"One day down," Percy muttered as he climbed the stairs to reach the apartment, "five to go."
He had returned home by himself and arrived at 8:15 after being stuck in a last minute rehearsal for the next performance. He was so exhausted after the rehearsal that he thought he saw Annabeth in the auditorium when he packed his things. It was a ridiculous thought, especially since Annabeth joined the decathlon team, not a club in the arts department. And the only volunteers they had that weren't in the drama or glee clubs were the Hunters and some of the older students from Athena's school. Even if Annabeth wanted to help, and she would have told him if she did, he couldn't think of anything she could do on such short notice.
Percy opened the apartment door.
"Congratulations Percy!" He jumped at the call.
Everyone but the children was at the door, but Percy already had an idea of where the girls were. He walked in.
"What's the occasion?" Percy asked, "We're nowhere near done yet."
"Sometimes it's better to celebrate the first day than risk the rest being bad." Artemis explained.
"Was that supposed to be profound? Because your tone made it sound like it was supposed to be profound."
"Just shut up and have some punch."
"Don't mind if I do." Percy grabbed a cup and scooped up some punch. He looked around at everyone there and noticed a certain absence, "Where's Annabeth?"
Artemis and Allianna looked at each other nervously. Percy knew better than to ask why they were acting so suspiciously, since no matter what sort of relationship a guy has with a girl, girls always have each other's backs. If he wanted to know where she was, he would have to ask when she got back.
"Never mind." Percy drank his punch and went to his room.
As he expected, the light was off and the lamp was on. However, it wasn't on the nightstand. The light was creeping out of a pillow fort between the beds. Percy decided to have some fun with his daughters. He silently cleared his throat and tiptoed to the fort. He leaned beside the fort and spoke in a low, gravelly voice.
"I take joy in devouring little girls who don't go to sleep when they're told." He said as creepily as possible.
The response he received was a scream from Kira and a tail shooting out of the fort, knocking him over.
"Take it easy Kira," Percy laughed, "it's just me."
Kira stared at him, her clawed hand raised, tears in her eyes. Her bangs had all but completely blocked her green eye, leaving her red eye in plain sight, it's pupil a more dragonic slit than a human circle. Her wings had extended completely, making her look far more intimidating than she was. She balled her hand into a fist and brought it down on his chest. She then leaned in and cried.
"Not funny," she sobbed, scared out of her mind, "not funny."
"Sorry," Percy said in a more serious tone, "I didn't mean to frighten you that much." He embraced the child, "I guess I just forgot how old you really are. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise."
"You mean after the show," Selene chirped, "right?"
"Forget the show. I have an understudy for that. Nothing is more important to me than my children."
"Not even mom?" Selene gave a sly smirk.
"Uh," Percy felt uncomfortable with that question, "I'll have to get back to you on that one. Now, all of you, to bed. We can't afford to miss any of the festival tomorrow."
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'Why?" Percy thought as he turned his head, which was the only part of his body that he could move given his current situation, 'Why is every single girl in my bed?'
With the exception of his mother, baby sister, and daughters, every girl at the celebration was either beside or on top of Percy. The kids were in Artemis' bed, while Artemis herself was snuggled in close to Percy, using the joint just under his shoulder as a pillow. She had her hand clamped firmly on his crotch in case anyone tried anything. Because of the placement of Artemis' head, he had no feeling in his right arm, though he didn't need any to know that Annabeth, who was using his forearm as a pillow, was sucking his thumb. He was glad that he was facing Artemis and Annabeth, as at that, Khel rolled over on his other arm, her knee coming down on his chest while her chest covered the back of his head. Allianna used his left hand as a pillow. Percy could only guess that she was dreaming about ice cream since she was licking his fingers. Then there was Light. Apparently, she had hidden herself in Percy's closet while everyone was out. She came out of her hiding place when the other girls had fallen asleep and climbed on top of Percy. She was currently using his stomach as a pillow, letting out satisfied giggles to show that she was having a good dream.
Percy groaned as he tried to go to sleep. He had been in a situation like this once before, but there were three more girls pinning him down this time. With the lack of feeling in one of his arms and both of his legs, escaping from this situation would be impossible.
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"So what songs were you going to do in the show today?" Kira asked as she and Percy had breakfast at the superhero cafe the sophomore home ec class set up.
"We were going to do more superhero themes, then move on to classic Cartoon Network." Percy explained, cutting into his omelette.
"More coffee?" Their waitress, dressed as Supergirl asked, offering a fresh pot of coffee.
"Yes please," Percy answered, putting down his utensils and giving her his cup.
He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the previous night and needed the coffee desperately.
After they finished eating, they left to check out the outdoor magic show being held by a freshman class. Percy thought he saw Annabeth as they passed the choir room, where the performers for the show practiced, but was dragged on by Kira before he could confirm that it was her.
"Wait," Percy pulled Kira back before they went outside, "remember the story we're going with?"
"I'm your cousin, here for a visit." Kira recited as though she had spent the last week practicing.
Percy nodded his head and the two went outside. They joined the crowd in time for Percy to receive a surprise.
"And now," a freshman boy in a magician's outfit called in an understandably exaggerated tone, "please give a warm welcome to my lovely assistant."
Percy joined the crowd in clapping but stopped as soon as he saw who was in the small, sparkly dress. Every demigod held a strong sense of pride and every girl Percy knew had a stronger one. He wasn't much for tradition, but even Percy knew that wearing such an outfit placed a large stain on a demigods pride and honor. Aurora was making a big choice in doing this. Percy saw Grady in the front row out of the corner of his eye. He didn't need to see his face to know that Grady was worried about his sister.
There may not have been a performance this chapter, but Percy will be back at the helm next chapter, when they cover Nickelodeon.