1
" Normally, in anything I do, I'm fairly miserable. I do it, and I get grumpy because there is a huge, vast gulf, this aching disparity, between the platonic ideal of the project that was living in my head, and the small, sad, wizened, shaking, squeaking thing that I actually produce. "
― Neil Gaiman
2
" My mother made a squeaking sound that might of been either " yes" or " help" .Poseidon took it as a yes and came in.Paul was looking back and forth between us, trying to read our expressions.Finally he stepped forward." Hi, I'm Paul Blofis." Poseidon raised an eyebrow and then shook his hand." Blowfish, did you say?" " Ah, no. Blofis, actually." " Oh, I see," Poseidon said. " A shame. I quite like blowfish. I am Poseidon." " Poseidon? That's an interesting name." " Yes, I like it. I've gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon." " Like the god of the sea." " Very much like that, yes" " Well!" My mother interrupted. " Um, were so glad you could drop by. Paul, this is Percy's father." " Ah." Paul nodded, though he didn't look real pleased. " I see." Poseidon smiled at me. " There you are, my boy. And Tyson, hello, son!" " Daddy!" Tyson [shouted]...Paul's jaw dropped. He stared at my mother. " Tyson is..." " Not mine," she promised. " It's a long story. "
6
" A long time ago, there was a little girl called Mary. Now Mary, she was warned several times not to go to her neighbor’s house. Her neighbor was a grandmother. But Mary hardly listened, so she snuck off one night to spy on her. She tried the front door first, and it creaked open. Then suddenly, she heard a squeaking noise upstairs. She followed it – climbed up the wooden stairs where half of it was already rotten. She heard the squeaking noise again. It was coming from the library. She opened the door and hid behind a couch. She peered out, and she saw the grandmother.” Dave paused to drain his cup of coffee before continuing. My heart thudded so loudly, I thought that everyone could hear it. “So Mary gasped in disbelief as she heard the squeaking noise again, and the grandmother’s rocking chair was not moving at all. Then the grandmother opened her eyes and looked directly at her, holding her gaze steadily and sharply, and then suddenly, BOO! "
― , The Pax Valley
11
" Very slowly, using only two fingers, Annabeth drew her dagger. Instead of dropping it, she tossed it as far as she could into the water.
Octavian made a squeaking sound. “What was that for? I didn’t say toss it! That could’ve been evidence. Or spoils of war!”
Annabeth tried for a dumb-blonde smile, like: Oh, silly me. Nobody who knew her would have been fooled. But Octavian seemed to buy it. He huffed in exasperation.
“You other two…” He pointed his blade at Hazel and Piper. “Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus—”
All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Annabeth’s dagger.
“You dropped this,” he said, totally poker-faced.
Annabeth threw her arms around him. “I love you!”
“Guys,” Hazel interrupted. She had a little smile on her face. “We need to hurry. "
― Rick Riordan , The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3)