I'm back peoples!
YEAH!
OH MY GODS! 11,603 words! SWEET!
Does this make up for the whole 'disappearing for a while' thing? Are we good? If not I am SOOOO sorry!
Disclaimer: If I didn't own PJO last time, what makes you think I own it THIS time?
Becoming Supreme Lord of the Bathroom:
Annabeth felt her face pale.
No.
It couldn't be.
Annie, on the other hand, had an entirely different reaction.
"LUKE!" she squealed. "You're here!"
She grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him over to Luke, much to the dismay of Chiron and the eldest Greek campers.
"Percy, this is Luke Castellan," Annie explained. "He's the leader of the Hermes cabin. Luke, this is Percy Jackson, a future camper, and—" She cut off, suddenly realizing why Percy was bright red, and dropped his hand.
"Dad?" Annabeth stepped towards the sandy-haired man in the aviator's helmet.
"Annabeth?" he asked, taking off the helmet. "Where am I?"
After some brief explaining, they realized that Luke was from when Annabeth was twelve, and Fredrick was from the same time as the elder demigods.
They talked for a little while, Luke repeatedly asking why the older demigods were so hesitant around him, until they finally sat down in their original positions. Fredrick sat on Sally's other side from Annie, and Luke sat between Annie and Sally.
Luke felt a flash of confusion when he saw her arguing with Percy. Was she flirting with him? Didn't she like Luke? He wondered what had possibly happened to the young daughter of Athena. Especially considering her older counterpart had only spoken to him in reply to his questions, and she seemed unfazed by him.
What was going on?
Fredrick took the book, and Luke shook off his feelings of apprehension. Annabeth must have just been shocked to see him. That was all. She had too big of a crush on Luke to just forget about him… right?
Chapter Six: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom
Several of the group snickered at the name.
Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.
Chiron blushed as the others laughed.
We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's him."
"That was me!" Travis raised his hand eagerly.
Katie smacked him upside the head. "Sit down!"
Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.
"Can he do a flip?" Apollo asked.
All eyes turned to Percy, who shifted uncomfortably.
"I've never tried," he admitted.
"That doesn't matter," Frank spoke up. "During the War Games at the beginning of the week—when Percy first came—he summersaulted over a line of legionnaires to slam the butt of his sword in Octavian's helmet. If he can summersault over people, I'm assuming he can do a simple flip."
Jason grinned. "He did what to Octavian? Man, I would love to have seen that!"
I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.
Apollo's jaw dropped. "She moved?"
"She also moved during the winter of Percy's third year," Grover spoke up.
All those who had been there shivered.
"Man!" Travis shuddered. "That was creepy!"
"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.
He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."
"Somebody lives there?"
"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."
Hermes chuckled half-heartedly, remembering May. "Okay. That's technically true…"
I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.
"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."
We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.
Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."
He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.
I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.
Thalia shrugged, "He's gotten better."
"Hey!"
I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.
Grover sighed. "Yes."
"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... He was a good protector. Really. "
"Thanks, Perce," Grover couldn't smile at the Percy he knew, so he settled for the one across from him.
Percy nodded in acknowledgement, then went back to arguing quietly with Annie about who was better: Hestia or Artemis. Sally, Annabeth, Thalia, and Rachel looked on in amusement.
"I'm telling you, Seaweed Brain, Artemis is better! She's practically the essence of Feminism!"
Grover chuckled.
"Look, yes I agree that Feminists are right and that women should have just as much power as men. But Hestia is the goddess of the Hearth! What's more important than your home, where everyone you care about is?"
"You're saying that now, but you're just like other boys. When you see someone in trouble, you won't hesitate to save yourself!"
By this point, everyone was watching them. Artemis and Hestia were blushing, and Luke was scowling at their very obvious argumentative version of flirting.
"Actually," Thalia piped up, "if there's one person on this planet who would rush off at the expense of himself to save someone he didn't know, it would be Percy!"
Percy stuck his tongue out at Annie. "Hah! Even Thalia agrees with me!"
"What's that supposed to mean, Kelp Head?"
"Nothing, Thalia!"
Thalia sat back, grumbling, and motioned for Fredrick to continue.
Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."
Percy frowned, "But he did that!"
"But he did that!"
"Whoa," Leo chuckled. "Déjà vu."
"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... Ah ... Fate of your mother.
Everyone around the hearth winced, and Percy and Sally looked stricken.
And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part. "
I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.
Annie sighed. "When are you ever going to stop blaming yourself for everything?"
Annabeth chuckled at her younger counterpart. "It's second nature for Percy. Don't expect it to happen too soon."
"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"
Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago.
"Wait," Leo interrupted. "What happened the first time?"
Thalia sighed. "You'll see."
Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."
"How old is he?"
"Oh, twenty-eight."
"What?" Percy cried. "And he's in sixth grade?"
Grover looked a little miffed at that. "I'm thirty-three, now."
Percy stared at the satyr in confusion. Annie leaned over and whispered something in his ear, and his mouth widened into an 'o' of understanding.
"What! And he's in sixth grade?"
"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."
"That's horrible."
"Definitely." Leo wrinkled his nose.
"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."
Grover scowled. "I'm not just going to give up, Chiron."
Chiron blushed. "Yes, sorry."
"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"
Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"
Hermes turned to his four sons. "Make sure Chiron gets subject-changing lessons."
Conner waved a pocket-book. "We're already on it, Dad!"
Hermes wiped a fake tear. "I'm so proud."
But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea-a tiny, hopeful fire-started forming in my mind.
Sally and Poseidon paled. Athena too, realizing that Annabeth was going on this quest with Percy.
"Please tell me you guys don't go to the Underworld!" Poseidon pleaded to Annabeth.
A gasp rang out around the room.
Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "Okay. Nobody went to the Underworld."
Sally and Poseidon relaxed, while Grover and Clarisse snickered. Nobody...
"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."
"Yes, child?"
"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"
Chiron's expression darkened.
"Yes, child," He paused, as if choosing his words care-fully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... Until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."
"What does he mean, 'until we know more'?" asked Percy.
"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"
"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods. "
As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.
"Hey!" Piper glared at Percy good naturedly.
Percy smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."
Percy looked confused. "Stocked with what? Armed with what?"
Athena rolled her eyes. "Even I don't blame him for not knowing that, Chiron. How is he supposed to know that the woods are stocked with monsters?"
"What?" Percy squeaked, paling. "Monsters?"
Nico gave him an incredulous look. "You've defeated worse than the giant ants and scorpions that are in there. Why are you afraid?"
"I haven't done that yet!" Percy complained.
Thalia rolled her eyes at Nico. "Duh. Even I knew that, Death Breath."
Nico flushed, but he smirked. "You just called yourself stupid."
Nico shut up after a shock of electricity set his teeth shaking.
"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"
"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"
Again, Chiron shrugged sheepishly.
"My own-?"
"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later. "
I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range,
"Which Percy shouldn't go near with a hundred-foot pole," Will chuckled, wrinkling his nose at an unpleasant memory.
"Why not?" Frank looked hurt. What was wrong with Archery?
"Let's just say," Katie grimaced, "that children of Poseidon aren't the best shots with a bow and arrow, and leave it at that."
All eyes turned to Poseidon, who shrugged and said, "I can't stand archery. No offense, Apollo, Artemis."
"None taken."
the canoeing lake,
"Which Percy could probably spend hours in," Travis chuckled.
"Have you forgotten?" Conner asked his brother. "He has spent hours at the bottom of the canoe lake!"
The older Greeks snickered and glanced over at Percy and Annabeth. Percy, Annie, and Annabeth turned varying shades of red. Luke just scowled.
"What do you mean by that?" Aphrodite asked with interest.
"When they first started dating, we caught them kissing in the mess hall," Katie clarified.
Will snickered. "So we tossed them in the canoe lake," he added.
Clarisse smirked and finished with, "Where they stayed out of our sight for so long that we all just went back to our cabins."
The older Greeks who had been there and hadn't just spoken all snickered again, joined this time by Apollo, Hermes, Leo, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel... and Aphrodite's squealing.
"Wow," Hazel chuckled. "When we were with Percy he was so serious all the time. Who knew he was so mischievous?"
"We did," came the chorused reply from everyone who had known Percy before the switch.
"Of course," Frank spoke up, "you can't blame him for being serious. He did just lose nearly every memory of his past."
"Touché," Hazel agreed.
the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),
The Stolls snickered at the thought of Chiron sleeping in the stable.
the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.
"Which Percy could beat every camper we have in without breaking a sweat," Thalia chuckled. "Except maybe Annabeth, of course."
"Why Annabeth?" Piper asked.
"Because," Nico answered for Thalia, "Percy knows Annabeth and all of her strategies and weaknesses better than she does herself. The same could be said vice versa."
Rachel nodded, "If Camp HalfBlood was to have a one-on-one tournament, the betting would be split down the middle for Percy or Annabeth to win, and everyone—even those fighting against them—would bet for them to reach the finals and duke it out."
Piper went wide eyed, "Wow. I never thought anyone could beat Annabeth."
"I bet I could beat him," bet a very jealous Jason.
Thalia sighed, "Sorry, Jas. I know you're my brother and all, but you would lose that bet."
"I'll take you on," offered Percy. "Annie taught me how to use a sword in between chapters, so I can try. I'm definitely not as good as the Percy you're going to meet when you get back, but I need the practice, right?"
Jason grinned evilly. "You're on."
"We're reading now," Athena interrupted, "so you two can cut each other's throats out during lunch."
They nodded.
Unbeknownst to them, the Stolls started passing around a bidding sheet. (A.N. It's YOUR turn! Vote through reviews on who will win! Eight-year old Percy, or fifteen-year old Jason!)
"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.
"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."
"Again," Hermes turned to the Stolls, who quickly hid the biding sheet under Conner's butt, "subject-changing lessons!"
The Stolls nodded simultaneously.
Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.
"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.
Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?"
Percy still looked confused, and Annie leaned over and explained to him the weather patterns. His expression cleared, and he nodded in thanks.
I decided to drop the subject.
Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.
The gods perked up, anxious to hear how Percy would describe their cabins.
Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike.
Percy's interest peaked.
Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.
Leo grinned, "Hephaestus cabin rules!"
Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.
Katie pumped her fist in the air. "Demeter cabin rocks!"
Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.
Instead of cheering, Will gave the group a 'rock on' sign.
Apollo clearly didn't think that this was enough, because he stood up and cheered, "APOLLO CABIN IS THE BEST EVER!"
The others laughed, and Artemis yanked Apollo down again.
They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).
Jason's eyes lit up. "He plays basketball?" Finally! Something to relate to!
"Yup!" Will answered. "If you don't include the Apollo cabin and the satyrs who've had years of practice, Percy's probably one of the best basketball players in camp!"
Leo's eyes widened in admiration. Guess who just found his new idol! "Is there anything he can't do?"
Thalia nodded vigorously. "He can't shoot a bow and arrow. He can't blame others for anything that he has the slightest bit to do with. And he can't figure out when a girl's flirting with him."
Annabeth sighed. "That's so trying, sometimes."
Hazel looked confused. "But… at Camp Jupiter… he knew instantly when the Venus girls, the aurae, and the Amazons were trying to flirt with them. At least I assume so, because he either told them he wasn't single, or he sent me or Frank a look that said, nine-one-one!"
The group laughed at Percy's second reaction to girls.
Annabeth smirked. "Then he must've gotten better over the past six months, because the last time I saw him he had no idea."
Hazel shrugged, "Then again, he was much smarter than this, too. Maybe it's just from being on his own for six months. He learned to spot details more."
Frank shook his head. "Nah. He's been spotting details all over this book so far. He's just learned how to spot flirty girls."
"Actually," Rachel piped up, "Annabeth, you might not have noticed this, but Percy actually started noticing flirty girls long before he disappeared. Specifically… right around when you two started dating. Mostly because hanging out with you helped figure out what to look for."
"Of course," Nico added, "you also can't blame him for not realizing that you liked him earlier. After all, how you two flirted was by arguing."
Thalia, Rachel, and Nico all looked pointedly at Percy and Annie, who had long since forgoed this conversation in favor of arguing about the importance of blue food in a healthy diet. (I don't need to explain who was pro and who was con, right?) The two of them became conscious of the eyes on them, and looked up. Only to start blushing and looking away from each other.
Luke scowled. He'd thought that the arguing meant that they didn't like each other, but… so much for that.
In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.
Hestia smiled, "So he saw me?"
Nico nodded. "But he won't stop to talk for another couple years. Now, you're his second favorite deity. Right behind his obligation to like his father."
Poseidon flushed, and smiled sheepishly.
"Wait," Aphrodite pouted. "He likes Hestia more than me?"
Annabeth shrugged. "He told me about how you purposefully messed with his love life. In fact, Hestia and Poseidon were the only deities he's talked to that haven't come for personal gain."
The other gods looked down sheepishly.
"But," Thalia added, "he told me himself that he doesn't blame—" she began to count on her fingers "—Athena, because she came to help him save her daughter; Hermes, because he came to ask Percy to help Luke; Zeus, because he was worried about his bolt and the future of Olympus; Artemis, because she was trying to find a monster that could potentially destroy Olympus; Dionysus, because he's irritable about being punished; Hades, because he isn't accepted on Olympus, and that would make anybody grumpy; Ares, because he was being told what to do by an all-powerful being from Tartarus; Apollo, because he was trying to help Percy save his sister; Hera, because she was trying to be helpful—keyword: trying—Demeter, because when she met him she really didn't do anything to him; Hephaestus, because Percy came to him for help; and Aphrodite, because she eventually helped him date the girl he liked."
"Wait," Athena said, "that's all of us!"
Katie sighed. "The only person that Percy knows how to blame for anything is himself."
Artemis looked shocked. I always assumed that such a selfless boy could not exist, she thought. I cannot believe that I am thinking this, but… She turned to look at Annabeth and Annie, who were laughing at one of Percy's signature sarcastic comments. I do not feel disappointment for the loss of such a valuable maiden.
The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.
Annabeth, Thalia, Rachel, Katie, Will, Clarisse, Chris, Nico, Travis, Conner, Grover, Jason, Piper, and Leo glared at the book.
"What?" Hera asked. "What's wrong with my cabin?"
"Well," Leo grumbled, "you were my old babysitter to 'prepare me for the second giant war' or something like that. Then you gave me fake memories that made me think that Jason was my best friend when I actually never knew him. And you stuffed me in a live furnace."
"You kidnapped me from Camp Jupiter with no warning at all," Jason growled.
"You gave me false memories that made me think that Jason and I were dating," Piper snarled.
"You sent intestinally challenged cows after Annabeth," Thalia huffed.
"As for the rest of us," Nico snarled, "you kidnapped the best friend and the most loyal demigod anyone could have, and sent him away to some camp in San Francisco, erasing his memories and keeping your fingers crossed that Romans don't kill him on sight!"
"And," Annabeth practically yelled, her face twisted into a wounded expression that made it look like she was about to cry, "you kidnapped my boyfriend, my best friend, and the only person on this godsforsaken planet that has refused to leave me on several occasions, raced across the country to find me, refused immortality for me, and actually found a way to have feelings for an untrusting know-it-all like me!"
The gods gasped. Hera looked outraged at the disrespect. But Annabeth returned the glare.
Annie glanced over at Percy to find him pale and guilty. She wrapped her arms comfortingly around her new friend's waist—much to the annoyance of Luke—and kissed his cheek when no one else was watching. Percy flushed a bright red, and turned to smile gratefully at Annie. Annie simply nodded, and let him go, though they were sitting closer to each other than they had been before.
"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.
"Correct," Chiron said.
"Their cabins look empty. "
"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."
"Because no one should," Hera muttered. Zeus looked at anything but his queen.
Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot. Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?
I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.
Annabeth blinked. "Wow, Lord Poseidon. It's like you're calling him."
Poseidon smiled and shook his head. "I wasn't calling to him. The sea was."
It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"
Every single elder Greek camper smiled.
"The best cabin in camp," Annabeth said.
Athena looked confused. "What about your cabins?"
Annabeth shrugged. "My cabin's where I work on designs. Combine that with my dozens of siblings, and you can't blame me for going to visit Percy."
Athena raised an eyebrow. "And what do you two do when you're in cabin three?"
Annabeth flushed and rolled her eyes. "Being demigods, we're not exactly intimate, mom. Most of the time, I just sit in front of him on his bed, leaning against his chest, with him leaning against his headboard and fiddling with a lock of my hair. The only things we really do are chat about the camp news, or sit quietly while I read a book. Honestly, mom. We were at camp for two weeks after we started dating!"
"Of course," Katie muttered, "after they were dating for the four months before winter break, you couldn't keep them apart for very long…"
Annabeth, Annie, and Percy blushed, while the others snickered madly.
Frank and Hazel chuckled at their new friend's previous antics.
Thalia chuckled. "As for me… no offense dad, but you're cabin is gloomy, and your statue's creepy."
The Stolls added, "Our cabin is filled with too many spies for future pranks. We made a deal with Percy: no pranking him, and we can plan other pranks in his cabin. Oath on the River Styx."
"And the rest of us just think that Percy's cabin is awesome to hang out in," Will finished.
Artemis blinked. "He let's all of you hang out in his cabin?"
Katie shrugged. "He told me that it's lonely being an only child sometimes. But he doesn't mind, because it means that his dad's being faithful."
Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."
Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.
Number five was bright red-a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.
Clarisse smirked. "It had."
The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen.
"Clarisse," several bored voices muttered.
She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.
I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.
"PARTY PONIES RULE!" cried Apollo, Dionysus, and the Stolls.
"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."
"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really..."
He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."
"But, shouldn't you be dead?"
"Wow, Percy," Piper shook her head. "He's blunt, isn't he?"
Thalia sighed. "You have no idea."
Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... And I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed. "
I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.
"Agreed," muttered every demigod except Annie and Annabeth. "Dyslexia sucks."
"Doesn't it ever get boring?"
"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring. "
"Why depressing?"
Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.
"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."
The blond girl
"Really?" Annabeth sighed. "Chiron calls me by name, and Percy still describes me as 'the blonde girl'?"
I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.
"HERMES CABIN OWNS YOUR FACES!" Guess who said that?
When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.
"No I wasn't!" Annabeth protested.
"Then what were you thinking about?" Rachel asked.
"Um…" Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "I was trying to ignore how cute his eyes were…"
The demigods laughed.
"Although," Hazel put in, "I can't really blame you for that. When I first saw him, I thought he had the good looks of a Roman god."
Annabeth chuckled. "He wasn't nearly as good looking when we met. Mostly because he could barely pass for ten at the time with his physical prowess. But puberty was good to him."
Aphrodite squealed. "What does he look like?"
Frank pulled a photo out of his pocket. "I take pictures of all of my friends. This was from yesterday for us, the day before the Argo II is supposed to show up."
The picture showed a tall guy about sixteen, talking to Hazel, who was laughing at—what Frank clarified as—a really funny sarcastic comment of Percy's. The two of them sat cross-legged on the grass in—under Frank's explanation—the Field of Mars. The earth was covered in scars from a recent battle. Percy wore a purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, along with a pair of ripped jeans and a bead necklace. A purple piece of fabric—which Hazel said was a cape—was tossed to the side. On the inside of Percy's right forearm was a tattoo: the letters SPQR, a trident, and a tally mark. His messy, windblown black hair hung low over his mischievous sea green eyes, and he was flashing a—what Aphrodite would describe as—sexy lopsided grin. Though he wasn't really trying to look good, he still did.
"Dang!" Aphrodite cried. "He's hot!"
"It's weird," Piper mused. "It's almost like he has this aura of power."
Thalia shrugged. "We have to remind ourselves sometimes that he's not a god."
The gods looked up at this with interest. Several of them began wondering about that. There was no such thing as a demigod that powerful… Maybe… Thalia's comment… Percy Jackson… god… hmm…
Annabeth took the picture last, and smiled sadly at the image of her missing boyfriend.
"You know," Frank said, "I have two copies of each picture—one of Hazel, one of Percy. Since that's the most recent picture of Percy, Annabeth… if you want to keep it, you can."
Annabeth smiled and nodded in thanks.
Annie leaned over and whispered in Percy's ear, "I kind of have to agree with Aphrodite. The sixteen-year old version of you is really good looking." Percy flushed.
Annabeth smiled down at the picture, but she was also worried. The others couldn't see it… but she had stared at Percy's eyes for too long to not know when something was off.
Percy's eyes were still cheerful and laid-back… but—underlying it all—was a guarded, hunted look. He'd battled for his life on his own for the past several months, and was now fierce and almost vicious.
Annabeth prayed to every god she could think of that her stupid Seaweed Brain was still in there.
I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.
"That's because it was an Architecture book, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told her picture.
"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"
"Yes, sir. "
"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home. "
Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old.
Hey!" Hermes complained.
The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ?
"A caduceus," Athena sighed in exasperation, rolling her eyes.
A caduceus.
"Oh," Now, Athena was blushing.
Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.
"If you all would just claim your children, this wouldn't be happening!" Hermes complained.
The gods shifted uncomfortably.
Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.
"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner. "
He galloped away toward the archery range.
I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.
"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."
So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.
There were plenty of snickers.
"Naturally…" Leo snickered.
There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.
Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven.
"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.
I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."
Everybody groaned.
Hermes glared at the other deities. Except, of course, for Hestia, Artemis, and Athena (who claims all of her children.)
A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."
The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.
Annie smiled and whispered something in Percy's ear. But those who had never met Luke felt confused by the look of pain on Annabeth's expression. The other Greeks (except Rachel, who hadn't known Luke that well) didn't look much better.
"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.
Hazel raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. "You do realize that he's like seven years older than you, right?"
Luke looked a little smug when he heard that Annabeth did like him, but his smirk disappeared when Annabeth shrugged and said, "It was kind of more like a misunderstood crush. I'm pretty much over it. Besides, I haven't seen him in almost a year."
Annie looked confused, "Why?"
Annabeth sighed, and she ruffled Percy's hair absently, causing the son of Poseidon to scowl. "I'm sure it'll come up. It's a pretty important part…"
Annie frowned, but she let it go, giggling at Percy's struggle to fix his hair.
She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."
"For now?" I asked.
"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."
I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.
Nico sighed. "Thanks for telling me…"
Travis and Conner snickered and fist bumped.
I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious,
"Undetermined kids," Travis guessed.
some grinning stupidly,
"Minor godlings," Conner added.
some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.
Chris's Hermes side took over, and he smirked. "Hermes kids." He high-fived his half-brothers.
"How long will I be here?" I asked.
"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined. "
"How long will that take?"
The campers all laughed.
"Oh come on!" Poseidon complained. "You guys haven't told him anything! You can't expect him to snap his fingers and suddenly he knows everything?"
Annabeth smiled sheepishly.
"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."
"I've already seen it."
"Now that stupid move wasn't justified," Thalia commented. "I'll actually hold you to that one…"
Percy sighed. "If I knew how to curse in Ancient Greek, I'd probably be doing it right about now."
Sally gave Percy a 'mom-look,' while the rest of the group laughed.
"Don't bother, Sally," Annabeth chuckled. "The Percy we know curses in Ancient Greek more than any other camper. I wouldn't bother."
Sally sighed. "Fine. At least most people have no idea what he's saying…"
Percy flashed the same lopsided grin that was in Annabeth's picture, and the demigods laughed.
"Doesn't change much, does he?" Katie mused.
"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.
When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."
"Ooh, last name!" Travis cackled.
"What?"
She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."
"Oh, but he is the one, Annabeth. Remember?" Thalia smirked, and Annie, Annabeth, and Percy blushed.
What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy-"
"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"
Percy gave her an incredulous look. "To get killed?"
"To get killed?"
"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"
Every Greek demigod eye turned to stare at Annabeth incredulously.
"Um… Annabeth?" Piper said. "We train to survive. Not to waltz out and challenge the first thing we see."
Annabeth smiled sheepishly. "You'd be surprised how much I've changed since Percy showed up at camp… Back then, I thought that you could only prove your worth through fighting something and becoming a hero."
Thalia nodded. "Percy must have definitely proved that wrong. He proved himself with everything he did. Especially when he made some big, on-the-spot speech that stopped the gods from starting another war or killing an innocent creature."
Nico agreed. "With Percy—at first glance—his personality strikes you as goofy and irresponsible. But he's actually an amazing leader. Smart too."
Hazel chuckled. "That's exactly what I thought when Percy first showed how intelligent he was."
I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."
"Yes."
"Then there's only one."
"Yes."
"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right?
"Is gajillion even a word?" Leo asked.
Percy frowned. "No. But I was trying to make a point."
Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ... "
"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die. "
"I suddenly realize why he seemed so stupid," Annabeth giggled. "I wasn't very good at explaining something I'd known most of my life, was I?"
"Definitely not," was the reply from pretty much everyone.
Annie stuck out her tongue at them, and Percy chuckled.
"Oh, thanks. That clears it up. "
"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re- form. "
I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword-"
"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."
"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?" Demeter asked.
Annabeth put a finger to her lips. "Percy asks the same question. I'll answer in a second."
"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"
"You talk in your sleep."
Percy blushed at the laughter that was now dispelling throughout the room.
"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"
Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.
"Would it have?" Athena asked.
Hades shrugged. "No. But demigods are so paranoid."
"Not anymore," Chiron argued. "Ever since Percy came to camp, the campers have gotten a lot more open. Probably from the fact that their leader has openly insulted several of the gods in the past, and he's still alive and well."
Piper, Jason, and Leo's jaws dropped in awe.
Frank nodded. "On Percy's first day, he insulted Mars to his face. I had to convince him to kneel and shut up. Though he did it rather reluctantly."
Thalia sighed, and shook her head fondly. "That's our, Kelp Head."
"Of rather," Nico snickered, "Annabeth's Seaweed Brain."
Thalia joined in his snickering, and Annie and Annabeth turned red as tomatoes.
Percy was too busy trying to figure out where the heck his future self was.
"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all. "
"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" I sounded whiny, even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there. "
I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... Your parent."
Chiron chuckled. "And yet, he ends up in there anyways. Oh, the irony."
She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.
"Annabeth," Fredrick sighed. "If he's been conditioned for twelve years to think that his father is dead, I doubt that one hint is going to change that…"
Annabeth gave another sheepish smile. "Sorry."
"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."
Percy stared at his lap at the reminder, and Annie put her hand on top of his as a comforting gesture. He gave her a sad, grateful smile. True, he knew that his mother was going to be fine, but he wasn't looking forward to thinking that she was dead.
"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."
"He's dead. I never knew him."
Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids. "Your father's not dead, Percy."
"How can you say that? You know him?"
"No, of course not."
"Not anymore," Poseidon grinned. He reached across the hearth and held out his hand to shake Annabeth's. "Poseidon. God of the sea. Nice to meet you."
Annabeth laughed and shook his hand. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Nice to meet you, too, Lord Poseidon."
"Just Poseidon," he said, wrinkling his nose. "I hate it when people try to use formalities."
Thalia chuckled. "Sounds like Percy. I'm always hearing him tell his Pegasus, Blackjack, not to call him 'Boss'."
The group chuckled at the similarities between Percy and his father.
"Then how can you say-"
"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us. "
"You don't know anything about me."
Annabeth chuckled. "I know everything about you, Seaweed Brain…"
Aphrodite squealed, and the elder Greeks gave Annabeth sympathetic looks.
"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them. "
"How-"
"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too. "
I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD-you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle-field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are. "
"You sound like ... You went through the same thing?"
"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."
"Ambrosia and nectar."
"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half- blood."
A half-blood.
I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.
Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"
Clarisse smirked, then remembered what was about to happen, and grimaced.
Annabeth snickered, and the others looked at her funny. She waved them away. "You'll see."
I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.
"Clarisse, " Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"
"Sure, Miss Princess, " the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night. "
''Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which I somehow under-stood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.
Annabeth smirked. "It was."
Athena opened her mouth to chastise Annabeth on her language, then thought better of it. She hadn't been a part of her daughter's life, and then she suddenly corrects her wording? Talk about bad parenting.
Luckily, Fredrick beat her to it.
"Annabeth," he chastised teasingly, "language."
"Sorry, dad."
Annie stared at her older self in shock. Wasn't she supposed to hate her father?
"You don't stand a chance."
"We'll see about that, punk." Ares sneered.
Clarisse sighed. "Actually, dad—even back then—if Percy and Annabeth were on the same Capture the Flag team, they would always win…"
Ares sat back in his chair and huffed, while Athena and Poseidon uncharacteristically high-fived each other.
"We'll pulverize you, " Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"
"Percy Jackson, " Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares. "
I blinked. "Like ... The war god?"
Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"
"No, " I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell. "
"BUUURN!" The Stolls yelled. Percy chuckled.
Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy. "
"So that's how that started!" cried almost all of the elder Greeks.
"Percy. "
"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you. "
"Clarisse-" Annabeth tried to say.
"Stay out of it, wise girl. "
A gasp rang out around the elder Greeks (Except Annabeth and Clarisse, of course.)
"You mean…" Thalia gasped.
"P-Percy…" Nico stammered.
"Wise Girl…" Rachel tried.
"HE GOT IT FROM CLARISSE?" all of them cried.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Well it's not like he can call me anything else. Owl Head is a pretty weak insult."
"But it's not an insult," Thalia protested.
"Yeah," Nico added. "Anymore."
"Now," Rachel finished, "It's more of a term of endearment."
"Well, it's become kind of a joke," Annabeth shrugged. "Sorry that he's too thick to come up with his own nickname."
Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.
I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.
I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron.
Clarisse grinned evilly, then grimaced.
"What's wrong, Clarisse?" Leo asked. "You're beating up the supposedly most powerful demigod in history!"
Clarisse just groaned.
She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking-as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out-that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.
Apollo snickered. "Chiron, we need to get them classier johns."
The group burst into laughter. All except Clarisse—who was grimacing with embarrassment—and Annabeth—who was snickering at Clarisse's fate.
Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.
"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."
Her friends snickered.
"Wow." Piper shook her head. "That wasn't even a good insult."
Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.
"I was not!" Annabeth protested.
"Yeah, you were," Clarisse muttered. Annabeth huffed, much to the snickers of the others.
Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets.
"Eww." Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.
I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.
Annabeth smirked. "It's a good thing he's so stubborn. Otherwise, this probably wouldn't have worked."
"What wouldn't have worked?" Jason asked. He was enjoying Percy's punishment, like the jealous boy that he was.
Jason had been too used to being the big hero that everyone looked up to. Now, it was Percy that Leo was idolizing, even though the son of Hephaestus hadn't even met him yet. And Piper seemed really interested in Percy. Not in a romantic aspect, of course. But—ever since Jason had overheard Piper whisper to Leo how hot Percy was from looking at his picture—she hadn't been giving him the attention that he was used to: following him around like a lost puppy. He hated it. And now, he hated Perseus Jackson.
Annabeth put her finger to her lips and nodded at the book.
Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.
Instantly, the room burst into hysterics. No one could control themselves, even with Clarisse's death-glares.
I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.
By this point, Hermes and Apollo had fallen out of their chairs, and Leo was—as you modern people would call it—ROFLMAOing.
She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.
As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.
It took a few minutes for the group to catch their breath, and they all sat back up. Though Hermes' hair was a little deformed from rolling into the hearth and charring it.
The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared.
"He is so lucky that I only got hit with the showers," Annabeth muttered, fists clenched.
Thalia and Percy—who were on either side of her—backed away. Unfortunately, Annie was closer to Percy than he originally thought, and he toppled backwards, ending up with his head on her lap and his red-face matching hers.
"Um…" Percy swallowed and gave a small wave. "Hi."
Annie returned the wave. "Hi."
Meanwhile, Rachel, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Grover, and Sally were watching this with interest.
Luke was scowling. Again.
Percy blushed even harder. Quiet enough so that only Annie and Annabeth could hear, he mumbled, "Your lap is really comfortable…"
Annie and Annabeth flushed.
Th-thank you," Annie stammered.
Percy nodded uncomfortably.
Annie leaned down and whispered, "I think the chapter's almost over. You want to just stay there?"
The two of them blushed harder, but Percy stayed where he was. Finally, Annie waved for Fredrick to continue, trying to ignore Aphrodite's grin, and Thalia and Nico's snickers.
She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.
I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.
Leo's eyes widened. "Cool!"
Jason scowled in the direction of the boy with his head on Annie's lap, though no one saw it. Everyone was either not paying attention at all (Dionysus), paying too much attention to the book (Athena), or paying too much attention to the two eight-year olds who were talking in a whispered conversation—a much bigger improvement from the beginning of the chapter, when they were still arguing (Pretty much everyone else).
I stood up, my legs shaky.
Annabeth said, "How did you ..."
"I don't know. "
We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead. "
I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."
"Excellent comeback, Perce!" Thalia chuckled, reaching around Annabeth for a high-five.
Percy chuckled. "Um… thanks? But I haven't done that yet."
Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.
Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.
"A bit of both," Annabeth admitted.
"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."
Thalia smirked, "And so starts the unbeatable capture the flag team…"
Nico cackled and fist bumped her in agreement.
"So who wants to read?" Fredrick asked, holding up the book.
"I will," Luke muttered, still glaring at Percy's head in Annie's lap.
YAY! Done time!
Reminder: It's YOUR turn! Vote through reviews on who will win! Eight-year old Percy, or fifteen-year old Jason!
Yeah yeah, I know… Percy and Annie are only eight. They shouldn't like each other. But the whole 'falling into Annie's lap' thing just kinda happened… And it was too CUTE to pass up! Besides… if you're as die-hard of a fan as I am, you'll remember that—when Percy met Aphrodite—he mentioned that she looked a little like a newscaster he'd had a crush on in the fourth grade. Percy's just fine at having crushes at that age..,. and Annie HAD a crush on Luke when she was seven… Eight-year old meant-to-be crushes are too CUTE!
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