The Hidden Oracle

Will turned to me. “I apologize for my boyfriend.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Could you not—”
“Would you prefer special guy?” Will asked. “Or significant other?”
“Significant annoyance, in your case,” Nico grumbled.
“Oh, I’ll get you for that.”

That pretty much describes my entire life: Because Poseidon.”

a New York State junior driver’s license featuring a photo of a dorky, curly-haired teen who could not possibly be me, with the name Lester Papadopoulos. The cruelty of Zeus knew no bounds

“And Nico,” said Nico. “I have a doctor’s note.”
“Fine!” I said.

“Yo, Nico,” Leo called, “please tell me that’s it for the physical abuse.”
“For now.” Nico smiled. “We’re still trying to get in touch with the West Coast. You’ll have a few dozen people out there who will definitely want to hit you.”

Nico commandeered a dispenser from the snack bar and carried it around, yelling, “The line starts to the left! Orderly queue, guys!”
“Is this really necessary?” Leo asked.
“Yes,” said Miranda Gardiner, who had drawn the first number. She punched Leo in the arm.
“Ow,” said Leo.
“You’re a jerk, and we all hate you,” said Miranda. Then she hugged him and kissed his cheek. “If you ever disappear like that again, we’ll line up to kill you.”
“Okay, okay!”

Will rolled his eyes. “Nico convinced them to disembark.”
As if on cue, I heard Sherman screaming from somewhere far in the distance, “I’ll get you, di Angelo!”
“You guys go,” Will told me. “The chariot is only designed for three, and after that shadow-travel, Nico is going to pass out any second.”
“No, I’m not,” Nico complained, then passed out.
Will caught him in a fireman’s carry and took him away. “Good luck! I’m going to get the Lord of Darkness here some Gatorade!”

“Will, Kayla, Austin,” I said, “come with me.”
“And Nico,” said Nico. “I have a doctor’s note.”
“Fine!” I said. “Ellis, Cecil, Miranda—do whatever you can to keep the Colossus’s attention.”

I rested my hand on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back by dawn.”
His mouth trembled ever so slightly. “How can you be sure?”
“I’m the sun god,” I said, trying to muster more confidence than I felt. “I always return at dawn.”

A boy in the crowd gasped. “She’s a communist!”
A girl who’d been sitting at Cabin Four’s table gave him a disgusted sneer. “No, Damien, that’s my mom’s symbol.” Her face went slack as the truth sank in. “Uh, which means…it’s her mom’s symbol.”