¹Pocket Full of Posies, p. jackson

ix. Return of a Green Mist

chapter nine
❛ return of a green mist ❜

━━━━━  IF SHE WERE truthful, Posie couldn't find it within herself to be in the mood for breakfast, not even as her stomach rumbled upon the sound of the conch horn that morning. The conch horn came from a distance, as it always did — deeply quashed in volume, rumbling through the many building obstacles and valleys to cross, only ten minutes or so after Beckendorf had made his exit from Cabin Seven (something Posie had to insist upon, arguing that Beckendorf had the wrong idea). Unfortunately, just as the daughter of Apollo began to tuck herself back underneath her now-cold sheets, the wooden door to Cabin Seven swung open — it was Lee, her older brother. And as another cold blast of air shot through the cabin, Posie found herself frozen, stuck between a groan and a hiss of irritation.

        Of course, it was something that Lee noticed, his blond eyebrows flying upward on his forehead, silently quizzing his sister on the reaction. Naturally, he would — all the other times he had made his appearance over winter or spring break, Posie had greeted him enthusiastically, happy to have someone to share the golden cabin with (even if it were just for a week). However, he didn't ask about her reaction pointedly; instead, he asked if she was ready to head down to the Dining Pavilion. Just like the Sunday sunrises, he insisted they would eat breakfast together if their schedules allowed it — as siblings, to bond and spend time with one another. (And Lee's efforts were appreciated ... only when Posie had not just been rattled by the declarations made by both Hades and Beckendorf.)

        Even then, just as she began to nod sluggishly, pulling herself out of her bed, teeth still chattering from the cold, Lee added one last thing: his mother, Ms. Fletcher, wanted to see both Lee and Posie before she headed off, back to Rhode Island. Once more, Posie froze, with one foot still tucked into her bed, standing as if she were a flamingo, with her right foot planted on the frigid floor. Lee snickered at the reaction, waving her forward, insisting, "Mom's waiting for us at Half-Blood Hill!"

        She blinked back. "But —"

        His body surged forward, stepping closer and closer to Posie's bottom bunk, continuously rotating his hand toward himself, as if that would encourage his sister to move faster (but it didn't; it only fractured her attention, still rattled from Beckendorf and Hades). "My mom loves you!" he reminded her, grabbing both of her arms, tugging her along. "She even took the day off so she could talk to us —" Just then, he suddenly stopped, the end of his sun-kissed hair falling into his eyes, just as they narrowed on Posie, leaving her in the lurch. "Is that my sweatshirt ...?" He took a closer look. "That is mine! I was wondering where it went!"

        Posie took her chance to rip her wrists out of Lee's grasp, tugging the red sleeves further down, balling the fabric in her hands. "You left it here, and I needed it," she informed him briskly, turning back to her bunk, ready to try and wriggle her way under the fabric once more.

        "Yeah, well, you'll need to put on pants," Lee replied haughtily. "So change out of those sleeping shorts — and put on some shoes, too! So, don't get back in bed. You are going to say good-bye to my mom, Posie!"

        Her shoulders sagged. "Really ...?"

        In response, he pursed his lips, giving her a hard look. "My mom drove over three hours to drop me off and talk to you," he informed Posie, bracing his hands on his sides, as if he were more of a parent than a sibling, disapproving of an outfit she wanted to wear on a night out. "You're not going back to being a hermit, Posie. I'm not letting that happen again! I thought we got past it."