Then I looked down the hall, and I remembered I had another problem. I mean, I knew Paul was trying to help, but if I told him the truth about me, he’d either think I was crazy or he’d run away screaming. If only ADHD and dyslexia were my biggest worries. The teachers know how to help.” I almost wanted to laugh. We get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia. “Listen, I know you’re nervous, but don’t worry. “Percy, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Yeah, uh-” Paul clapped me on the back. Blofis.” I glanced back, but the weird cheerleaders had disappeared. I dashed into the hall, the cheerleaders laughing behind me. “Watch it, fish.” I glanced down, but her leg looked like a regular old leg. Her leg made a hollow, metallic sound, like I’d just hit a flagpole. I was so anxious to get past them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh. I’d never been so glad to hear his voice. “Percy?” It was Paul Blofis, somewhere down the hallway. Then another voice came from inside the building. My hand crept instinctively toward my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. They were blocking the entrance, smiling in a not-very-friendly way. “We’ve been waiting for you.” That sent a major Uh-oh chill down my back. “What’s your name, fish?” “Fish?” “Freshman.” “Uh, Percy.” The girls exchanged looks. Anyway, she stood so close I got the feeling she was going to try to push me down the steps. She smelled like roses and something else I recognized from riding lessons at camp-the scent of freshly washed horses. I studied the stitching on her uniform and made out Kelli. “You are so going to love it.” But as she looked me up and down, her expression said something more like, Eww, who is this loser? The other girl stepped uncomfortably close to me. Both girls had their names stitched in cursive on their uniforms, but with my dyslexia, the words looked like meaningless spaghetti. The other was African American with dark curly hair like Medusa’s (and believe me, I know what I’m talking about). Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth - 04įriendly to me. “Hi!” They smiled, which I figured was the first and last time any cheerleaders would be that Two cheerleaders in purple-and-white uniforms were standing at the side entrance, waiting to ambush freshmen. *** Sneaking into orientation didn’t work out too well. I was about to find out my luck could get a lot worse. What was she doing here? Not even my luck could be this bad. Why?” “I’ll see you later.” My mom started to say something, but I got out of the car and ran, hoping the redheaded girl wouldn’t see me. “Does the school have a side entrance?” “Down the block on the right. “What’s wrong?” “N-nothing,” I stammered. When she turned, I caught a glimpse of her face, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up. She wore a maroon T-shirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings. Paul Blofis was greeting a girl with frizzy red hair. I’ll see you tonight.” I was about to get out of the car when I looked over the steps of the school. Jeez!” “She’s coming all the way from camp to meet you.” “Well, yeah.” “You’re going to the movies.” “Yeah.” “Just the two of you.” “Mom!” She held up her hands in surrender, but I could tell she was trying hard not to smile. Tomorrow you’re off to camp! After orientation, you’ve got your date-” “It’s not a date!” I protested. “I can get expelled before I start the school year.” “Think positive. “So we don’t scare him away.” “I’m sure orientation will be fine, Percy, It’s only one morning.” “Great,” I mumbled. “I thought we should wait,” she admitted. She was dressed up for a job interview-her best blue dress and high-heeled shoes. “You haven’t told him the truth about me, have you? She tapped her fingers nervously on the wheel. I’d tried to warn him it wasn’t a good idea, but he wouldn’t listen. ![]() He’d managed to convince Goode High School to accept me for ninth grade, despite the fact that I’d gotten kicked out of every school I’d ever attended. With his salt-and-pepper hair, denim clothes, and leather jacket, he reminded me of a TV actor, but he was just an English teacher. So try not to…you know.” “Destroy it?” “Yes.” Paul Blofis, my mom’s boyfriend, was standing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. And remember, dear, this is Paul’s school. “Just relax.” My mom didn’t sound relaxed. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front. Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the East River. ![]() But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June, sitting in my mom’s car in front of Goode High School on East 81st. The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school. Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the OlympiansĬhapter One I Battle The Cheerleading Squad 1
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