DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING NOT EVEN THE PLOT ALL RIGHTS GO TO RICK RIORDAN AND LukeCastellan1986.
Chapter 4: Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants
Hermes snickered as he read the title
When the gods gave him a questioning look he leaned over to Apollo and showed him the title.
He joined Hermes in snickering
"Grover unexpectedly loses his pants," said Hermes
The throne room was filled with laughter while Grover turned a deep shade of red
"Why did you lose your pants?" asked Lee
"I think this when I find out that Grover is a satyr," said Percy
Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.
"Percy" groaned Poseidon
Grover grumbled under his breath
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?"
Percy and his dad felt a little scared but not as much as the times he saw the ladies
"Okay, I would probably do that too" admitted Thalia
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.
Grover turned redder
"Tell all my secrets Perce"
Percy gave him a sheepish smile 'Sorry"
Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.
"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.
The Hermes gang and Leo got crazy grins on their face
"I don't live there anymore" smirked Percy
Their smiles fell off and they pouted
A word about my mother, before you meet her.
"Awesome"
"Kind"
"Understanding"
"Cool"
"Sweet"
"Lit"
"Beautiful" muttered Poseidon but nobody except Percy, Thalia, and Nico heard him
Percy blushed and the two exchanged smirks
Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five,
"Zeus," said Demeter exasperatedly
"Not every plane crash is my fault" he whined
But by the looks he got, nobody believed him
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 program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.
"Poor woman" sighed Athena
The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.
Poseidon gave a smile
Aphrodite squealed
I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.
"You visited him?" asked an annoyed Zeus
"Of course, I did" snorted Poseidon
The demigods felt slightly jealous that Percy's dad visited him
They must have looked it too because a few gods noticed
They exchanged uneasy glances
"How many of you have visited your children?" asked Zeus
"I visited a few," said Hermes with a very slight glance toward Luke which unfortunately for him, the Hermes kids noticed
"I visited them," said Apollo
While Hephaestus, Poseidon, and Hades raised their hands
The demigods whose parents did not visit them felt a little more jealous
The Apollo kids were glad while the Hermes kids except Luke got a dark look in their eyes but somewhere hoped that Hermes might have visited them. However, Chris was sure that his dad did not visit him.
Hermes noticed this and frowned
He decided that he needed to speak to his children so did a few other gods
See,
Hermes slightly snickered
He just related see with sea
'Kind of a bad relation' he thought
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 he never came back.
Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.
"A lie but not a lie," said Hermes
"That is one good woman Uncle P" grinned Hermes
Poseidon gave him a small smile but then got a look in his eyes that clearly sent one message "Back off"
Hermes and Apollo gulped and Hermes continued reading
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 colors 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 garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.
Poseidon growled a little and Percy got a dark look in his eyes
Aphrodite looked really sick
Hephaestus and Ares eyed her worriedly
Between the two of us, we made my moms life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along . . . well, when I came home is a good example.
I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.
Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."
Artemis growled
The demigods looked angry on their friend's behalf
Percy just wanted to sink into the couch
"So no welcome home or how have you been?" asked Michael
"Where's my mom?"
"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"
That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?
Percy and Michael grinned at each other
"Cash?" asked Poseidon
"It'll come up" said Percy
Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in 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.
This was the last straw for Aphrodite
Hephaestus handed her a bucket and Aphrodite took it gratefully
Poseidon and the demigods were horrified that Percy and Sally had to live with this… this creature
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 on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer.
Thalia and Jason flinched
They knew about drunk people
Zeus noticed this and looked at them worriedly
Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds.
"Is that why thou would have to get a summer job" asked Zoe
Percy nodded
The demigods were growling and so were a few gods
He called that our "guy secret. "Meaning, if I told my mom, he would he would punch my lights out.
There was ringing silence in the throne room
"Percy, did he ever hit you?" asked Poseidon with his voice deathly calm
The gods and demigods were looking angry and wary of Poseidon at the same time but they were more on the side of being angry
"Yes" whispered Percy after moments of pure silence
"How many times?" asked Hestia. Even the sweet Hestia was looking furious
"Many" he whispered
This caused a roar of outrage from everybody in the room
"Where is this idiot?" said Thalia
"I'm going to kill him" growled Luke
"You're not the only one" said the Stolls
"I'm going to blast this mortal" came from the twins, Hermes
Poseidon looked beyond furious
Hades was angry too but he knew what had happened
Percy smiled gratefully at them
"Guys he's already dead" said Nico
Hades and Percy nodded
"How and who?" asked Beckendorf
"Mom"
"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.
A realization hit Athena
"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. Probably paid with a 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?"
"He can do math" asked the Stolls
"Only when money is concerned"
"He's 12" growled Luke
"He didn't care" was the reply
Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."
"At least one of them is decent" said Artemis
"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.
Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.
"Not much of a backbone though" added Hermes
Aphrodite and Silena looked disgusted
"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."
"Yeah! You tell him Percy" whooped Leo and Jason
Percy gave them a small smile
I slammed the door to 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 my 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.
Aphrodite found the bucket given to her by Hephaestus very useful
I dropped my suitcase on the bed . Home sweet home.
Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.
But as 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.
Percy and Poseidon's legs felt weak they started shaking
Then a sudden chilling feeling went up their spines making them shiver
Apollo looked at them in concern but calmed down once he realized that they are sitting down and wouldn't have a problem with weak legs
Then I heard my moms 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 sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, its 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.
"Yep"
"That's aunt Sally for you" said Nico and Thalia
"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 shop in Grand Central. Shed brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did the way she always did when I came home.
"That is so cool" whistled the Stolls
"Why don't you guys come over some day?" Percy asked everybody
Everybody grinned and agreed
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 my 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.
"I know right," said Nico
Hades was glad that Nico got a mother figure too
From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"
I gritted my teeth.
So did everybody else in the room
My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.
"I can do that" sad Aphrodite
"Thank you Lady Aphrodite but she already found a really good person" Percy said with a smile
For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. Id lasted almost the whole year this time. Id made some new friends. Id done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.
"How did you manage to spin that story" asked Grover with amusement
"Very carefully"
Until that trip to the museum...
"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"
"No, Mom."
"As much as I appreciate a good lie, but now is not the time!" exclaimed Hermes
"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."
My eyes widened. "Montauk?"
"Three nights—same cabin."
"When?"
She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."
Poseidon smiled at the memory of his days there
I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.
Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"
I wanted to punch him
Poseidon felt Percy's anger and so did he but his anger was combined with Percy's and that basically was furious
Percy had a dark look in his eyes
"Don't worry, we all do" said Apollo
"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 mom 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 him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works. "
"Bribery, nice!" grinned Hermes
This time both Percy and Poseidon gave him a look clearly saying "Back off"
Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip . . . it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"
"DUCK AND COVER" yelled Piper
Most of the people and gods closed their ears tightly
Those who did not had to listen to the loud screech of Aphrodite
"CLOTHES BUDGET!" she screeched
"Yes, honey," my mother said.
"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."
"We'll be very careful."
Percy and Grover were snickering at the reminder of what happened to Gabe's car
Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip . . . And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."
"He didn't interrupt it, he funded it you idiot" growled Thalia and Artemis
Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.
"DO IT!" yelled Ares and Clarisse
But my mom'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?
Poseidon and Percy had to resist the scream that was almost about to come out of their mouths but Percy was still able to whisper "For me"
"I'm sorry," I muttered, "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."
"Nice!" grinned the Stolls
Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.
"Yeah, whatever," he decided.
"The creature can do math but he couldn't detect the sarcasm?" asked Hera surprised
"He can only do math when it has money is concerned otherwise he is a dumb as a brick" Percy replied
"Hey don't insult bricks." said Jason
"At least they come in useful for hitting somebody. This creature doesn't seem useful for anything" he grinned
The room burst into chuckles
He went back to his game.
"Thank you, Percy," my mom 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 mom 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-layer dip.
An hour later we were ready to leave.
Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping 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."
"Like he'd be the one driving. He's 12" snorted Hades and Nico
The pair blinked and then gave small smiles to each other
Nico's smile reminded him of Maria too
Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe.
Nico and Percy grinned at each other
If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.
Chiron was surprised that he did not know about this
"Brother" Poseidon growled
"He's in punishment" said Hades
"Maybe we could add on to his punishment" suggested Nico
"That's is a good idea" stated Annabeth and Reyna
Everybody else nodded vigorously in agreement
Hades and Nico gave identical grins
"We will discuss in the break" they said
Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad, I did something I can't explain.
Poseidon and Percy got so mad that they wanted to punch something. The gods eyed them warily while the demigods were a little worried but they knew Percy would be able to control the anger
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 toward 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.
Everybody stared at Percy
"You must be very powerful to do that" said Hestia
Annabeth looked at Percy with fondness
"I'm not that powerful" murmured Percy
"Keep telling yourself that Kelp Head"
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 mom to step on it.
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,
Annabeth and Athena shuddered
Percy looked at Annabeth with worry and concern
He knew that Annabeth hated spiders even more since Tartarus
He gave a slight shudder just at the thought of that place
He gave a small hand squeeze to Annabeth to let her know that they were not there anymore
Annabeth looked at him gratefully
And most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in. I loved the place.
Percy and Poseidon grinned at each other
We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom 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'd met my dad.
"Aww" squealed Aphrodite and Silena
Piper was wondering how she was related to her mom
Poseidon and Percy turned red
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.
"Her eyes are beautiful" though Poseidon
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 mom had brought from work.
"What's with all the blue food?"
"We've been wondering that forever"
Percy just smiled
I guess I should explain the blue food.
"Yes please" said the demigods both Greek and Roman (except Octavian)
See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom 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.
"Oh, so that makes sense. You have a rebellious streak from both sides." Snickered Thalia
Percy stuck his tongue out
Thalia returned the mature gesture
When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.
Percy smiled when he remembered that his mom finally fulfilled her dream
Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.
All the demigods sighed
"We never do" they all said at the same time as if they practiced it
The gods smiled sadly at their children who were all looking at the floor
"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes. "
"Yep" said Poseidon
Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her 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 the sixth time in six years.
"I am very proud of you Percy" assured Poseidon giving his son a side hug which he accepted
"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.
I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom 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 that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.
Poseidon let out a small whimper as he felt his son's resentment
"We all have felt angry Percy" said Thalia
"Very much at times" said Luke
The demigods all nodded
"I mean even after the first war" said Chris a little bitterly
The demigods all agreed again
All the gods were shocked
They didn't know that all demigods felt this way and even after they made the promise to Percy
"You have" asked Zeus with a small gulp
The gods did not know whether they wanted the answer
Hermes put down the book as he knew that the wanted break would just occur now in the throne room.
"Obviously" deadpanned Clarisse. She walked over to squeeze Chris' hand
"Yeah. You don't help us. You leave us out there with our parents or step – parents who don't even want us in their lives. They take our birth as a curse instead of considering us as their kids." "Only a few demigods are lucky enough to have good parents and step parents" said Clarisse
"A lot of them don't even understand us. That is also one of the reasons we stay year round at camp" said Will
"Exactly. A few of them even abuse us. Like Percy's. They get drunk and beat us. They tell us that we are mistakes and should never have been born. They tell us that we were the worst things that could happen to them. A few of them wish that we were dead. All a few of them care about is their own lives. They don't care about us. " said Thalia
"When I found out how my mother was from Thalia, I was almost glad that I was given to Hera. The only thing was that I got separated from my sister" said Jason
"Even if a demigod has a caring mortal parent and they get killed, the gods don't bother that much and when they meet you, you just make up an excuse like I'm sorry or I miss her/him" said Leo
"Some of us don't even have parents thanks to other gods and their paranoia. They get killed for something they did not even do." Said Nico bitterly while glaring at Zeus
Hades blinked at Nico
"That is just the mortals' part. Not many of us are lucky enough to have to parents who care about us but some of our parents' were just cursed by the gods or their curses. After that when demigods come to camp with their protector or without thinking that somebody care for them and they don't get claimed, all that hope is lost and they feel that nobody actually cares for them. All we feel is abandonment. Some of them just fall into depression and some don't have the will to do anything. Some go out of camp without permission jut to prove themselves to get recognition while some go out to just live alone." said Luke
Before any of the gods could say anything the demigods continued
"The demigods just want time to spend with their godly parents or have somebody to tell if they have some problems that nobody else cares about but sometimes they just feel that if they tried to say something or if they make even a small mistake they might just be killed or get hurt even by their own godly parents and they lose a lot of hope that their godly parents might protect them. There is only some small hope they cling on to." Said Clarisse
"They can't even help us in our mortal lives or demigod lives." Said the Stolls
"Not just that, when demigods got claimed after the promise Percy made you all take, a few of them felt like a burden, that they might just be claimed because of Percy and if Percy hadn't asked the gods to claim them then they would still be unclaimed" added Chris again bitterly
"Also, when they have to take out anger on certain people they turn them into monsters just because of their own spite and not thinking what might come on their children. There are so many monsters that would like to kill us only because of what our parents did to them. Instead of some light punishment, you turn them into complete monsters who just harm your own children as well as the others" said Percy glaring at Athena
"You tell them that they do not belong" he added with a glance at Nico
"You send them on quests that might just get them killed. You tell them that they have failed you and that you are no child of theirs just because they do not want to make enemies with certain people. You keep sending them on quests that you know that no child of yours has come back from yet you still send them on those quests for your own pride. If something bad happens to them because of you, you do not even bother apologising. If you know that something traumatising has happened to them, you do not even bother offering any form of comfort. The demigods are all left out to make themselves feel better." Added Annabeth.
"The feelings you might have heard right now or felt right now aren't even a portion of what we felt or feel. The points we just said aren't even half of what we feel. It is just a summary that we all told you. The points you all heard are about us or our loved ones. This is not even the whole. Half or more than half is still buried in us" Said Luke
All the demigods had tears flowing down their faces. A few of them had runny nose. All of their eyes held pain and in a few bitterness even the ones who had not said anything. Even the mortal and Zoe had tears.
The gods were all taken aback. They had no idea about their children's feelings and to be told that this was not even half of what they feel or think just made it worse. The things that their kids did for only some recognition was horrible.
The gods also had tears flowing and pain in their eyes and most of all they had shame and guilt
When the gods tried to do something, the demigods just shrunk
"We don't want to hear it" they said
They felt that most of these demigods had fought for Olympus and this is what they feel and not to forget this was just a portion of what they felt.
Hestia just looked sad
The romans were quiet while a few of them agreed with the Greeks
"Let's all take a break after this chapter" said Chiron
Everybody was quiet because they all had tears (gods and demigods) flowing down their faces and were in no position to talk
Hestia conjured some hot chocolate for the demigods. They all sent her a grateful look
Everybody liked Hestia. She was the only Olympian who had not done anything bad to them
Chiron took the book from Hermes as nobody looked in the position to read and he read on.
"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.
Thalia squeezed Percy's hand in a sisterly way
He gave her a very watery smile
My mom'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."
Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.
"Because I'm not normal," I said.
"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 accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.
"Like Hercules" whispered Poseidon so that only those two could hear , hoping that both of them might feel a little happiness but when he saw Percy scoot a little further towards his friends he knew he said something wrong.
"I don't like Hercules dad and I definitely do not like being compare with him" he whispered shakily. Only his dad heard him
The demigods felt something happened to Percy and when he told them they all felt a few more tears as they thought that their parents did not even know that much about them.
In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.
I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math 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 mom 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 mom 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 saying good-bye to you for good."
"For good? But if it's only a summer camp . . ."
She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.
That night I had a vivid dream.
Percy and Poseidon fell asleep immediately with tears streaking down both their faces
Percy's head was on Annabeth's shoulder and Poseidon's on the couch armrest
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 horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle's wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.
I ran toward 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 horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, No!
Both of them looked disturbed and scared
I woke with a start.
Both of their eyes snapped open
Percy's friends explained what had happened
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 twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.
With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."
I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.
"Geez Uncle P, how did you forget?" said Hermes trying to light everybody's mood including his but it only resulted in a few nervous chuckles
Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.
Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our 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 . . . he wasn't exactly Grover.
"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"
My mother looked at me in terror—not scared 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?"
"Language Grover" said the Stolls weakly. Grover let out a small laugh which brought faint smiles on the demigods' faces.
The demigods were the only ones offering themselves comfort again
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 gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—and where his legs should be . . . where his legs should be
"There was nothing" murmured Luke
The demigods let out small chuckles
Luke smiled a watery smile faintly at being able to make his family and friends chuckle even though only a little
My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"
I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom 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 for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular 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.
"Good twist" said Thalia with a small smile
"Chapter's over" said Chiron with relief
The demigods got up. They were all holding hands or had hands over each other's shoulder.
The exceptions were Octavian and Rachel
Rachel was politely asked to leave while Octavian was removed by the gods from the throne room.