormed out of the class.

I swallowed heavily and raised my hand, "May I go to the nurse? I'm not feeling well." Mr. Nicoll sighed but granted me permission. I nearly ran out the door, trying to catch up with Percy, but he was already in the headmaster's office. I sat on one of the plastic chairs in the hall and waited until he walked out of the door.

When he did, I stood up. I fumbled with my sweater, trying to think of a way to apologize for how I had been treating him lately, but before I could get a word out, I was enveloped in a pair of arms.

"I'm so sorry, Avalon. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just so angry with everything and you were avoiding me and–" he said. I cut him off by pulling out of the hug and shaking my head.

"No, no you were right. I was avoiding you because I wanted to put the thing with Mrs. Dodds out of my head, and you always wanted to talk about it. It scared me, Percy, and I just want to forget about it," I lied easily. It was like my brain was supplying the words again.

Percy nodded reluctantly. He gestured with his head to walk with him back to class. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay," I mumbled. I steeled myself before asking my next question. "Did you get expelled?"

He hung his head. That alone was an answer. I touched his shoulder and gave him a small smile when he looked towards me. "If it makes you feel better, I'm not coming back to Yancy after the year ends."

Percy cocked his head in confusion. "Why not? You're doing great here, even with your dyslexia."

I shrugged, "It just doesn't feel right to me."

We stopped in front of English class. Percy turned towards me, "Are we still friends?"

I smiled, "Of course, Jackson."

*

The night before finals, I was pacing my dorm room. My roommate was one of Nancy's friends, so she didn't talk to me much, nor was she in the dorm a whole lot.

I was contemplating whether or not to go out and look for Percy. I felt like this was something he needed to do on his own, but then again, what if Grover and Mr. Brunner said something about me and I wasn't there to give him an explanation? Who knew what he would believe.

That settles it, I thought. I need to act as naïve as possible, and that means going along with Percy. I walked into the hallway and crept downstairs to the faculty offices. I hid in a darkened hallway until I heard the footsteps echoing down the hall. I came out of my hiding place and walked towards Mr. Brunner's office, knowing that Percy would see me.

Sure enough, his voice stopped me in my tracks. "Avalon? What are you doing?" I looked back at him. He was holding his Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology textbook.

I gestured towards the end of the halls, where Mr. Brunner's office was casting a beam of light across the floor from its door. "I was going to talk to Mr. Brunner about the final tomorrow," I whispered. "What about you?"

Percy held up his book. "Same," he said. We kept walking until we were three steps from the door handle.

Voices sounded from the office. A voice that was most definitely Grover's said "...worried about Percy, sir."

Percy froze. He turned towards me, about to say something, but I held a finger to my lips, urging him to keep quiet and listen.

"...alone this summer," Grover continued. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know it too–"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner replied. "We need the boy to mature more."

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline–"

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."

"Sir, he saw her..."

"His imagination," Mr. Brunner said. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."

"But it won't," Grover insisted. "Avalon saw her too. And we know that she knows, so it's only a matter of time before he finds out too." Percy's head whipped towards me. I knew that they were going to say something about me, but I contorted my face into one of surprise and confusion, and shook my head, trying to show him that I didn't know what they were talking about.

"Avalon won't say anything, this I am sure of. She knows what is at stake here," Mr. Brunner's voice was weary. He obviously didn't believe what he was saying. Nice to know how much confidence he had in me.

"Sir, I...I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was wavering. "You know what that would mean."

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy and Avalon alive until next fall–"

Percy dropped his textbook. The thud from it hitting the floor rang out across the hallway. Mr. Brunner stopped talking.

I picked up Percy's book and grabbed his wrist, pulling him with me down the hall.

Mr. Brunner's shadow fell across the hall. Percy opened the nearest door – a janitorial closet – and pulled me inside, putting his hand over my mouth to stop me from speaking. Like I was going to say anything in the first place.

We waited. I heard the clop-clop-clop of hooves hitting the linoleum tile, and then a sound like an animal sniffing outside the door.

My heart hammered against my chest. I couldn't get caught, it'd be much worse than if Percy was the one that was found. Thankfully, the animal moved on.

"Nothing," Mr. Brunner said. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover agreed. "But I could have sworn..."

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me."

The hallway grew dark. Percy and I waited in the closet. One minute, three minutes, eight minutes. I started growing anxious as my claustrophobia set it.

Finally, he opened the door. Except for the two of us, the hall was empty. We exchanged looks, then he shook his head at me. This wasn't the right time to talk about what we had just heard.

I nod at him, and then we went opposite directions, heading back to our dorms. When I opened my door, my roommate was lying on her bed, studying for finals. "Where have you been?" She demanded.

"I went to get a drink of water," I said, and then I turned my back towards her, and got ready for bed.

*

The next afternoon, I was on the last page my Latin exam when Percy got up and turned his in. My head was aching from the questions that my brain couldn't decipher anymore. I was certain that I had misspelled some of the names of the gods or heroes, which frustrated me more than not being able to read. I threw down my pencil when Mr. Brunner called Percy back into the classroom.

I winced. This wasn't going to end well, but Percy needed to hear it.

"Percy," Mr. Brunner said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's...it's for the best."

Percy's shoulders slumped. He looked back at me, but I took up my pencil again and started scribbling answers on my test.

"Okay, sir." He mumbled.

"I mean..." Mr. Brunner looked extremely uncomfortable. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."

"Right," Percy said, his voice tight with emotion.

"No, no," our teacher ran his hand over his face. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say...you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be–"

"Thanks," Percy blurted out. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."

Ouch.

"Percy–"

But he had already left the classroom. I shot up, slammed my test on Mr. Brunner's desk, and ran out the door to follow him. But when I got out in the hallway, Percy was nowhere to be seen.

*

On the last day of term, I found Grover in the main hall.

"Grover, we need to stick by Percy. He's not thinking clearly, and that will get him hurt," I said.

He nodded, his face grim. "That's why I got these," he held up two Greyhound tickets, and gave one to me. I gave him a quick hug in thanks, and then ran towards the bus station.

When Percy and Grover got on the bus, I was already there. I smiled at them, "Hey guys! What are you doing here?" I asked, as though Grover and I didn't plan this at all. Percy mumbled a response, and stowed his suitcase in the overhead compartment. He collapsed in the seat next to me, exhausted. Grover was more alert, his shoulders tense as we pulled out of the station.

I kept up a conversation with Percy during the bus ride, trying to keep his focus on me and not on Grover, who was being anything but subtle about his constant roving, but Percy was getting annoyed.

After a while, he turned towards Grover. He said, "Looking for the Kindly Ones?"

Grover started and whipped around to face us. "Wha – what do you mean?"

I took this as an opportunity to include myself in the conversation. I admitted to him about me and Percy eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before exams.

When I was done, Grover glared at me, probably because I hadn't told him before. Then he turned back to Percy. "How much did you hear?"

Percy shifted in his seat. "Oh...not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"

Grover winced. "Look, guys...I was just worried for you two, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers..."

"Grover–" I tried.

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you guys were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and..."

This time, Percy spoke. "Grover, you're a really bad liar."

Grover flushed with embarrassment. He took out two business cards from his shirt pocket and handed them to Percy and myself. "Just take these, okay? In case you need me this summer."

I looked at the card. I couldn't read it, but I knew what it said:

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800) 009-0009

Percy said, "What's Half–"

"Don't say it aloud!" Grover hissed. "That's my, um...summer address."

Percy's shoulders fell. "Okay," he mumbled. "So, like, if we want to come visit your mansion."

I sighed. Why did he have to bring me in this?

But Grover just nodded. "Or...or if you need me."

"Why would we need you?" Percy snapped. I put my hand on his shoulder to relax him.

"Thank you for the cards, Grover," I said, casting a warning glance at Percy. He knew that Grover was a sensitive soul.

Grover blushed. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I – I kind of have to protect you."

Percy just stared at him. Finally he asked, "What do you mean, you have to protect me? What exactly are you protecting me from? And what about Avalon, are you protecting her too?" He looked towards me, but I held up my hands and shook my head, trying to act like I didn't know what was going on.

Just then, the bus lurched to a stop, black smoke pouring out of the dash. The driver cursed and pulled over. After tinkering with the engine, he announced that we all had to get off of the bus. Percy grabbed my hand so I wouldn't get trampled by the other passengers.

The stretch of highway we were on didn't look like anything special. Without saying a word to Percy or Grover, I walked around the bus and stared at the fruit stand across the road, watching the three old women knit giant, electric blue socks.

Percy and Grover joined me after a couple of minutes. As soon as Percy was standing next to me, the three ladies next to the fruit stand looked up from their knitting project and stared at us. I caught my breath. Why were they looking at me, too?

Percy looked at the both of us. Grover's face went pale, and my eyes were wide, unable to look away from the old women.

"Grover?" Percy said. "Hey, man–"

"Tell me they're not looking at you two. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?" Percy joked. I elbowed him gently in the ribs. Grover looked like he was about to pass out.

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all. Avalon, come on." He said. But I couldn't move. My feet were glued to the ground, my eyes stuck on the old ladies.

The middle lady took out a pair of shears. Grover was close to hyperventilating.

"We're getting on the bus," he told us. "Come on." He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away from the side of the road, but I wouldn't budge.

"What?" Percy demanded. "It's a thousand degrees in there."

"Come on!" Grover opened the bus doors and climbed inside, but Percy stayed behind, staring at the old ladies just like I was. Just like they were to us.

The middle lady cut the electric blue yarn, and the snip was loud in my ears, it was as if they were right next to me. The other two balled up their massive socks, and their hold over me was shattered.

The bus roared to life. I shook my head, as if coming out of a daze, and grabbed hold of Percy's hand. "C'mon," I said. "Let's get on the bus."

After we had been driving for a while, my throat started to close up, and I was shaking.

Percy and Grover didn't look much better. It was like we had all suddenly caught the flu. But I knew it was something much worse.

"Grover?" Percy asked.

"Yeah?"

"What aren't you telling us?" Percy gestured between us. That made me feel a little better, almost like we were a package deal. He's going to hate me when he finds out the truth.

Grover was shivering. "What did you two see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies? What is it with them, man? They're not like...Mrs. Dodds, are they?" Percy's voice was quavering, not that I blamed him.

"Just tell me what you saw."

My voice started working, without my permission, like it had so many times over the last few weeks. "The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."

Grover closed his eyes and made a gesture, curling three of his fingers over his heart, and then pushing his hand outward. "You both saw her snip the cord."

"Yeah. So?"

"This is not happening," Grover muttered. His eyes got wider, more terrified. "I don't want this to be like the last time. And with both of you..."

"What last time?" Percy demanded. He looked at me for support, but I wasn't much help. I felt clammy and nauseous.

"Always sixth grade. They never make it past sixth."

"Grover," I managed to say. I had to keep up my cover, even if my insides felt like they were cooking. I couldn't give anything away. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me walk you guys home from the bus station. Promise me," he pleaded.

Percy looked towards me again, and I nodded. We both promised. I had just realized though, I wasn't quite sure where home was for me.

"Is this like a superstition or something?" Percy asked.

Grover didn't answer. My voice failed me again.

"Grover – that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"

Grover looked at the two of us, finally, but it was a look of mourning. He didn't know who's cord it was. I did. My face was even worse than Grover's.

***