Percy Jackson- How I Became a God

I'm Dumped

I hesitated at the beach, not wanting to go back yet. Silently, I sat on the white sand, splaying my hands out in the soft particles. I slid my shoes and socks off and stuck my feet in the water, wriggling my toes.

"Why aren't you using your powers? When Dionysus was made a god, he killed ten people and drank enough wine to kill a thousand mortals." I turned to see my father sitting by me, his feet in the water as well. I shrugged in response, absently tracing my finger in the sand.

"It's a lot to take in." I finally admitted, "I'm not even sure what I can or can't do."

Poseidon nodded, his sea-green eyes gleaming. "That whale in the sky thing looked fun." He commented, a teasing smile on his lips.

"Yeah," I laughed, leaning back and putting my hands under my head. "Hey, why're you here? What happened to the no talking to your kids thing?"

"Percy, are you serious? You're a god now. We could spend every waking moment together and nobody would stop us."

I sat up. "Really?" Hope trickled intp my chest. I could actually have a good father figure in my life from now on?

"Yeah, but don't expect me to play catch with you." Poseidon joked. I smiled, my fingers playing with the white sand. "If you could've chosen," Poseidon started, taking a more serious tone, "would you have accepted the role you have here now?"

I thought long and hard. Sure, I considered this place my home, but stay here forever? Even when my friends are long gone? Sure, I could make new friends, but when would I give up? After a couple generations I'd stop trying. They all die in the end, no matter how much you love them.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Would you want to stay here forever? I have powers now. I could do so much! But instead I'm stuck ruling over brats who take advantage of everything. I see everything in a whole new light now."

"Brats?" A new voice chimed in. Annabeth was standing in a sand dune, her gray eyes shimmering. "Brats?" She repeated.

"Annabeth, what-" I rose hastily to my feet, but Annabeth cut me off.

"Don't. I don't want to talk to you. You've changed a lot in the past what, hour, since you... since you became a god. A lot. Actually, I think... I think we're done. After all, you wouldn't want to date a brat." She said, turning her back to me. "Don't look for me, Percy. I'm leaving."

With that, Annabeth vanished into the trees.

When I turned back around, Poseidon was gone, too.

"I can't stay here. I can't do this." I muttered, turning into a dolphin half-leap as I dove into the sea.

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Four Days Later

  I was sitting at the deepest part of the sea. Literally. I could hardly see, and I couldn't name any of the creatures down here. Usually I had underwater vision, but man, this was dark.  

"Perseus. You cannot abandon your duties any longer." A rumbling voice said behind me. I didn't have to look to know it was Zeus.

I waved my hand through the air, anger and indifference fighting for dominance inside me. "Assign someone else to the job. I won't do it."

"And here I thought being in charge of Camp Half-Blood would appease you."

"I won't. I can't! Chiron would do it better than me, anyways." I said. 

"Chiron.... why can't you do it?" Zeus asked. He seemed frustrated and confused. Of course he would. He wouldn't know human emotions, he'd never been a human.

"Can YOU do it?" I felt Zeus seething behind me and changed my tone fast. "What I mean is, could you stand being in one place forever? With all these possibilities and powers, and you'd have to stay there?"

"Ah. I see." Zeus was quiet for a while. "Maybe I was... wrong to assign gods to the job. Perhaps a mortal would do a better job than a god."

"Perhaps." I whispered, lifting a hand of dry sand and watching it trickle through my fingers, turning back into wet mush and joining the swirling current as it left my hand.

"You are still the God of equestrians. I expect you to do that, at least."

I sighed under my breath. "Of course, Lord Zeus." I said, only somewhat sarcastically. Zeus didn't hear the sarcasm, though, and vanished, appeased.

"Lord Perseus, God of Screwing Things Up Big Time." I said to myself, leaning back on the sandy ocean floor. "That's a good title. If I ever write a book about myself, that'll be in there."

"I don't know! Why are you asking me? I already told you I don't know."

I sat straight up at Annabeth's voice. Instantly I noticed a pulsating light coming from one of the caves. I floated leisurely towards it. In the cave was a saltwater fountain, with golden drachma glittering in the bowl and around it's base. Just like the one Poseidon gave to me, ages ago.

Annabeth's figure was inside a misty image, tinged with rainbows. "How...?" I muttered to myself softly.

"Please leave me alone. I'm tired of answering the same questions over and over again. I don't know where he went, and I don't know if he'll come back!"

Is she talking about me? I sat on my knees, watching the image flicker. 

"What are we supposed to do without him?" A voice said. I could only see Annabeth's face, so I didn't know who she was with.

"I don't know." Annabeth murmured, almost too quietly for me to catch. "I really don't know."

The scene dispersed into the water. 

Suddenly I remembered something from long, long ago, something Annabeth had told me- how she wanted to build something permanent. Something that would last forever. It was only beginning to dawn on me how she must have felt, knowing the permanent thing that we'd built wouldn't last forever. At least, not to her.

Her fatal flaw. Her doubts. How could I have been so dumb?

I had to go back. I had to fix things, with everyone.

I would be the director of camp, after all.