Percy POV
"Come on Grover, let's go," I moaned to my best friend. After the last day of my sophomore year at Goode High School, I was dying to go to the county fair.
"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure I look alright. You know she'll be there," he replied. He patted down his shirt as we walked to my shiny, black Maserati Spyder. Just kidding, it's my mom's SUV, but a boy can dream.
As we sped out the driveway, I glanced over to a skittish Grover, frantically playing with the carabiner on his keychain. "Dude, relax. If you keep this up, she'll be able to smell your anxiety from miles away."
"I sure hope not, I made sure to put on cologne. I think… oh no, did I forget the cologne?!" Grover mused as he smelled his underarms. Grover and I had been best friends since he first entered my school district in 3rd grade, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed his constant low self-esteem. I, myself, tried not to be too arrogant. I was captain of the varsity swim team this year as a junior. I hung out with the "popular" group, but I never acted like I was better than others because trust me, there are a lot of areas for improvement.
I pulled up to a red light and put my hand on his shoulder. "G-Man, you look fine. And probably smell fine, too." I nudged his arm jokingly. "And come on, she's totally into you. You even said she kept looking at you at the Environmental Club meetings. I'm sure she loved those ideas you had on adding recycling bins to the bathrooms and hallways."
"So", he mumbled tersely.
"Grover, I'm no Silena Beauregard, but tonight, I am the matchmaker," I told him with a smirk as I entered the makeshift parking lot by the fairgrounds. Now, I'd never been too romantic or anything. I hadn't dated that many girls, but I feel obligated to help Grover with this one. He really needed it, and with his constant worrying and stuff, it seemed like I needed it just as much.
Grover gave an incredulous glance. "And how will you do that?"
"You'll see," I said as the plan formulated in my mind, giving a devious smile as I opened the door.
We entered the 4-H club building, where all the members' arts and crafts were located. Some of them looked great! Others, well... let's just say their macaroni would have been better used for cooking than making a perforated bowl (They know macaroni has holes in them, right?!). Grover sheepishly followed behind me. But that was about to change soon.
"There she is," I whispered to Grover, prodding his arm.
"Let's just go somewhere el-"
"Hey Juniper, how are you!" I greeted as I walked towards her project, titled "Easy Ways to Reuse Plastics". Wow, if these two didn't get together, then the Fates should've been demoted. Their thumbs were greener than Oscar the Grouch in a green recycling bin.
She gave me a smile. "Hey Percy." Then she looked at Grover. "Hey Grover," she greeted with a tone that even I, someone known to be a dense "Kelp Head", could easily tell had some seductiveness behind it. Nevertheless, Grover looked oblivious to it.
"I really like your project Juniper," he finally spoke shakily.
"Oh thanks, I've been thinking of ways to save the planet, and one of the easiest ways would be taking ordinary plastics from empty milk bottles and …" The rest was just environmental jargon. Irrelevant at this point, yet crucial to my plan.
"Hey Grover, how about you stay in here. I'm gonna hit the restroom. And if it takes a while, it's probably no big deal, so don't come looking for me, okay?" Okay, so that wasn't really "subtle", but it was bound to get the job done.
The two of them turned to me with blank faces. Immediately, Juniper caught on, showing me an inquisitive face that screamed 'Oh really?'. 'You know it girl" I smirked in my brain. Sadly, yet thankfully, Grover remained oblivious to my scheme.
"Alright, don't get lost Perce," he said while patting my back.
I walked out of the building. It was time to get lost.
I know leaving Grover in the 4H building wasn't that convoluted of a plan, but hey, it was necessary. They obviously had feelings for each other. After being done with Aphrodite's bidding, I decided to go towards the back of the fairgrounds.
As I walked on the fairgrounds, I hoped I would find some friends. It would be weird just walking around, looking through the horse stables by myself. It seemed like the best I could hope for was somehow being able to communicate with one of them by the end of the night (Ya, I know that's impossible). Thankfully, after the last day of school, I realized everyone went to the fair. I went by the carnival games and saw Piper and Jason. Jason smacked the hammer on the pressure plate and made the bell ring at the top. What a stud. Afterwards, both were holding hands, so it looked like the cat was out of the bag with that relationship. During school, only Leo, Thalia, and I knew of their relationship. I walked over to them, and saw another girl standing by them, someone I'd never seen before.
"What's up guys!" I greeted.
Jason and Piper gave me a smile. "What's up Perce!" replied Jason.
Piper spoke up, "Hey Percy, nice to see you here. I should probably introduce you to someone." She turned towards the girl I had never seen. She wore a white blouse with jeans that looked awesome on her. She had big, almond eyes and was completely stunning. And it's weird, but I also smelled cinnamon.
"Hello," she chimed with an unknown accent. "I'm Calypso."
Suddenly, a familiar hand grabbed her shoulder.
"More importantly, she is McShizzle's girlfriend," Leo chimed in.
I'm not sure how long I stood in disbelief, but it was long enough for Jason to lightly jab his elbow in my side.
"So, you, Leo, and… her… are dating," I said pointing between the two. Piper looked at me and mouthed That's what I thought!
Leo smirked, "She's a lucky gal, I know." Calypso elbowed him playfully.
He continued, "I guess I'm pretty lucky too. Don't you remember Percy? I told you my English class was writing to pen pals, and I specifically told you", he poked my chest, "that I got a smoking hot babe for my partner." Looking back, I did remember what he was talking about. He told all his friends he met a girl from some island of Greece. We all said he was full of it, but it looks like we were wrong.
Calypso decided to speak. "Yes, I had never left Mykonos, my home island, before. Leo wouldn't stop asking me to visit. He got me off of the island for the first time, and it's been nothing but fun here in America." I almost laughed at how she said 'America', but that would've been rude. I only snorted a bit and got a scolding look from Piper.
After the introduction, we walked around and had a great time. It was fun, but I also felt like a major 5th wheel surrounded by the two couples. Like I said, I've dated before, but I had never been in a serious relationship. Piper always told me there were girls who would love to date me, but I never believed her. I was just a guy on the swim team who lived in a humble little apartment with his mom. I decided that until the right girl came, I would just keep moving on with life.
We finally caught up to Grover, who was holding hands with Juniper. She gave me a wink, and Grover gave a joyful smile. I mentally patted myself on the back. Leo, Grover and I went to grab some food from one of the food trucks stationed outside the carnival.
I went up to order and was met by a girl with dark eyes, a name tag saying "Zoe".
She went up to the window. "Welcome to Hoover Dam Food Truck, what would you like?" She looked about as uninterested in us as a person could've been.
Regardless, I smirked to myself. "Hoover Dam, that's quite a trip from there to New York." Her expression told me to quit the small talk. "Yes, I would like some dam french fries please." She seemed completely oblivious to my joke. However, Leo and Grover were not, both giggling by my side.
Leo remarked, "Yea, I'm starving. Can a man get some dam cheese curds around here?"
"And I need a dam funnel cake right now," added Grover. By that point, we were all dying of laughter, barely managing to hold it all in.
"Is this order together or separate?" she replied in a monotone voice, clearly not getting our jokes or refusing to find them comical.
Leo sighed, "Ya, Percy's got it." He patted my back and walked away with disappointment, his head hung low.
Near the end of the night, some of my friends wanted to go on the ferris wheel. With no one to go with, I waited at the bottom as the couples spun around. I decided to sit on a fountain nearby. It was weird, I never noticed it, but it was awesome. In the center was a statue of my favorite Greek god- Poseidon. Surrounding him were sea animals springing from the fountain. It was likely a tiny replica of the Fountain of Neptune.
Just for some amusement, I grabbed a quarter from my pocket. I looked at Mr. Washington and thought about how all my friends had a partner but me. I flicked the quarter over my shoulder. I wished for the girl of my dreams. I know it was stupid and all, but hey, I was bored. Then I looked up to see someone approaching me.
The girl was pretty. Like really pretty. I could tell she wasn't like most girls, as she hardly had any makeup on and didn't seem to dress very skimpy. Maybe that fountain thing worked. She came and sat down beside me.
"Hello," she greeted.
"Hi," I replied. After a couple exchanges, I found out her name was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and that she went to an all girls academy (because her rich dad made her). She also loved art, and I soon noticed the paint splotches on her outfit.
Seeing my friends exiting the ferris wheel, I asked, "Want to come with us?"
"I'd love to!" she replied.
When I met back with the gang, I introduced them to my newfound friend. She fit in seamlessly with the rest of us.
Somewhere along our walk around the fairgrounds she grabbed my hand. I knew we just met, but there was something really comforting about it. I didn't say anything, and neither did she. We just kept walking with the gang.
All in all, it wasn't a bad way to start the summer.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it, and I plan to post more chapters soon!
