Hi, everyone! For starters, you can all thank blue287 for answering my question. (by the way, your comment made me laugh.) Second off, it seems this story is going to be shorter than originally intended. And C, remember that I am going on vacation next week (I won't say where, just in case there's a stalker out there *looks around room suspiciously*) so most likely no updates cause I will be so busy.
All right. This is going to be one of the chapters that I had general idea about, as mentioned in the last chapter's A/N:. I suspect that this one will be better than the last one. But what do I know? I thought last chapter was going to be horrible and it turned out exceptional.
In other words, don't set your hopes too high.
Disclaimer: I do not own any and all Percy Jackson characters mentioned aside from Perry. All characters except Perry belong to Rick Riordan.
Okay then! LET US ADVANCE IN OUR COURSE! (I've gotten to the point where I'm Google-ing these...)
Perry's POV
"What does this one do?" I ask curiously. After I managed to get at least one arrow in the target, Frank decided that I've had enough practice for the day. I had nothing better to do, considering everyone is talking about something I don't understand, so I decided to bug Leo about his "button collection."
"That button controls the third oar on the left side of the boat," Leo says nonchalantly. He's leaning against one of the tables with his arms crossed, giving off a vibe that says "I'm such a genius." He seems very proud of himself and the pride grows with every new button I see. I'm in a room full of buttons so his ego is practically suffocating me.
I walk over to a small yellow button with a poorly drawn picture of an end table on it. "What does this one do?" I ask pointing to it. Leo smiles and nods. "That button is what I like to call 'Buford's Button.' I push it and Buford comes running over so I can polish him," he answers.
"Polish him?" I question, confused. "Who's Buford and why does he need to be polished?"
Leo give me a look that makes me feel dumb for not knowing who this mystery cabin mate is. How could I have not noticed him? I thought I met everyone on this ship, even Festus. Maybe he's been hiding. Maybe Buford doesn't want me to meet him.
Leo pushes himself of the table and walks over to the button. "I'll show you," he says while pushing down on it, making the button light up. A few seconds pass before a loud sound comes form there door, like something ran into it. "Note to self," Leo mumbles, "Install Buford door." He walks over to the door and opens it.
I expect to see a normal boy behind it. Imagine my surprise when an end table comes in to meet me. "Perry, meet Buford. Buford; Perry," Leo introduces us. i stare at Buford a minute and I assume he is staring back at me, but it's kind of hard to tell when he doesn't have a face.
"Buford is a table?" I ask, slightly taken aback from the sight before me.
"An enchanted table," Leo corrects, pointing to me.
"Did you build him too?" I interrogate.
Leo scoffs. "No, I found him in Cabin Nine. That's were I built the Argo II. I can't build Buford. Or can I?" He stare absentmindedly at something behind me and I can tell that he got lost in his own thoughts. I give him a minute before I snap my fingers in front of his face to bring him back to earth.
"I'm sorry, what?" he says, slightly dazed. I smile at him.
We spend an instant too long in casual silence until it becomes awkward silence. I put my hands behind my back and look at the ground. Leo scratches the back of his neck and looks off to the left. Buford cheerily looks back and forth between us, probably not understanding the gracelessness in the room.
Leo's POV
"So, um, tell me about yourself..." I say stupidly. Though I have an above average amount of charm and general awesomeness, I don't really know how to talk to girls. I may be a total ladies' man, but frankly, ladies make me nervous.
Perry sighs. "Not much to tell really." She stares at her feet and bites her lip.
"Well, there are a few things I want to know. For starters, do you tink your parents are worried that you've been missing for a few days. Also, if you live in Italy, how come you don't, you know, speak Italian?"
Perry doesn't look to anxious to answer. "You want the whole story?" she asks tensely. I nod eagerly. I want to know more about this girl. She'll be living here until her arm heals and who knows how long that will take? Might as well learn about her past. Perry takes a deep breath and begins.
"Well, I never really knew my mom. My dad was a fisherman and he said while he was on one of his jobs, his boat crashed. He washed up on an island full of people he had never seen before. He was hurt pretty bad and couldn't remember much, but no one on the island would even look at him. My mom took pity on him and nursed him back to health. The other islanders where plotting to kill him, so once he was back to his normal self, he left my mom.
"He said about a year later, a basket with a note attached was left on his door step. I was in the basket. I was only a few weeks old." Perry pauses for a moment, like the next part of the story made her uneasy. "My dad never really liked me. I was always a bastard that he never wanted. He always wanted to know where my mom was though. He was always trying to find clues to where she was." Perry smiles a bit. "He really loved her a lot."
Her smile soon disappears as she continues. "One year, when I was eight, he got a pretty big lead on where she might be. He thought that she would be somewhere in Italy." Perry burrows her eyebrows together. "He would always mumble something about 'a lot of monsters there' and 'find her.' So we boarded a plane to Rome in hopes of finding her."
She swallows hard and her eyes became glassy. "One morning, I was following him around as he searched everywhere for her. I kept asking him if I could help and what was he looking for." Perry's breath hitches. I almost ask her to stop, for her sake, but she continues before I can. "Maybe I bugged him too much or maybe I said the wrong thing. He told me to sit on a bench nearby and wait for him to come back." A single tear trickles down her cheek. "I sat on that bench for almost three days. I finally gave up on him and my mom and decided to fend for myself."
I'm stunned. How can someone be so horrible to their own flesh and blood? This poor girl has gone through so much in her life but she can still put a smile on. I have no idea how to react. So I say the only thing that I can. "Perry, I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."
Perry, wipes her eyes and puts on brave grin. "Hey, it's fine," she sniffs. "I've kind of been looking for an excuse to get that off of my chest. Thanks for listening."
She waves goodbye and leaves the control room. "Bye," I whisper to myself.
A/N: Well that was fun to write. I am overall pleased with how this turned out. It had a rocky start but it worked out.
So what do you guys think of Perry's story? I would love if you would review your feelings. *hint hint*
Okay, maybe if I get enough comments, I'll be able to post one more chapter before I leave.
(Dang it I wanted to say something else but now I forgot what it was. Oh well, it'll come to me after I post this.)
Adieu