I own nothing related to Percy Jackson or any other franchise mentioned in this story in any way.
Percy put the last of his belongings into the last of his duffle bags, finally finishing packing. With a sigh, Percy sat on his bare bed, waiting for his step-dad, Paul, to arrive to help him move out of his New York University dorm room, and ran a hand through his raven black hair, remembering that he forgot to brush it this morning. He looked around the empty space. His roommate had moved out about an hour ago, and the more Percy packed, the less the small room felt like the home it had been to him the past year. He'd miss this space, but he truly could not wait to see his parents, and, though he would never admit it, he was looking forward to seeing the cat again, too. Suddenly, there was a sharp knock.
"It's open!" Percy yelled to the visitor, picking up the first of his duffle bags to hand to who he assumed would be Paul. Instead, a girl with fiery red, untamable hair walked in.
"Oh, hey Rachel," Percy greeted the girl, setting down his duffle bag.
"You weren't planning to leave without saying goodbye, were you?" Rachel questioned, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's neck. Percy smiled down at her.
"Of course not," he told her, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I've just been so busy packing. I never realized how much crap I kept in here." Rachel scoffed.
"I could've told you that," she said, giving him one last peck. "I need to get going. My mom is waiting in the car. I just wanted to make sure we got our goodbye in. See you soon?"
"Absolutely," Percy assured her. Rachel lived only thirty minutes out of New York City, and Percy lived in Brooklyn, so the two planned to spend a lot of time together this summer. As Rachel left, a tall man with salt and pepper hair walked into Percy's dorm room. Percy grinned at his step-dad as Paul gave him a hug.
"I've missed you, son," Paul told Percy as he picked up a bag.
"Missed you too, Paul." The two men packed up Paul's small Prius and headed to their Brooklyn apartment.
"So was that Rachel?" Paul inquired as they began their drive off campus. Percy smiled at the mention of his girlfriend's name. He did not quite know what love felt like, but he was pretty sure that the way he felt about Rachel was close to it.
"Yeah, that was her. What do you think?" Percy replied, hoping Paul would approve.
"She's cute. You gotta be careful with those red heads, though. They can be trouble." Percy rolled his eyes at Paul's joke, albeit he laughed anyway.
"I really like her, Paul. And we're planning to spend a lot of time together, so I should probably get a job. Otherwise, I'll be broke in a week," Percy said laughing, though he was serious about running out of money.
"You know," Paul answered, "I walked dogs over the summer when I was your age. I got pretty good money for it, too."
"Really?" Percy asked, interested. "That sounds like a nice, easy job. How do I go about finding some dogs to walk?"
"I have a friend who has some dogs, actually. He'd probably pay you well. He's a well known professor and his wife's a lawyer."
"That sounds great. Do you think they'd hire me? Are they looking for a dog walker?"
"I can ask."
"Yeah, thanks Paul, that'd be great."
Paul pulled up to the brick apartment building and parked his Prius. Before Percy could even get out of the car, his mother was running out the front door of the building towards him. Percy stepped out of the car into his mothers waiting arms.
"Percy! I've missed you so much," Percy's mother rested her head against her son's chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I've missed you too, mom. I really have," Percy told her, chuckling at his mother's dramatic embrace.
"I can't get all these bags by myself!" Paul interrupted the reunion. "Here, can you get this one, Sally?" he asked his wife. Sally took the bag and began up to the apartment, Paul and Percy close behind her.
The apartment was small, but nice. It had that special quality that as soon as someone goes through the door, he or she feels at home, even if it is not his or her apartment. The floors were a beautifully worn, taupe wood, with walls painted to match. Right inside the front door was the kitchen with deep brown cabinets and light amber, marble countertops. The table placed against the wall was a beautiful mosaic placed on top of a turquoise rug, and the three chairs around the table did not quite match, but went together in a way that gave the room undeniable character. The vintage clock above the table read 4:30 in the afternoon, and the antique vase on the counter held blooming, bright yellow flowers.
As soon as Percy walked through the door, Milo, the cat, was jumping onto his broad shoulders.
"Hey bud!" Percy said to the cat, "I've missed you too!" Milo meowed as Percy pushed him off his shoulders, walking past the kitchen, into the living room. The living room continued the theme of mismatched yet complimenting furniture with a plush, ivory couch complimenting a dark, wooden love seat with lovely pearl, leather cushions, complimenting a similarly wooden arm chair with alabaster, handwoven cushions. The coffee table was a deep chocolate wood, offsetting the off-white television stand. The bookshelf placed against the back wall, behind the couch matched the wood of the coffee table, as did the arched windows and balcony door as they let in ample natural light. There were plants and succulents scattered about the room, giving the city apartment an earthy feel. Percy continued from the living room through the door to his room and dropped his bags.
"Dinner in an hour, Percy!" Sally called to her son as she saw him enter his room.
"Okay!" Percy called back, enjoying the sounds of home. Percy looked around his room. The blue of his walls, resembling the sea, the deep brown wood of his bookshelf, resembling drift wood, and the almost white wood of his bed and desk, resembling sand. He sat down on his blue stripped comforter and took a deep breath.
"Smells like home," he said to himself. As he waited for dinner, Percy reclined on his bed, bracing his head with his hands tucked behind his dark hair, and thought about Rachel. Her wild hair and bright, kelly green eyes. She was Percy's first real relationship. Sure, he'd been on dates before and had had a couple of girlfriends, but Rachel was the first that he thought may actually go somewhere. The only issue was that Percy just could not bring himself to fully trust her. Sure, he had never felt this way before, and he even thought he may be falling in love, but he could not bring himself to allow his heart to fall while he felt this ominous aura of distrust in the back of his mind every time he was around her. He pushed the thoughts away. I'm sure it's nothing, he thought to himself.
"Percy, dinner!" Sally's voice brought Percy out of his thoughts and he picked himself up and went into the kitchen for dinner. Paul was sitting in his seat at the table, reading a story from the paper out loud as Sally fiddled with the food.
"Hey, Perce," he greeted Percy as Percy took his seat at the table.
"I hope you two are hungry," Sally said as she served them both heaping plates of spaghetti, green beans, and garlic bread. Percy's stomach growled as he took in the smells of the steaming plate of food, his first home cooked meal since Christmas vacation. Percy could faintly smell a cake in the oven, and he would bet anything that the cake was blue.
"So Percy, tell us everything that has happened since Christmas. How was your second semester? Were your classes good? Are the kids being nice to you? Oh! And you said you met a girl! What was her name, Paul? Rachel!" Sally fired questions at Percy, eager to catch up on her son's life. Percy and Paul both laughed at Sally's interrogation, and Percy took a bite of spaghetti before he began to answer her many questions.
"Classes are great, mom. I'm really excited for next year when I really get to start taking classes related to marine biology and not just basic courses that everyone has to take. And yes, of course the kids are being nice to me." Percy answered his mother with a sparkle in his eye, truly happy to answer any and all of her ridiculous questions.
"And what about Rachel?" Paul chimed in. Percy looked down at his plate, a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Oh," Sally said, clapping her hands, "I want to meet her."
"No, mom, not yet," Percy said with a laugh. "She truly is amazing, though. I've never felt like this before." Sally gave her son a knowing smile.
"And what about swimming? The coach is going to renew your scholarship, right?" Paul asked around a mouthful of green beans.
"Oh yeah," Percy replied, "we're going to be unstoppable next year." The family enjoyed themselves, catching up and simply enjoying being together. Once the spaghetti was eaten, the green beans gone, and the garlic bread disappeared, Sally brought the cake out of the oven.
"I knew it'd be blue," Percy said with a grin.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Sally said, "but before we eat it, it needs to cool so I can frost it." At this, a scowl found its way onto Percy's face.
"How long is that going to take?" Percy demanded, distress evident in his voice.
"Oh, maybe half an hour, forty-five minutes." Sally answered calmly. Percy's jaw was on the ground.
"I come home from my first year at college and this is what I get." Percy said in disbelief.
"I think you'll live," Paul retorted, taking the dishes to the sink and beginning to clean up. Percy got up to help, putting rinsed dishes into the dishwasher. By the time the kitchen was clean, the cake was frosted and ready to go. Percy helped himself to the largest slice, going into the living room to select a movie for the family to watch. He put the disc in as Sally and Paul walked in to join him.
"Oh no," Paul said, seeing the case to Finding Nemo on the coffee table. Percy gave him a mischievous look and sat down in the armchair, eating his cake calmly. Paul did not put up anymore of a fight, and the three watched Percy's favorite movie in peace. By the time the film was over, Sally had fallen asleep, and Paul had taken her and himself into bed. Percy, however, watched until the very end before allowing himself to get into bed for the best night's sleep he has had in a long time.
The next morning, Percy woke up around 9:00, stretching his tired muscles. After taking a quick shower, Percy went into the kitchen for breakfast, finding Paul watching the news in the living room. When Percy opened his door, Paul muted the television.
"Good morning, Perce. Sleep well?" Paul greeted Percy.
"Good morning, yeah, I slept like a baby." Percy answered.
"So I have some good news: I spoke to my friend, Frederick Chase. Welcome to the dog walking business, son."
Thanks so much for reading! Please share your thoughts with me! More to come soon!