FALLING UP ➪ p. jackson

κεφάλαιο τέσσερα

they stumbled through the desert afternoon. now, prue was glad for her tank top and skirt, for it was easily 110° in the sunlight. fay had taken off his blouse and now had it loosely tied around his waist.

prue was glad for the distraction the wild animals held, because nobody spared them a glance. the girl had a feeling she probably looked like a deep-fried piece of celery, because she sure felt like one.

as they walked through the streets, they passed many replicas of things like the pyramids or the statue of liberty. prue noticed how percy's face turned longing when he saw the miniature statue of liberty; she wondered if he was possibly homesick.

prue lost track of time as they walked. when she asked what they were looking for, nobody answered her.

she was looking at the ground when she suddenly ran into grover's back. she stumbled slightly, feeling fay's hand on her arm to steady her, as she looked up, confused as to why they had stopped.

in front of them was a dead end. there was a building in front of them labeled "lotus hotel and casino". the entrance was huge, yet there was nobody going in or out.

the doorman smiled at them all, almost too friendly considering they all looked like candied bugs. "hey, kids. you look tired. you want to come in and sit down?"

prue immediately was taken off by the man. sure, she shouldn't judge too quickly, but the strange man inviting them inside was off putting to her.

percy seemed to trust the man though. from the front of the group, he gave the man a sympathetic nod. "we'd love to."

he, annabeth, and grover all in sync began walking to the doors. prue gave fay a worried glance, whispering "i don't like this."

he gave her a silent shrug before beginning to follow the trio through the doors.

as soon as prue stepped inside, her worries flew away. the entire lobby was a giant game room, full of not only video games but also giant water slides and pools. there were no lines for any games and waitresses and waiters were walking around with trays of food and drinks.

"hey!" a bellhop called to them. "welcome to the lotus casino! here's your room key."

he handed percy a key. "um..but.." he stuttered out.

"no, no. the bills taken care of." prue and fay glanced at each other, both wondering if their parents were going to get charged for this. "no extra charges, no tips. just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. if you need anything, such as extra bubbles for the jacuzzi, or new targets for the shooting range, just call the front desk. here are your lotus-cash cards, they work in all restaurants, games, and rides!"

he handed percy five green plastic credit cards, which he passed back to the others.

percy examined the card, turning it over. "how much is on here?" percy asked skeptically.

the man's eyebrows knit together. "what do you mean?"

"i mean, when does it run out of cash?" percy repeated himself.

"oh, you're making a joke." he laughed. "that's cool. enjoy your stay!"  and with that, he walked away, leaving the five teens standing in confusion.

after their moment of shock, annabeth shrugged before taking the initiative. "well, i guess it's time to find our room."

the group all walked to the nearest glass elevator. as they loaded into the elevator, prue got flashbacks of the elevator that brought them onto the arch.

when they checked into their room, it felt almost heavenly. there were two king size beds and a snack bar stocked with more snacks than prue had ever seen in their pantry at home. a huge screen television was on the middle wall, with satellite and high speed internet. the room had two bathrooms and five separate closets. the balcony had a hot tub as well as the shooting range the bell-hop had mentioned earlier.