Inexperienced

I had been trying to read the same page over and over, when Percy barged in. I'd drawn open the curtain to let more light in and to feel less cut of from the rest of the world. Percy sat down on the bunk bed opposite me.

'I'm sorry about what happened to your mum.' He said. 'Nothing has happened to her yet, only I've made a very stupid mistake.' I half-snapped. I sighed. I didn't really want to talk about it, which Percy seemed to get, because he dropped the subject.

'What's that?' He asked, noticing my ereader. 'It's an ereader.' I said, 'you can read books on it.' I turned the screen towards him. 'That is a really small font.' He said, trying to read it. I turned the screen back towards myself, looking at it. I'd never really noticed. 'Um, well, yeah, I always set the smallest font available. You should have seen my previous ereader, that one had really small fonts. Though this one is better, because it is water tight, it has a tapping system on the back, and-'

My voice trailed away as I realised I had been spouting insufficient information. Percy was gaping at me, his mouth slightly open. He quickly regained himself and went on as if nothing had happened. I appreciated that.

'Doesn't it attract monsters?' He asked. 'Oh Sith!' I exclaimed, and then blushed, realising my strange choice of cusswords. To avoid him asking about it, I asked him, 'What is it then, that attracts monsters? Is it a signal, like when you use a phone to call someone? Cause my ereader doesn't send out any signals. It can connect with Wi-Fi, but there is no Wi-Fi here.' Percy scratched the back of his head. 'I suppose you're right, but I'll ask Chiron about it later. Besides, it should be empty of energy soon, because of the demigod powers here.' That caught my interest.

'How would that work? Is it some kind of magic? I've always wondered how magic worked, I mean are they just protons and electrons, or is there something else going on? And to suck the energy out of electronic devices, that would mean that protons attract the electrons in the Lithium-ion battery, or...' I stopped thinking out loud and resumed my thoughts inside my head, until I realised that Percy was still looking at me.

'Um, sorry.' I stammered, blushing ferociously. 'I just really like science, that's all.' Percy chuckled. 'Are you sure that you shouldn't be in the Athena cabin?' He asked, still laughing. I didn't think it was funny at all. Yet another difference. I know I said to myself I would stop trying to fit in, but it was hard. I sighed, and tried not to look upset, in which I failed, of course.

Percy's face fell. 'I didn't say that to offend you. It was a compliment. You are one of the smartest people I've met, and that's something, 'cause I'm dating about the smartest girl at camp.' I smiled slightly. 'Thank you.' I mumbled.

Then I remembered something, and it perked me up a bit. I'd asked Aloisyus about books about the Second Titan War the night before, but he hadn't answered my question. Maybe Percy knew more about it.

'Percy, do you know anything about books about the Second Titan War? Some people have mentioned it, and I'd like to read about it.' If Percy was surprised about the sudden change of subject, he didn't let on. 'Well, yes, some guy named Rick Riordan interviewed me and the seven a couple of times, and I believe he compiled it all in a book series.' This got me really exited.

'Do you know where I can get those?' I asked him. I had to struggle to talk on a normal volume. I always had that when I got exited. Percy smiled at my exitement. 'I think Chiron has them. I'll ask him about it.' He almost ran out of the cabin again.

I hoped I hadn't scared him off.

Notes

The strange choice of cusswords comes of course from Star Wars, but I wasn't the first one who came up with that. Check out The Quirky Tale of April Hale on Wattpad by demonicblackcat (link below) for my inspiration. That story is really awesome (though it has no PJO or HoO references).

https://www.wattpad.com/story/3710071