"Happy birthday, Percy!"
I smiled as Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, and Nico produced a gigantic blue cupcake from behind their backs. They all grinned proudly at the cupcake as I said, "Thanks, guys. This is awesome."
We sat down around the Poseidon table in the dining pavilion. It was getting late, but we didn't care. Tyson pulled a few forks from his pocket (don't want to know why those were in there….) and passed them around. We all started to move in to stab it when Grover suddenly yelled, "Wait!"
Nico glared. "What?"
"We have to sing 'Happy Birthday,'" Grover insisted, and, despite my objections, they all grinned and began to sing very loudly and out-of-tune.
"Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Percy…"
Bang!
My cupcake exploded, splattering us with white cake and blue frosting. We all sat there, stunned, until I turned and noticed to kids running from the pavilion, snickering just loud enough for me to hear.
I growled low in my throat. "Gods, I'm so going to kill those Stolls."
So much for my birthday cupcake.
