Attention all high school students: it’s never too early to start thinking about college applications. From everything we’ve heard, the process has never been more difficult (or deadly) than it is now. You’ll need a trusted advisor on your side to see you through it all.

So please be sure to schedule some time with your guidance counselor as soon as the school year begins. You’re going to want to establish a connection and build a healthy rapport.

Especially if your counselor is anything like Eudora, the resident Nereid (shhh, don’t tell anyone) at AHS, Percy Jackson’s current school. And we’re not just saying that because she’s excellent at her job. Need we remind you that Eudora helped Percy secure his first recommendation letter in The Chalice of the Gods?

No, the real reason we recommend you get started on that application as early as you can is because, well . . . sometimes guidance counselors go missing . . .

Fish Out of Water

Her office door is open. The jar of Jolly Ranchers is still on her desk. The painting of Sicky Frog is in its usual place on the wall. So, why can’t anyone get a hold of Eudora these days?

For those who need a reminder, Poseidon sent Eudora to Alternative High School to help Percy achieve his goal of gaining admission to New Rome University. As far as we can tell, she’s been nothing but helpful to ole Seaweed Brain. It’s not like her to simply disappear.

Unless she was that blur of blue and brown we saw rushing into the janitor’s closet earlier.

But there’s no way that was her. We all know high school can be scary, but at the very least we assume that the faculty members can hold it together. Even the ones who are known to melt into puddles from time to time.

Which Witch?

Is it a coincidence that Eudora went AWOL on the exact day a certain goddess of magic decided to visit AHS? Sure, the appearance of any god or goddess, let alone Hecate, at your high school is reason enough for us mortals to panic, but why exactly would Eudora be so nervous about it?

Well, not to gossip, but we have heard that Hecate and Eudora have a complicated history. A history as . . . professional colleagues! (Shocking, we know.) We were led to believe that the Nereids worked exclusively for sea gods.

Regardless, whatever past these two may have shared, it’s all water under the bridge now. After all, they haven’t spoken since 1914. We’re sure that whatever caused Eudora and Hecate to go their separate ways isn’t even worth remembering.

Oh, who are we kidding? Greek gods and goddesses hold on to grudges that pre-date the Homeric Age. If anything, we’re inclined to find a decent hiding spot for ourselves. We wonder if the crawl space in the back of the library is still open . . .

Old School

But why is Hecate visiting AHS in the first place? We don’t think she’s stepped foot inside a school since her own magical academy closed its doors all those years ago. In fact, we doubt the triple goddess would go anywhere near a school if she weren’t on the hunt for something, like a last-minute pet sitter to look after her hellhound and polecat while she’s on vacation.

Someone must have mentioned Percy’s name to Hecate when the goddess was screening candidates. Hecate’s high standards and expectations far outweigh her patience and tolerance for failure. Whoever recommended Percy for the job either truly believes in his abilities as a pet-sitter . . . or they really want him to fall flat on his face.

But as long Percy gets an official recommendation letter out of the deal, we’re sure he won’t complain (too much). Still, the whole arrangement smells fishy. Or maybe that’s because Eudora’s office always vaguely smells like the ocean.

We’re positive that Eudora had nothing to do with Hecate’s sudden appearance in Percy’s life. Remember, Eudora is the Nereid of gifts from the sea; we highly doubt that she would consider the possible wrath of the triple goddess to be an acceptable pre-grad present for anyone.

We’d love to sit and chat with the guidance counselor to get to the bottom of all this (and score a few Jolly Ranchers), but at this rate, we may have to wait a while. We just hope that this isn’t the start of a trend. We’d hate to think of what would happen if certain other supernatural beings started going missing in NYC . . .

Want to learn more about the history between Eudora and Hecate? Be sure to pre-order your copy of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Wrath of the Triple Goddess today!