Daughter Of Lightning - Book 1(Percy Jackson x OC fanfic)

CHAPTER 26

(Ella's POV)

We stumbled into the desert heat & walked around not sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich, a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west.

We must have taken a wrong turn, & found ourselves at a dead end, in front of the Lotus Hotel & Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up & blinking. No one went in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers-lotus blossoms. I wasn’t really sure.

The doorman smiled at us. “Hey, kids. You look tired. You wanna come in and sit down?”

We went inside, took a look around, & Grover said, “Whoa.” I nodded agreeing with him.

'Woah' was an understatement. The whole lobby was a game room. I don't mean cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up forty floors. A climbing wall on the side & an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. There were few kids playing, but not many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses & snack bars all around, serving every kind of food.

“Hey!” a guy said. I guess he was a bellhop. He wore a white & yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, & flip-flops. “Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Your room key.”

Percy stammered, “Um, but…”

“No, no,” he said, laughing. “The bill’s taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in
the restaurants, all the games & rides.”

He handed us each a green plastic credit card. I felt there must be some mistake. He thought we're some millionaire’s kids. I took it but before I could ask him something he said, “Enjoy your stay.” & went off.

We took the elevator upstairs & checked out our room. It was a suite with four separate
bedrooms, a bar stocked with candy, sodas & chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels
& water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television & high-speed Internet.
The balcony had its own pool, & there was a skeet-shooting machine with a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline & plug them with your gun. The view over the Strip & desert was amazing, though I doubted we’d ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.

“Oh, gods,” Annie said. “This place is...cool.”

"Dibs on the swimming pool!" Grover & I said at the same time.

"Race you!" He shouted running off. Percy ran after him too. They were already inside when I made it to the pool. When I reached there I froze. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me..we had something to do...I had to talk to my friends. I was sure it could wait, so I shrugged it off. I sat by the edge of the pool, my feet in the water, Annie joined me a few minutes later.

"Do you like Percy?" I was taken aback.

"Uhh, what are you talking about, Annie?"

"Do you like him or not?"

"I...don't know? Why?"

"Well...promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"Of course I won't. You know that."

"The thing is...I like Percy." That was like a knife to my heart. She liked Percy? Oh, of course. How stupid was I. That's why she kept looking at him all the time...She held my hand which brought me back to reality.