Jɪɴx ➪ 𝙡. 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯

social skills

The door swung open and all girls were on their feet. "Jason's falling!" With that said Leo ran updeck.

Piper heard her boyfriend's name and was out the door. Hazel and Jinx shared a look and dashed after them.

Was Hazel disappointed that the night didn't go her way? Yes, but she understood the gravity of their situation.

The good thing was that Jason survived.

Only Piper's quick thinking and charmspeak had saved his life. She'd yelled WAKE UP! with so much force that even Jinx's half-lidded eyes snapped open. With a millisecond to spare, he'd summoned the winds and avoided becoming a floating patch of demigod grease on the surface of the Adriatic.

Back on board, he had pulled Leo aside and suggested a course correction. Fortunately, Leo trusted him enough not to ask why.

"Weird vacation spot." Leo grinned. "But, hey, you're the boss!"

Now they all sat in the mess hall, eating lunch in silence while Jason reported a vision he had when he was out of it.

Jinx munched on a strawberry, eating the leaves too, and actively ignoring Frank's horrified face. "It's good for you." She whispered.

The ship creaked as it sailed through the Adriatic, its remaining oars still out of alignment from the giant turtle attack. Every once in a while, Festus the figurehead creaked and squeaked through the speakers, reporting the autopilot status in that weird machine language that only Leo could understand. Jinx wished she could understand it too, but it seemed like she didn't make the cut.

"A note from Annabeth." Piper shook her head in amazement. "I don't see how that's possible, but if it is—"

"She's alive," Leo said. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce."

Jinx felt the weight lift off of her shoulders. If Annabeth was alive then Percy had to be too. They were both alive and that brought a smile to her lips.

Frank frowned. "What does that mean?"

Leo wiped the chip crumbs off his face. "It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry."

Frank slid over a jar of salsa. "I can't believe Reyna would try to find us. It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Hazel said. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with eight demigods and a warship."

"And me." Coach Hedge belched. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

"I wish I was forgotten." Jinx breathed out. Coming to terms that she considered them friends was hard enough, but being a part of the team and having expectations pushed upon her was a different level of difficulty.

Leo smiled at her, "I don't think I could forget you."

Jinx's eyes widened and she turned away. It seemed like she was in her crush era. She noticed that she was becoming easily flustered more than usual. It was all because of him.

"Jason?" Leo asked, he gave up on asking Jinx what was wrong. "Argo II to Jason. Come in."

"Yeah, sorry." He touched the groove that Sciron the bandit had cut in his hair. "Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt. But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will."

"Well, I'd love to see Reyna again," Piper said. "But how is she supposed to find us?"

Frank raised his hand. "Can't you just send her an Iris-message?"

"They're not working very well," Coach Hedge put in. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could kick that rainbow goddess...."

He faltered. His face turned bright red.