Indigo Eyes

Chapter 3

Cressida prayed to Apollo almost daily to thank him for his creation of music. She loved music. She wouldn't be where she was without music as she sat in the van with her earphones in and the iPod her brothers got her in her hands as she stared out the window. She watched as trees and the countryside turned into buildings and skyscrapers, the rock music her brothers turned her onto much better than listening to Percy and Annabeth argue.

For a twelve-year-old, Annabeth was both proud and prejudiced. And even if she didn't know Percy, she was going to hate him just because her mother hated his father because of that competition to name Athens millennia ago.

And even if Cressida didn't know him and still hated him, it was because she hated everyone, not because of some past prejudice.

Argus eventually pulled the van to a stop near the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was covered in a hundred eyes as he unpacked their bags, except Cressida's because she refused to be parted with hers. Argus left soon after that as they waited for the bus, Cressida still with her earphones in, but she could still hear Grover talking to Percy about how his mother married his smelly stepdad to keep Percy safe, the guy's stench masking Percy's demigod scent from monsters. Why couldn't this stupid iPod go any louder?

When the bus finally came, she was grateful to get on and chose a seat in the far back of the bus where she hoped the rest of them would steer clear of. But to her dismay, Percy plonked himself next to her, tossing her bag onto her lap and inadvertently tugging her earphones out.

"A whole bus to choose from and you sit next to me," she grumbled as she stuck her earphone back in and stared back out the window. "I wonder what you want me from now."

"Look, if we're going to do this, can we at least be civil?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"Civility isn't necessary for success. You can get things done without having to get along. I would know."

"So, I take it your hatred isn't solely focused on me?"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," she retorted as she whipped her head around to face him. "My hatred applies to everyone I'm not genetically related to. You're the newest camper and are merely the newest recipient of my hatred."

"Are you ever going to tell me why you hate me? Or everyone?" Percy wondered and Cressida simply put her other earphone in as she began playing with her bracelet.

"I'd have to trust you in order to tell you that. And the only two people I trust in this world are back at Camp. But I'm sure Annabeth could tell you," she remarked and Percy turned to the blonde girl who sat in the seats next to them with Grover and perked up at the sound of her name. "She's such a know-it-all, I'm sure she'll know the answer - or what she thinks is the answer."

"Hey," Percy said to Cressida as he tugged on her earphone again and she sighed.

"What?!"

"I don't know what happened to you, I don't know what Annabeth or everyone else did to you that made you so angry, but I just want you to know that I've got your back."

She had to admit, that was a bold thing to promise for a twelve-year-old, then again, all of them had experienced worse things that no twelve-year-old should have to endure. Cressida was silent at first as she switched off her iPod and began to wrap her earphones around it before tucking it back into her bag.

"That's an empty promise. I'll believe it when I see it," she replied, and Percy could only nod. It was reasonable enough, especially if she'd been lied to before, or if she'd been hurt by the camp. But he found it difficult to believe that a place that had welcomed him so easily wouldn't do the same to her. Especially after the way he saw her interact with her brothers. It didn't make sense to him if he was being honest.