Percy
I might be an idiot for rushing headfirst into a potentially dangerous situation just because I was hungry, but those burgers smell delicious. I swear if you exposed even the most health-conscious supermodel to that smell they would follow it like it was a pair of overpriced brand named shoes. Plus, what could be the harm, Aunty Em seems like a really sweet lady.
Our little trio follows after her as she leads us through even more statues she's keeping inside, and I start to notice something strange, all of the statues' expressions are off. They look surprised at the best and horrified at the worst. A little girl, who I thought was only giggling, now seems like she has her hand covering her mouth to puke. I glance around again, wondering if I'm just seeing things.
All thoughts of the little girl slip out of my mind the way dates do in history class; *all I care about is finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it is at the back of the warehouse.* The packed dirt floor transitions into red and white tile, leading up to a counter she might as well have ransacked from McDonalds. My mouth starts watering as I take in the positively drool-worthy display of fast food delicacies. We've been dining on Annabeth-approved, health-conscious crap almost exclusively, since we left Remington. Not to mention, it's really hard to enjoy a good burger with Grover ranting on and on about how poorly cows are treated. I haven't had anything other than practical food for days, and the array Auntie Em's presenting is almost the exact opposite. Thick burgers sizzle on the grill, a soft serve ice cream dispenser stands proudly in the corner, a soda fountain stretches along the back wall, and a pretzel heater slowly spins the good kind of soft pretzels, the type that's drowning in cinnamon and sugar. In front of the counter are a little group of metal picnic tables, all of which are empty.
*"Please sit down," Aunty Em says. * I can't see her face because of the veil but her voice sounds like she's smiling. She has a sweet countenance, almost like a friend's mother meeting you for the first time.
"Great," I reply, grinning at the prospect of food being delivered.
"Would you like something to eat before we get down to business or are you in a hurry?" Aunty Em offers cheerfully. My eyes light up and Annabeth visibly straightens.
"We're not in a hurry, but we really shouldn't-" Luckily, Aunty Em cuts Grover off before Annabeth or I can shut him up.
"Oh no, I insist, and it will be my treat, for such nice children." She gushes.
*"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth says. Aunty Em stiffens, as if Annabeth has done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxes just as quickly, so I figure it must've been my imagination.
"Quite all right, Annabeth," She says. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."* Annabeth looks down, embarrassed, and pink creeps up her cheeks. Aunty Em slips away to start cooking and Grover turns back to me with his eyes wide.
"What are you doing Percy, did you forget why we're here? What are you going to say next? 'Hey, I'm Percy, does my Dad live with you?'" Grover demands in a harsh whisper, to my surprise Annabeth rolls her eyes at him.
"Relax Grover, it's a warm meal, when she comes back, Percy will ask her if she knows his dad, it's not a big deal." She waves him off and the grin on her face doesn't fade. Her eyes shine, the luminescent bulbs above us flicker down at her. Apparently, I have absolutely no filter, if what I say next is any indication.
"You really do have pretty eyes." I blame it on my ADHD, because the words pop out of my mouth with absolutely no conscious thought. PRETTY EYES JACKSON! PRETTY EYES! THAT'S WHAT YOU COME UP WITH! WHAT'S NEXT? "WANNA WATCH THE NOTEBOOK, EXTENDED EDITION WITH ME?" COULD YOU BE MORE PATHETIC!
Thankfully, we're all saved from hearing whatever poor Annabeth would have you responded with, because Aunty Em arrives, bearing food. She slides plastic trays onto the table, loaded up with cheeseburgers, shakes, and heaps of French fries. Previous mortification forgotten, *I'm halfway through my burger before I remember to breathe.* Annabeth grabs a shake first, and slurps at it with a euphoric expression on her face. Grover picks up a fry and starts nibbling uncertainly. Once all the food is spread out, Aunty Em sits down next to Grover and folds her hands on top of the table.
"Is the food not to your liking...?" She trails off and turns her head to face Grover, though it's hard to tell, since she has yet to remove her veil. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name, child."
"Oh, it's Grover…" He swallows nervously, and shakes his head so his curls bounce around. "And, that's not it, I'm a vegan, so I can't real eat meat, or animal products…" He trails off, but our hostess doesn't react.
"That's not a problem, I believe I included a veggie burger, just in case, and I assure you, the cows are killed in the most painless way possible. It's admirable of you, but please, relax." She urges, placing her weathered hand on top of his. He nods, and pulls his hand out to dig through the pile of food. Sure enough, there's a veggie burger, and she even gets him a soda, because god forbid a cow has to go through the torture of being milked.
Auntie Em doesn't eat and just sits forward and watches us dig in. It's unsettling to have someone watch me when I can't see her face, so to break up the awkwardness, and because I had finished my second burger, I try to make a little small talk with our hostess.
"So…gnomes…" I trail off. I'm trying to sound interested, but failing horribly. In all honesty, what is interesting about gnomes?
"Yes, it's very good business, even though the highway took away a lot of out walk-ins." She muses,* "I must cherish every customer I get."* The back of my neck erupts in chills, and I swallow uneasily and cross my arms. "But no matter, now is not a time for business… I believe you wanted my help." I clear my throat, and glance towards Annabeth, who seems to have broken out of her food coma. She nods to urge me on, but I have no idea how to phrase this.
I really need to start listening to Grover.
A/N: Stars indicated phrases taken directly from The Lightning Thief, I only changed the tenses. Does Aunty Em creep you out? I always hear her voice in that Umbridge style sickeningly sweet tone. Also some wierd stuff was going on with my formatting so, sorry about that.