1: The Condition

Percy POV

I took a deep breath as I waited behind the red, velvet curtains. Talk shows always made me nervous even the fun ones. It was expected that a celebrity has to give something personal up in these interviews.

"Mr. Jackson, you're mic is all set," the technician affirmed.

"Thank you," I whispered.

I readjusted my suit jacket to cover the wires. I nodded and smiled at him. He seemed like a nice man and a hard worker. For a second, the middle-aged man seemed taken aback. He looked surprised, but he managed to recover quickly.

"You're welcome, sir," he responded.

I chuckled as I looked at the man. He was working backstage for the Graham Norton show.

"Sir, I'm half of your age. You can simply call me by my first name. That's completely fine, and I know that you know who I am," I replied politely.

Almost everyone knew who I was: perks of being a teenage pop star.

The man simply nodded in shock. Clearly, he didn't get treated with much respect by celebrities. I understood why. Singers and actors were usually so busy that they didn't look twice for their help. However, I was still a human being.

London, UK.

This was my second-to-last stop for my extremely successful 2nd world tour. My manager set up an interview today even though I wasn't interested. The truth was that I didn't need any more publicity.

But, whatever the label wanted always happens, so here I was.

I sighed before taking another breath.

The show would start soon. As soon as Graham says my name, I'd walk onto the stage. First, I'd perform a hit song. Then, we'd sit down and talk. Hopefully, the conversation would be funny or personally informative.

That's what people wanted from me all the time. As a celebrity, I realized quickly that we were open machines of entertainment.

I wasn't complaining though because I loved my fans. They were the reason why I was standing here living out my dreams. But, it is so difficult and exhausting sometimes.

"All right, everyone, please welcome Grammy award-winning, pop sensation, Percy Jackson," Graham announced boldly.

I smiled as I walked onto the mini-stage.

The lights flashed on my face, but I was used to it. I was also used to the cheering from the audience. Compared to the arenas that I sell out, this was nothing.

I walked towards the microphone as I waved. The music started playing before I even got to my position. It was rather annoying when the sound guys jump the gun. Regardless, I managed to adjust without showing any stress. I had enough experience with performing.

Viva la Vida started playing.

I started singing on cue. I knew that I had a great singing voice. After all, people loved and bought my music because of it. This song was probably the biggest hit from my second album.

My voice resonated through the room as I finished in a few minutes.

Cheering erupted from the audience as I smiled. The fans were always so refreshing. I smiled and waved as I walked towards Graham, hugging him, and then, sitting down on the couch.

"Wonderful, Percy Jackson everyone, thank you so much for that performance," Graham said in his British accent.

"Thank you for having me. It's an honor," I replied.

The audience finally settled down after a few minutes, and the interview started. "All right, I'll get straight to the point, you have come so far, Percy," Graham complimented.

"Thank you. It's quite funny actually, just two and a half years ago, I was a student in high school simply doodling lyrics," I said brightly.

"I have to ask, how did this journey of yours start?"

I turned towards the audience as I casually took a sip of water. Usually, Graham put drinks out, but I couldn't drink legally. Not even in the UK. That's not to say that I haven't experienced alcohol yet.

"Well, I've been recording songs at my high school, and we uploaded them to youtube. One song, in particular, caught my label's attention, and here I am."

"ARCADE," a shout came from the audience.

Laughter erupted from the crowd as Graham cracked up as well. I chuckled at the girl's excitement, wherever she was.

"Yes, Arcade," I affirmed while still laughing.

As such, Arcade counted as my first official song. That album had two other songs that became widely popular hits, which led me to become a rising new artist. After my first world tour, my second album garnered even more attention. Songs like Viva la Vida blew up around the world and in award circles.

The interview continued for an hour.

My feet were hurting by the time I made it back to the hotel with my security team and Chiron. I hated dress shoes. I had no clues how girls managed heels.

"All right, Percy, we fly out to New York tomorrow. We have a meeting with the label on the day after your final tour show," Chiron expressed.

"Yeah, sounds good, Chiron," I said as I jumped into bed.

Chiron chuckled as he sat down. "You're doing a great job, Percy. You'll get your break very soon."

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Chiron, we both know that once I get back, the label will immediately say that they want another album with hit songs and music videos," I assured with a sigh.

Don't get me wrong, I loved making music, but I was so tired. It was a constant cycle of traveling, writing, singing, and interviewing. There wasn't much social time or rest. For example, it's been several months since I've seen my mom in person.

"Don't worry, I think that you'll be surprised," Chiron said with a smile. "All right, then, good night."

Chiron patted my back before walking away as I stared at him in confusion. He definitely knew something that I didn't.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I called after him.

However, he didn't answer me. Instead, he securely closed my door and went into his adjacent room.

Chiron was an excellent manager. He looked after my health and safety and made sure that I was handling things all right. When I wasn't, he was always there. He still had to take orders from the label, but he tried his best to make sure that I was okay.

I groaned as my head fell back on the pillow.

Gods, I was so exhausted. I really needed a break from all of the craziness, pressure, and lack of privacy and personal life.

***

"All right, Percy, please sit down," Zeus commanded.

I did as told. I've learned long ago that it was better to just follow the instructions of the record label. After all, they were in charge of me.

The board room had several representatives sitting. Chiron and I also followed to the last two empty seats around the table.

"So, how are Jason and Thalia?" I asked casually.

Zeus didn't respond to my question about his kids. Instead, he simply glared at me before returning his gaze to his laptop. Zeus wasn't in a good mood today. No surprise there.

Regardless, I wanted to know about my friends. Jason was one of my best friends, and I managed to keep in touch even after my life got ridiculously busy.

"Well, Percy, congrats on finishing your second world tour," Artemis expressed.

"Thank you," I said to the famous songwriter. Artemis was one of the best songwriters in the world, and we collaborated on several pieces. She was super nice, and she's been in the business for a long time.

"So, why are we meeting today?" I asked them.

They all looked up at me in surprise. I didn't understand why they were shocked though. I was never excited to see them.

"You don't seem happy about this meeting," Ares expressed.

"Well, seeing your face isn't my ideal date," I countered with a smirk.

I didn't like Ares one bit. he worked at the record label simply because his dad was the boss. He had no association or respect for music.

Ares's eyes blazed with fury. However, Artemis saved me from his wrath.

"Percy, we are meeting with you and Chiron today to discuss the next steps in your career. As you know, the next step is another album to cultivate your growth," Artemis said.

"Right, I know already," I said in confusion.

Why was everyone making a big deal about the standard process? I already knew that they'd want an album filled with songs quickly, and then, tours and performances would repeat.

This was assuming that the paparazzi or haters didn't affect my life too much during the process.

Sometimes, haters did affect me. Anxiety and insecurities do build up. Also, the paparazzi are always meddling in my life, and I hated it.

"Yes, but we're giving you an entire year to prepare just the songs. That is, you should have 15 songs prepared, but you don't have to do any shows or interviews or anything," Artemis said boldly with a smile.

I blinked as I digested the information.

"Wait, so I don't need to be in the limelight at all?" I asked.

"Well, you should keep up with social media, and there could be emergency shows to perform upon request, but YES. You can take a year-long break from everything but making music," Zeus affirmed.

"Wait, so-"

"My gods, kid. Can you use your head?" Zeus said rhetorically.

My mouth closed as I turned towards Chiron, who was reassuringly smiling at me. I knew that he had something to do with this.

As soon as we left the room, I hugged him.

"Chiron, thank you so much. I really need this. I can just relax and make music," I said cheerfully. I laughed in joy as Chiron patted my back.

"I know you, Percy, and I know how exhausted you are. You worked so hard over the past 2.5 years, so you deserve some rest from the starlight," Chiron expressed.

I pulled away from him as I smiled. I'd get to go home without having any forced responsibilities. I can finally relax and revisit my roots.

The smile on my face was way too stretched as I walked towards the elevator. I was ready to go home to my family. I couldn't wait to tell my mom and Paul.

"Oh, Percy," Chiron acknowledged.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked as I turned around, still smiling.

"There is one condition to this. You have to finish high school at Goode Academy in this coming year," he said firmly.

The smile melted from my face.

"What, Why?!" I exclaimed. I didn't want to go back to school.