Catering to the Fandoms

3 ~ Percy Jackson

"Travis!" Katie Gardner screamed. Music to my ears.

Both Katie and the Demeter cabin were dyed blue. One of her sisters stood nearby, also yelling at us. Beside me, Connor laughed and waved.

"That was great!" he said. "What's next?"

"Uh, I think we need to worry about getting out of this before we think about the next prank," I said nervously. The plants around us were rustling.

Connor's smile disappeared as my words sunk in. He seemed to notice the plants, too. "Look out!" my brother shouted, tackling me.

A vine wrapped itself around the air where my foot had just been. "Thanks," I said breathlessly. "Let's get out of here!" We took off running.

Minutes later, Connor and I were safely hidden inside Bunker 9, watching Leo shape a Celestial Bronze sheet. As a fellow prankster, Leo completely understood children of Hermes and had no problem letting us hide out in his bunker when necessary, as long as we didn't get in his way.

"We can just stay here until they're calm," Connor said.

I laughed, "Hate to break it to you, bro, but Demeter kids tend to hold a grudge."

"Eventually they'll forgive us. Always do!" Connor replied cheerfully. I almost believed him until his stomach rumbled.

"About what time did we pull that prank?" I asked, a sinking feeling taking root in the pit of my stomach.

"11:30-ish. Why?"

"We're dead."

"What?"

I turned to my brother, "They'll catch us when we try to go to lunch."

If his expression matched mine, then we were both utterly terrified. "Do you think Leo would bring us food?"

Leo looked up, "No way! Don't get me wrong; your pranks are hilarious, and I don't care if you crash here, but I'm not helping any more than that!"

"But Leo," I pleaded pitifully, "we're starving!"

Leo grimaced sympathetically, "Have fun with that." Several minutes later, he gathered up his tools and left for lunch.

"What do we do?" I finally asked the question when I was sure my stomach had begun collapsing in on itself from hunger.

"I guess. . ." Connor paused to gag and clear his throat. "I guess we have no choice. We have to turn ourselves in."

¤¤¤

"Looks like we've caught a couple of rats!" a boy from Demeter's cabin sneered.

They caught us in the trees. Before we knew what was happening, we were ensnared in leafy branches. Apparently, nymphs are very likely to help children of the crop goddess. Go figure.

I grinned, "Nice to see you again." The boy just glared.

"How should we punish them?" a girl asked.

"We could turn them over to the Ares cabin," one of her sisters suggested.

"Nonono!" Connor cried, paling at the suggestion.

"Anything but that!" I agreed, shaking my head vigorously.

"Okay, Travis," Katie said cheerfully. She was still covered in vibrant blue paint. I couldn't help but noticing that that particular shade went really well with her eyes. "Then why don't you just tell us how to get rid of the dye."

I blinked, "That's it? You'll just let us go?"

"We won't hand you over to Ares," the boy said.

Connor and I had a silent conversation. I sighed, defeated, and explained how to wash out our special long-lasting dye (Hermes patented).

"Thanks!" Katie smiled, which kind of made everything worth it. Then she and her siblings started walking away.

"Woah! You can't just leave us here!" Connor compained.

"Can and will," a girl replied, waving.

"We'll let you go before dinner," Katie said.

Connor and I stared at her. "DINNER?!?"

"But that's hours away!" I said.

She just kept smiling. "You didn't seriously think you'd get away without any payback, did you?"

Then she laughed. Music to my ears.