The Danger Of Being A Demi-God

CELESTIA YOUNG NEVER WANTED TO BE A HALF-BLOOD. She wanted to live with her dad and stepmother in their upper-east side townhouse, she wanted to go to school before inheriting her father's law firm that specialized in divorce, family, adoption, surrogacy, and child arrangements. Her father was a hot-shot lawyer who worked with all those old-money, powerful families, whether it was for wills, adoptions, divorce, or child arrangements, her father made a ton of money being a rich guy's lawyer. And his daughter would grow up incredibly comfortable──eating fresh-organic-daily-cooked-chef-prepared meals, wearing expensive leathers and silks, buying any toy her heart desired, etc. Had it not been for her godly heritage, Celestia would've lived perfectly contently in her little emporium of luxury and lavishness.

The Monsters first showed up when she was six. A cyclops──it was huge, ugly too. She had managed to fight it off and run for safety. Her Stepmother had seen the cyclops, Grace Young had the gift of seeing through the mist. And so that summer, the satyr in charge of looking after her that summer brought her to the safe haven that was Camp Half-Blood. But her Father still wanted her to receive a normal education, so, she would only stay at camp every summer.

It was May when her sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and twoteachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greekand Roman stuff. Yancy Academy's field trips always sucked. But this time, it would be different because of two reasons.

One, Percy Jackson.──────He was boyishly handsome with mischievousness to accompany him. He had always managed to pull something on their field trips──from breaking things to breaking into fights, he never failed to amaze Celestia.

Two, Mr Brunner, or Chiron as Celestia knew him────Chiron had insisted she tag along──Chiron's undercover persona consisted of──a middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair (that's how he managed to hide his horse half). He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. Maybe, Chiron should start thinking about different career paths, maybe away from the hero training and more to the super-spy stuff.

All the way into the city, she put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting her friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich. Grover was an easy target among mortals. He was emotional, cried whenever he was a bit upset, and he looked like he was held back a couple of grades. With his acne and wispy beard, of course, he wasn't actually that old, satyrs just aged differently, not that anyone knew. And he was supposed to be 'crippled' but he almost blows his cover every time enchiladas were on the menu at the cafeteria.

"I'm going to kill her," Percy said, sounding extremely unpleased.

Celestia hated his existence but when she first entered the class and laid eyes on the tan boy with raven-cloured messy hair, and striking sea-green eyes, she had first thought that he was cute and totally dateable. But he ruined all of it when he opened his foul little mouth. Celestia had met a handful of annoying people, but no one came close to how damn annoying Percy Jackson was. But today, she understood where Percy was coming from, she wanted to get her sword and just slash Nancy Bobofit's ugly freckly face. But since Percy and she had continuously argued and they had both earned themselves probation, she was not going to even bother.

Grover sat in between Celestia and Percy ( just in case something happened ). Grover tried to calm Percy down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter," he said as he dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.

"That's it." Percy started to get up, but Grover pulled him back to his seat.

"Please don't start," Celestia drawled, "I'm not trying to get punished for whatever shit you're about to pull,"

Percy rounded on her with a harsh glare. Sure, Nancy Bobofit was annoying, but Celestia Young could get under his skin like no other. With dark hair and eyes, the newest designer backpack, Celestia strutted around Yancy Academy like she owned the place with a scowl intact. (always). "I'm trying to defend Grover, your friend," Percy said through gritted teeth, "Is there a better option, Celia?" Celestia rolled her sleeves up as if to smack Percy but Grover held them both back.

"Can you guys like──not fight today?" Grover pleaded, "It's just like fighting with Nancy Bobofit! You'll both end up in trouble!" Celestia huffed and turned away from the pair. Looking back on it now, she should've just let him blow off some steam.

Chiron led the tour, he rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding them through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. He gathered the seventh round a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top and started telling them how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about their age. He told them about the carvings on the sides. Celestia stood next to Percy who was trying to listen to what he had to say because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around them was talking, and every time Percy told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs Dodds, (monster-in-disguise) would give him the evil eye.

The monster's incognito persona was Mrs Dodds──a little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year when their last math teacher had a nervous breakdown. From her first day, Mrs Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured Percy was devil spawn. She didn't like Celestia too. She would point her crooked finger at Celestia and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and Celestia knew she was going to get after-school detention for a month.

Mr Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art. Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and Percy turned around and said, "Will you shut the fuck up?" It came out louder than he probably meant it to.

The whole group laughed. Mr Brunner stopped his story. "Mr Jackson," he said, "Did you have a comment?"

Percy's face was totally red. He said, "No, sir." Next to him, Celestia had to fight back a giggle.

Mr Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"

"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

"Yes," Mr Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ..."

"Well... Kronos was the king god, and──"

"God?" Mr Brunner asked.

"Titan," Percy corrected himself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"

"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind them.

"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," he continued, "and the gods won."

Some snickers from the group. Behind them, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"And why, Mr Jackson," Brunner said, "To paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

It matters a lot more than you think, Celestia thought bitterly.

"Busted," Grover muttered.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair. At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.

Percy shrugged. "I don't know, sir." Celestia tutted, gods why did he have to be so stupid? Percy turned and sent her a glare she was not afraid to return. After finding out about Percy's demi-god status, both Celestia and Annabeth thought he was the one in the prophecy. Sure, there wasn't material evidence, but Chiron going into incognito mode was enough for both girls.

"I see." Mr Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr Jackson. Miss Young? Would you like to further enlighten us?"

Celestia nodded. "Zeus fed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld," Celestia recited as Chiron nodded satisfied and smiling. "It's important because it teaches us to not be greedy. Kronos was greedy to obtain his power and resorted to eating his kids, as his greed ended up destroying him."

"Full credit, Miss Young. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses. Grover, Celestia, and Percy were about to follow when Mr Brunner said, "Mr Jackson."

Celestia snorted, Chiron was about to give Percy his real bad pep talk. ── Hey! It's the thought that counts. Celestia and Grover had gone first. "Celeste, could you just try to get along with Percy?" Grover pleaded, he looked around wearily.

"No," Celestia cringed, "I love you Groove-Man, but I cannot even imagine getting along with him."

The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where they could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than Celestia had ever seen over the city. At times like this, she was wishing she was just every other mortal, blaming it on global warming or something because the weather all across New York state had been weird since the winter solstice. They had massive snowstorms, flooding, and wildfires from lightning strikes. She wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.

But something was happening at Olympus, and Lord Zeus was not happy about it. Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.

Celestia sat alone far away from the rest of her class as she pulled out her lunch. It consisted of fruits and a grilled chicken sandwich, she could see out of the corner of her eye that Grover and Percy sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others.

Celestia watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue and thought about her parent's apartment, only a little uptown from where they sat. Celestia hadn't seen them since Christmas. She wanted so badly to jump in a taxi and head home. Grace would hug her and be glad to see her, but Colin would be disappointed. He'd send Celestia right back to Yancy, remind her that she had to try harder, even if this was her sixth school in six years and Celestia was probably going to be kicked out again.

Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table. Suddenly, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!" Celestia paled, was he possibly? ─ no. It can't be. Mrs. Dodds materialized next to them.

Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"

"-the water-"

"-like it grabbed her-"

Celestia thank the gods was a fast thinker, she hopped up from where she had been sitting and rushed to where Percy and Mrs. Dodds were──she couldn't let Mrs. Dodds get her hands on Percy, not because she liked him, but because Grover would be crushed if anything happened to Percy. "I know," Percy grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks." ─ That wasn't the right thing to say.

"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.

"Wait! Mrs. Dodds," Celestia chimed in. "It was me. I pushed her. Nancy was being an asshole as she deserved it." Percy stared at her, stunned at what she was doing.

She glared at Celestia so hard, but Celestia wasn't going to back down ─ she couldn't. "I don't think so, Miss Young," she said.

"But-"

"You-will-stay-here."

Celestia looked at him desperately. Shaking her head slightly, trying to send him a message. Just be an asshole for once and let me take the blame, please. "It's okay, Celia," Percy assured her, "Thanks for trying." stupid idiot, he's done it again.

"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at Percy. "Now."

Nancy Bobofit smirked. Percy gave her his deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare (it was reserved for Celestia only, but special cases call for special treatment) Then he turned to face Mrs Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at him to come on. Percy idiotically followed the teacher. Grover let out a whimper while Celestia pulled him up. "We've got to get Chiron!" she hissed as Grover nodded, they both rushed over to Chiron who was reading happily.

"Yes, child? What is it?" he asked, looking up at them

"Percy! Mrs Dodds! Alone!" Grover bleated as Chiron stopped reading and chewing on his celery stick. He started to pat all of his pockets as he suddenly sighed in relief, then he took out a ballpoint pen. Celestia was close to snapping at the old centaur but Chiron wheeled himself to the entrance of the museum at full speed. Grover let out a goat sound, "Oh! I let all of them die! I'm such a failure!" he wailed as Celestia frowned and shook her head.

"He'll be fine, I'm sure of it!" she soothed, "And he's not going to die──and you didn't let anyone die! Now breathe slowly and try to calm down!" Grover panted for a moment before calming down.

"Thanks," he sniffled as Celestia patted his shoulder. Suddenly, Chiron returned to the crowd of people and they rushed over to see him.

"What happened? Is he alright? What monster was it?" Celestia asked, frantically as Chiron raised his hand to silence them.

"Not now, dear," he said calmly, "But know that he had killed the monster. I must put the mist at work. We must keep him clueless until the summer, until then, we must keep him ignorant." Without another word, they returned to the water fountain. They could hear Nancy complain as water droplets hit their faces. Celestia took out her white umbrella while Grover took out his museum map and covered his head.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt." Nancy Bobofit remarked

Percy said, "Who?" Celestia cursed under her breath──the mist didn't work as it did before. Percy was starting to become aware of himself.

"Our teacher. Duh!" Celestia chided, rolling her eyes, like it was an obvious thing, "Have you lost it, Jackson?"

Nancy rolled her eyes and walked away. Percy then turned to them and asked where Mrs Dodds was. Grover said, "Who?"

"Not funny, man," Percy told him. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed overhead. Zeus was not happy. Celestia sent a small prayer to all of the gods she knew──praying that everything would go back to normal.