I Wasn't Aiming At The School Bus,

Sometimes, It Takes Us A While To Appreciate Something New, Something That Might Change Us For The Better.

I Could Hear Hopefulness In Her Voice, But Also Doubt. She Was Waiting For Me To Admit The Obvious: I'd Forgotten. I Was Toast. I Was Boyfriend Roadkill. Just Because I Forgot, You Shouldn't Take That As A Sign I Didn't Care About Annabeth. Seriously, The Last Month With Her Had Been Awesome. I Was The Luckiest Demigod Ever. But A Special Dinner... When Had I Mentioned That? Maybe I'd Said It After Annabeth Kissed Me, Which Had Sort Of Sent Me Into A Fog. Maybe A Greek Gos Had Disguised Himself As Me As And Made Her That Promise As A Prank. Or Maybe I Was Just A Rotten Boyfriend.

Glancing Back I Got My First Clear Look At The Monster. He Was Seven Feet Tall, Easy, His Arms And Legs Like Something From The Cover Of Muscle Man Magazine-bulging Biceps And Triceps And A Bunch Of Other 'ceps, All Stuffed Like Baseballs Under Vein-webbed Skin. He Wore No Clothes Except Underwear-i Mean, Bright White Fruit Of The Looms.

I Remembered The Last Time Annabeth And I Had Parted Ways, When She'd Given Me A Kiss For Luck In Mount St. Helens. This Time, All I Got Was The Hat.

Percy: Don't I Get A Kiss For Luck? It's Kind Of A Tradition, Right? Annabeth: Come Back Alive, Seaweed Brain. Then We'll See.