𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋.
she was having so much fun!
she was making so many friends, and so many people wanted to talk to her.
she'd excelled in homeschool, with private tutors for each subject. percy had to make up his entire junior year at an alternative school.
not only that, he had to complete three separate quests to get three different recommendations to get into college.
why?
because he existed.
"this sucks." percy complained, looking over the edge of the fire escape.
cherry sat beside him, with a frown. she pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. "i like this poster, though."
"how did you get that?" percy asked, snatching the paper away.
the bottom of the flyer was cut into little strips, with percy'd home address on each one. the photo looked of him in the middle looked like it had been taken from inside his bathroom mirror.
hair was wet, his eyes were half-closed, and a toothbrush was sticking out of my mouth.
"give me that back. i'm gonna cut out the photo and hang it up." cherry snatched back the paper with equal force.
"you're a creep." percy replied, with a smile.
written at the top of the paper, in big bold letters, was 'percy jackson will do your quests (in exchange for college recommendation letters) ((his girlfriend will also help she helped me make this poster i love my daughter in law))'
cherry wrote that last bit.
"zeus said if i wrote you one that would be unfair, and so i told him he was a cunt, and he told me he was gonna smite me." cherry remembered, snd looked down at herself, "i'm not smited yet."
"unfortunately." percy replied. "i'm joking! that's nice of you. who knows? maybe they'll be small quests, like picking up garbage on the highway on saturday or something."
"godly community service? not something i'd wanna do."
"doesn't matter. this is a me thing. i'm not gonna drag you into it."
"did you not read the poster? i dragged myself in. i wanna help.
"i enjoyed that second sentence."
the pair continued their discussion that changed from subject to subject in a mere matter of seconds.
cherry enjoyed being in his presence.
they weren't on the verge of death. they weren't being chased by monsters at every turn.
they were just sitting. it was unusual. but it was comfortable.
"hey, you two. want to help with dinner?" sally called out to them from inside.
"of course." cherry grinned, and climbed back through the window.
she didn't wait for percy.
percy often claimed that sally liked cherry more than she liked him. cherry adored his mother. they hung out surprisingly often.
sometimes, percy would plan out a dinner date, and cherry would reply she already had plans with his mother.
paul was chopping garlic for the stir-fry.
he wore an apron with the quote 'a recipe is a story that ends with a goodmeal, pat conroy'.
obviously, cherry also got along with paul really well.
"i love that apron. fashionable." cherry grinned.
"as usual." paul replied, with a smile.
"percy," sally called, "would you set the table?"
percy nodded.
he grabbed five mismatched pastel-colored plates. he got the blue one, always. he grabbed one more plate, a dark red one. he'd purchased it for cherry when they were in a grocery store.
cherry helped him set up the table.
percy appreciated the simpleness of it all.
sally retrieved a bowl of marinated tofu from the refrigerator.
the doorbell rang.
percy and cherry almost fell over at the speed they used to get to the door.
"hi, grove! annie!" cherry greeted.
"hey, cher." the pair replied in unison, matching her smile.
"i brought strawberries." grover's nose quivered. "is that tofu stir-fry?"
"hello to you, too," percy said.
"i love tofu stir-fry!" grover trotted around him and made a beeline for the kitchen.
sally hugged grover and gushed over the basket of strawberries and put them on the kitchen counter.
"they smell wonderful!" she said. "perfect dessert!"
"last crop of the summer," grover said wistfully. "now we have to get ready for gourd season, don't get me wrong. i love decorative gourds, but they're not as tasty."
sally patted his shoulder. "we'll make sure these berries don't go to waste."
the rice cooker chimed just as paul turned off the burner on the stovetop and gave the steaming wok one last stir.
"who's hungry?" he grinned.
having dinner all together was unfamiliar for percy.
they all caught up over a warm meal, sharing laughs and comments.
he wasn't used to anything but being hidden in an alleyway, eating fast food before escaping another monster.
percy filled everybody in about his first day at school, and the three recommendation letters he was supposed to get from the gods.
a look of panic flashed across grover's face, but he suppressed it quickly.
annabeth seemed to huff, as if she'd had enough.
"well then, we'll do these quests together!" grover insisted.
"grover, you don't have to-" percy began.
"yes we do." annabeth cut in. "are you kidding?"
"thanks, guys." percy couldn't help but smile. "you don't know much it means to me. seriously."
paul raised his glass. "the monsters will never know what hit them. just be careful, you three."
"oh, it'll be fine," grover said, though his left eye twitched. "besides, it always takes a while for word to get around among the gods. we've probably got weeks before the first request comes in!"
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
the smoothie bar was packed, but the group had barely made it in time to get to their favorite booth.
cherry eyed the golden man walking behind her boyfriend.
"we put in our order already," annabeth said as the pair slipped into the seat across from them.
"we can totally get you something, though." cherry smiled, and pulled out her wallet.
"order for grover!" said the server at the counter.
like most of the dudes who worked at himbo juice, he was huge and ripped and wearing a tank top,and his smile was blindingly white. "i've got a fiji fro-yo, a salty sailor, a red hibiscus, and a golden eagle!"
"an eagle? where?" shrieked ganymede, trying his best to hide under the table.
"nowhere!" cherry reassured.
annabeth and grover exchanged a confused look.
"i'll get the drinks," grover said, and plucked the bill out of cherry's hand.
"the golden eagle is just a smoothie," annabeth told ganymede, who was still hunched over and quivering.
cautiously, the god straightened up.
"i.. i have some unresolved trauma about eagles." ganymede spoke, with an awkward cough.
"you must be ganymede," annabeth guessed.
the god frowned.
he looked down at his shirt. "am i wearing a nametag? how did you know that?"
"well, you're gorgeous," annabeth said.
"you are. beautiful recognizes beautiful." cherry grinned at the god. "i haven't seen you in forever!"
"last feast." ganymede confirmed.
"i'm beautiful." percy cut in, looking at his girlfriend.
"yes, we know." cherry nodded.
"i'm beautiful." percy repeated.
"i understand." cherry couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"you used to be mortal," annabeth went on. "you were so beautiful that zeus turned into an eagle and snatched you away, brought you to olympus."
ganymede flinched. "yes. long ago, but it still stings.."
grover reappeared with a tray of smoothies. "i got you a mighty mead, hope that's okay. what did i miss?"
"he's a god," percy said.
"i know that," grover said. "he's ganymede."
"how did you-" ganymede stopped himself. "never mind."
"we were just about to hear why ganymede came to find me," percy said
.grover passed around the smoothies. salty sailor for percy, obviously. the fiji fro-yo was grover's. the golden eagle was annabeth's.
ganymede thoughtfully stirred his mighty mead, occasionally eying annabeths smoothie like it might grow claws and snatch him into the heavens.
"i saw your ad on the bulletin board," ganymede began. "it.. it also seemed too good to be true."
"thanks?" percy attempted.
"and all i have to do to reward you is write a letter of recommendation?"
"that's the deal. and what is it i have to do?"
"i have to be sure this is completely discreet, you cannot tell anyone else. is that understood? how much do you know about myresponsibilities on mount olympus?"
cherry thought back.
annabeth, as usual, had the answer.
"you're the cupbearer of the gods," annabeth said.
"must be a sweet job," grover said dreamily. "immortality, godly power, and you just have to serve drinks?"
ganymede scowled. "it's a horrible job."
"yeah, must be horrible." grover nodded. "all that.. drink-pouring."
"when it was just at feasts," ganymede said, "that was one thing, but now ninety percent of my orders are deliveries. ares wants his nectar delivered on the battlefield. aphrodite wants her usual with extra crushed iceand two maraschino cherries delivered to a sauna in helsinki in fifteenminutes or less. hephaestus.. don't get me started on hephaestus. this gig economy is killing me."
"okay," percy said. "how can we help?"
"my most important symbol of office.." ganymede said. "can you guess what it is?"
"a cup!" percy and cherry blurted at the same time, as if they were the smartest people on earth.
"not just any cup!" ganymede cried. "the chalice of the gods! thegoblet of ultimate flavor! the only cup worthy of zeus himself! and now.."
"oh," annabeth said. "it's missing, isn't it?"
"not missing," said ganymede miserably. "my cup has been stolen."
ganymede put his face in his hands and started to weep.
cherry frowned, trying to search for the words to comfort him.
"there, there." percy patted his shoulder.
that didn't help.
"we'll find it." cherry promised him.
one of the himbo juice employees came over, his smile crumbling around the edges. "is the smoothie not okay, sir? i can make you somethingelse."
"no." ganymede sniffled, and gestured weakly at the drinks. "it's just.. i can't stand seeing so many cups. it's too soon. too soon."
the employee flexed his pecs nervously, then made a hasty retreat.
"you know," grover said, "the kids at camp half-blood make somegreat arts-and-crafts projects. they could probably fashion you a new goblet."
the god shook his head. "it wouldn't be the same."
"or you could look into single-serving cups made from recyclable material." grover suggested.
"that's a good idea!" cherry gasped.
"guys," annabeth chided. "he wants his special cup."
"i'm just saying, single servings might be more hygienic. all those gods sipping from the same goblet-" grocer tried to reason.
"you said it was stolen," percy interrupted. "do you know who took it?"
ganymede scowled. "i have some ideas, but first, you have to promise that thisremains confidential. the goblet makes drinks taste good to the gods. but if a mortal got hold of it.. one sip from it would grant them immortality."
how many people would do anything for immortality?
cherry could bet it was a lot of people. probably a lot of the wrong people, too.
"if it's so powerful, why would you trust us to get itback?" percy questioned.
ganymede stared at him. "i couldn't trust anyone else! you're already immortal, percy jackson."
"okay," percy told him. "totally confidential."
"and these others?" ganymede gestured to grover, cherry and annabeth.
"these others know how to keep a secret," annabeth said. "loose lipsare never a good strategy."
"totally," grover said.
"i won't tell anyone." cherry nodded.
"they're my best friends," percy said. "you can trust them as much as you can trust me."
ganymede relaxed his shoulders.
he wiped his tears away with his gold ringed fingers.
"fine," he said. "i suspect someone on olympus is trying to embarrassme, make me look bad in front of zeus. if he finds out i lost my cup.. no. i have to recover it."
"you have enemies?" percy asked.
"oh, yes, hera, for one. she's hated me since the day zeus snatched me up to olympus. zeus was always complimenting me, you see.. how handsome i was, how much i brightened up the palace. it's not my fault i have nicer legs than she does." ganymede gave examples.
cherry giggled, but shut her mouth. "she probably thinks you guys are having an affair."
annabeth grimaced. "let's hope it's not hera."
"no.." ganymede stared into his smoothie. "probably not. she would consider it beneath her. but there are others, everyone on olympus hates me, really, because i'm a newcomer, an upstart kid made immortal. they call me a gold digger! can you believe that?"
"i don't hate you. but i'm not on olympus, so that doesn't really matter." cherry attempted to comfort him.
"nice effort." percy complimented, snd tried to focus again. "you suspect anyone else in particular?"
ganymede glanced around the shop, as if one of the himbos might have been a spy.
he gestured for them to lean in."before i was the cupbearer, there were two other goddesses who had my job. first hebe. then iris."
grover slurped his fiji fro-yo. "iris seems kind of chill to be stealing chalices."
"perhaps." ganymede frowned. "but hebe.."
"the goddess of youth," annabeth said. "but, ganymede, you're, like, eternally young and beautiful.why would she want to embarrass you?"
"oh, you don't know her," ganymede said. "in the early days, everytime i would serve drinks at the feast table, she'd mutter spill it, spill it as iwalked past. she's so immature."
grover shrugged. "well, if she's the goddess of youth.."
"that's no excuse! she needs to grow up!" said the three-thousand-year old twenty something.
"okay," percy said. "do you have any proof she took it?"
"proof?" he scoffed. "that's what i need you for. don't you heroes dustfor fingerprints, analyze dna samples, that sort of thing?"
"you might be thinking of csi. but okay, we'll start with hebe. then check iris." percy planned out.
"fine." ganymede sipped his smoothie. "hmm. not bad. maybe when i get fired and turned back into a mortal, i could work here."
"you'd make a great himbo," annabeth admitted. "so how long has your chalice been missing?"
ganymede paused to think. "a century?"
"century!" cherry's eyes widened. "i saw you at the last feast! you had it then, and i wasn't alive a century ago."
"oh, yes. right. maybe a week." ganymede pinched his nose. "i always get those time periods confused. not long, anyway. so far, i've been able to fake it with my delivery orders. the other gods kind of expect to-go cups with those. but if idon't get my proper chalice back before the next in-person feast, everyone will notice. i'll be humiliated!"
"when is the next feast?" grover asked.
"i don't know!" ganymede cried. "zeus is unpredictable! he might schedule one in twenty years. or it could be tomorrow. the point is, i need that goblet back before word gets out!"
he leaned forward, his expression stern. "question those goddesses. see what they know. but don't offend them. and don't say i sent you. and don't give away that my cup was stolen."
"that'll make it hard to question them," annabeth said. "any idea where these goddesses hang out?"
percy made a face.
cherry recognized his nervous expression.
if ganymede said somewhere far away, percy would for sure never graduate high school. he didn't have time to travel.
"they stay close to mount olympus," ganymede said. "i mean manhattan. they should be around here somewhere. do this for me, percy jackson, and i will write you a letter!"
"this recommendation letter will be positive?" percy checked. "and you'll actually sign it?"
ganymede frowned. "you drive a hard bargain, but very well! now, away with you, before i am undone!"
he disappeared in a glittering cloud of dust.
as usual with magical happenings, the mortals around didn't seem to notice anything.
"well." percy sipped his drink. "this should be fun. any ideas where to start?"
"unfortunately, yes," said grover. "but let me finish my drink first. we're going to need our strength."
"or we can go out to eat." cherry suggested, to an empty silence. "or we can go save percy's chance at getting into college."
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
grover brought the trio straight to times square, which was the noisiest, most crowded, most tourist-infested part of manhattan.
percy tried to avoid times square as much as possible.
grover stopped at a storefront. for half a block, all the windows were covered in foil. usually, that meant the place was either out of business or shady.
there was an enormous electronic sign above the entrance, which read hebe jeebies.
"no way," percy said.
annabeth shook her head. "she really named her place hebe jeebies?"
"afraid so," grover sighed.
"it's cute." cherry felt the immediate urge to go inside.
"you think everything is cute." percy reminded, and held her back. "grover, how do you know about this place?"
his cheeks flushed. "they have great licorice ropes. you can't pass by without smelling them!"
"your first choice for candy is licorice?" cherry questioned. "not that i'm judging. we all have our preferences."
"i love licorice." grover seemed to almost pout. "the next time you ask me to pick you up something you're too lazy to get, i'm not doing it."
"i said i wasn't judging!" cherry gasped. "next time you come to my house and spend the entire day with my chef, i'm gonna kick you out."
"woah. no need to take it that far." grover raised his hands in surrender.
he took a deep breathe, and then pushed open the door.
inside looked like all of the entertainment centers from the nineties had been brought to life in one place.
rows of skee-ball machines stood ready for action.
a dozen dancedance revolution platforms blinked and flashed.
aisles with every arcade game ever made.
in the distance was a candy station with fill-your-own-bag dispensers and huge bins of colorful sweet stuff. on the other side of the warehouse were a cafeteria with picnic tables and a stage where robotic iguanas played musical instruments.
there was a ball pit the size of a house, a climbing structure that looked like a giant hamster habitat, a bumper-car course, and a ticket-exchangestation with oversize stuffed animals for prizes.
the whole place smelled of pizza, pretzels, and industrial cleaner.
it was packed with families.
"i get it now," said annabeth, shivering. "this place does give me the heebie-jeebies."
"i've been here a few times." grover's expression was a combination of anxiety and hunger. "i've never found the other end of the place."
"okay," percy said, inching back toward the front door. "i'm getting stronglotus casino vibes in here.. like low-rent lotus casino, but still.."
"it's not a trap," grover said. "at least, i've never had any trouble leaving. these families, they come and go. they don't seem to be stuck in time."
"here." cherry pushed front doors open for a couple of kids who's arms were full of prizes.
"what's the catch?" annabeth asked.
"there's always a catch." percy nodded in agreement.
"i don't know," grover admitted. "i usually just get licorice and leave. i keep a low profile."
"do you know where hebe is?" cherry asked.
"no, but.." grover wriggled his shoulders. "you know that feeling you get when there's a god around and you can't see them, but you kind of feel like there's a swarm of dung beetles on the back of your neck?"
"not exactly.." percy said.
"not at all. are you okay, grove?" cherry questioned.
"also," said annabeth, "dung beetles is oddly specific."
grover brushed the metaphorical poop bugs off his neck. "anyway, i've got that feeling now. we could ask the staff if hebe's around. if we can find someone."
thr group moved through the arcade.
percy kept his hand at his side.
"oh, my gods," annabeth said. "stackers. i haven't played that since.."
they kept moving.
percy seemed to stop near the candy station.
he was thinking of his mother.
cherry grinned, and snatched up a bag for all of them. she filled them to the brim with candies she knew they'd all like.
"those might be poisonous." percy warned.
"you can have one first, then." cherry offered, extending s blue shark gummy.
he took a small bite, and then chewed the rest after determining it was safe for consumption.
a group of adults walked past, giggly and teary-eyed, reminiscing about their favorite treats and games from back in the day.
"it's a nostalgia trap," percy realized. "the place is selling people their own childhoods."
annabeth nodded.
her gaze drifted around the amusement center likes he was scanning for threats. "that makes sense, but a lot of places sell nostalgia. it's not necessarily a bad thing.."
an employee walked past wearing a bright blue hebe jeebies polo shirt and matching shorts, fussing with a wheel of paper prize tickets.
"excuse me, miss?" annabeth touched her arm, and the employeejumped.
"what?" she snapped.
cherry stared at the little girl who couldn't have been more then nine.
her name tag read sparky, manager.
"sorry." sparky took a breath. "the token machine is broken again, and i gotta get these tickets to.. anyway, how can i help? if this is about a refund for a defective game, or the pizza being moldy-"
"the pizza being what?" cherry replied, setting her bag of candy down.
"yuck." percy agreed.
"depends on the mold," grover murmured.
"we just need to speak to the goddess in charge," annabeth said. "it's kind of urgent."
sparky scowled, then relented. "past the diving cliff, left at the henhouse."
"diving cliff?" percy asked.
"henhouse?" asked grover.
"she'll be in the karaoke bar." sparky wrinkled her nose like this was an unpleasant fact of life. "don't worry. you'll hear it."
she hurried off with her wheel o' prize tickets.
"are we really going to search out a karaoke bar, like, on purpose?" percy questioned.
"it'll be fun!" cherry grinned.
the group continued walkin until they found the diving cliff, a two-story wall of fake rock where you could jump off into a suspiciously murky pool of water.
a couple of kids were doing it on a loop, splashing down, clambering out, and racing back up tothe top, while their parents stood nearby, engrossed in a game of space invaders.
finally, they passed the henhouse, which was an actual henhouse, right in the middle of the arcade stood a redshack on stilts, surrounded by a chicken-wire fence.
on the floor around it, about a dozen hens and some little yellow chicks were pecking at feed, clucking, and basically being chickens.
"why?" percy asked.
"hebe's sacred animal," annabeth said. "maybe we should move along."
"they're cute." cherry smiled, as they continued down.
at last, they found the karaoke bar.
it was partitioned off from the rest of the amusement center by a set of sliding mahogany doors, but that didn't stop the music from seeping through.
inside, half a dozen tables faced a sad little stage, where a squad of old folks belted out a song that sounded vaguely woodstock-ish.
the stage lights pulsed a sickly yellow color. the sound system crackled.
"can we leave now?" grover asked.
annabeth pointed to a booth against the far wall. "look over there."
sitting in the booth, tapping her feet to the music, was a girl about their age.
at least, that's what she appeared to be.
she was too flawless to be a human. she wore a pink-and-turquoise minidress with white go-go boots.
they approached the booth.
"lady hebe?" percy asked.
the goddess raised a finger to silence him, her eyes still fixed on the older singers. "don't they seem happy? so young again!"
"um, yeah," percy said. "we were just wondering-"
"please, sit." the goddess waved her hand, and four chairs appeared onthe outside of the booth. "i'll order us some pizza, and we can talk while the old folks sing protest songs."
the pizza looked oddly nostalgic, though cherry had never eaten anything like it when she was a child.
the cheese slice looked like a triangle of melted vinyl, garnished withthree sad flecks of basil and served on a paper plate limp with grease.
"looks like a cartoon." cherry held the slice upright.
"wow," percy said.
hebe smiled, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. "wonderful, isn't it? feeling young again?"
grover dug in, devouring his pizza slice, his paper plate, and his friends napkins.
annabeth remained focused on the karaoke singers. they were now belting out a slow, sad song about where all the flowers had gone.
"what a fabulous generation," hebe said, admiring the singers. "even now, they refuse to accept growing old. and you, percy jackson, i assume you've come to ask a favor."
"this pizza is great!" grover interrupted. "and the music.. wait a minute. are they actually getting younger?"
he was right.
the changes were subtle, but their hair didn't seem so gray now.
their postures were straighter. their voices sounded more assured, though still terrible.
"they come here to remember the old days." hebe gestured around her. "nostalgia is the doorway back to youth. i'm just showing them how to openit."
percy seemed uncomfortable.
that feeling seeped onto cherry, who couldn't help but frown.
"that's.. nice of you," grover tried.
there was a slight tremor in his voice.
hebe crossed her go-go boots at the ankles. she placed her arms across the back of the booth.
"is that why you're here, then?" she asked. "you want to know the secret of youth? i imagine none of you really had a childhood, did you? always running errands for the gods, fleeing monsters, adulting."
her expression soured, as if that word disgusted her. "our skee-ball tournament usually shaves off a year or two, or you can redeem tickets for various elixirs at the rewards station. i'll just warn you that if you're looking for something extreme, i don't turn anyone into babies. they do nothing but cry, poop, and throw up. the real childhood magic starts at around eight years old."
annabeth shifted in her seat. "there were no infants in the arcade. no one younger than, like, eight. your manager, sparky-"
"stays in the main arcade," hebe said. "i am always the youngest person in any room, you see, even if it's just by a few months. i can't stand to be out-younged. but i do prefer the teenage years."
"so you hang out in a karaoke bar," percy said. "makes sense."
she nodded. "now, if you'll tell me how young you want to be, i will tell you what it will cost."
"no."
"no?"
"that's not why we're here."
"then why are you wasting my infinite time?"
cherry found feel the tension bubble up.
she hated it.
nobody said a word.
how long would it take hebe to zap her boyfriend?
"we just wanted to ask you some questions." cherry interrupted. "like, about the gods."
"a god. hypothetically. i don't know.. ganymede, for example?" grover continued.
hebe sat forward. her fingernails were painted day-glo yellow. "now why would you ask about him?"
grover squirmed under the goddess's gaze. a shred of napkin clung to his goatee like a tiny ghost. "we're just conducting a brief opinion survey-"
"he sent you here," the goddess guessed. "tell me, why would ganymede do that?"
annabeth held up her hands, trying to show peaceful intentions. "it's not so much that he sent us-"
"he has been acting nervous lately," mused hebe. "but he wouldn't-send out a group of heroes unless.. unless he's lost something. oh, you can't be serious. he's lost the chalice of the gods?"
"well, we can neither confirm nor deny-" percy stated.
"how wonderful!" she giggled. "that upstart little witch is in so much trouble! and he sent you to question me because.. oh, i see."
"we just wanted some background information."
percy said hastily. "you know, like who might have a reason to, uh-"
"steal the chalice," she finished.
annabeth shook her head. "we're not implying-"
"you think i stole it! you came here to accuse me!" hebe gasped.
"no!" cherry denied.
"i-i came here for the licorice!" grover defended, with a yelp.
hebe stood. her dress swirled with pink-and-blue paisley light. "heroes accusing me of theft! the only thing i've ever stolen is time from the fatesso mortals could enjoy longer lives! i care nothing for that.. that usurpers cup! do you think i would want my old job back, waiting tables on mount olympus, when i have my own establishment right here with all the pizza, karaoke, and bumper cars i could ever desire?"
"you're right," prtcy said. "of course that's silly. but maybe you know someone else who could've stolen it? or if you'd let us look around so wecan report back that it definitely isn't here-"
"enough!" hebe roared. she spread her hands. "percy jackson. you are an immortal. perhaps i should take you back to a time you weren't."
the goddess burst into a storm of rainbow glitter that knocked the group right out of their chairs.