Perseus Jackson Wakes Up as Polyhymnia O'Keefe
I woke up feeling not myself.
I stumbled out of bed and took two steps into the middle of the room when my instincts told me to stop what i was doing before I ran into something. The washbasin wasn't where I'd left it the night before. Come to that, neither were the walls.
I looked around, my brow furrowing. I was still bleary, so it took me a full minute to realize I was in the wrong hut. The walls were different. My swords weren't there. In their place was a short, curved and pointy knife. Made of bronze. Weird. And a bird-like mask, full of feathers. There was also graffiti on another wall.
As I stared around at all of this, I scratched my head.
And then I froze.
The hair felt wrong. It was long -- to my shoulders. I grabbed a strand. It was red.
"Son of a--"
For a moment, I thought I was a victim of a repeat of the Aphrodite cabin's famous prank on the Ares campers -- sneaking in at night and doing up the sleeping campers in wigs and make-up. But as I felt my hair, I realized this was no wig. For one thing, this hair was attached to my head. "Ow!"
The Aphrodite wigs didn't come off, either -- thanks to a judicious use of magic -- but they weren't attached to the Ares' campers heads. No. The Ares campers could throw the wigs aside, only to have the wigs come flying back and chase the Ares campers all around the compound. All part of the fun. This was real hair!
"What the--"
Then my hand happened to brush my chest, and I stopped, catching a feeling that I'd felt once before, inadvertently, while swordfighting with Annabeth. I still had the scars to prove it. I felt my chest again to be sure, and then I screamed.
"Oh, gods! I'm a girl!"
No. This couldn't be happening. I'd been changed into a guinea pig before -- that was bad enough -- but a girl! I didn't know how to be a girl!
But before I hyperventilate completely, I hear Annabeth's voice in my head. "Calm down, Seaweed Brain! You're panicking, and panicking kills! Take stock. Assess the lay of the land. Look around and then figure out what to do next."
Yes. Good idea. Looking around, I spot a mirror, and I hurry over.
Though I'm expecting a shock, nothing prepares me for the face that greets me in place of my reflection. The girl with red hair stands across from me, her mouth matching my gape. If she were a different person, playing a game of mirrors, she'd be the world champion.
Then I frowned, and so did she. Wasn't this… Zell's girlfriend, Polly? It was, wasn't it? I gulped. I was Zell's girlfriend!
That's it! I needed to get out, find Annabeth, and put a stop to this whole mess. She'd know what to do. Or, at least, she'd know how to handle being a girl.
I look around for clothes to wear, and stop when I realize that to change into them, I'd first have to pull off this long t-shirt I'm wearing.
Um… no.
Rifling through Polly's wardrobe, I curse the fact that she seems to have an aversion to pants. In the end, I grab some underwear (I refuse to call them panties), pull them on without looking, and then grab a loose yellow dress, which I pull on over the t-shirt. Then I turn to the door. ready to face the world.
Sort of.
Gathering my courage, I run outside, resisting the urge to hide my face.
(Continued here)