The Battle of the Labyrinth: Apollo's Daughter

Birthday Surprise

Percy's POV

Two days after leaving it was my birthday. I never advertised the date, because it always fell right after camp, so none of my camp friends could usually come, and I didn't have that many mortal friends. Besides, getting older didn't seem like anything to celebrate since I'd gotten the big prophecy about me destroying or saving the world when I turned twenty. Now I was turning nineteen. I was running out of time.

My mom threw me a small party at our apartment. Paul Blofis came over, but that was okay because Chiron had manipulated the Mist to convince everyone at Goode High School that I had nothing to do with the band room explosion.

Now Paul and the other witnesses were convinced that Kelli had been a crazy, firebomb-throwing cheerleader, while I had simply been an innocent bystander who'd panicked and ran from the scene. I would still be allowed to start as a freshman at Goode next month. If I wanted to keep my record of getting kicked out of school every year, I'd have to try harder.

Tyson came to my party, too, and my mother baked two extra blue cakes just for him.

To my surprise around noon, two blonde freckled children of Apollo showed up in the apartment hallway. "Percy!" Skye said with a bright smile, a box in her arms was wrapped neatly with ocean blue wrapping paper.

"Skye! Will! What are you both doing here?" I asked, being engulfed in a hug from the daughter of Apollo.

"Your mom invited me and I asked if Will could come. We're staying here in New York for a few days before heading home anyway." Skye said shyly.

"Skye!" my mom came around the corner with a bag of balloons, holding them out to Tyson who took them happily.

"Hi Ms. Jackson," Skyler said with a bright smile.

"What have I said before. Call me Sally sweetheart."

Skye blushed faintly before pushing Will forward from next to her. "This is my half-brother, Will."

Will smiled and was soon enveloped in a hug from Sally. "It's nice to meet you, sweetheart."

"You too Ms. Ja- Sally." Will corrected himself with a sly smile.

Both blonde children were quickly put to work, Skyler helped my mom hang blue streamers, Will helped Tyson blow up balloons.

I was going to help the daughter of Apollo and my mom but Paul Blofis asked me to help him in the kitchen.

As we were pouring punch, he said, "I hear your mom signed you up for your license test."

"Yeah. It's cool, haven't really had time to practice enough though... Kind of nerves..." I sighed.

Seriously, I'd been excited about getting my license forever, but I guess my heart wasn't in it anymore, and Paul could tell. In a weird way, he reminded me of Chiron sometimes, how he could look at you and actually see your thoughts. I guess it was that teacher's aura.

"You've had a rough summer," he said. "I'm guessing you lost someone important. And...girl trouble?" He raised an eyebrow, gesturing a thumb out into the archway where on the other side of the living room Skyler was standing on the back of the couch with my mom.

I stared at him. "How do you know that? Did my mom-"

He held up his hands. "Your mom hasn't said a thing. And I won't pry. I just know there's something unusual about you, Percy. You've got a lot going on that I can't figure. But I was also nineteen once, and I'm just guessing from your expression...Well, you've had a rough time."

I nodded. I'd promised my mom I would tell Paul the truth about me, but now didn't seem the time. Not yet. "I lost a couple of friends at this camp I go to," I said. "I mean, not close friends, but still..."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. And, uh, I guess the girl stuff..." I looked out into the living room.

"Here." Paul handed me some punch. "To your nineteenth birthday. And to a better year to come."

We tapped our paper cups together and drank.

"Percy, I kind of feel bad giving you one more thing to think about," Paul said. "But I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Girl stuff."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your mom," Paul said. "I'm thinking about proposing to her."

I almost dropped my cup. "You mean...marrying her? You and her?"

"Well, that was the general idea. Would that be okay with you?"

"You're asking my permission?"

Paul scratched his beard. "I don't know if it's permission, so much, but she's your mother. And I know you're going through a lot. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't talk to you about it first, man to man."

"Man to man," I repeated. It sounded strange, saying that. I thought about Paul and my mom, how she smiled and laughed more whenever he was around, and how Paul had gone out of his way to get me into high school. I found myself saying, "I think that's a great idea, Paul. Go for it."

He smiled really wide then. "Cheers, Percy. Let's join the party."