Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth - 04
friendly to me . One was blond with icy blue eyes . The other was African American with dark curly hair like Medusa ’ s ( and believe me , I know what I ’ m talking about ). Both girls had their names stitched in cursive on their uniforms , but with my dyslexia , the words looked like meaningless spaghetti . “ Welcome to Goode ,” the blond girl said . “ 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 . I studied the stitching on her uniform and made out Kelli . She smelled like roses and something else I recognized from riding lessons at camp — the scent of freshly washed horses . It was a weird smell for a cheerleader . Maybe she owned a horse or something . Anyway , she stood so close I got the feeling she was going to try to push me down the steps . “ What ’ s your name , fish ?” “ Fish ?” “ Freshman .” “ Uh , Percy .” The girls exchanged looks . “ Oh , Percy Jackson ,” the blond one said . “ We ’ ve been waiting for you .” That sent a major Uh-oh chill down my back . They were blocking the entrance , smiling in a not-very-friendly way . My hand crept instinctively toward my pocket , where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen , Riptide .
Then another voice came from inside the building . “ Percy ?” It was Paul Blofis , somewhere down the hallway . I ’ d never been so glad to hear his voice .
The cheerleaders backed off . I was so anxious to get past them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh . Clang . Her leg made a hollow , metallic sound , like I ’ d just hit a flagpole . “ Ow ,” she muttered . “ Watch it , fish .” I glanced down , but her leg looked like a regular old leg . I was too freaked out to ask questions . I dashed into the hall , the cheerleaders laughing behind me . “ There you are !” Paul told me . “ Welcome to Goode !” “ Hey , Paul — uh , Mr . Blofis .” I glanced back , but the weird cheerleaders had disappeared . “ Percy , you look like you ’ ve seen a ghost .” “ Yeah , uh —” Paul clapped me on the back . “ Listen , I know you ’ re nervous , but don ’ t worry . We get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia . The teachers know how to help .”
I almost wanted to laugh . If only ADHD and dyslexia were my biggest worries . 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 . Those cheerleaders , for instance . I had a bad feeling about them ….
Then I looked down the hall , and I remembered I had another problem . The redheaded girl
I ’ d seen on the front steps was just coming in the main entrance . Don ’ t notice me , I prayed . She noticed me . Her eyes widened . “ Where ’ s the orientation ?” I asked Paul . “ The gym . That way . But —” “ Bye .” “ Percy ?” he called , but I was already running . *** I thought I ’ d lost her . A bunch of kids were heading for the gym , and soon I was just one of three hundred fourteen-year-olds all crammed into the bleachers . A marching band played an out-of-tune fight song that sounded like somebody hitting a bag of cats with a metal baseball bat . Older kids , probably student council members , stood up front modeling the Goode school uniform and looking all , Hey , we ’ re cool . Teachers milled around , smiling and shaking hands with students . The walls of the gym were plastered with big purpleand-white banners that said WELCOME FUTURE FRESHMEN , GOODE IS GOOD , WE ’ RE ALL FAMILY , and a bunch of other happy slogans that pretty much made me want to throw up .
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