Melancholy Kaleidescope | PJO

Ch. 1: Mortal Friends Aren't Fireproof

Percy's day started normal. Well, as normal as it ever got as a demigod child attending Meriwether College Prep. He woke up for his last day of the school year after having a crazy dream about Grover running from something in Miami. Also, he was pretty sure someone–or something–had been peering into his room as he was getting ready, but he didn't have time to check it out.

Of course, that someone had actually been Annabeth–definitely not creepy at all–who had been following him all day in a desperate attempt to talk to him about camp. Because of course something was wrong at camp.

Oh, and there was the picture of Jinora she had seen him carrying around in his notebook (he just wanted her to forget she saw it). Silena had taken it the previous summer after she found her camera again. The older girl had apparently let Jinora sift through the pictures that she was in, and she sent that specific one to Percy in one of her letters.

Now–after blowing up the school's gymnasium–Annabeth, Percy, and his friend Tyson were squished into the back of a smoky cab Annabeth had summoned from the sidewalk, trusting three ladies who had a single eyeball between them to get them to camp safely.

Percy really wanted the one behind the wheel to have the eyeball.

"Hey," Annabeth informed Percy. "Gray Sisters Taxi is the fastest way to camp."

"Then why didn't you take it from Virginia," he asked.

"Outside their service area," she answered like it was obvious. "They only serve Greater New York and surrounding communities."

"We've had famous people in this cab," Anger, one of the Gray sisters exclaimed. "Jason! You remember him?"

"Don't remind me," Wasp, one of the other sisters and the one who was driving blind, wailed. "And we didn't have a cab back then, you old bat! That was three thousand years ago!"

Did Percy mention that Grover was in trouble? Or that something bad was happening at camp, according to Annabeth? No? Well, he has now.

Suddenly, while yelling, Anger tried to grab at Wasp's mouth only to be swatted away. "Give me the tooth!"

"Only if Tempest gives me the eye," Wasp bargained. Tempest, the one sitting by the passenger window, shook her head fervently.

"No," she screeched. "You had it yesterday!"

"But I'm driving, you old hag," she bit back, which was probably hard to do with one tooth, Percy guessed.

"Excuses! Turn! That was your turn!"

Percy gripped the chain that acted as a seatbelt and held on for dear life, praying to his father that they would make it to camp in one piece.

Wasp swerved hard into Delancey street, squishing Percy between Tyson and the door to the smokey cab. He was pretty sure his stomach hadn't made the turn with him. Instead of slowing down, Wasp drove the gas pedal further and picked up more speed, if that was even possible. Percy had learned that a lot more was possible than he had originally believed. Though he knew for certain there was no way these ladies would be allowed to keep their licenses if pulled over by mortal police–if they could catch them.

The fighting between the three sisters only continued to escalate as they grew physical with one another. Anger grabbed at Wasp's face while Wasp grabbed at Tempest's as they screamed at each other. That was when Percy noticed that not only did they share one eye between them, but they also only shared one tooth.

Gross.

Finally, since Anger had the eyeball and could actually see, she yanked the tooth from Wasp's mouth, making her so mad that she swerved toward the edge of the Williamsburg Bridge. She yelled at her sister with one hand remaining on the wheel as she reached toward her, "'Ivit back! 'Ivit back!"