「004. the hair wasn't her fault 」
LOOK. THE hair was not her fault. she'd had some time before the whole campfire thing- and there was only so many times she could say no to layla before she actually cracked. layla, although older and definitely somewhat mature, was more of a goofy older sister to cadie. the kind that was rebellious but gave good advice and kind of stuck up for you no matter what. and so yes- with full confidence, cadie diaz can blame layla jamess for almost everything that happened to her hair.
in all fairness, it wasn't bad- no. not at all. if anything it was amazing. her wavy brown- bordeling black hair was something so dull and boring that she was even secretly (yet terribly stubbornly) happy about it. layla had grabbed her, then chopped her hair to just an inch or so below her shoulder and the two very front pieces were dyed. not just blond- no. layla had went a step further. she'd grabbed from the big wall behind her bed that was solely made of hair dye boxes and hd pulled the on in the middle.
"silver?" cadie said in a deadpanned tone, "not very golden of you, layla."
"it's why i'm using this for you now," shrugged layla as she put the plastic gloves on her hand, "it's fun, isn't it? great bonding experience for us, di-di!"
"i hate you. so much right now," grumbled cadie, trying to hide her smile.
"nonsense!" grinned layla, "now... the dye."
she'd already cut her hair, so cadie got most of the nerves and anxiety out of her. layl stood in front of her, her tongue stuck out as she sectioned off to strands of her front her. she glared at the strands for a few moments, before saying, "eh."
"eh? eh? oh don't mind me- what the hades does that mean?" squeaked cadie.
"it's just.... no- maybe i should cut the front a bit- so it frames your face," decided layla, "it would actually bring so much more..."
"i'm a thirteen year old not some middle aged woman who wants to change her life after a divorce," cadie said in a bland tone, "save the whole 'token gay hairdresser' talk for a reality tv show."
"i'll have you know i'm the token queer."
"good for you," sighed cadie, "good for you."
"you say that as if you aren't the token bise-"
"just do it then, why don't you?" grumbled cadie, "just go dye my poor hair."
"it's gonna take a few tries. but we have time," grinned layla, "let's get to work!"
changing you hair from dark brown- bordering black hair to blonde and then to dye it to silver takes a lot of work. however she was surprisingly... well, surprised by the outcome. layla had done a good job. (she didn't know why she was questioning this since layla practically dyed her hair every week with a new colour and there was still no sign of damaged hair. if the whole archery and music thing ever stopped- layla could totally make it in the hairdressing industry). after quickly drying her hair, she turned her around to the mirror.
"what do we think?" layla said, elongating the word 'think' for a tad too long.
she touched her head. it felt soft, well conditioned and it didn't look terrible. the two strands in front of her face made her look pretty, and although they weren't cut to frame her face like layla had suggested, it still looked amazing.
"wow," cadie spoke, "that looks-"
"amazing? i know," grinned layla, "right. now lets get to the campfire."
"i'm not singing this time."
"of course not," grinned layla, "i think everybody will be too distracted with your new hair."
"take that back now before i quote romeo and juliet to you."
once again, as usual. apollo cabin (with cadie too) led the sing-along. they tried their very hardest to keep the mood light and just keep everybodies spirits hgh, which wasn't easy after cadie killed a bunch of evil pigeons. they sat there like they had before, sining all the other songs they had the night before. the return of 'down by the aegean', 'i am my own great-great-great-great grandpa', 'this is minos's land' along with 'the littlest minotaur' made their way too.
along with that, mortal songs came back too, 'riptide' was song with little nervous glances at percy along with 'ho hey!' by the lumineers and a lot more other songs. on good nights, the fire would be six meters high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into flames. tonight, the fire was only a metre high, barely warm, and the flames were a shade of nervous green.
mr d left early, not bothered when they started singing the mortal songs began to be sang. he muttered something about how even pinochle with chiron had been more exciting than this before he gave a glare to tantalus and heading back to the big house.
when the last song was over, tantalus said, "well, that was lovely!"
he came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. but before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames. tantalus turned back towards us, smiling coldly. "now then! some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."
"sir," percy said.
tantalus' eyes twitched, "our kitchen boy has something to say?"
some demigods snickered, and cadie watched silently as lilly and cam looked at her. as if to say, do you know what he's gonna say?
cadie shrugged, maybe. she did know- she just wasn't sure if she wanted to be linked to it in case percy actually got himself in trouble. he was a trouble magnet like that.
he stood up, and looked at annabeth who stood up to. layla turned to her and muttered quietly, "is this the start of an unplanned musical?"
"perhaps," whispered another apollo child, "but i hope their voices are too pitchy."
"they haven't even warmed up," muttered will.
"we have an idea to save the camp," percy said.
dead silence. along with the campfire flaring up to a bright yellow.
"indeed," tantalus said blandly, "well, if it has anything to do with chariots-"
"the golden fleece," percy said, "we know where it is." the flames burned orange. before tantalus could even stop percy, he started talking about his dream, the same one she'd heard. annabeth stepped in every once in a while to remind everybody what the fleece could do. it sounded more convincing from her, cadie guessed, because people began to nod.
"the fleece can save the camp," annabeth concluded, "i'm certain of it."
"nonsense," said tantalus, "we don't need saving. besides. the sea of monsters? that's hardly an exact location. you wouldn't even know where to look."
"yes i would," percy nodded.
she heard annabeth whisper to him, "you would?"
he nodded, "thirty, thirty-one, seventy-five, twelve."
"oo-kay," tantalus, "thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."
"they're sailing coordinates," percy said, "latitude and longitude. i, uh, learned about it in social studies."
"thirty degrees, thirty-one minutes north, seventy-five degrees, twelve minutes west. he's right! the grey sisters gave us those coordinates. that'd be somewhere in the atlantic, off the coast of florida. the sea of monsters. we need a quest!"
"wait just a minute," tantalus said.
but the campers took up the chant. "we need a quest! we need a quest!" the flames rose higher.
"it isn't necessary!" tantalus insisted.
"we need a quest! we need a quest!"
"fine!" yelled tantalus, his eyes blazing with anger, "you brats want me to assign a quest?"
"yes!"
"very well," he agreed, "i shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey. to retrieve the golden fleece and bring it back to camp. or... die trying." he let out a wicked smile- which is when cadie know everything was going to go to shit, "i will allow our champion to consult the oracle! and choose three companions for the journey. and i think the choice of champions is obvious."
"the champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defence of the camp. you shall lead this quest....clarisse!"
the fire flickered a thousand different colours. the ares cabin (including cam) started stomping and cheering, 'clarisse! clarisse!'
clarisse stood up, looking stunned. then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride, "i accept the quest!"
"wait!" yelled percy, "grover is my friend, the dream came to me!"
"sit down!" yelled one of cam's siblings, "you had your chance last summer!"
"yeah," nodded another one of cam's siblings, "he just wants to be in the spotlight again!"
"i accept the quest!" she repeated, "i, clarisse, daughter of ares, will save the camp!"
the ares campers cheered even louder (although cam was sending glances at percy in guilt). annabeth protested, and the other athena campers joined in. everybody else started taking sides – shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. half of her cabin was cheering along with clarisse's siblings whereas the others where backing percy and some (like cadie) were just looking quite glad they weren't chosen.
cadie assumed perhaps it would turn into a full on s'more war until tantalus shouted, "silence, you brats! sit down! and i will tell you a ghost story."
the ghost story seemed like more of a needed therapy session then anything. but cadie didn't want to get back to kitchen patrol so she decided to leave it. tantalus looked grubby and grimey, and his voice was like sandpaper as he spoke, "one upon a time... there was a mortal king who was beloved of the gods!" as you can see- cadie really did mean it when she said about the therapy session.
"this king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on mount olympus. but when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe – just one little doggy bag, mind you – the gods punished him. they banned him from their halls forever! his own people mocked him! his children scolded him! and, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. children – just – like – you!" he pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including cadie.
"do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" tantalus asked softly. "do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? he invited the olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. no one noticed that his children were missing. and when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"
ah, cadie thought, cannibalism.
"oh the gods punished him in the afterlife," tantalus croaked, "they did indeed. but he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? his children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. and do you know what? rumour has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. and so ... are there any more complaints, before we send clarisse off on her quest?"
silence.
tantalus nodded at clarisse. "the oracle, my dear. go on."
she shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being tantalus's pet. "sir –"
"go!" he snarled.
she bowed awkwardly and hurried off towards the big house.
"what about you, percy jackson?" tantalus asked. "no comments from our dishwasher?" percy didn't respond- but there was a mean glare on his face. "good," tantalus said. "and let me remind everyone – no one leaves this camp without my permission. anyone who tries ... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. the harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! good night, my dear campers. sleep well."
but cadie wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep after that.
the first thing percy heard when he sat down and opened a can of coke (the drink, you moron) was the sound of a flute. he didn't know where exactly it was coming from- perhaps further along the beach, but it was really soothing. it even helped him calm down- not that the sugar and caffeine wasn't helping. but somehow the flute lulled him into a sense of peace. he stared long at his surroundings, but nothing came to his mind about how exactly he could save his camp.
"beautiful, aren't they?" somebody behind him said, almost making him spill his soda.
standing right next to him was a guy in nylon running shorts and a new york city marathon t-shirt. he was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. he looked kind of familiar, but percy couldn't figure out why. his first thought was that the guy must've been taking a midnight jog down the beach and strayed inside the camp borders. that wasn't supposed to happen. regular mortals couldn't enter the valley.
but maybe with the tree's magic weakening he'd managed to slip in.
but in the middle of the night? and there was nothing around except farmland and state preserves. where would this guy have jogged from?
"may i join you?" he asked, "i haven't sat down in ages."
common sense suggested that he should probably run away or yell for help. but stupidly, percy shrugged and said," uh, sure."
"your hospitality does you credit," the dude said, "oh, and coca-cola! may i?"
he sat at the other end of the blanket, popped a soda and took a credit, "lovely isn't it? and the music... so soothing."
"i guess you know who's playing it, then," percy said.
"hm, i do," nodded hermes, "i good friend of one of kids." he sighed, taking another sip of his soda, "that hits the spot. peace and soothing music at-" a cell phone went off in his pocket. it looked to be a really old phone... like really old. he extended the antenna on it (which just showed how old it really was) and two creatures began to climb around it. green snakes, no bigger than earthworms.
the jogger didn't seem surprised as he checked the screen and cursed, "i got to take this. just a sec..." then into the phone, "hello?" he listened. the mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear. "yeah," the jogger said. "listen – i know, but ... i don't care if he is chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number, we can't locate his package ... a gift to humankind, great ... you know how many of those we deliver – oh, never mind. listen, just refer him to eris in customer service. i gotta go."
he hung up. "sorry. the overnight express business is just booming. now, as i was saying –"
"you have snakes on your phone."
"what? oh, they don't bite. say hello, george and martha."
hello, george and martha, a raspy male voice said inside his head.
don't be sarcastic, said a female voice.
why not? george demanded, i do all the real work.
"oh let's not go into that again!" the jogger said, slipping his bulky phone back into his pocket, "now... where were we. ah yes. the peace and soothing music. been a long time since i got to relax. ever since the telegraph- rush, rush, rush. do you have a favourite constellation, percy?"
"uh, i like heracles."
"why?"
"well ... because he had rotten luck. even worse than mine. it makes me feel better."
the jogger chuckled. "not because he was strong and famous and all that?"
"no."
"you're an interesting young man. and so, what now?"
he knew immediately what the guy was asking. what did he intend to do about the fleece? before he could even answer, martha the snake's muffled voice came from his pocket, i have demeter on line two.
"not now," the jogger said. "tell her to leave a message."
she's not going to like that. the last time you put her of , all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted.
"just tell her i'm in a meeting!" the jogger rolled his eyes. "sorry again, percy. you were saying..."
"um ... who are you, exactly?"
"haven't you guessed by now, a smart boy like you?"
show him! martha pleaded. i haven't been full-size for months.
don't listen to her! george said. she just wants to show of !
the man took out his phone again. "original form, please." the phone glowed a brilliant blue. it stretched into a metre-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. george and martha, now full-sized green snakes, coiled together around the middle. it was a caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven.
"you're luke's father. you're the father of that other person too... the speedy one" percy said, "hermes."
the god pursed his lips. he stuck his caduceus in the sand like an umbrella pole, "'luke's father' and 'father of that other person too... the speedy one'. normally, that's not the first way people introduce me. god of thieves, yes. god of messengers and travellers, if they wish to be kind."
god of thieves works, george said.
oh, don't mind george . martha flicked her tongue at percy. he's just bitter because hermes likes me best.
he does not!
does too!
"behave, you two," hermes warned, "or i'll turn you back into a cell phone and set you on vibrate! now, percy, you still haven't answered my question. what do you intend to do about the quest?"
"i – i don't have permission to go."
"no, indeed. will that stop you?"
"i want to go. i have to save grover."
hermes smiled. "i knew a boy once ... oh, younger than you by far. a mere baby, really."
here we go again, george said. always talking about himself.
quiet! martha snapped. do you want to get set on vibrate?
hermes ignored them, "one night, when this boy's mother wasn't watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to apollo."
"did he get blasted to tiny pieces?" he asked.
"hmm ... no. actually, everything turned out quite well. to make up for his theft, the boy gave apollo an instrument he'd invented – a lyre. apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry."
"so what's the moral?"
"the moral?" hermes asked. "goodness, you act like it's a fable. it's a true story. does truth have a moral?"
"um..."
"how about this: stealing is not always bad?"
"i don't think my mom would like that moral." percy responded, shuddering as he thought back to when he'd accidentally taken a small figurine from a toy-shop when he was six, and his mom had to nicely explain to the big mean security guard it was purely an accident. never again.
rats are delicious, suggested george.
what does that have to do with the story? martha demanded.
nothing, george said. but i'm hungry.
"i've got it," hermes said. "young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. how's that?"
"you're saying i should go anyway," i said, "even without permission."
hermes's eyes twinkled. "martha, may i have the first package, please?"
it was rather odd to see a magic snake unhinge it jaw and vomit up an old-fashioned lunchbox. percy shuddered, trying to forget what he'd just seen. he was thirteen-years-old. he didn't need to be scarred this young.
"that's heracles," percy said after a while. "but how –"
"never question a gift," hermes chided. "this is a collector's item from heracles busts heads. the first season."
"heracles busts heads?"
"great show." hermes sighed. "back before hephaestus-tv was all reality programming. of course, the flask would be worth much more if i had the whole lunch box –"
or if it hadn't been in martha's mouth, george added.
i'll get you for that. martha began chasing him around the caduceus.
"wait a minute," he said. "this is a gift?"
"one of two," hermes said. "go on, pick it up."
he almost dropped it because it was freezing cold on one side and burning hot on the other. the weird thing was, when he turned the flask, the side facing the ocean – north – was always the cold side... "it's a compass!" he said.
hermes looked surprised. "very clever. i never thought of that. but its intended use is a bit more dramatic. uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way. not now! and please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. the winds are a bit like me – always restless. should all four escape at once ... ah, but i'm sure you'll be careful. and now my second gift. george?"
she's touching me, george complained as he and martha slithered around the pole.
"she's always touching you," hermes said. "you're intertwined. and if you don't stop that, you'll get knotted again!"
the snakes stopped wrestling.
george unhinged his jaw and coughed up a little plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.
"you're kidding," he said. "are those minotaur-shaped?"
hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. "the lemon ones, yes. the grape ones are furies, i think. or are they hydras? at any rate, these are potent. don't take one unless you really, really need it."
"how will i know if i really, really need it?"
"you'll know, believe me. nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids ... oh, everything you need to feel yourself again." he tossed percy the bottle.
"um, thanks," percy managed, "but lord hermes, why are you helping me?"
he gave percy a melancholy smile. the sort of bittersweet one you give when you think back to when one of your loved ones was alive. "perhaps because i hope that you can save many people on this quest, percy. not just your friend grover."
"you don't mean ... luke?"
hermes didn't answer.
"look," percy said. "lord hermes, i mean, thanks and everything, but you might as well take back your gifts. luke can't be saved. even if i could find him ... he told me he wanted to tear down olympus stone by stone. he betrayed everybody he knew. he – he hates you especially."
hermes gazed up at the stars. "young one, if there's one thing i've learned over the aeons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. it doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the internet –"
"you invented the internet?"
it was my idea, martha said.
rats are delicious, george said.
"it was my idea!" hermes said. "i mean the internet, not the rats. but that's not the point. percy, do you understand what i'm saying about family?"
"i – i'm not sure."
"in the meantime, i must be going."
you have sixty calls to return, martha said.
and one thousand and thirty-eight emails, george added. not counting the offers for online discount ambrosia.
"and you, percy," hermes said, "have a shorter deadline than you realize to complete your quest. your friends should be coming right about ... now."
the flute playing stopped suddenly, and percy turned to see a figure walking towards them. hermes seemed to have noticed this, because he nodded, "ah! here's the first helper!"
"helper? is that...oh-" he paused, that was the girl. cadie, was it? the one who'd killed the bulls with her voice and looked like she was on the edge of a breakdown every minute, "how... how can she help?"
"not so much how she can help. but how the both of you can help each other," shrugged hermes. he snapped his fingers and four yellow duffel bags appeared at my feet. "waterproof, of course. if you ask nicely, your father should be able to help you reach the ship."
"ship?" hermes pointed. sure enough, a big cruise ship was cutting across long island sound, its whiteand-gold lights glowing against the dark water.
"wait," percy said. "i don't understand any of this. i haven't even agreed to go!"
"i'd make up your mind in the next five minutes, if i were you," hermes advised. "that's when the harpies will come to eat you. now, goodnight, percy jackson, and dare i say it? may the gods go with you."
he opened his hand and the caduceus flew into it.
good luck, martha told him.
bring me back a rat, george said.
the caduceus changed into a cell phone and hermes slipped it into his pocket. he jogged off down the beach. twenty paces away, he shimmered and vanished, leaving him alone with a flask, a bottle of chewable vitamins and five minutes to make an impossible decision.
rosie speaks!
hello there again. more
chapters. also ew i keep
writing so much wtf sis am
i ok it's like wow okay—
also ngl i rlly like titans curse
it's one of my favourite
acts.
thoughts ??
word count: 4,246 words