Breaking Hope CHAPTER ONE May History Teacher Gets Told Off Hi. I'm Hope. You may have heard of my famous big brother, Percy Jackson. Well, everybody looks at him and they're like, " Oooo, look at the strong famous hero who defeated Kronos." Do you think anybody looks at me? No! But at least I have my best friend, Zoe. She understands me, at least in the whole Eagle Academy. I know, weird name, right? I think the school' s named after a sacred eagle or something. I don't know. Anyway, this school is for " Children with writing and reading problems," Ms. Minerva my history/L.A. teacher says. Well, I'll tell you what lady, I have bigger problems than not being able to read or write! So I was at this school, and one day Ms. Minerva asks to speak with me in the hallway. " Do you know who you are?" She asked me. Well, back then I knew my brother was out of town a lot, but I assumed it was just these projects he had to do in high school. So I just shook my head no. " Oh dear, I need to get you to Chiron immediately!" she exclaimed. I'd seen that old lady quiver on Greek Mythology days ( or Geek Mythology days as the boys called it ) but I had never seen her this nervous before. She dragged me to the principal's office, where Mr. C stood, or actually sat. Mr. C is in a wheelchair. Leg disease, maybe. I don't know. Ms. Minerva leaned closer to Mr. C. I don't know what she said, but whatever it was seriously made the principal unhappy. " You were supposed to be looking after her, Iris!" He bellowed. " I slowly raised my hand. " Uh, first of all, her name is Ms. Minerva, not Iris. Second of all, am I part of this conversation at all?" Mr. C took a deep breath. That guy seriously needed a rest break. Have lunch with his friends, maybe go in a hot tub. " Hope Jackson, you are not part of this conversation at all. Why don't you go out in the hallway?" He glared at me. I tip- toed out into the empty hall. I looked at the clock. Only thirty minutes more of this mess, and then summer break. But there was something nagging me in the back of my brain. Hadn't Ms. Minerva said something about the name Iris in history? I think she said that Iris was the goddess of rainbows or something. Was it possible that Ms. Minerva was actually Iris? Could all those Greek myths be true? I shook my head softly. If I started getting thoughts like that, I knew that I had been hanging around Zoe too much. She was obsessed with learning Greek myths, and she begged me to pay attention in history class. I didn't understand then why she wanted me to learn that stuff. How could it help me in real #life? Ms. Minerva walked quickly out of the office. Mr. C followed her with his wheelchair, as always. " Go fetch Zoe Clisseree from Mr. Calloway's homeroom. I need her here. I will take Hope from here." Mr. C looked at Ms.Minerva like he was disappointed in her. Mr. C grabbed my hand and we raced down the hall. Ms. Minerva walked the other way to get Zoe. I didn't know that Mr.C was trying to protect me then, but I am thankful now. If only we knew then that we were a second too late. CHAPTER TWO I Accidentally Set my School on Fire As we hurried down the hallway, Mr. C seemed very nervous. I saw glimpses of class