Warped: Sea of Monsters (A Percy Jackson Fanfic) (Book 7)

Chapter 15: Annabeth Tries To Swim Home (Isa's POV)

Percy had finally found something he was really good at.
The Queen Anne's Revenge responded to Percy's every command. He knew which ropes to hoist, which sails to raise, which direction to steer. We plowed through the waves at what I figured was about ten knots. He even understood how fast that was. For a sailing ship, pretty darn fast.
We sailed through the night.
Annabeth tried to help us keep lookout, but sailing didn't agree with her. After a few hours rocking back and forth, her face turned the color of guacamole and she went below to lie in a hammock. Ben accompanied her. Noah looked out at the horizon, with the wind in his fur.
The burns on me healed, just like I said they would. But now that we were out of danger, I could tell that Percy couldn't help but think about how much he missed Tyson, and how worried he was about Grover.
I could also tell he couldn't get over how badly he'd messed up on Circe's Island. If it hadn't been for me, he'd still be a rodent, hiding in a hutch with a bunch of cute furry pirates. He was a bit jumpy, like the instinct to be a scared little animal was now a part of him. I tried my best to comfort him.
"Percy, it wasn't that bad of a mistake," I told him. "I didn't see it coming either. And I have a spider sense."
Percy didn't seem to believe me. But I put my hand on his cheek. "By the way, you don't need magic to change yourself to what your true self is. I know everyone has insecurities, but guess what. You don't have to think about them. In any case, you're still perfect in my eyes. I like you just the way you are." I tapped his nose, and walked a bit away from him. His aura turned really pink, and his cheeks turned red. "You know how you know Wicked is a good musical? Because somebody breaks out into an eight-minute song about not giving a Scheiße."
    Percy snickered. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"
    "There's a reason it's one of my favorite songs from the musical." I said. "It reminds me of you a little, but it's mostly the cool and chill vibe about it. It's got a bit of irony due to what happens later in the show. A guy named Fiyero sings most of it. He's the love interest of both Glinda and Elphaba, dang love triangle. It's called 'Dancing Through Life.' You should take some advice from it. Not the brainless portion, but the other parts."
"Why exactly is it ironic?"
"Brainless. He becomes the scarecrow in Act 2."
"Oh. But wait, doesn't the witch set him on fire?"
"No, it was an act so they could escape and run away together. Elphaba doesn't die at the end, she sort of just hides away, and runs off with him."
"Well, that's an unexpected turn."
"The musical is really all about perspective, whose perspective is the story being told from? In the musical, the witch isn't really bad, she was just misunderstood. I loved being Glinda, but in reality, I think it would've saved the show at my school had they put me as Elphaba instead."
    I started playing the song "Dancing Through Life", on my phone and singing along to Fiyero's part. I turned back to Percy.

The trouble with schools is
They always try to teach the wrong lessons
Believe me, I've been kicked out of enough of them to know
They want you to become less callow, less shallow
But I say, why invite stress in?
Stop studying strife
And learn to live the unexamined life

    Percy sarcastically chuckled. "Haha. Very funny. The kicked out of schools thing. Is that why it reminds you of me?"
    I rolled my eyes playfully, subtly dancing towards him.

Dancing through life, skimming the surface
Gliding where turf is smooth
Life's more painless for the brainless
Why think too hard when it's so soothing?

Dancing through life, no need to tough it
When you can slough it off as I do
Nothing matters, but knowing nothing matters
It's just life, so keep dancing through