Sunburn- phoebus apollo

- x. Percy ruins a perfectly good bus

IT DIDN'T TAKE RHEA long to pack. She had decided to leave the Minotaur horn in her cabin because there was no use for it on the quest. Apollo had taken upon himself to give her a backpack full of basic travel supplies. (toothbrush, deodorant, etc.) and an multiple pairs of clothes, along with mortal money, drachmas, and a big Ziploc bag full of ambrosia and canteen of nectar (for emergencies).

He then had warned her not to take off the bag, under any circumstances, even if they were being chased. Rhea thought that that declaration was a little bit too specific, but decided not to argue with him. Knowing Apollo, he was probably right on this type of stuff.

After packing, she set off to Half-Blood Hill with her quest-mates.

Chiron gave each of the half-bloods a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares for emergencies. Rhea took hers even though she's already gotten some from Apollo in order to avoid suspicion.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she said was a birthday present from her mother, Athena, along with a book of famous classical architecture written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. Grover wore his fake feet and trousers to pass as human, plus a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

The four demigods waved goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.

Chiron was waiting for them in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude Rhea has seen when she was recovering in the sick room. According to Lee, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so she could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told Rhea and her brother. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

Rhea heard footsteps behind them.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. Now, Luke was a nice guy and all, but wasn't this relationship.... illegal? Or do they just not care because their demigods?

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told Percy. "And I thought... um, maybe you could use these."

He handed him the sneakers, which didn't look like anything special.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much that he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...." His expression turned sad.

"Hey, man," Percy said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy...." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you and your sister. So just..... kill some monsters for me, okay?" He then turned to Rhea and nodded. "You too, Rhea."