La Vie en Rose // Percy Jackson

v. percy destroys a bus

It didn't take Percy long to pack. He had decided to leave the Minotaur horn in his cabin, probably a smart idea, which left him only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for him.

The camp store loaned him one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told him, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions. He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told Percy had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. I already had been told. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. Percy was sure the knife would get him busted the first time we went through a metal detector. I was bringing a compact mirror, a gift from my mom, that showed a person's true character and I had my dagger.

Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

We waved goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.

Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus. He was the camp's head of security. He had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things." Percy heard footsteps behind.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. I smiled at him, then glanced at my friend with a light smirk and she shot me a look.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told Percy. "And I thought... um, maybe you could use these."

He handed Percy the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much, he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.

Percy didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say goodbye. It seemed he was afraid he might be resented for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving Percy a magic gift... It made Percy blush almost as much as Annabeth.