I'd been in the middle of mopping my room with Buford the table keeping me company, seemingly entertained with poking my beanbag chair with one of his legs, when I sensed someone contemplating to open a private channel via charm.
"Leo, I know you're there," I spoke aloud, continuing to scrub the ichor from wooden floorboards. I'd never noticed how much of a pain it was to clean godly blood. My respect for the janitors on Olympus instantly quadrupled, especially those assigned to work for Ares.
Sometimes, your powers frighten me, hermana. I only touched the charm for a second.
"Well, that's all the time it needs to work. Effective, huh?"
Too effective, Leo grumbled. I was wondering if you've seen Buford around? I need his help with something.
"Yeah, he's here with me." Sensing that he was the subject of the conversation, the animated table perked up and tilted his surface in the same way a dog cocked its head to the side when confused. "I'll send him your way. Are you in the engine room?"
Psychic witch!
I softly laughed. While I might have some precognitive abilities, I was definitely no psychic, contrary to popular belief. Being from the future left lots of people thinking that, though.
"Or maybe you're just predictable, Flame Boy," I teased. "He'll be there soon."
As I explained Leo's request to Buford, who sadly squeaked at the idea of leaving his newfound toy, I continued sensing Leo's presence lingering in the back of my head. The promise of a polish with Lemon Pledge with extra moisturizing formula sent the little table scurrying down the hall and stairs towards the engine room.
Take note kids: bribery works on household items, too.
Not wanting to make things awkward between us again, I didn't mention Leo's stall and returned in putting some elbow grease into my floor. This was the kind of situation where manipulating time would be extremely helpful, but I couldn't waste that kind of power on such a menial task. I've cleaned worse than this at Mrs. Stetson's house.
Potty training toddlers had always been the messiest chore.
As we landed on a massive hill in Atlanta, I headed for the aft deck. Apparently, I didn't look as serene as I thought I did judging by the fact that Jason refused to meet my gaze. Some of the others appeared intimidated and took miniscule steps back.
Okay, that stung a little.
Refusing to let that faze me, I tuned into the history lesson Coach Hedge gave Frank.
"A son of Ares stood here!" Coach cried indignantly.
"I'm Roman...so Mars, actually."
"Whatever! Famous spot in the American Civil War!"
"I'm Canadian, actually."
"Whatever! General Sherman, Union leader. He stood on this hill watching the city of Atlanta burn. Cut a path of destruction all the way from here to the sea. Burning, looting, pillaging – now there was a demigod!"
Frank inched away from the satyr. "Uh, okay."
"Anyway," Percy said, "let's try not to burn down the city this time."
The coach looked disappointed. "All right. But where to?"
Percy pointed toward downtown. "When in doubt, start in the middle."
My mouth watered at the thought of the peach preserves the boys would bring back after this stop. There is a reason Georgia is known as the peach state. Plus, I'd run into Esther at the Carter Center once before while on a mission for Athena and knew exactly what we'd be getting later.
YOU ARE READING
Changing the Future
Fanfiction"Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood..." With one sentence, her life would be changed forever. Andy Collins could never have expected how her love of reading turned into something right out of her favorite series, plunging her into a world where...
