Chapter 14, Crazy mixed up love story (and evil robot spiders)
Waterland -or should I say Watrad- had the weirdest rides. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit? I was disgusted. Who would want to go on rides named like that? No wonder the water park closed down.
We walked by a souvenir shop tat was left open. My eyes grew wide. There were tons of souvenirs on the shelves: snow globes, balls, pencils, postcards, key chains, and not to mention clothes!
I gazed at the clothes. I hadn't had a change of fresh clothes for a long time!
"Clothes," I breathed. "Fresh clothes."
"Yeah," Percy said, "But you can't just-"
I scoffed. Percy did not know me well enough.
"Watch me," I said. I snatched whatever could fit in my arms and walked into a changing room.
I changed into the Waterland clothes. It felt so good having a fresh change of clothes instead of grimy, dirt covered clothes. I then stuffed a Waterland backpack with all the other stuff I had snatched. I slung the backpack over my shoulder and walked out.
"What the heck." Grover shrugged. He and Percy followed my lead and pretty soon, we all had a change of fresh clothes and looked like crazy tourists.
We continued our search for the Tunnel of Love.
Percy was growing uncomfortable. "So... Ares and Aphrodite, they have a thing going?" Percy asked.
Percy obviously wasn't comfortable with the idea of gods dating other gods even though they're married. "That's old gossip, Percy. Three-thousand-year-old gossip." So get over it!
"What about Aphrodite's husband?" Percy asked.
"Well, you know," I said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly... handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"
"She likes bikers." Percy pointed out.
"Whatever."
"Hephaestus knows?" Percy asked.
"Oh, sure." I said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like..."
I trailed off and looked straight ahead. "Like that."
It was the Tunnel of Love. It was a huge empty pool with dozens of bronze Cupid statues around the rim. A tunnel was opened up on the opposite side from us where water once flowed. A sign read, "Thrill Ride O' Love: This Is Not Your Parents' Tunnel Of Love!"
Grover shuffled toward the edge. "Guys, look."
A pink and white boat for two was at the bottom of the empty pool. On the left seat laid Ares' shield.
"This is too easy." Percy said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"
I wasn't paying attention to him. I ran my fingers along the base of a Cupid statue. On it was a Greek letter. Eta.
"There's a Greek letter carved here," I murmured. It looked like an upper case H and lower case N. "Eta. I wonder..." What did Eta mean again? I wracked my head, trying to remember.
"Grover, you smell any monsters?" Percy asked.
Grover sniffed. "Nothing."
"Nothing-like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"
