{BOOK 2} Percy Jackson's Sister

That's NOT a Fake Rat

       We had stopped in a small town with a big sign that said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The main roads had been cleaned of snow and the excess had been piled in random parts all over. Every time someone talked, you could see their breath in the air. Everyone was shivering by the time we got more than ten feet away from our train.

      As we walked to the town, I told Thalia about my dream. She listened attentively, taking in every detail. She didn't seem too happy with what I was telling her. After I was done, I told her what I had thought of it.

     She looked over at me. "Hercules, huh?"

      I nodded.

      She looked down and stayed silent for awhile.

      "Your birthday," she said. "Isn't that in two days? It's three days before mine, right?"

       I was shocked she had remembered that. "Please don't tell anyone."

       "Why?"

        I shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I don't like making a big deal out of it."

       She nodded and we continued the rest of the walk in silence.

       The thing with Thalia was that silence didn't mean you didn't have anything to say. It just meant there was nothing that needed to be said. Silence wasn't awkward with her, it was actually kind of comforting.

      We reached Main Street, where we were found with a tourist shop, some ski cabins, a grocery store, and a school. What caught my attention most was the cafe.

      Thalia threw her hands up in frustration. "Great! No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

      "There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

      "Yes," Zoë said. "Coffee is good."

       Finally, we agreed on something.

      "And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."

      Thalia rubbed her fingers on her temples. "Fine. How about you three go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

       We didn't like the idea of splitting up but it was definitely faster. We agreed to meet up at the grocery store in fifteen minutes.

      As we stepped inside the small coffee shop, the air filled with the smell of fresh baked pastries and brewing coffee. My stomach rumbled in response.

     "Welcome to Corner Cafe," the cashier said. "What can I get for-"

      He looked up from his screen and stared at us in awe. We gave exchanged confused glances, because we didn't see anything out of place about each other. Aside from the fact that none of us had showered or brushed out teeth in a while.

      "Are you three on a quest?" He asked.

       Now we were really nervous.

       "Hey, it's okay," he said, reading our scared faces. "I'm a demigod, too."

       He pulled down his sweater to reveal a camp necklace hanging around his neck, only four beads on it.

      "How'd you know?" I asked.

      "You mean besides the fact that you two are also wearing your necklaces?" He asked.

       Grover and I looked down where our beads hung and realized that they did sort of stand out.