Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants

Percy Jackson POV

Confession time. I ditched Grover, as soon as we got out of the bus. I know, I know, it was rude but he was freaking me out. He kept mattering stuff like they never get past the sixth grade and looking at me like I was a dead man walking.

Whenever he got upset his bladder let loose, so after promising him I would wait he beelined to the bathroom I caught the first taxi that I could and left, making my walk down to my mom's apartment down in East One Hundred and Fourth First Avenue.

Sitting in the backseat of the taxi I thought of my mom, Sally Jackson the greatest person in the world, which just proves me my theory that the best people had the most rotten luck. Her parents died in a plane crash, got raised by an uncle who didn't care for her, and had to drop out of high school to pay for said uncle's medicals bills. After he died she was left with no money, no family and no diploma.

The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad, at least that's what she told me. I didn't have any memories of him,mthe only thing I had was a faint feeling of an embrace or a smile. I had never asked mom since talking about him made her sad. It turns out that my dad was kinda famous so they had to keep their relationship a secret and after I was born he took a trip across the Atlantic and got lost at sea. Not dead, lost at sea that was what my mom told me.

It wasn't long before I arrived at the apartment, I was hoping mom was already back from work but sadly she wasn't and I had to talk to my step dad Gabe or Smelly Gabe, I mean seriously the dude reeked like ground up fermented cheese, and as always he was playing poker. He wolfed up the few bucks that remained from the taxi ride, so he could gamble them away like he always did.

Infuriated I went into my room or Gabe's study, which wasn't really his study it was just a roundabout way for him to make my life even more miserable. I sunk into the bed, which instead of smelling like home, smelled like a Wallmart version of Gabe's stench.

My mind drifted as I thought back to what Grover had said before I ditched him, then to Mrs Dodds, the three old ladies they all sent shivers down my spine. I started hearing the creeks of footsteps and felt like someone or something was watching me.

-KNOCK;KNOCK;KNOCK-

I relaxed when I saw the person who entered the room, it was just my mom. Just her loving gaze melted all my fears. Here eyes sparkled and changed color in the light. She had a few streaks of grey that run through her long brown hair, but I never thought of her as old. Whenever she looked at me it was like she was seeing all the good things in me and none of the bad. She had never raised her voice or any unkind words either to me or Gabe.

"Oh Percy," she hugged me tight " I can't believe it, you've grown since Christmas." She then handed me a huge bag of 'free samples' the way she always did when I came back. We sat together at the edge of the bed, while I scarfed down the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters.

She didn't even mentioning anything about me getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing alright?

I told her she was smothering me, but actually I enjoyed it. From the  other room Gabe yelled, "Hey Sally, how about some bean dip, huh?!"

I gritted my teeth. My mom was the nicest person in the world she deserved to be with a millionaire not some jerk like Gabe.

For her sake I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd like Yancy, I really had. I would miss Grover, Mr Brunner and his classes and in some vengeful way even Nancy herself. I talked to her about the entire year until that trip to the museum.

"What?" my mom asked. "Did something scare you?"

"No, Mom"

I felt bad for lying but if I told her about Mrs Dodds and the three old ladies with yarn I thought it would sound stupid..

She pursed her lips knowing I wasn't telling her everything, but she didn't push me.

"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."

My eyes widened. "Montauk."

"Three nights, same cabin."

"When?"

"As soon as I get changed."

I couldn't believe it, mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the past two summers because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip Sally didn't you hear me?"

I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal, treat Gabe nicely and we could go.

So after a while and my mom's 'bribe' of a seven layer bean dip and a stern talking from Gabe for me to not lay a scratch on the car, which didn't make much sense since I was 12, we made our way down to Montauk.

Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half-sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.

I loved the place. I had been coming here since I was a baby, and my mom even longer than that. This beach was a special place in her heart, the place he had met my dad.

We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin window's and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked won the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, ate blue jellybeans.. I should probably explain the blue food, my mom and Gabe once had a fight about blue food, Gabe said that such a thing didn't exist so since then she went out of her way to make blue food.

My mom and I started a fire, then we began to roast hot dogs an marshmallows over it. We talked about a lot of stuff but finally I made up the courage to ask her what I always wondered about when we came to Montauk, my dad.

Her eyes grew misty, I figured she would tell me what she always did but I never got tired of hearing them.

"He was kind, Percy. Tall, handsome and powerful but gentle too. You have his black hair and you know his green eyes. I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."

I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card and kicked out of his sixth school in six years.

"How old was I? When he left I mean?"

"He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach, this cabin."

"But, he knew me as a baby."

"No honey. He knew I was expecting a baby. He had to leave before you were born."

That made no sense I was sure I remembered a smile, a warm glow, something. I always thought he knew me as a baby, I had never asked my mom but I thought it to be true. Now to be told he had never seen me...

I felt angry at my father. Still I made up the courage to ask her the next question.

"Are you sending me away again?"

"I don't know honey. I'll have to think about something."

"Because you don't want me around?" I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.

My mom's eyes welled up, "Oh Percy, no. I-I have to honey. For your won good. I have to send you away."

"Because I'm not normal."

"You say that as if it were a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."

"Safe from what?"

My mom kept silent before telling me that she should have sent me to the place dad wanted me to go, a summer camp. After our talk we were both tired and we went back into our cabin for some sleep.

I had a weird dream were a horse and eagle were fighting, before I could stop them, the eagle killed the horse and I woke up with a gasp. A thunderclap resounded and my mom woke up too a worried look in her eyes "Hurricane," was all she muttered.

We heard a much closer noise like mallets in the sand. My mother sprang from the bed and opened the lock, there standing in the middle of the rain was a gasping Grover.

"Searching all night," he gasped "What were you thinking?"

My mother had a look of sheer terror in her eyes she turned to me and shouted at me, something which she had never done before "Percy, what happened at school. What didn't you tell me."

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi" Grover yelled, he had cursed in ancient greek and I had understood him. "It's right behind me didn't you tell her."

"Percy, tell me now!"

I rambled quickly about Mrs Dodds, the fruit stand, the old ladies and the socks.

She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket and yelled "Get to the car both of you."

Grover ran to the car, well he wasn't really running more like he was trotting, finally I understood how he could run so fast even with a limp, where his feet should have been where a pair of cloven hooves.

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