Jɪɴx ➪ 𝙡. 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯

Cinderella

chapter nine; Cinderella

"IT'S CRAZY, right?"
Leo asked as he fixed something on the ship.

What you ask? Jinx couldn't tell you.

No one trusted her alone, so while everyone was paired up with their friends, Leo paired up with her.
Her task was simple.

Jinx only had to wipe whatever oil fell onto the ground before it became a slippery mess. "Not really. Facing obstacles by oneself to gain access to a statue that's been supposedly lost to time seems to me like the most easiest thing she'll have to do in a while."

Annabeth had earlier confided in them that she was to find something of Athena's that was lost to time. Jason then confirmed that it was a statue.
Only a child of Athena can retrieve it, by themself, but no child has ever come back. It sucks, but it happens.

"Yeah, but I don't know, it just sounds crazy." He grunted as he moved around. A squirt of oil dropped down and she glared at him.

"You're doing that on purpose."

"No..."

Leo spared a glance her way, watching as she fought with her hair to stay behind her ear. He laughed, thinking of many jokes to make but instead digging in his tool belt and bringing out a hair tie.

"Here." He handed it over without looking, getting back to his work.

Jinx took it, muttering a quick thank you. She tied her hair up, whispering profanities as she scrubbed the floor.
"Cinderella type of shit." was among the things Leo heard.

He hated the silence that befell them. It was too awkward and suffocating. Maybe he should have left her with Coach so he didn't have to worry about conversation starters.

"It's cool how you can freeze time." He said.

Jinx looked up briefly before wiping a spec off of the ground. "Yes, it's quite cool."

"You know, your British accent comes out more when you're sarcastic."

"So I'm thinking all of the time then. Correct?"

Jinx's hands hurt. Not even her foster parents worked her like this. Her foster parents were actually amazing to her, and very understanding. She adored them and it pained her so much to leave them behind with only a note card that had 'IOU' on it, because she took their stashed cash.

"Correct." Leo said.

Jinx peered up at him again, trying to wrap her head around what he was doing. So she asked. She could tell that he got excited from the slight change of his posture and fast words.

She nodded like she understood what he was saying because in all honesty, what he said just flew out of her brain. Jinx grabbed another wipe and another, settling them in the spot that oil seemed to spill the most, daring the machine to spill again. She was ready this time.

Jinx made a mental game of which drop was faster, a mini race inside of her head. She only stopped when Leo asked her what she was doing.

"Huh? Oh, I was um, preparing for the next onslaught of oil." She said, satisfied with her answer.

"Oh..." And then his hands continued to work.

She watched as his hands worked their way around the machine, and gods, she was not one to ignore their work. His godly parent had obviously put some effort into this one.

Jinx, despite being an oddball of shyness and anxiety, she could spot someone attractive a mile away. And being on the Argo II was a blessing itself. Everyone on the ship was attractive.