𝕍𝕖𝕟𝕚 𝕍𝕚𝕕𝕚 𝕍𝕚𝕔𝕚¹ | ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ

4. Are the gods stoners?

ꕥ Annabeth followed Lorelei and Percy, who seemed to be having a debate over what jelly bean flavour was the best.

It seemed that word of the bathroom incident had spread, and people were pointing at Percy muttering things about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet. Lorelei waved at them, and they immediately looked away.

They showed him a few more places he didn't see before: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), 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 your cabin to the mess hall."

"I'm sorry about the toilets," Percy said.

"Don't apologise," Lorelei said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "It was amazing."

"I was apologising to Annabeth," Percy said.

"Oh."

"Whatever," Annabeth muttered.

"It wasn't my fault."

Lora raised her eyebrow at him. "I am going to repeat myself because it seems necessary. Was it my fault then, Lord of the Bathroom?"

Percy opened his mouth to defend himself, but at Annabeth's sceptical look, he realised it was his fault. He didn't understand how, but he had become one with the plumbing. Kinda like when Qui-Gon Jinn became one with the force. Except, this wasn't anywhere near that cool.

"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.

"Who?"

"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."

Percy stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give him a straight answer for once.

He wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at him from the bottom, so his heart skipped a beat when he noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about five metres below.

They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if he were a long-lost friend.

Percy didn't know what else to do, so he waved back. Lorelei joined him, sending them a wink as well.

"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned him, smacking Lora's hand. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

"Naiads," he repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. 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."

"You mean mentally disturbed kids?"

"He's not wrong," Lora said to the blonde.

"I meant not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human," Annabeth said.

"Half-human and half-what?"

"Take a wild guess," Lorelei jokes.

"God," he realised. "Half-god."

Lora nodded. "Your father isn't dead. Percy. He's one of the Olympians."

"That's... crazy."

"Is it really? What's the most common thing the gods did in the old stories? They ran around, falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"