Chapter 10
My Older Brother sings Adele
I sit in Percy's chair in our cabin my back against one arm of the chair, and my legs draped over the other arm. My feet kick the air tickling the skin on the bottom of my feet, and a book is sprawled over my lap. The pages turn every minute or so quickly as I thirst for more. Percy walks in moments later holding my iPod I got from this friend of mine in San Francesco. "Percy? Isn't that my iPod?" I lift my eyebrows at him my face half buried still in the book. Percy has one of my earplugs in his ear his face contorted in an odd way. "What kind of music is on here?" "Good taste. You just do not have any." I stand up marking my page and bounce over to him holding out my hand. "It goes from an Adele, to Ke$ha, then to Taylor Swift, then to Adam Lambert?" A laugh comes from his mouth. "Maroon 5? That is like the only good band on this device."
I reach over to take it from him, but he moves his arm up into the air so I cannot reach it. "You retard." I mutter jumping up and down reaching for my iPod. Percy's eyes display playfulness and he listens and begins to sing in a fake girly high-pitched tone.
I let it fall, my heart
And as it fell, you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me
My hands, they're strong
But my knees were far too weak
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet
But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew
All the things you'd say they were never true, never true
And the games you play, you would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Let it burn while I cry
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name…
At the "Pour as I touched your face" part he runs his hand down his cheek, and I shake my head trying not to give him the satisfaction of my laugh. I mean really, I had a weird older brother. Then I see Annabeth standing a few feet behind us her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders curled to perfection without doing anything to it. Her eyebrows lifted at Percy, and then I begin to let my laugh escape me because man is this funny. A grin sprinkles over Percy and he laughs with me.
"Do you like my singing?" I open my mouth to answer when Annabeth walks over poker faced. "I loved it Percy, I mean the way your voice was so high…" She smiles wrapping her arms around his, and his cheeks turn to a pinkish- red along with the top of his ears. I bite my lip smiling to keep from bursting into a hysterical laughter that I probably will not be able to stop. "I always knew you sang in the shower because Tyson told me once, but Percy I did not believe till just now." I look between them figuring out they are flirting and I find myself rolling my eyes. My legs move me to the door and I jump down onto the green plush. I play with my charm bracelet as I walk around camp not really knowing where to go.
A couple hours later I sit with my back against a tree, drawing. The pencil in my hand creates precious strokes of lead over the blank sheet in my sketchbook. The face of a beautiful nymph starts to appear on the paper minutes later, and I continue drawing. I was always good at drawing people and landscapes more than anything else. My shading was only good when it came to people, and my fingers are soon blotched with gray. The outline of the nymph appears seconds later my eyes searching the paper for more things to add.
A successful smile spreads over my cheeks and I turn to the folder built into my sketchbook. I create a list on it numbering from 1-14. "Hmm…" I look at each of my charms and they are in the order I got them at what age, beginning at 1.
Poseidon: Enchanted sea stone knife
Demeter: Ability to create wheat/bread from no where
Ares: Magical shield with the face of a boar
Hermes: Ability to send messages to anyone in seconds
Aphrodite: Gives me a complete make over
Zeus: Ability to control winds in dangerous situations
Iris: Make a Iris message out of nothing
Hades: Can shadow travel occasionally
Athena: Gives me strategies or tactics
Dionysus: A chalice that gives me any drink I desire
Nemesis: Blade knife that curses people with good or bad things
Phobos: Can scare someone for only 60 seconds
Artemis: …
Mnemosyne: Ability to share memories with others
Apollo: Blind people for a couple of minutes
My mind begins to ponder all the possible outcomes of what I'd receive from the goddess Artemis. Maybe sets of silver arrows like the Hunters? Or maybe a hunting dog? Oh. My. Gods. If I got a hunting dog my life would be complete. I smile to myself and wonder how I can figure out how to unlock my Artemis's charms ability. My mind reels with possibilities when I gain one. I press my 13th charm and a silver bow and a single arrow appear like magic in my hands. My hand wraps cautiously around the bow remembering what I did a day ago with shooting that black Pegasus in the hindquarters.
I stand uneasily getting a bad feeling from the bow in my hand. It feels like I should not be holding a bow, and my stomach twists around. Still, I need to know what it does so I make my way to the Apollo cabin for some help. I dodge the campers roaming around for their next activities and look for the person who could help me. The person who helped me figure out my Apollo charm. I'm almost to the Apollo cabin when I run into the person I am looking for. I breathe out in relief of finding him, "Tyler! Just the person I was looking for."