✔ 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍 ⋆ jason grace

xii ━ aphrodite is a fashionista

He kissed her, "I love you Rebecca."

Her eyes stung, "I love you too."

Soon the daisies became a blur, the water vanished and her father wasn't there anymore, just the ghost on one last kiss.

For a second, she thought she was still dreaming. It was a sunny morning. The air was brisk but not unpleasant for sitting outside.

At the other tables, a mix of bicyclists, business people, and college kids sat chatting and drinking coffee.

She could smell eucalyptus trees. Lots of foot traffic passed in front of quaint little shops. The street was lined with bottle-brush trees and blooming azaleas as if winter was a foreign concept.

In other words: she was in California.

Her friends sat in chairs around her—all of them with their hands calmly folded across their chests, dozing pleasantly. And they all had new clothes on.

Rebecca looked down at her own outfit and gasped.

She was wearing her leather jacket, her many rings she had lost along the quest, long jeans that had a flare and a grey sleeveless tank top.

When she looked down she found her combat boots she had lost ages ago.

All of them had been give a makeover.

"God, Leo." Piper tried not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!"

"I think he looks good," said Coach Hedge. "'Course, I look better." The satyr was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fit over his hooves.

Rebecca laughed, "you look so stylish Coach Hedge."

He smiled proudly. "I know."

"Well," Jason said, "at least your mom overlooked me."

Rebecca knew that wasn't exactly true. Looking at him Rebecca felt something odd.

Jason was dressed simply in jeans and a clean purple T-shirt. He had new track shoes on, and his hair was newly trimmed. His eyes were the same color as the sky. Aphrodite's message was clear: This one needs no improvement.

And Rebecca agr- no she didn't agree.

"Anyway," Piper said uncomfortably, "how did we get here?"

"Oh, that would be Mellie," Hedge said, chewing happily on his carnation. "Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I'd guess. We would've been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie's last gift-a nice soft breeze cushioned our fall."

Rebecca looked out the window. "Mellie is so sweet."

"And she got fired for us," Leo said. "Man, we suck."

"Ah, she'll be fine," Hedge said. "Besides, she couldn't help herself.
I've got that effect on nymphs. I'll send her a message when we're through with this quest and help her figure something out. That is one aura I could settle down with and raise a herd of baby goats."