Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus. I wish I did, but all I own is this idea. (Just so you know all of this is Percy's point of view. Unless I change that in a different chapter.)
ENJOY! =)
Chapter 1- Aphrodite's Coffee
"Here's your apron." Silena handed me a bright pink apron, designed with flowers and hearts. I would have complained about it to her, but Silena's mom was the owner of Aphrodite's Coffee and if I got fired after five minutes of working there, I would beat my record of fifteen minutes
Everything sucked at that time. My girlfriend, Annabeth had broken up with me, I lived in a two room apartment I could barely afford, I had been fired from my last job because I pressed the wrong button, and now I was working at the most girl friendly place in New York.
Maybe it's not too late to work at that Strawberry Service on Long Island. I thought.
"Percy, are you paying attention?" Silena waved her hand in front of my face.
"What?" I snapped back to reality.
"Well, I was saying that I need to go run some errands, and that you'll have to take care of the shop." She told me as she put on her coat. I nodded and watched her leave.
I looked around the shop. It was like a house for Barbie Dolls. The pink and white walls were decorated with flowers, along with the pale blue curtains. The floor was a white carpet with a picture of coffee in the middle of it. The tables had a pale blue covering and white napkins that had been folded neatly.
The bell jingled as a girl around my age walked in, holding an umbrella and a leather bag. She was wearing a blue raincoat, a ruffled white top, a pair of dark blue jeans, suede boots and a necklace with a leather chord and a feather. Her hair was dark brown and looked like it had been cut by her, because it was choppy and braided in random places. Her eyes seemed to change color. Maybe it was just the lighting. She looked Hispanic. Or maybe she was Cherokee.
"Hi. Is Silena here?" She asked, shaking off the raindrops on her umbrella.
"Um, no. Sorry. You just missed her. She had to go out for a while." I told her. "Can I help you until she comes back?"
"Yeah. Could I have a medium Valentines Espresso?" She took her wallet out of her bag and looked in it for money.
"Okay. That will be $6.56." She handed me a ten dollar bill.
"Keep the change." She said as I tried to give her her change. She put a five dollar bill into the tip jar and sat down as she waited for her coffee.
I brought her the coffee and she smiled at me saying, "Thank you…" She read the name tag on my apron. "Percy."
"You're welcome." I walked back to my spot behind the counter and watched the door, waiting for Silena to come back. The girl pulled out a book and I read the title slowly. "Greek Mythology: The Untold History of Greece" I smiled.
"You like Greek myths to?" I asked her.
"Like them? I LOVE them!" She exclaimed, laughing. "My dad worked on a project a couple years ago that had to do with Greek mythology, and ever since, I've been obsessed." She sipped her coffee and smiled again.
"That's the only reasons I'm working here." I told her.
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Well that and I seriously need money." I pulled out the Windex and a rag and started wiping down the glass counter. She laughed again. Her laugh reminded me off my moms.
"Hey Percy, I would have been shorter but the line at the store was so long." Silena walked in, holding a bag of groceries and put them on the table nearest to the door to take off her coat. Then she noticed the girl and her eyes widened with joy. "Piper!"
"Hi!" They hugged and turned to face each other.
"What are you doing in New York? I thought you were filming in Hawaii." Silena sat down at the table Piper had been sitting at and looked at me with a Go back to work face.
"Well I was. But, at the last minute, we wrapped up the last episode of the season. So I have 7 months off." She finished her espresso and smiled brightly.
"Wait, what's going on right now?" I asked confusingly.
"Oh, right. Piper, this is my new employee, Percy. Percy, this is my step-sister and incredibly famous actress, Piper." Silena gestured with her hands, pointing to me then Piper.
"Piper. Piper. Like Piper Mclean, the movie star?"
"Yes. She was in the T.V show, Lost and Found. The one about a lost airplane and a newly discovered temple. She played the main character, Hannah Karlen." Silena explained.
"I only saw the first three episodes. And then I stopped watching T.V because it cost too much." I changed my head position and rested my head on my hand.
"Well, I have to go. But I'll defiantly come back. See you later." Piper grabbed her coat and her umbrella and slung her bag over her shoulder and the bell sounded as she left the coffee house.
"What did you talk about before I came?" Silena asked as she cleared off the table.
"Stuff." I smiled.
"Mm-hmm." She smirked and walked over to the door and flipped the Open sign to Closed.
I turned off the overhead light and we walked out together. She locked up and we went our separate ways, into the city of New York.