Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
5
5
" Hey !" Thalia called to us . She was slow dancing with Grover , who was tripping all over himself , kicking Thalia in the shins , and looking like he wanted to die . At least his feet were fake . Unlike me , he had an excuse for being clumsy . " Dance , you guys !" Thalia ordered . " You look stupid just standing there ." I looked nervously at Annabeth , then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym . " Well ?" Annabeth said . " Um , who should I ask ?" She punched me in the gut . " Me , Seaweed Brain ." " Oh . Oh , right ." So we went onto the dance floor , and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things . I put one hand on Annabeth ' s hip , and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me .
" I ' m not going to bite ," she told me . " Honestly , Percy . Don ' t you guys have dances at your school ?"
I didn ' t answer . The truth was we did . But I ' d never , like , actually danced at one . I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner .
We shuffled around for a few minutes . I tried to concentrate on little things , like the crepepaper streamers and the punch bowl — anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me , and my hands were sweaty and probably gross , and I kept stepping on her toes . " What were you saying earlier ?" I asked . " Are you having trouble at school or something ?" She pursed her lips . " It ' s not that . It ' s my dad ." " Uh-oh ." I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father . " I thought it was getting better with you two . Is it your stepmom again ?" Annabeth sighed . " He decided to move . Just when I was getting settled in New York , he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book . In San Francisco !' She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades ' s gym shorts . " So he wants you to move out there with him ?" I asked . " To the other side of the country ," she said miserably . " And half-bloods can ' t live in San
Francisco . He should know that ." " What ? Why not ?" Annabeth rolled her eyes . Maybe she thought I was kidding . " You know . It ' s right there !' " Oh ," I said . I had no idea what she was talking about , but I didn ' t want to sound stupid .
" So … you ' ll go back to living at camp or what ?" " It ' s more serious than that , Percy . I … I probably should tell you something ." Suddenly she froze . " They ' re gone ." " What ?" I followed her gaze . The bleachers . The two half-blood kids , Bianca and Nico , were no longer there . The door next to the bleachers was wide open . Dr . Thorn was nowhere in sight . " We have to get Thalia and Grover !" Annabeth looked around frantically . " Oh , where ' d they dance off to ? Come on !"
She ran through the crowd . I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way . I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment , and by the time I was free , Annabeth had disappeared . I turned a full circle , looking for her or Thalia and Grover . Instead , I saw something that chilled my blood .
About fifty feet away , lying on the gym floor , was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing . Near it were a few scattered trading cards . Then I caught a glimpse of Dr . Thorn . He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym , steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks , like kittens .
I still couldn ' t see Annabeth , but I knew she ' d be heading the other way , looking for Thalia and Grover . I almost ran after her , and then I thought , Wait . I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall , looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick : Hasn ' t Chiron shown you how to do that yet ? I thought about the way Grover had turned to her , expecting her to save the day .