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"Dang it!" Frank barked, which Leo figured was probably severe profanity for him
No doubt Frank would’ve cursed soosh darns--but Percy interrupted by doubling over and groaning
"Did the world just turn upside down?" he asked
Jason pressed his hands to his head "Yeah, and it’s spinning Everything is yellow Is it supposed to be yellow?"
Annabeth and Piper exchanged concerned looks
"Suth," Piper told the boys "You’ve got to rest"
Annabeth nodded agreeuys belowdecks?"
Frank glanced at Leo, no doubt reluctant to leave him alone with Hazel
"It’s fine, man," Leo said "Just try not to drop them on the way down the stairs"
Once the others were below, Hazel and Leo faced each other aardly They were alone except for Coach Hedge, as back on the quarterdeck singing the Pokéed the words to: Gotta Kill ’Em All, and Leo really didn’t want to knohy
The song didn’t seeh…" She leaned over and hugged her sides She had nice hair--frizzy and golden brown like curls of cinnamon Her hair reminded Leo of a place in Houston that ry
"Don’t lean over," he advised "Don’t close your eyes It et seasick too?"
"Not seasick But cars make me nauseous, and…"
He stopped hiirls, but he decided to keep that to hihtened with difficulty "You can sail a ship or fly a dragon, but cars ed "I’m special that way Look, keep your eyes on the horizon That’s a fixed point It’ll help"
Hazel took a deep breath and stared into the distance Her eyes were lustrous gold, like the copper and bronze disks inside Festus’s mechanical head
"Any better?" he asked
"Maybe a little" She sounded like she was just being polite She kept her eyes on the horizon, but Leo got the feeling she was gauging hiswhat to say
"Frank didn’t drop you on purpose," she said "He’s not like that He’s just a little clumsy someti voice "Dropped Leo into a squad of ene it!"
Hazel tried to suppress a s up
"Go easy on him," Hazel said "You and your fireballs uy can turn into an elephant, and I make him nervous?"
Hazel kept her eyes on the horizon She didn’t look quite so queasy, despite the fact that Coach Hedge was still singing his Poké at the helm
"Leo," she said, "about what happened at the Great Salt Lake…"
Here it co with the revenge goddess Nemesis The fortune cookie in his tool belt started to feel heavier Last night, as they flew frory he’d ht
Soon you will face a probleh I could help you…for a price
Leo had taken the fortune cookie out of his tool belt and turned it in his fingers, wondering what price he would have to pay if he broke it open
Maybe noas the ," he told Hazel "I could use the fortune cookie to find your brother"
Hazel looked stunned "What? No! I mean…I’d never ask you to do that Not after what Nemesis said about the horrible cost We barely know each other!"
The barely know each other coh Leo kneas true
"So…that’s not what you wanted to talk about?" he asked "Uh, did you want to talk about the holding-hands-on-the-boulderher face in that cute way she did when she was flustered "No, I was just thinking about the way you tricked Narcissus and those nylanced self-consciously at his arm The HOT STUFF tattoo hadn’t coood idea at the ti," Hazel said "I’ve beenit over, how uessed "I wish you’d tell me who he is"
"Who he was," Hazel corrected The evening air arht be able to show you"
"You mean like a photo?"
"No There’s a sort of flashback that happens totime, and I’ve never tried to make one happen on purpose But I shared one with Frank once, so I thought…"