"𝚟𝚒𝚡𝚎𝚗" | 𝚙. 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗

𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗, 𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎

Annabeth Does Obedience School

OR

GO TO HELL!!!

-

MAYBE IT WAS the 'no living' sign that struck Stelle the wrong way, but something about the entrance to the Underworld was too obvious. It just looked like a place where dreams died.

They stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. 

Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING.

And of course, the aforementioned 'NO LIVING'.

It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece. 

Percy turned to his friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."

"The plan," Grover gulped, "Yeah, I love the plan.

"We go Plan A and if Plan A fails there's no Plan B. Lovely."

"Don't talk negative." He said playfully, though there was apprehension in his voice.

She crossed her arms and scowled. "Sorry, we're only going to bargain with a god."

Percy took the pearls out of his pocket, the four milky spheres the Nereid had given him in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong. Stelle looked at them doubtfully. She could feel Grover and Annabeth's eyes on her- probably because of her pessimism.

Stelle turned away from them.

Annabeth put her hand on Percy's shoulder. "You're right, Percy. We'll make it. It'll be fine."

She gave Grover a nudge, who spoke encouragingly as well. 

The brown-eyed girl's face flushed when Percy smiled gratefully at them. She glared icily at the floor, a heavy weight wrapping her chest. Percy was her friend, not Annabeth's. They were supposed to hate each other. But she tried to reason with herself.

Only a few minutes before, they'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for his sake, trying to make him feel better. She could learn from them.

She opened her mouth to apologize, but no words came out. She snapped it shut and looked away, embarrassed.

"Were you gonna say something, Stelle?" Percy asked innocently.

She straightened defensively. "No. What are you talking about?"

"Whatever you say." he slipped the pearls back in his pocket. "Let's whip some Underworld ass."

The two walked in the DOA Studios hand-in-hand anyways.

Mother Mother played on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken.

There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of Stelle's eye, she could see them all just fine, but if she focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking... transparent. She could see right through their bodies. 

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so they had to look up at him. 

He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.