Daughter of Pluto | Wattys2017

XXXIV

AIMEE LIFTED UP HER HEAD AS PIPER WOKE UP.They were sitting at a table at a sidewalk café.

It was a sunny morning. The air was brisk but not unpleasant for sitting outside. At the other tables, a mix of bicyclists, business people, and college kids sat chatting and drinking coffee.

Aimee could smell eucalyptus trees. Lots of foot traffic passed in front of quaint little shops. The street was lined with bottle-brush trees and blooming azaleas as if winter was a foreign concept.

In other words: they were in California.

Her friends sat in chairs around her—all of them with their hands calmly folded across their chests, dozing pleasantly. And they all had new clothes on. Aimee looked down at her own outfit just as Piper gasped. "Mother!"

Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then all of them were awake.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "Fight who? Where?"

"Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "No—not falling. Where are we?"

Aimee looked down at her outfit again.

She was wearing a v-neck purple shirt with black ripped skinny jeans and a hooded leather jacket. She brought her hand up to her neck and sighed with relief. Her necklace was still there and so was her bracelet. She looked over at Leo who was looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"What are you looking at Valdez?"

Leo's eyes still sparkled as he looked at her. "You--You look amazing!!"

Aimee held out her hand and he handed her a mirror. Damn Aphrodite,you made a freaky pale death girl look like a model. Aimee had on some light makeup,her hair had been cleaned and put into a "crown" around her head. The rest of her hair had been curled perfectly.

Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings. He focused on Piper and made a little choking sound. "Piper what are you wearing?"

"It's nothing," Piper said. "It's my—" She stopped like she remembered something. "It's nothing."

Leo grinned at Piper taking his eyes off of Aimee. "Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen."

"Hey, Leo." Aimee nudged his arm. "You look at yourself recently?"

"What ... oh."

All of them had been give a makeover. Leo was wearing pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, and his tool belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat.

"God, Leo." Piper tried not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!"

"I think he looks good," said Coach Hedge. "'Course, I look better."

The satyr was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fit over his hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, a baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed and then ate.

"Well," Jason said, "at least your mom overlooked me."

Aimee knew that wasn't exactly true. Jason was dressed simply in jeans and a clean purple T-shirt, like he'd worn at the Grand Canyon. He had new track shoes on, and his hair was newly trimmed. His eyes were the same color as the sky. Aphrodite's message was clear: This one needs no improvement.

And Aimee agreed with her for once.Her best friend needed no improvement at all.

"Anyway," Piper said uncomfortably, "how did we get here?"