Updated: 28/8/2021
Happy 29th Birthday to Me and Happy 55th Birthday to my Dad!
This is the biggest mass update I have done
Author's Note: I added Lou Ellen to this story. I thought Hecate should have a kid here.
Chapter .4.
They had a break after the last chapter having some snacks and talking a bit before they all gather around to read the next chapter.
"Are all these chapters going to be eventful?" Hermes asks them.
"Knowing Perce's life then yes", Nico replies.
"How long have you known him?" Poseidon asks.
"For about four years. But with what we have been through it feels longer", Nico replies.
"What about the rest of you?" Athena asks.
"Since he came to camp for us Greeks but a few", Annabeth replies.
"For my just over four years", Rachel states.
"Less than a year", Meg replies casually.
"Five years", Tyson states.
"Us Romans have only known him for over a year", Frank replies.
"Known Kelp-Head for just over four years", Thalia states.
"For Leo, Jason and I it has been slightly shorter than the Romans", Piper replies.
"I have known him 3 years", Calypso states.
"How did you all end up so close?" Demeter asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ares asks.
Everyone looked at him weird for him to be saying something.
"What?" Perseus asks.
"They have been through a battle together. But I would say more than one", Ares says.
"How would you know?" Hercules asks.
"Because these types of behaviours of often shown by people who have bled for each other", Ares replies with a shrug.
Everyone looked like he was from a different planet.
"Who know he could be so insightful", Hermes mutters.
"Who's turn to read?" Pollux asks wanting to continue on.
"I'll do it", Malcolm says with a shrug.
He might as well get it over with.
Chapter 3: Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Trousers.
"How did you do that?" Lou asks.
"Why would you?" Meg asks.
Grover blushes.
And many snicker at the look on Grover's face.
Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.
"Percy!" Sally scolds.
"Sorry but in my defence he was freaking me out", Percy replies.
"Percy gave me a heart attack when I came back and couldn't find him", Grover reveals
Percy shrugs, "In my 12-year-old mind I had to ditch you. Can you see why?"
"I can see", Grover replies with a sigh, "But what happened next scared me too death"
"What happened?" Poseidon asks worriedly
Percy and Grover share a look. This was going to go down so well.
Sally winces thinking about what was going to happen next.
I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering, "Why does this always happen?" and, "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"
"Grover", Thalia growls.
"I know. I know it wasn't my fault", Grover states.
"But it was", Grover whispers trying not to be heard.
Thalia whacks his head.
"I heard that!" Thalia growls, "Get it through your thick head IT WASN'T your fault!"
"I have to agree with Thalia, Grover it wasn't your fault. Without you we ALL would have been dead", Luke says to Grover.
"So let go of the blame once and for all", Annabeth states.
The Gods and Past Heros wondered exactly what happened for this satyr to blame himself this much.
"Your about as thick headed as Percy", Nico chuckles.
"I still say Percy is more think headed", Annabeth retorts.
"I am not"
"Yes you are!" all the Future Demigods and others state.
Including Percy's Mum and Stepfather.
Percy pouts at that.
"Why is everyone picking on me?" Percy asks rhetorically.
Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.
"Percy!" Sally says, "He was your protector"
Percy doesn't bother to say anything.
Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.
"East One Hundred and Fourth and First Avenue", I told the driver.
"You shouldn't have done that to Goat Boy", Clarisse states.
"It wasn't really fair to him", Annabeth points out.
"In my defence he was freaking me out big time", Percy tells them, "Mutter out 'always sixth grade' and so on. And he was looking at me like he was seeing me dead!"
Grover blushes at Percy's words. He had to admit Percy kind of had a point.
"Who knew you could be such a big baby", Nico says.
"Keep it up cousin. But remember I have so much dirt on you", Percy replies.
"I will stop you from saying them", Nico says confidently.
"What about me Brother?" Bianca asks with a smirk, "I have way more dirt on you"
"You won't do that to me Bianca will you?" Nico asks with a pout.
"Nico your secrets will likely be told in these stories without Percy OR Bianca saying anything", Annabeth points out.
"Damn it!" Nico curses making everyone snicker.
He didn't want anyone to know about his Mythomagic Cards.
A word about my mother, before you meet her.
Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world,
"Thank you Percy", Sally says smiling at her son.
"She IS the best person in the world", Paul says
Thalia, Nico and everyone else from the future agree making Sally blush.
"Thank you ALL"
The Gods wondered just who Sally Jackson was to earn these demigods respect.
which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.
"What do you mean by bad luck?" Hecate asks curiously.
"I believe it will say", Percy replies.
"It does", Malcolm says before continuing on.
Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an Uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent High School working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing programme. Then her Uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school in her senior year to take care of him. After he died she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.
"That IS bad luck", Castor says with a grimace.
"Even worse then my Mum's", Luke comments.
"Jeez Sally you definably had more bad luck that anyone. Including mine", Meg says.
"Just as much bad luck as Percy", Travis comments.
"Really bro?" Theseus asks.
"I HAVE to agree with that one", Percy admits.
"But Sally you should know we ALL think you have a heart of gold", Thalia replies.
ALL the demigods nod in agreement making Sally blush at the praise.
"How do you figure that?" Zeus asks his daughter.
"She took me and Nico in like we were her own", Thalia says smiling.
"And she has opened her house up as a safe house for Demigods", Chiron tells the Past Gods and Heros.
"We always know we can count on Sally", Lou states.
"Even Satyrs know that", Grover adds.
Their eyes widen at that.
The only good break she ever got was meeting my Dad.
Sally smiles thinking about her meeting with Poseidon.
I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My Mum doesn't talk about him because it makes her sad. She had no pictures.
"I am sorry Percy. I am sorry Sally for the pain I'll put you both through", Poseidon says apologizing
"Thank you Dad but you couldn't help it", Percy replies.
"It is not your fault Poseidon. I know what I was getting into when I got involved with you", Sally replies with a gentle smile.
"And from what Sally told me you didn't want to leave her and Percy", Paul states.
Amphitrite and Triton frown at that. Not knowing how they felt about that.
See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day. He set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and never came back.
Lost at sea, my Mum told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.
"Well she stuck close to the truth", Perseus states.
"Yeah Mum tries not to lie if she can help it", Percy tells everyone.
"I don't like lying and I don't like it when YOU do Percy", Sally says giving Percy a pointed look.
Percy gives his Mother a sheepish look.
She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her High School diploma, and raised me on her own, She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.
Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colours as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like mouldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.
Between the two of us, we made my Mum's life pretty hard. The way Smell Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along…well, when I came home is a good example.
Something in the way that sounded didn't sound right with anyone.
"Percy…did this Gabe abuse you or your Mum?" Poseidon asks carefully.
"No", Sally states.
"No", Percy lies.
"Sally is telling the truth. Percy is Lying", Apollo states.
Percy hisses at him, "Really? Couldn't you keep that to yourself?"
"Percy what did he do?" Sally asks having not known about this.
"Don't worry Mum I'm fine", Percy replies.
"That is not what she asked", Triton points out.
"What did he do Percy?" Annabeth asks with concern.
"Not now guys", Percy says.
"But…", Thalia starts.
"Not now cousin", Percy replies more firmly.
"Fine. But this is not over", Sally warns.
"I know", Percy states.
"But I am going to kill that bastard in the future if he even laid a hand on yoy", Poseidon growls causing a earthquake through the throne room.
"Dad I'm fine. Truly I am and he gets what he deserves in the end", Percy says calmly.
Looking at his Mother with a smile. She smiles back.
To the Olympians that sounded interesting. What did Percy and Sally do to Gabe?
"I hope you gave him what he deserved", Zoe says darkly.
"Oh he got what he deserved all right. Poetic justice", Percy says making them even more curious.
"I will be happy to finally learned what happened", Grover states.
Grover had heard Gabe had disappeared and Sally and Percy finally had money but didn't know how.
I walked into our little apartment, hoping my Mum would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television was blaring. Crisps and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.
"That is disgusting", Zoe says glaring at the book.
"Disgusting pig", Artemis growls.
"He looked like a pig. An ugly pig", Percy mutters quietly, but they all heard him.
Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home"
"Where's my Mum?"
"Working", he said, "You got any cash"
"The nerve of him", Annabeth mutters.
"Where you the only one that bought home money?" Hestia asks with concern.
"She might as well have been", Percy replies.
Many in the room growl at that and promise to remember this and help the woman who helped their children in the future.
"You won't need to worry about money in the future", Hermes tells her.
"What do you mean my Lord?" Sally asks.
"No need for titles. And what I mean is that ALL your bills will be covered in the future", Hermes says with a kind smile.
"And you will ALWAYS have a home no matter what", Hestia offers.
"You will also have all the medical care you will need curtsy of yours truly", Apollo states wanting to support the woman who helped his children.
"And if that pig gets near you and I suppose Perseus then he will suffer an accident with my hunters", Artemis says to the woman.
Artemis just wished she could have made Sally a Hunter. She was sure Sally would have made a great one.
"We couldn't possibly accept this", Sally says looking at the most powerful beings in the world.
"Let us do this. In payment for helping our children. Just know you're a friend of the Olympian Council and now you are under our protection", Zeus says to everyone's surprise.
"I truly don't know what to say", Sally says with tears in her eyes.
"Neither do I Uncle. Thank you and you will now always have my respect", Percy replies bowing his head.
"You never respected him before?" Theseus asks.
Percy winces, "We had our differences"
"Lets get back to the book", Rachel states trying to get everyone back on track.
Everyone suddenly remembered they were reading the book and quickly tell Malcolm to state again.
That was it. No. Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?
Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in a thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.
"That is gross", Juniper says looking sick.
"Ewww", Aphrodite states turning up her nose at the description.
"That is disgusting", Amphitrite states looking just as sick as the rest of the females.
"Your lucky you never had the pleasure of meeting him my Ladies then you would be truly disgusted and would have to wash after just meeting him", Percy states.
He shuddered at the memory of Gabe. Boy he hated that guy. He just hoped that nobody found about what Gabe did to him.
He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept collecting pay cheques, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our 'guy secret'. Meaning, if I told my Mum, he would punch my lights out.
Sally looked at Percy shocked. Why hadn't he ever told her this? Oh how come she never seen this? Did Gabe actually hit her son?
Many were thinking the question. Did this Gabe hit Percy?
Poseidon, Thalia and Nico growl at that looking down right pissed and their looks promised pain. While Bianca, Jason, Hazel, Frank and Tyson looked angry that their family was treated this way.
Everyone was surprised at how protective not just Thalia and Nico were of Percy but the other demigods.
It seemed that Percy had done something for everyone to be protective of him. They hoped they found out what that was.
"I don't have any cash", I told him
He raised a greasy eyebrow.
Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.
"That is gross", Hecate mutters.
"You took a taxi from the bus station", he said, "Probably paid twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"
Eddie, the superintendent of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy.
"At least one of them is being nice", Hera states.
"Unlikely to last", Hephaestus states.
They had to admit he had a point.
"Come on, Gabe", he said, "The kid just got here"
"Am I right?" Gabe repeated
Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.
"Gross", many comment.
"I am going to be sick", Aphrodite states with many other females also looking a big green.
"I think most of us feel the same way", Kayla states.
"Fine", I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose"
Chuckles come from around the room at that.
"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"
I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's 'study'. He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.
"We will get you a better room Percy", Poseidon promises.
"A better house", Hestia corrects.
"That will be better", Poseidon agrees with his sister.
I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.
"That is no home Percy", Hestia says softly.
"It was for a time Lady Hestia", Percy states.
"Call me Hestia", Hestia insists.
Percy smiles, "I believe you will have this conversation with me again in a few years. I still go by what I said then"
"And what was that?" Hestia asks.
Everyone was curious about that too.
"I said your one of my favourite Goddesses. And you're the Goddess that deserves the most respect. You are the Eldest Daughter of Kronos. But Hope survives best at the Hearth. You keep your family together", Percy explains as best he could.
Everyone was surprised at that.
Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs Dodds, or the sound of the fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.
But soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic – how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone – something – was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.
Everyone frowns. Why on earth was Percy feeling like that? What the hell was going on?
Then I heard my Mum's voice. "Percy?"
She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.
My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkled and changed colour in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few grey streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.
"You sound like a person we would get along with real well", Persephone states.
"She is", most of the demigods say.
"Thank you", Sally replies.
Paul squeezes her hand. He had a amazing wife.
"Oh, Percy", she hugged me tight. "I can't believe it, You've grown since Christmas!"
Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy stop in Grand Central. She bought me a huge bag of 'free samples', the way she always did when I came home.
We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?
I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.
From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally – how about some bean dip, huh?"
I gritted my teeth.
Demigods and Gods growls. How dare he treat Sally like that? He was dead when they get back.
Artemis growls at this pig of a man. She wanted to turn him into a Jackalope and Hunt him down. And this torture him before she sent him to hell.
Zoe sees her Mistresses look and agreed with her she would gladly hunt this male down and hurt him painfully.
My Mum is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not some jerk like Gabe.
"But she found the perfect husband in Paul", Percy comments.
"Thank you Percy", Paul says to his Stepson.
For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin, And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the Headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really had. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr Brunner.
"That's nice Percy", Hylla comments.
"I am honoured", Chiron says with a smile.
Even Nancy Bobofitt suddenly didn't seem so bad.
"Really you would miss Nancy?" Grover asks a little bit amused.
"Lapse of thinking", Percy states, "I was under a lot off stress"
"When aren't you", many mutter.
That had the Gods worried. Did everything always fall on a child of the Big Three?
Until that trip to the museum…
"What?" my Mum asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"
"No, Mum"
"Percy you have to stop lying to your Mum", Piper states.
"Thank you Piper", Sally says with a smile.
"It was a little white lie", Percy comments.
"Still", Piper says.
I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.
"Nothing you say would sound stupid to me", Sally says lovingly.
"You sure?" Hercules asks cruelly.
Everyone of the future Demigods give him the stink eye.
She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.
"I have a surprise for you", she said. "We're going to the beach"
"That is bound to cheer Percy up", Thalia replies smiling.
"I can't remember a time Percy wasn't smiling on the beach", Nico states.
"That's because he HAS always smiled on the beach", Annabeth replies fondly kissing Percy.
"It feels like home", Percy explains after he finishes his kiss with Annabeth.
"Where else would feel like home to a son of Poseidon?" Theseus asks rhetorically smiling at his Half-Brother.
My eyes widened. "Montauk?"
"Three nights – same cabin"
"When?"
She smiled. "As soon as I get changed"
I couldn't believe it. My Mum and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two Summers, because Gabe there wasn't enough money.
"Bastard", many mutter.
Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"
I wanted to punch him, but I met my Mum's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.
"I was on my way, honey", she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip"
Gabe's eyes got small, "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"
"I knew it", I muttered, "He won't let us go"
"Of course he will", my Mum said evenly, "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides", she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend, Guacamole. Sour cream. The works"
Gabe softened a bit, "So this money for your trip . . . it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"
"That bastard", many mutter.
"You won't need money for clothes when you get back. Because I'll help you there", Aphrodite tells Sally.
"Thank you. But you shouldn't trouble yourself", Sally replies.
"It is no trouble", Aphrodite replies.
"I wouldn't mind joining", Amphitrite offers to many's surprise.
"That would be lovely thank you", Sally says to the wife of her son's Father.
"You were alright weren't you Sally?" Frederick Chase asks.
"Trust me I was fine Fred", Sally replies.
"Yes, honey", my Mother said.
"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back"
"We'll be very careful"
"Sure", many mutter.
"Something will happen", Austin states.
"It is almost guaranteed", Lou comments.
Gabe scratched his double chin, "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip . . . And maybe if the kid apologies for interrupting my poker game"
Maybe if I kick your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.
But my Mum's eyes warned me not to make him mad.
Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?
"I'm sorry", I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now"
"Note the sarcasm there", Leo states smirking.
Calypso rolls her eyes fondly at her boyfriend.
"He won't recognise sarcasm", Luke comments.
"That is true", Castor agrees.
Many also argue with Luke's statement.
Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.
"Called it!" Luke says.
"Yeah, whatever", he decided
He went back to his game.
"Thank you, Percy", my Mum said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about . . . whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"
For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes – the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride – as if my Mum too felt an odd chill in the air.
But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-laver dip.
An hour later we were ready to leave.
Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my Mum's bags to the car. He kept gripping and groaning about losing her cooking – and more important, his '78 Camaro – for the whole weekend.
"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy", he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch"
"I hope you total it", Meg mutters.
"So it can never be repaired", Michael Kahale adds.
Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve.
"Stupid man", Artemis mutters.
But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.
Watching him lumber back towards the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement towards Gabe.
The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.
"How did you do that?" Perseus asks.
"I have no clue!" Percy replies.
Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.
I got in the Camaro and told my Mum to step on it.
"That car is going to get totalled right?" Thalia asks smirking
"Why would you say that?" Percy asks
"It is just guaranteed Cousin", Nico states like it DID mean that would happen.
All the demigods laugh. They knew the car was likely to get totalled.
And it would serve Gabe right.
Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.
I loved the place.
"Because you're the Son of the Sea God", Frank mutters.
Percy glares at Frank.
"I hate spiders. Did it have to be spiders", Annabeth asks shuttering remembering going up against Arachne.
Percy places an arm around her in comfort. Knowing what she was thinking. Damn Arachne to Tartarus to for making Annabeth's fear of spiders worse.
We'd been going here since I was a baby. My Mum had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she met my Dad.
Poseidon smiles that place did sound like the perfect place to take Sally when he met her again in the future. And maybe he could look out for her and Percy more.
He probably would be able too. As he saw almost everyone liking Sally more and more.
As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the colour of the sea.
Some people started to wonder is Sally HERSELF had some kind of Sea God in her heritage.
We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my Mum had bought back from work.
I guess I should explain the blue food.
"Please do", Calypso says confused at all the blue food.
"It is his favourite", Thalia, Nico and Annabeth say together.
"First thing he drank at Camp was a blue soda", Luke informs them.
See, Gabe had once told my Mum there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my Mun went out of her way to eat blue, She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This – along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs Ugliano – was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.
"You have a bigger rebellious streak through", Leila points out.
"You just have to ask the Senate", Reyna agrees.
"Or any monster or God you come across", Lee Fletcher states.
When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mum told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about books she wanted to write someday when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.
"Do you write books?" Athena asks curiously.
"Yes I finally do", Sally replies.
"I will have to read them when they come out", Athena states.
Sally smiles thinking about the Wisdom Goddess reading HER books.
Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk – my Father. Mum's eyes went misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.
"He was kind Percy", she said, "Tall, handsome and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes"
Poseidon was surprised by how kind she was giving her situation. She truly was a remarkable woman making sure Percy didn't blame him. He would have to repay her for her kindness in the future.
Mum finished a blue jelly bean out of the candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud"
I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me. A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.
"I will be and I AM proud off you my son", Poseidon says giving Percy a hug, "I am sorry you haven't heard that from me in the future"
"I have known it after this situation. But yes at the time I didn't think you would be proud off me", Percy reveals.
"I will ALWAYS be proud off you. No matter what you do in the future", Poseidon vows.
"How old was I?" I asked, "I mean . . . when he left?"
She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach, This cabin"
"But . . . he knew me as a baby"
"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born"
I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember . . . something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.
Poseidon wondered how his son remembered that.
"How will you remember that?" Poseidon wonders out loud.
Athena and Annabeth were wondering about that too. How will a son of Poseidon remember that?
I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My Mum had never said it outright, but still. I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me . . .
I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on the ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my Mum. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.
"I am so sorry for my future self-son", Poseidon states.
"It is all water under the bridge Dad", Percy says trying to make his Dad feel better.
"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"
She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.
"I don't know, honey", her voice was heavy, "I think . . . I think we'll have to do something"
"Because you don't want me around?" I regretted the words as soon as they were out.
"No Percy that would NEVER have been the case", Sally says hating that Percy even thought that.
My Mum's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight, "Oh, Percy, no. I – I have to honey. For your own good. I have to send you away"
Sally winces now that she heard those words from another source. They didn't sound good and she could admit that.
Her words reminded me of what Mr Brunner had said – that it was best for me to leave Yancy.
Chiron sighs, "I should have been more tactful"
"Because I'm not normal", I said
"You have never been normal Kelp Head", Thalia comments
"Thanks Thals. But neither have you Pinecone Face", Percy points out.
Thalia scowls she knew what he meant. Damn she was never going to live it down being made into a Pine Tree to save her life.
"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe"
"Safe from what?"
She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me – all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me some of which I'd tried to forget.
During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.
Before that – a really early memory. I was in Preschool and a teacher accidently put me down fir a nap in a cot that had a snake had slithered into. My Mum screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strange to death with my meaty toddler hands.
Hercules growls he hated that this upstart seemed to be more famous and more powerful then him.
In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.
I knew I should tell my Mum about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucinations that I half sliced my maths teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.
"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could", my Mum said. "They told me that was a mistake, But there's only one other option, Percy – the place your father wanted to send you, And I just . . . I just can't stand to do it"
"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"
"Not a school", she said softly. "A Summer camp"
My head was spinning. Why would my Dad – who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born – talk to my Mum about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?
"I'm sorry, Percy", she said. Seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I – I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean goodbye to you for good"
"For good? But if its only a summer camp…"
She turned towards the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.
"I am sorry about how I acted Mum", Percy says softly with regret in his eyes.
"I understand why you did", Sally says with a forgiving look.
That night I had a vivid dream.
"Oh boy not one of those", Jason states.
It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horses muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.
"What the Hades are you two fighting about?" Athena asks, nothing was piecing together.
"Stop using my name as a curse word!" Hades growls exasperated.
He was sick, SICK of people using his name as a curse word.
"You should be used to it by now", Demeter mutters
"What was the Demeter?" Hades asks glaring at his Sister/Mother-in-Law.
Persephone gives her Mother a look. She really didn't want a fight between her Mother and Husband at the moment.
"Don't you two start", Zeus orders them, "We don't need your family drama now"
"Your calling us been drama queens now. That is a change", Hades mutters.
Zeus glares at him.
I ran towards them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horses wide eyes, and I screamed, No!
"You were going to get in between us?" Zeus asks stunned.
Everyone else was stunned too. Would he have done that in real like too?
"Well I didn't know the truth then", Percy replies with a helpless shrug.
"My, my you're an idiot", Hylla states.
"So you DO have a death wish", Ares drawls.
I woke with a start.
Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and five-metre-high waves pounding the dunes like artillery.
With the next thunderclap, mu Mum woke. She sat up eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane"
I knew that was crazy. Long Island never saw hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I head a distant bellowing, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.
"What could have caused the two of you to fight that much?" Ariadne asks.
"I don't know", Zeus and Poseidon admit.
Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice – someone yelling, pounding in out cabin door.
My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.
Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't exactly Grover.
"Searching all night", he gasped. "What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't exactly thinking was I?" Percy says sarcastically, "How was I supposed to know I had been up against a fury and then the fates?"
"Maybe if you stayed with him?" Miranda suggests.
"You could have got some answers", Gwen adds.
My Mother looked at me in terror – not scarred of Grover, but of why he'd come.
"Percy", she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"
I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.
"O Zeu kai alloi theoi", he yelled, "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"
I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had got here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his trousers on – and where his legs should be . . . where his legs should be . . .
"Looky here Grover broke Jackson", Clarisse laughs.
Everyone chuckles.
"Come on. What was I meant to think I was 12?" Percy asks glaring everyone.
My Mum looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"
I stammered something about old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs Dodds, and my Mum stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.
She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"
Grover ran fir the Camaro – but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about muscultar disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.
Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves…
"That chapter is done", Malcolm announces
"Good because I don't need anymore embarrassment", Percy says with a relieved sigh.
"But Percy this is only the 3rd chapter of one book", Annabeth points out.
"Crap", Percy curses.
Everyone bursts into laughter at the look on Percy's face.
Yes this was only the 3rd chapter of one book. So how much more would he be embarrassed?...
Author's Note: What do you think? Please Review:)