Read Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth Pdf

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I BATTLE THE CHEERLEADING SQUAD

The last affair I wanted to practise on my summertime interruption was blow up another schoolhouse. But at that place I was Monday morning, the outset week of June, sitting in my mom's auto in front end of Goode Loftier School on East 81st .

Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the Due east River. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place.

"Just relax. " My mom didn't audio relaxed. "Information technology's but an orientation bout. And retrieve, beloved, this is Paul'south school. Then try not to…you know. "

"Destroy it?"

"Yes. "

Paul Blofis, my mom'southward boyfriend, was continuing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. With his table salt-and-pepper hair, denim dress, and leather jacket, he reminded me of a TV actor, but he was but an English language teacher. He'd managed to convince Goode High School to have me for ninth form, despite the fact that I'd gotten kicked out of every school I'd ever attended. I'd tried to warn him it wasn't a skilful idea, but he wouldn't listen.

I looked at my mom. "You haven't told him the truth about me, take you?

She tapped her fingers nervously on the cycle. She was dressed upwardly for a task interview—her best blue dress and high-heeled shoes.

"I thought nosotros should wait," she admitted.

"So nosotros don't scare him away. "

"I'm sure orientation will be fine, Percy, Information technology's only one forenoon. "

"Slap-up," I mumbled. "I can get expelled before I starting time the school yr. "

"Think positive. Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you lot've got your appointment—"

"Information technology'southward not a date!" I protested. "It's just Annabeth, Mom. Jeez!"

"She's coming all the way from camp to run across yous. "

"Well, aye. "

"You're going to the movies. "

"Yeah. "

"Only the 2 of you. "

"Mom!"

She held up her hands in surrender, just I could tell she was trying hard not to grin. "You'd better go within, beloved. I'll see y'all tonight. "

I was about to go out of the motorcar when I looked over the steps of the school. Paul Blofis was greeting a girl with frizzy red hair. She wore a maroon T-shirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings. When she turned, I caught a glimpse of her face, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up.

"Percy?" my mom asked. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," I stammered. "Does the schoolhouse take a side entrance?"

"Down the block on the correct. Why?"

"I'll see you later. "

My mom started to say something, but I got out of the automobile and ran, hoping the redheaded girl wouldn't come across me.

What was she doing here? Not even my luck could be this bad.

Yeah, right. I was about to discover out my luck could get a lot worse.

***

Sneaking into orientation didn't piece of work out too well. 2 cheerleaders in purple-and-white uniforms were standing at the side entrance, waiting to deadfall freshmen.

"Hi!" They smiled, which I figured was the first and last time any cheerleaders would exist that 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 similar meaningless spaghetti.

"Welcome to Goode," the blond girl said. "You are and then going to love it. "

But as she looked me upward and downward, her expression said something more than like, Eww, who is this loser?

The other girl stepped uncomfortably shut to me. I studied the stitching on her compatible and fabricated out Kelli. She smelled like roses and something else I recognized from riding lessons at army camp—the scent of freshly done horses. It was a weird smell for a cheerleader. Maybe she owned a equus caballus or something. Anyway, she stood so close I got the feeling she was going to try to push me downward the steps. "What's your name, fish?"

"Fish?"

"Freshman. "

"Uh, Percy. "

The girls exchanged looks.

"Oh, Percy Jackson," the blond i said. "We've been waiting for you lot. "

That sent a major Uh-oh arctic downwards my back. They were blocking the entrance, smiling in a not-very-friendly fashion. My hand crept instinctively toward my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide.

Then some other voice came from within 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 by them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh.

Clang.

Her leg fabricated a hollow, metallic sound, like I'd just hit a flagpole.

"Ow," she muttered. "Lookout man 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.

"In that location you are!" Paul told me. "Welcome to Goode!"

"Hey, Paul—uh, Mr. Blofis. " I glanced back, just 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 yous're nervous, but don't worry. Nosotros get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia. The teachers know how to help. "

I almost wanted to laugh. If just 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 call back I was crazy or he'd run away screaming. Those cheerleaders, for example. I had a bad feeling well-nigh them….

Then I looked downwards the hall, and I remembered I had another trouble. The redheaded girl I'd seen on the forepart steps was merely coming in the principal entrance.

Don't discover me, I prayed.

She noticed me. Her eyes widened.

"Where's the orientation?" I asked Paul.

"The gym. That manner. 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 shortly I was just one of iii hundred fourteen-year-olds all crammed into the bleachers. A marching ring played an out-of-melody fight song that sounded similar somebody hitting a pocketbook of cats with a metallic baseball game bat. Older kids, probably pupil council members, stood up front modeling the Goode schoolhouse uniform and looking all, Hey, we're cool. Teachers milled effectually, smiling and shaking hands with students. The walls of the gym were plastered with big purpleand-white banners that said WELCOME Futurity FRESHMEN, GOODE IS Skillful, WE'RE ALL Family, and a agglomeration of other happy slogans that pretty much made me want to throw up.

None of the other freshmen looked thrilled to be hither, either. I mean, coming to orientation in June, when school doesn't even start until September, is not cool. But at Goode, "We set up to excel early!" At least that'southward what the brochure said.

The marching ring stopped playing. A guy in a pinstripe suit came to the microphone and started talking, but the audio echoed effectually the gym so I had no idea what he was saying. He might've been gargling.

Someone grabbed my shoulder," What are yous doing here?"

It was her: my redheaded nightmare.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I said.

&

nbsp; Her jaw dropped like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to remember her name. "And you're Percy somebody. I didn't get your total name final December when y'all tried to kill me. "

"Wait, I wasn't—I didn't—What are you lot doing here?"

"Same as you, I guess. Orientation. "

"You live in New York?"

"What, you idea I lived at the Hoover Dam?"

Information technology had never occurred to me. Whenever I thought about her (and I'm not saying I idea about her; she just like crossed my mind from time to time, okay?), I e'er figured she lived in the Hoover Dam area, since that'due south where I'd met her. We'd spent mayhap ten minutes together, during which fourth dimension I'd accidentally swung a sword at her, she'd saved my life, and I'd run abroad chased by a ring of supernatural killing machines. You know, your typical run a risk meeting.

Some guy behind u.s.a. whispered, "Hey, shut up. The cheerleaders are talking!"

"Hi, guys!" a girl bubbled into the microphone. It was the blonde I'd seen at the entrance. "My name is Tammi, and this is like, Kelli. " Kelli did a cartwheel.

Side by side to me, Rachel yelped similar someone had stuck her with a pivot. A few kids looked over and snickered, only Rachel just stared at the cheerleaders in horror. Tammi didn't seem to find the flare-up. She started talking about all the cracking means nosotros could get involved during our freshman year.

"Run," Rachel told me. "At present. "

"Why?"

Rachel didn't explain. She pushed her style to the edge of the bleachers, ignoring the frowning teachers and grumbling kids she was stepping on.

I hesitated. Tammi was explaining how nosotros were about to break into pocket-sized groups and tour the school. Kelli caught my heart and gave me an amused smile, similar she was waiting to see what I'd do. Information technology would wait bad if I left correct now. Paul Blofis was down there with the rest of the teachers. He'd wonder what was wrong.

And so I thought well-nigh Rachel Elizabeth Cartel, and the special ability she'd shown last winter at Hoover Dam. She'd been able to come across a grouping of security guards who weren't guards at all, who weren't even human. My middle pounding, I got up and followed her out of the gym.

***

I found Rachel in the band room. She was hiding behind a bass pulsate in the percussion section.

"Get over here!" she said. "Keep your caput down!"

I felt pretty lightheaded hiding backside a bunch of bongos, but I crouched downwards beside her.

"Did they follow yous?" Rachel asked.

"You mean the cheerleaders?"

She nodded nervously.

"I don't think and then," I said. "What are they? What did you see?"

Her green optics were bright with fright. She had a sprinkle of freckles on her face that reminded me of constellations. Her maroon T-shirt read HARVARD Art DEPT. "You…y'all wouldn't believe me. "

"Oh, yeah, I would," I promised. "I know you can see through the Mist. "

"The what?"

"The Mist. Information technology'south…well, it'south like this veil that hides the way things really are. Some mortals are born with the ability to see through information technology. Like you. "

She studied me advisedly. "You did that at Hoover Dam. Y'all called me a mortal. Like you're not. "

I felt like punching a bongo. What was I thinking? I could never explicate. I shouldn't even try.

"Tell me," she begged. "You lot know what it means. All these horrible things I see?"

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