Olympian

10: Tutor

Annabeth POV

Outside of biology class, lunch, and our tutoring sessions, I rarely see Percy.

After the arcade hangout a month ago, I haven't seen Percy at any social gathering outside of school. Even though my friends and I hang out outside, Percy doesn't really join us. Even if he wants to, he's so busy with his swimming regimen that he doesn't have time or energy to spend with us. He was working really hard for this opportunity.

I was actually really impressed with Seaweed Brain.

Growing up with just his annoying presence, I didn't realize how focused and determined he could be. After all, Percy always gives off the nonchalant (doesn't give a crap) vibe.

I realized quickly that tutoring Percy is difficult. There are multiple reasons for this:

1. Our tutoring sessions are usually in very inconvenient times. Because of swimming, we have to set up our tutoring sessions late at night or only on the weekends. At night, we're both tired and the work becomes difficult.

I will say that Percy is a gentleman though. I guess I didn't expect that. If it's late and I don't have my car, Percy always drives me home. He doesn't let me walk or take an Uber no matter how tired he is.

I really liked that quality although I would explicitly act as if Percy was being too much.

2. Percy has really bad dyslexia and ADHD. School difficult for him because of those learning disabilities. I'm surprised he's as smart as he is.

Percy is definitely smarter than he looks.

"What was that?" Percy asked, lifting his head out of the textbook he's reading.

Shit, I said that out loud.

"Nothing," I replied, hoping he didn't hear me. Percy was bad enough without having a compliment reach his head.

Percy smirked while twirling in his desk chair. The sun, streaming from the window, made his eyes sparkle brightly. "Really, it sounded like you said that I'm much smarter than I look."

"Well, if you heard me, why'd you ask?" I huffed in frustration. He's so annoying sometimes.

"I wanted to hear it again," Percy chuckled.

I rolled my eyes while relaxing on his bed. I was working on some architectural sketches of city bridges. I loved architecture, and I hoped that I could make a career out of it one day. My attention returned to the sketches I'm working on, hoping to submit them in my college portfolio. My college applications were going great, and I'm applying to some of the best, most competitive programs in the country.

I was so invested in the work that I didn't realize Percy had approached me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he leaned his head over my shoulder to see my work.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I screamed, startled.

"Nothing, I was asking you questions about math, and you weren't answering," Percy replied quickly; his hands went up in surrender.

"Okay. What's your question?"

Percy ignored me and continued looking at my sketch book. I covered it, suddenly self-cautious. Percy seemed to notice my hesitation, and he smiled at me instead of making a sleazy comment.

"That's really good. I knew you were interested in architecture and design, but that's impressive," Percy complimented while gesturing to my book.

"Thanks," I said quietly.

A light blush formed on my cheeks, but thankfully, Percy didn't notice. His attention already returned to the clothes sprawled in the corner. He walked over and tossed them in his laundry hamper.