This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―iii. tensions rise and faces fall

NAOMI WASN'T MUCH FOR CHARIOT RACING, but it proved a nice distraction from the camp's impending doom and her everlasting hatred for her mother. 

Naomi picked at the grass around her as Annabeth and Percy sketched chariot designs for the race. They'd decided to team up, given that Athena and Poseidon's best (and maybe only) collaboration in mythology was creating the chariot. 

"How come your cabin's not participating, Nay?" Annabeth asked, making small talk as she erased a few misplaced lines on her sketch. 

"Katie thinks this whole thing's a waste of perfectly healthy trees," Naomi told her. She plucked a blade of grass and twisted it between her fingers. "She's boycotting the event. I think most of Cabin Four is." 

"You're not boycotting, are you?" Percy asked.

"Silena's dad sent her a bunch of kettle-corn, so she's bringing it to the race to share," Naomi said. "I'm not missing that for the world." 

"So you're coming for the food and not to cheer us on?" Percy asked, feigning disappointment. 

"Precisely." 

"Since when are you and Silena so close, anyway?" he asked. 

"Since she saved me from a code purple," Naomi answered. 

Annabeth winced. "A code purple?" 

Percy frowned, confused. "What's a code purple?" 

"Self-inflicted bad haircut," Annabeth explained. "The bangs?" 

"The bangs," Naomi confirmed. "After that, she and Drew introduced me to a bunch of pop culture stuff I missed out on at St. Monica's. Taylor Swift, Harry Potter—that kind of stuff. She even helped me and Drew talk Ethan into letting us dye his hair purple." 

"Ethan—the kid at the Big House the other day?" Percy asked. 

"Yeah," Naomi said. "He's not new or anything—he's been in the Hermes cabin since before we even got here. You met him last summer." 

Percy shrugged. "Guess I just forgot."

Annabeth snorted. "Sure." 

Percy glared at her. "What?" 

"Nothing," Annabeth said, feigning innocence. "Should we put the javelin holder on the inside or outside of the chariot?" 

Percy shrugged. "Outside, I guess." He turned back to Naomi. "Ethan's a son of Hermes?" 

Naomi shook her head. "Son of Nemesis, goddess of revenge." She snorted. "You should've seen the prank he pulled on the Stolls when they cheated during our poker game—he filled their bunks with owl pellets. It was gross." 

"Wait, you played poker?" Percy asked, incredulous. 

"A couple times," Naomi said. "I'm no good at it, though. Ethan and the Stolls tried to teach me and Drew how to play so we could make a team, but I can't bluff for the life of me and Drew gets pissy when she starts losing. She kicked Connor in the shin so hard after the game he cried." 

Annabeth snorted. "I would've paid to see that." 

"You're lucky," Percy muttered. "You get to stay here year-round and learn how to play poker while I had to suffer through Lord of the Flies." 

"I had to worry about my new stepdad trying to kill me, too," Naomi muttered, picking a little more aggressively at the grass. "I feel like he's lying in wait, ready to strike the second he gets a chance." 

"How is that, anyway?" Annabeth asked. "Being a child of Persephone?"

Naomi scowled at the grass. "It sucks."