How Wise Girl (Me) and Seaweed Brain Solved Our Parent's Little Big Feud That Could Have Destroyed Hermes
Look, I never really wanted to be the person who settled arguments of the gods. Nobody ever wanted to, except maybe Hestia. But she's a goddess, so that doesn't really count. But Seaweed Brain had to drag me into this little mess (when I say little, I really mean big) of our still quarrelling parents, Poseidon and Athena.
Um, excuse my manners. I'm Annabeth, a daughter of Athena. If you didn't know I'm a demigod, uh, you're bad at making conclusions. I'm supposedly clever and wise, and good at the arts, according to my mother. And yes, the first thing all children of Athena learn is this: Mom is the best at everything. No arguments, no ifs, ands or buts. She's the best.
So, it all began during a breezy autumn's night, after I'd returned from school (and extra math tutoring class, which I took out of sheer boredom). I had just returned from eating dinner with my father, stepmother and stepbrothers, which actually, I'd misjudged. My stepmother didn't hate me (shocker, I know), instead, she, well, was concerned about her sons and me (I guess) and so she admitted (finally) that she'd been wrong, and made this huge, exaggerated speech (in my opinion) when I came home from Camp Half-Blood after years. Anyway, I was just finishing my English composition homework (retelling my adventure with Percy and Grover, but I changed a few things here and there, you know, to not surprise the mortals) when my cell phone rang.
See, you're not supposed to have a cell phone if you're a demigod, because the sound attracts monsters, so I think I'm one of the very few campers who actually possesses a cell phone. I picked it up, getting a familiar face on my screen. It read Seaweed Brain. My heart raced just that little faster seeing his green eyes and smile on my screen. Wait, what? Oh my gods, just forget what I told you. You forgot? Good. I won't have to use my knife on you. Trust me, I'll do it if I have to.
"Wise Girl, you there?"
"Yeah, Seaweed Brain. I didn't know you had a cell phone."
"I just got a new one. Anyway, has your mom contacted you? Because Poseidon has."
That took me aback. See, my mother is the goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom and knowledge and stuff, and Seaweed Brain, okay, his real name's Percy, if you wanted to know, his father's Poseidon. God of the Sea and stuff? Part of the Big Three? Yeah, if you haven't heard, Poseidon isn't supposed to have kids in the first place. The Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades and all that jazz, aren't supposed to have kids because they have this really strong aura. I wonder how Seaweed Brain-uh, Percy smells like to monsters: fishy, or seaweedy? And Thalia, one of my best friends, was Zeus' daughter. She…I don't really want to talk about it, but let's just say, it wasn't pretty. Anyway, Zeus turned her into a pine tree, which is-better than death, I suppose. And I don't think Hades would have let her in anywhere near Elysium, and Zeus was not taking that.
"Uh, no. Has your dad mentioned anything about Athena to you?" I questioned.
"Actually, yes. He said something about an argument between him and her, and so…"
"But why us?"
"I don't know, Annabeth. Maybe we're the only children of Athena and Poseidon that are on good terms."
"So what else did your dad tell you?"
"He said we should meet at Central Park."
"Central Park?!"
"Yep. Is that a little far for you?"
"Well, it used to be…" I trail off, playing with the phone cord.
I used to live in San Francisco, but the summer after the Quest for Zeus' Lightning Bolt and such, my family decided to move to New York because of family reasons. It's family business. Don't ask.
"Wait, Wise Girl, you moved somewhere nearer to New York?"
"Duh, Seaweed Brain."
"Why?"
"Family issues, Percy. Any more stupid questions?"
"Nope. See you there."
"Looking forward to it." I replied, ending the call.
My father, who had been washing the dishes with my stepmother (at least, I think), popped his head around my bedroom door.
"Your boyfriend?" he teased me.
"Dad! Percy Jackson is not my boyfriend!" I yelled, throwing my completed English homework at his head, where he easily caught it.
"You've got your mother's temper and wit, Annabeth. I suppose you've got the best of both worlds, anyway-" he broke off as I rolled my eyes, he seemed to mention Athena all the time now.
"-have fun at your little date-uh, I mean gathering with your Percy Jackson. Oh, and if you're going to ask, he's got my approv-aghh!" he shrieked, as I got a good hit with my Yankees Baseball Cap my mother gave me. I loved that thing!
"Okay, okay, dad, I'll be home for dinner."
"Um, it's already getting late, Annabe-"
"Percy's father and Athena have sent a-summons for the both of us to meet. And, no, dad-" I broke of as my dad raised his eyebrows expressively.
"-Athena and Poseidon aren't going to ask Aphrodite over."
A distant flash of lightning served as an instrument of protest.
"Okay, but behave yourself. And say hi to that Sally Jackson, she's a wonderful lady and her book really is brilliant."
"Sure thing, Dad." I responded, carrying my Waterland backpack I got in Denver, while travelling with Percy and Grover. Good times, good times.
I said goodbye to my little family, then walked out of the door.
We follow Annabeth to the curb, where she gets out a few grubby fifty dollar notes, which she shows to an oncoming cabbie, who opens the door to his taxi, where she sits down and proceeds to text Percy with her phone, telling him she's on his way. The taxi ride takes quite a while, about fifteen to twenty minutes, because Annabeth's apartment is far from the heart of New York.
After a brisk walk, Annabeth got to Central Park, plonking herself as gracefully as she could manage on a wooden bench. Receiving a text from Percy, telling her he was on his way, she relaxes, pulling out her book. After finishing it, she looks up.
It was 9 pm in Central Park, and it was getting dark.
Oh, my gods, was that a spider? Why did our parents have to send us here, to Central Park? Holy Hephaestus, what a foul idea.
Suddenly, I heard a skittering of pincers on the paved sidewalk-or, at least I heard a skittering of pincers. I ran, shrieking (I don't squeal, how many times Percy tells me. Even after he offers me a blueprint and a kiss-um, three or four to be exact, and it's really hard to resist, I won't admit it because there's nothing to admit.)
Anyway, I ran in panic, because, oh my gods, you've heard the Athena and Arachne story? If you haven't, basically, the aftermath was that we (when I mean we, I mean Athena's kids) inherited arachnophobia, which is fear of spiders, because any spiders within a hundred foot radius would scuttle up to us and basically scare the Zeus out of you.
And guess what made me stop. Well, actually, slam into. If you guessed Arachne, I'm sorry, you have got to wait just a little longer for that (actually, nine books). If you guessed Athena, nada. Frankly, I'd be screaming my head off, yelling, um, not such nice stuff. (I just hope Frank doesn't see that pun, or he'll turn into a spider and it would get ugly.) If you guessed Seaweed Brain, DING DING! Twenty million drachmas as a prize. Just kidding, I don't have so much godly cash.
Yeah, so I slammed into him, and he just wrapped his arms around my waist (cough, cue intense blushing from the both of us, cough.) to steady me (Real smooth, Percy. No, I'm not being sarcastic.) And his reaction was just 'what are you doing, running in panic from a-' and I must have choked out something like 'spidurs' and he went 'I see'.
And we got into the usual routine, hands in pockets, casually chatting about life. Then, it got really cold. I wondered if Aphrodite had a word with Aeolus or something, because it was unnaturally strong. Percy, being the manly guy he is (cough, for now, cough. You don't have any ideas about how many dates he's missed.) took off his scarf (blue, duh) and wrapped it around my neck, surprisingly snug.
"There you go, Wise Girl." He murmured, tucking the scarf snugly against my neck.
"Aw, thanks, Seaweed Brain." I smiled, our hands meeting. (Don't ask how that happened. Hormones, I guess.)
Percy was about to hail a taxi back to his apartment, when thunder rolled amongst the sky.
"Oh, great. Finally, at ten o'clock at night, we get a summons after we both partially freeze and huddle together like penguins. Not that I don't mind-about the penguin thing." Percy muttered, almost to the point where I couldn't hear him, but I could hear him anyway. Enough about that, I've probably told you guys enough about our personal lives.
The scene changes, where we see a quick blur of a blue and gray portal appear in Central Park, and Percy and Annabeth, still holding hands, both step nervously in the portal, where they are whisked away to Olympus, where two gods, obviously rather angry at each other, are arguing. They immediately turn and face the two demigods, who are still holding hands. Aphrodite, who had just appeared mere seconds ago, squeals in delight behind an ivory pillar. Percy and Annabeth both recognize the two quarrelling gods as their parents: Poseidon and Athena. Athena then proceeds to look disdainfully at Annabeth and Percy, who immediately let go of each other, much to Aphrodite's disappointment, who then proceeds to disappear in a cloud of pink smoke. Athena and Poseidon lead the two demigods to the Olympian Throne Room, where they take a sit, and a blue loveseat appears, which Annabeth reasons that it is for them to sit on, and which Percy reasons that it is Aphrodite's work, and the fact that it is blue, leads them to sit down on it promptly.
"So, young demigods, as you may have known, we have sent a summons for you two-" Athena broke off as Poseidon, looking extremely bored, nodded listlessly.
"Yes, yes, they must know what's going on by now, Athena. Anyway, we have this issue we've been bickering for days now."
"You seem so readily to admit it, when just a few moments ago you were denying it!" she spat back.
Poseidon snatched up his trident, and my mother picked up her spear, both appearing more than ready to murder each other on the spot.
I decided to step in, whatever happened between these two, it was serious, because the Olympians almost never threatened each other with their weapons or their symbols of power.
"STOP!" I yelled.
Both gods turned to look at me.
"Um, Wise Girl, I'm not sure…" Percy broke off as I gave him a nod.
"I'll be all right, I promise."
"J…just be careful."
"You must stop fighting! It has done you no good! You must sit down and discuss with us to try to remedy your feud, or you might bring down Olympus!"
"She's right, you must-uh, should, listen to us! This must be the reason you have summoned us! There is a reason you summoned us, because we're on good terms. Your other children are apparently not on good terms, so you should listen to your children who see the good and bad in both of you." Percy agreed, coming to stand with me, pride lighting up his faces at my supposed bravery.
If I was brave, what was Percy, then?
To my relief, both gods seemed to calm down, sitting on their respective thrones.
"Okay, now we're in an open state of mind, can you please tell me what's wrong?" I said gently, trying my best to soothe the god and goddess, sitting back into the chair, Percy following suit. I think Piper would have been proud of my attempt at charm speak.
Poseidon gave a resigned face, then heaved a sigh.
"It was a clear day."
"No, it wasn't!" Athena exclaimed.
"Forget it! That was after that!"
"Anyway, Athena let out her owls, her sacred owls, for a break-"
"They were cooped up for so long! They needed a break!"
"Did I say anything was wrong with that? No! Anyway, they instantly flew to my sacred pond of dolphins-"
"I couldn't control them!"
"You should have trained them properly! Why did those owls leave Hera's peacocks alone? Or Aphrodite's doves? Or George and Martha?"
(George and Martha are Hermes' snakes, by the way.)
My mother growled, her eyes furious.
"See? She deliberately let her owls attack my sacred dolphins!"
"You attacked my owls!"
"I did not! Hermes did! You know what he's like!"
The two gods continued bickering angrily. Finally, Percy stood up from his seat, me following.
"We understand! Now you can stop bickering!"
Again, they started grumbling, but finally stopping.
"The only way we can solve this is to summon Hermes." I reasoned calmly, squeezing Percy's hand.
Athena looked disapprovingly, only to be interrupted by Aphrodite, who squealed, then disappeared in a cloud of pink dust, to avoid Athena's wrath.
"Very well." Poseidon nodded.
Poseidon smashed the base of his trident, and Athena slammed the base of her spear, next to Hermes' throne, which summoned the god.
"Hey, Fishmonger, Brain Chick! How's everything? What did I miss?"
A small ocean gathered at the feet of Poseidon, and Athena's eyes flashed with rage.
"Kidding." Hermes quickly backtracked, snorting nervously.
Quickly changing the subject, as to avoid being zapped into godly ash, he turned to me and Percy.
"Oh, these must be your delightful children! Percy and Annabeth? They must have been the demigods who have returned Zeus' Lightning Bolt!"
"Yes." My mother hissed with gritted teeth.
"That is not the reason we summoned you, Hermes."
"Have you seen my sacred owls? Or Poseidon's dolphins?" Athena asked.
"Well, yes." Hermes said slowly, his caduceus being thrown from one hand to another.
"Did you interfere with them?" Poseidon snarled.
Hermes began to tremble a bit, but he whispered 'no'.
"LIES!" Percy's father roared.
I could see why he was Percy's father. That boy could get quite fearsome when I took the last scoop of ice cream. Then I'd kiss him to shut him up.
Works all the time. Wait, you totally didn't hear that.
Hermes looked more nervous by the by.
"Uh…"
Percy crept over to a corner of the throne room and I followed; if it came to it, I didn't want to be blasted into demigod debris.
Meanwhile, said discussion (well…it wasn't ever a discussion) turned into a full blown fight.
Suddenly, Percy did either the most brave or stupid thing.
You guessed it.
He told them to quit it.
To this day, I'm surprised that Athena or Hermes (Poseidon would never blast his own kid) didn't smash him into dust.
"Okay, so, now, you guys know who the real culprit is. I'm guessing you guys can sort Hermes out?" Percy questioned, twiddling his thumbs. (I've known Seaweed Brain for so long, I know that's a nervous habit he picked up from his mom.)
To my (great) relief, they all shut up and seemed to agree.
"Yes, we can do that."
"So I suppose we should send you home?"
"I suppose. My mother should be pretty worried."
"Sally? Is she all right?"
"Yes, Dad, she's fine."
"Well…send her my finest regards. Also Paul Blowfish."
"…Paul Blofis, Dad."
"…that."
"Goodbye till next time, Mr. Jackson, Miss Chase."
"Goodbye, Dad."
"Goodbye, Mom."
"Bye, guys." Hermes ventured nervously.
Me and Percy walked to the elevator that would take us back into the mortal world. I was about to press the button, when a very nervous Hermes approached us.
"Hey, guys, remember that time I helped you out with the thing?"
"Yes." I responded calmly.
"Well, uh, since I've helped you once-"
"Actually, Lord Hermes, we helped you that time, so that was our reward."
"Oh. Okay. Anyway, just a small favour…"
"Hmm?" Percy replied.
"Just…keep quiet about this, okay? No Olympian needs to know, or mortal. Especially Chiron."
"Very well, Hermes. Just…stay alive."
"Will do."
He gave us a salute, then I pressed the button, and we took off, back to New York.
A bit later
We walked through the streets. It was getting pretty late, and we were both freezing.
However I tried to get rid of Percy so that I could go home and not bother his parents, he repeatedly refused to leave me.
"Wise Girl, come on! It's getting really late, not to mention monsters and creeps in New York."
After around twenty failed attempts, I finally relented, and we took a taxi to Percy's apartment.
I paid. (I wouldn't let Percy pay, that would be too many things I owed him.)
Finally, cold and starving, we arrived at Percy's apartment. He pressed the doorbell, while my icy hand found his and we held hands, trying any way to get each other warm.
"Mom? It's me, Percy, and I've brought Annabeth with me."
The door opened, and a kind face greeted us.
"Oh, this must be Annabeth! Percy's told us lots about you! Come in, come in!"
Percy's stepfather, Paul, gave us a wave.
"Hi, guys! You're just in time for dinner."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Blofis, Ms. Jackson."
"Nice to meet you, Annabeth. But please, call us Paul and Sally."
"Mom, can she stay over?"
"Percy, where does she live?"
"She lives around forty five minutes away, and she has to walk home for twenty five minutes."
"Then she must stay. It's not good, being very late. Why did your father call you up so late?"
"Um, crisis. I don't know."
"Paul, we have a bunk bed in Percy's room, right?"
"M…my room?" Percy stuttered, going bright red.
Cute.