him, in all of his glory.

8. 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 80𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴

"Just because you own a map doesn't mean you can drive properly!"

That sentence awoke my nice nap. I noticed the car was standing still. Outside the sun was shining and the radio faintly played some random popular song. It was only me in the car. Both Malcolm and Percy stood outside. I peeked through the window. It looked like they were midway through an argument. You would think that boys would start becoming more mature once they become 18. Guess I'm wrong. Percy was frantically walking around, waving a map of ohio around. Malcolm on the other hand was standing like a soccer mom. Hand on the hips and one leg standing outwards. I wanted to go back to sleep or watch the argument escalate because it was kind of funny. But I knew I had to step in. Being on a quest is stressful enough but not working like a team is even more stressful.

"You are so stuck up. I went in one wrong direction and you're already being this mad." Malcolm said. "Well maybe you haven't noticed but we are on a quest, Malcolm. Any wrong turn can lead us into our deaths!" Percy yelled. "Hey! What the fuck is going on?" I said while approaching them. Both looked shocked to see I was awake. "Oh hey, we're just talking. Didn't want to wake you up, you know." Malcolm explained to me calmly. "Don't do that Malcolm, I'm not dumb." I told him. Percy cracked a small smile which made Malcolm even more upset. "Look Percy is right, we're on a quest, so it's important we get along. And we don't have all the time in the world so please just wake me up or discuss anything if you're lost. Also you guys are both older than me but act like children, can we please get along for more than a few minutes?" I said pleadingly. Both of them still looked away from each other. "Percy, you are one of the first friends I've ever made and you've made such an impact on me. I look up to you." Percy smiled at this comment. "And you Malcolm, you were my first friend at camp. When I still didn't have any Godly parent. You took me in and taught me so much." I explained. Malcolm now also cracked a smile. "I choose you guys both for a reason. I trust you guys and I love you guys. So this entire fighting thing between you guys needs to stop. Its childish and not like the both of you. Okay?" I said lastly. They both looked over at each other and nodded. "Yeah I guess you're right. Sorry, I might have overreacted." Percy said first. "Yeah me too, sorry." Malcolm finally said. "Okay well great! Let's get back to driving"

So apparently Malcolm drove us to the south of Ohio instead of the north. Which did cost us some time. But it was an honest mistake. I'm sure after the entire quest thing we could laugh about it. Right?

Anyway it was now around 11 am and we were close to colombus. Some bad cheesy 80s songs we're playing on the radio. Malcolm knew every song. So naturally me and Percy had to make fun of him. Which he definitely did not like. But for the first time in 2 days I felt like this quest could maybe work out.

"Hey, have you guys heard anything from your dads?" Malcolm suddenly asked. "No, I haven't since the accident at camp. I've only spoken to him once anyway." I told them. "Yeah same. I haven't really spoken to my dad at all. Since." Percy said and a silence fell. We all knew what he meant. The Annabeth Chase accident. Percy told me small bits, and I also heard bits from other campers. But it was still a mystery to me. Everyone talked greatly about her.

She seemed amazing.

Percy went off the grid after that. So he probably hadn't had much contact with Poseidon.

"Uhm have you heard anything from Athena, Malcolm?" Percy asked. "Nope. The last time I spoke to her was in a dream many months ago. Whatever is going on, it has probably freaked the Gods out as well." He replied. Malcolm is right, Rachel told me so. But what is going on? Right now things felt pretty normal, just a weird feeling around camp. Like something huge is about to happen, something bad. Whatever it is, we'll probably find out about it on our quest.