Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever Percy went, campers pointed at him and murmured something about toilet water. That, or maybe they were just staring at Rory and Annabeth, who were still pretty much dripping wet — and probably smelled, too.
The girls showed him a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts and crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of Pan), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.
Finally they returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.
"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow Rory and your cabin to the mess hall."
"I'm sorry about the toilets."
"Whatever."
"It wasn't my fault."
Rory shrugged him off, but from the look Percy was giving Annabeth, she could tell he still felt guilty. He was definitely the one who made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. But Rory could tell that even he didn't know how he did that.
"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.
"Who?" Percy asked.
"Not who. What: The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."
"I don't know," Rory said to Annabeth timidly. "It's really soon."
"After that? Too soon?" Annabeth repeated, still mad about the whole situation.
Rory looked at Percy, who was staring into the lake.
She followed his gaze, and at the bottom, she noticed two teenage girls sitting cross legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green tees, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved at Percy.
He waved back.
"Don't encourage them," Rory warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."
"Naiads," he repeated, and he looked like he was going to be sick. "Fuck this. I want to go home now."
Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."
