[ the second book in the drops of sunshine series ]
As much as she ended up loving her first one, AJ Hood never wanted to go on another quest. But somehow, she ended up on one anyway. And this time, it's not going to have a pretty ending... but at...
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~ ☼ ~
It had only been an hour since the bus left the station, and I was already bored.
I wondered if the inability to sit in one place for too long was a common trait for demigods. Kiera and Aria, who were residing just the aisle from Lucas and I, seemed antsy too. Lucas, who'd been staring dreamily out the window pretty much the entire time since our initial pleasantries, was the only one who apparently wasn't suffering.
Outside the windows, the road passed on endlessly, farm fields and patches of forests blurring together like paint. Inside the bus, there was hardly anyone else riding. I felt like I was in AGoofy Movie, with just as much awkwardness but a little less father-son bonding.
"So," I said to Lucas, trying to make conversation, "Where... are you from?"
The son of Athena blinked, turning away from the window. His gray eyes had gone from stormy to calm, no longer lost in thought, now holding a smile. "Connecticut," he answered. "A little town called New Canaan. It's outside Stamford, if you know where that is."
I technically didn't know where that was.... however, I did know it was in The Office. But, I could tell Lucas wasn't the type to watch workplace sitcoms, so I didn't make the reference. Instead, I looked him up and down, taking in his preppy style - Hollister polo, tan pants, boat shoes - and said slowly, "Let me guess... your dad's a lawyer?"
Lucas self-consciously glanced down at his outfit. "Is it that obvious?"
"Kinda." I quirked an eyebrow. "You know, we shouldn't be talking to each other. We're like, enemies. Emos and preps aren't supposed to get along."
"I think social norms don't really matter when you're connected by the fact that you're both half-god and you're soon going to be fighting a war."
His voice was solemn, almost grim, but there was some mischief in his expression. Like he wasn't joking - and obviously, I didn't think he was - but he was trying to keep the tone light nonetheless. It didn't work. My own smile soured into a frown. "Do you think we have any chance at saving Olympus and whatever?"
Lucas went quiet for a second, and without any humor at all, answered, "... I don't know."
I grimaced, but didn't know what to say. What was there to say that wouldn't spoil the mood completely?
My conversationalist just pursed his lips and went back to staring out the window.
We had to be out of New York by now, passing near Scranton or something. I don't know how, but Kiera had fallen asleep, and Aria was sharpening her arrows. My own weapon lay still with my violin in their case at my feet; my backpack, over top. I wondered if there was anything in there I could use to pass my time - maybe a science textbook or two?
