Home > Topic > The Pavilion
1 " Dabbling in the sandbox gives Rabbit a small headache. Over at the pavilion the rubber thump of Roofball and the click of checkers call to his memory, and the forgotten smell of that narrow plastic ribbon you braid bracelets and whistlechains out of and of glue and of the sweat on the handles on athletic equipment is blown down by a breeze laced with children's murmuring. He feels the truth: the thing that has left his life has left irrevocably; no search would recover it. No flight would reach it. It was here, beneath the town, in these smells and these voices, forever behind him. The fullness ends when we give Nature her ransom, when we make children for her. Then she is through with us, and we become, first inside, and then outside, junk. Flower stalks. "
― John Updike , Rabbit, Run
2 " You saved the world," annabeth said." We saved the world." " And Rachel is the new Oracle, which means she won't be dating anybody." " You don't sound disappointed," I noticed.Annabeth shrugged. " Oh, I don't care." " Uh-huh." She raised an eyebrow. " You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?" " You'd probably kick my butt." " You know I'd kick your butt." I brushed the cake off my hands. " When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable . . . Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal." Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon. " Yeah?" " Then up on Olympus," I said, " when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking—" " Oh, you so wanted to." " Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought—I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, becausethings could always get better. And I was thinking . . ." My throat felt really dry." Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked, her voice soft.I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile." You're laughing at me," I complained." I am not!" " You are so not making this easy." Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands around my neck. " I am never, ever going to make things easy foryou, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it." When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body. I could've stayed that way forever, except a voice behind us growled, " Well, it's about time!" Suddenly the pavilion was filled with torchlight and campers. Clarisse led the way as the eavesdroppers charged and hoisted us both onto their shoulders." Oh, come on!" I complained. " Is there no privacy?" " The lovebirds need to cool off!" Clarisse said with glee." The canoe lake!" Connor Stoll shouted. and they dumped us in the water. "
3 " Graham’s thoughts of me were not entirely those of a frozen indifference, after all. I believe in that goodly mansion, his heart, he kept one little place under the skylights where Lucy might have entertainment, if she chose to call. It was not so handsome as the chambers where he lodged his male friends; it was not like the hall where he accommodated his philanthropy, or the library where he treasured his science, still less did it resemble the pavilion where his marriage feast was splendidly spread; yet, gradually, by long and equal kindness, he proved to me that he kept one little closet, over the door of which was written ‘Lucy’s Room.’ I kept a place for him too — a place of which I never took the measure, either by rule or compass: I think it was like the tent of Peri-Banou. All my life long I carried it folded in the hollow of my hand — yet, released from that hold and constriction, I knew not but its innate capacity for expanse might have magnified it into a tabernacle for a host. "
― Charlotte Brontë , Villette
4 " Then she laughed for real, and put her hands around my neck. 'I am never, ever going to make things easy for you Seaweed Brain. Get used to it.' When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body. I could've stayed that way forever, except a voice behind us growled, 'Well it's about time!' Suddenly the pavilion was filled with torchlight and campers. Clarisse led the way as the eavesdroppers charged and hoisted us both onto their shoulders. 'Oh, come on!' I complained. 'Is there no privacy?' 'The lovebirds need to cool off!' Clarisse said with glee. 'The canoe lake!' Conner Stoll shouted. With a huge cheer, they carried us down the hill, but they kept us close enough to hold hands. Annabeth was laughing, and I couldn't help laughing too, even though my face was completely red. We held hands right up to the moment they dumped us in the water. "
― Rick Riordan , The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)