Percy Jackson, Son of Olympus, The Titan's Curse

| Chapter I || Not Quite to Plan |

*December 14 XXXX*

*Percy's Point of View*

***

It was the Friday before winter break, meaning I got to go back to camp to see my mortal friends. Don't get me wrong, staying on Olympus was as great as ever, but after a while, I got bored because Artemis was on a few missions with her hunters, and dad was at his palace underwater dealing with some rebelling sea monsters who were causing trouble. That meant that I had no one to talk to and was almost dying of boredom.

Why did Zeus have to send Artemis away for like...three months?

Anyway, dad was helping me pack my bag to go back to camp, but first, I had a mission. Right away! It was going to be great! Using the elevator, we went down to the mortal realm. Dad took us to his car in the parking garage – a blue Maserati with four seats. On the way, he picked up Thalia and Annabeth, who stood on the corner of Madison and East 34th, waiting for us.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Clouds had settled above our heads, pouring sleet and snow on the roof of the car. Shivers raced down my spine at the sight of it, despite sitting in the warm car with the heater up full blast.

I hadn't seen my friends for months, but for some reason, I couldn't force the words out of my mouth. I was sitting in the back with Annabeth, having got out of the car to greet them, only for Thalia to take shotgun, leaving me to sit behind her. That was fine, though, seeing as I didn't really have much to say to my dad, anyway.

It was different with my dad, however. He must've gotten it from my mom, but when he got nervous, he – unlike everyone else in the world – would just talk more. He was running his mouth the entire way, filling the air with embarrassing stories about me and Uncle Zeus, and Uncle Hades and pretty much every god on Olympus – but mostly about me.

By the time we got to the school, Westover Hall, it was well past sunset, and he'd managed to tell Annabeth and Thalia every cute-little-Percy story there was to tell. Even the time Artemis and I officially met, which I doubt was popular among his current audience.

Thalia wiped the condensation from the passenger side window as we pulled up. Snow crunched under the tires as dad made fresh tire marks in the untouched parking lot and I cringed just thinking about it. They were already disappearing.

Thalia then gave a scoff. "This is going to be great. Just great."

I completely agreed with her. Westover Hall was like something out of Dracula, what with its black stone towers. The flying buttresses loomed over us eerily. The windows were slits and reminded me of bars on a prison cell. At the very front, beyond the snow-covered walkway, was a large set of wooden double doors.

I took a moment to ponder how heavy they were and winced in sympathy for the butler – this place seems like it has a butler or someone to answer the door.

We stepped out of the car, and through the four layers my dad insisted I wear, I was shivering. I hated the cold. Usually, I'd just steal – borrow – Artemis' parka, but seeing as she took it with her, I was left with regular, scratchy-itchy clothes to bundle up in. So, it wasn't that much of a stretch to guess that I wanted to get inside as quickly as possible. We began trekking down the path, mentally preparing ourselves for the mission ahead.

My dad stopped us, of course.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" he asked, leaning out of the driver's side door.

"No dad," I replied quickly, my cheeks heating up. Not the kind of heat I wanted.

"It's no problem, really," he insisted, "I could wait here all night for you guys. I don't want you to get stuck in the snow. You could catch cold."