CH2
Cynthia lived in a nice house. It was a far sight better looking and better feeling to be around than my neighborhood.
Quite often I would come to hang out with Cindy with little reason. She never asked, but she always understood.
It just felt safe.
I had barely cleaned myself up at all before coming. My hands still reeked with that iron smell, even without obviously looking like they were covered slick with blood only an hour ago. With my reflection in a window I had done my best to straighten out my hair but it was messy still. That was, in and of itself, not beyond me though.
On the way to Cindy's, I picked up a small bag of mixed candy from the store. I didn't really have an appetite for them at the moment which was probably extremely unlike myself, but it had practically become a tradition for us to bring each other candy to share.
Turning on the road where Cindy lived, I could feel a tingle run up my spine.
A bad feeling.
I looked around from where I stood, but there was no one in sight, save for a sleeping homeless man on the other side of the road. Yet, that was exactly what unsettled me. Why were there so few people around? It doesn't matter that it was a relatively out of the way location – it was still New York City.
My pace quickened, I walked briskly towards Cindy's place, still not seeing anyone come into sight.
I came onto her doorstep seeing the PANAGOS mat that lay there. Looking around before proceeding I decided just to brush off the relative silence. It couldn't have been anything terrible, right? Certainly nothing I would complain about to have a bit of peace and quiet. Instead, I picked up the brass doorknocker and slammed it down twice, producing a familiar CLICK! CLICK! sound as metal struck metal. Listening close, I heard feet brushing cross the floor swiftly, growing in volume until it stopped dead by the door.
A second passed.
And another.
Then, with a snap, the door swung open wide revealing a familiar auburn-haired girl with a bright straight smile. She took one look before leaping forward and enveloping me tightly.
"Percy!" She exclaimed, sounding excited.
It took a moment, but I reciprocated and allowed a smile to reach my face as I felt her warmth, "Hey Cindy, I brought candy."
A few moments later her mother came into view, a warm smile as always I had ever seen her with.
"Cindy, are you going to let our guest in, or are you going to just strangle him to death?" She asked, amused looking with a 'knowing' expression that Cindy told me annoyed her beyond belief.
"Of course," she jumped back, seeming to have a physical reaction as if realizing just how affectionate she was being. Looking slightly taken aback, she commented, "You smell funny Percy."
"Hey!" I looked at her in mock outrage, and complained, "What does that mean?"
Cindy giggled as she stepped back to the stairs, "Come on Percy."
As always, I kicked my shoes off at the door. They were sticklers for cleanliness, and wearing shoes would most likely be a death sentence. I still remembered how Cindy scowled when she found out I wore shoes at home – 'like a barbarian' she had said. However, after a couple of visits, I'm sure she understood and she never commented again.
I followed her up the stairs as her mother looked at us bemusedly.
"We'll be having dinner soon, don't get too hung up there," she called but we already rushed away, "And Percy, wash your hands. Don't eat too much candy you guys!"
"Yes Mrs. Panagos," I obliged and washed my hands in the bathroom – it was much needed regardless. Of course, as soon as Cindy tore the paper bag open we ignored the latter command.
Being in Cindy's room was always weird. It didn't look like other kids' rooms. She kept everything quite simple, even though they could obviously afford so much more than all the other kids. There was just an old desk in the corner that probably came from IKEA, with a comfortable desk chair, and a well made bed for one. Toys weren't scattered everywhere like the few other kids I'd visited. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person she invited around.
It always somewhat inspired me. I would ask Cindy why she had so few toys and gadgets and she would just shrug and say she didn't care about all those things that the other kids liked. All she had up here was a pellet gun, a dartboard that served as a painful target when the lead shot would ping off it and hit you in the face, and a pack of airplane playing cards. Well, it mostly hit me in the face – she never failed to hit where she wanted. The only thing of notable value was the tangerine orange clamshell iBook that she told me her mother got her for Christmas after she did chores for months, but I'd never actually seen her use it – it certainly hadn't moved from its position the last time I'd seen it.
"Dibs on hearts," she said popping one in her mouth with a smile and looking at me.
I looked at the mix and picked up a plain light brown block, "Well fudge is mine then."
She ate through the candy much faster than me. My appetite for sweetness just wasn't there, and that certainly wasn't lost on her. Every time she would pick out another candy she would regard me closely as if searching for a reaction. Even taking a fudge in a very pronounced and obvious way like she was trying to get a rise out of me.
"What's wrong?" She finally sighed, looking concerned as she scooted closer, giving up with the charades of trying to provoke reaction, "I haven't seen you in what, two weeks? How's it going?"
Cindy was always understanding, she wouldn't push too hard if she could tell I was feeling uncomfortable. Although, I knew she would be suspicious: I would usually pour my soul out to her with little I would withhold.
I shrugged and brushed it off as nonchalantly sounding as I could, "Just the usual. Gabe being a dick and all y'know? Same old, same old."
Oh, what I wished I could tell her.
"Oh," she said, sounding slightly let down as if she wanted to hear more. She could always see right through me, which only made it hurt more when I lied.
"How was Greece?" I flipped the question, getting the topic off myself. Last I had seen her, she'd told me that she and her mother were going on a holiday overseas, "Were the old buildings cool? Did you see a human sacrifice?"
She blinked a few times, her expression unreadable. After a moment she grinned, but it felt strained, "Oh yeah, Greece was a looot of fun. Tons of ancient ruins and stuff. People don't do human sacrifices anymore there Percy, but I did see an altar where they said it had been practiced way back. It was really cool."
I got the feeling she was lying.
Something wasn't right.
Before either of us could prod further with the conversation, her mother called, "Dinner's ready!"
We both seemed to let out a sigh of relief, Luna dashing out of the room before me. I shoved the candy off to the side on her desk and followed her down to the kitchen.
Both of us sat at the dark oak table, Mrs. Panagos brought a large white ceramic dish of macaroni and cheese out of the oven with mitts on. She brought it to the dining table and set it on a cold wet dishcloth. It looked and smelled magnificent with a golden brownish color on the surface. Using a spatula she cut through it smoothly, revealing the creamy, cheesy pale yellow throughout. She took a huge portion out of the dish and placed it down with masterful precision on the plate in front of me, like a perfect rectangle with defined edges and vertices.
"Is that enough for you Percy? A growing boy needs all the calcium he can get," she remarked, looking at me warmly.
"Definitely enough," I grinned toothily. No matter how down I was, Cindy's mom could always bring my spirits back up. She was just a bastion of warmth and heartiness, like nobody else I knew. Cindy's mom was friendly and helpful, always full of wise advice. And the food she made was practically imbued with joy.
"Well there'll always be more left over after if you still want more later," she said, before serving up some for herself and Cindy.
When everyone's plates were full I didn't waste any time digging in. I was starving from everything that had happened with barely any food that day. In the morning I had barely eaten a bowl of oatmeal before the antagonism from Gabe began.
Cindy never failed to look shocked at how quickly, and how much I could eat.
"Boys," I heard her mutter, "You're all the same. How do you eat so piggishly?"
"Hey, you heard your mom," I'd barely swallowed a mouthful of food as I spoke, "A growing boy needs his food."
She rolled her eyes as she dug into her own macaroni.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoy it so much Percy," Mrs. Panagos smiled.
I nodded vigorously as I chewed, "It's delightful."
A few minutes of comfortable silence passed as we ate, giving me some time to savor the taste of cheddar on my tongue.
"School's back soon," Her mother said, "Did you manage to get into the same school again this year Percy, or are you moving on again?"
Cindy snorted loudly, "What do you expect? He dumped the class in the shark-tank last year."
She looked particularly amused by that, "Ah yes, the shark-tank."
Cindy pointed with her fork, "What was it you said? The sharks were talking to you?" She laughed at me again. Since it happened she wouldn't let me live it down, and although she was herself dumped into the tank. When it happened she wasn't as terrified as the rest of the kids.
"Hey!" I complained, "I swear they were. They told me to pull on the lever, and nothing bad would happen. Who keeps a lever to dump people into a shark tank where people can easily reach it anyway?"
"Well, it obviously wasn't there to dump people in."
"How would I have known?" I scoffed shrugging with my arm wildly.
"Well, I'm sure Percy's learned his lesson now," Her mother lowered her face and fixed me with a smile, "Don't pull on random levers in an aquarium. And maybe on cannons too."
I didn't respond, just looking away slightly sheepish.
"How has the past couple weeks been?" She asked changing the topic, and I could see Cindy leaning in from the corner of my eyes. Just looking at Mrs. Panagos's face I wanted to spill it all out. Tell the troubles, confess my crime. But I held my tongue and tried flipping the topic again.
"Oh you know, same as always," I waved it off, "How was your holiday? Cindy was telling me all about that human sacrifice you guys saw. Was it cool?"
Mrs. Panagos looked at Cindy curiously and she was stilled, "Wait what? Cynthia?"
I giggled as she gave just about the most intelligent response I'd ever heard from her, "Huh?"
They both looked at me confusedly as I started laughing. The expression on their Cindy's face was priceless.
"I did not!" she protested, "No such thing happened!"
"Cindy have you been telling Percy fibs?" her mother looked amused.
"What? No," she gasped, "I would never!"
Mrs. Panagos was about to say something else, but three loud clicks of metal rang through the house.
Someone was at the door.
Both Cindy and her mother had frozen rigid. I swallowed another mouthful of macaroni before cleaning my face with a paper napkin.
"Is something wrong?" I asked as they had a war of stares.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
The doorknocker reverberated through the house once again.
"Coming!" Mrs. Olympia called and stood up without responding to my question.
She disappeared into the hallway, leaving us sitting in the kitchen awkwardly.
"What was that about?" I asked, and Cindy just looked at me with the same look of frozen confusion she had when the door was first knocked.
She stood and went to stand by the kitchen door. I followed closely but she gave me an angry look as if I shouldn't. Of course, I ignored her and placed my ear next to the wood as well.
"Sister, I don't know what to do," A male voice said through the sound of a windy breeze. The door was held from opening only by our position eavesdropping. I could see Cindy's face pale as she listened on. Never before had I seen such an utter look of terror on her face.
"Brother," I heard Mrs. Panagos's voice. My own eyes were wide, I had never before met any of Cindy's extended family, "Thalia's fate is not on you."
"But I could have done more!" The man sounded despaired, "I could have done so much more."
"It was out of your hands."
"It wasn't though!" An unnatural crackling sound that sent shivers up my spine was audible. It was like the sound that came from overhead power-lines in damp weather with the biting smell of ozone that came from welding.
Then I could hear Mrs. Panagos's voice with the slightest hint of anger I hadn't heard from her before, "Brother! Calm yourself before I send you away! This is my home, I will not tolerate that!"
There was a brief moment of silence. The two said nothing but we could assume that the man was trying to control his temper.
"I'm sorry Hestia," he finally apologized to her, "I am losing my mind. My wife… she hasn't had anything nice to say, but nor has she antagonized me over this."
Hestia?
I had never heard her first name before. It was just like that Greek goddess from the stories my mom had read me. So much about her was exactly like that goddess was described as well.
"Just be sure it does not happen again," she said.
"What should be done though? Barnacle's son is now most likely going to be the child of the prophecy, young as he is. He dotes on that boy. Just like his son of old. Goodness knows what he would do if he found out something happened to him. He must only be, what, five now?"
I backed away from the door. I felt like I was way in over my head listening to the conversation. Cindy continued to listen like she was glued to the door, but her eyes were visibly wide with terror. There was something she wasn't telling me about her family.
Stupidly, I didn't look where I was going. Walking backward, I stumbled over the chair which Cynthia had left out, falling on my back with a loud slam as the chair tumbled with me.
"Ow!" I couldn't help but cry out as the chair smacked me in the face in its tumble.
"Percy!" Cindy exclaimed, abandoning her position to rush over and check on me.
Louder, I could hear the man's voice again as he asked my host, "I'm sorry, did you have company? I was not aware."
The door swung open with the light breeze now that Cindy was no longer there to hold it still.
Cynthia froze stiff as she stood to face the man in the door. Her face was terrified, and yet she said nothing.
The man wore a pinstriped suit with an electric blue shirt underneath that was unbuttoned near the top with a messy tie hanging from his neck. He had clearly been upset about something: the sclera of his eyes were red and bloodshot, with dark bags beneath.
He stared right at me, and then looked at Cindy confusedly before his eyes settled on me once again – piercing with an electric fright.
"That's impossible."
While Cindy was frozen solid I decided to make the first move. Standing up, I moved to hold out my hand, "Hi, I'm Percy. I'm… Cindy's friend."
"Hello, Percy, friend of… Cindy," the man managed and shook my hand without much vigor before giving Mrs. Panagos an extremely confused look.
"It's a long story," was all she said, although she offered a smile which was possibly the only one I'd ever been unsure about from her. The man shook his head, stepping back.
"Of course."
"Well?" She asked without specificity.
"I…" he shook his head again, flustered, "Too much has happened today, I need to think… And maybe consult my wife. Do some soul searching or something…"
His voice trailed off.
"Yes, do that."
…
…
…
(A/N) This chapter was hard to get out. The interactions may be kinda rough around the edges, let me know what you think. That was the main consideration that absorbed my time writing this chapter. The following chapter will take far less time and is already in the works.
As of yet, no update schedule. I'll try figure one out, but no promises.
-MT13
