We Shop For Waterbeds
It was Annabeth idea.
"Annabeth glances at Ariel."
She loaded us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we actually had money, and told the driver, - Los Angeles, please.
"At last, they're finally heading in the right direction," Athena sighed in relief.
The cabbie chewed his cigar and sized us up. - That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front.
- You accept casino debit cards? - Annabeth asked.
He shrugged. - Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through, first.
Annabeth handed him her green LotusCash card.
"That's not such a bad idea, we just have to hope it works," Hermes says.
"Why wouldn't it work?" Ares asks, confused.
"The card might become invalid once you leave the casino," Hades explains.
"That's nonsense," Ares and Clarisse say in unison, then they glance at each other.
"Like father, like daughter," Ariel says, chuckling.
He looked at it sceptically.
- Swipe it, - Annabeth invited.
He did-
His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.
"Wow, that's a lot of money. Does any of you still have your card by any chance?" Connor asks hopefully.
"I still have my card, but you're not getting it," Ariel says sternly to Connor and Travis.
"Sometimes I hate how overbearing she is," Connor whispers to Travis.
"Sometimes I do too, but I still love her," Travis says, pouting.
The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. He looked back at us, his eyes wide. - Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highness?
"Your Highness," Triton mutters sarcastically.
"The driver instantly became nicer once he saw the money. It's pathetic," Apollo says scornfully.
"He's right," Poseidon says, pointing at Apollo, causing everyone's eyes to widen in surprise.
"My father agreed with you?" Ariel asks, stunned.
"It seems so," Apollo says smugly, only to be hit on the head by Ares.
- The Santa Monica pier. - Annabeth sat up a little straighter. I could tell she liked the " Your Highness" thing. - Get us there fast, and you can keep the chane.
"Oh, Annie," Thalia shakes her head, laughing.
"I just enjoyed having someone normal around for once," Annabeth says, blushing.
Maybe she shouldn't have told him that.
The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert.
"Is this safe?" Amphitrite asks, worriedly.
"Usually, yes, Mom," Ariel says, not noticing Amphitrite's tearful eyes at being called "Mom."
On the road, we had plenty of time to talk. I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tired to remember them. The Lotus Casino seemed to have short-circuited my memory. I couldn't recall what the invisible servant's voice had sounded like, though I was sure it was somebody I knew. The servant had called the monster in the pit something other than 'My Lord' --- some special name or tide....
