19 Chapter 19

Alex walked slowly down the aisle, glancing at the cashier and then at the camera poised above him on the ceiling. He chewed the inside of his mouth, knowing this wasn't a great idea, but they'd run out of money. Glancing again, he noticed the cashier occupied with money — it was now or never. Breathe in, breathe out. It will just be like the few other times.

His fingers grazed the large package. His backpack was nearly empty, with only his sword and a few ambrosia cubes in it. He needed space for the pizza boxes. Carefully, looking at each side of the aisle, he placed the pizzas in the pack. He removed his hand and looked at the cashier. The fat man hadn't noticed. Alex felt a smirk coming — first step complete.

He pulled his Yankees cap down. The way he was dressed, varsity jacket and all, he looked just like a regular jock; someone not suspicious in his books.

"Hey!" an angry voice called, causing him to jump. "You have to pay for that!"

Or maybe not, Alex thought. With a big sigh, he immediately bolted for the convenience store door. The employee wasn't expecting the quick reaction, and for a moment, looked at Alex, wide-eyed and speechless, like a deer caught in headlights.

The boy smirked. Too easy.

He heard the cashier — a chubby but strong-looking man — shouting at him. In his peripherals, he saw him charging at him with the intent of tackling. Alex simply raised his hand sneakily as he ran.

The cashier slipped. When he tried to get up, he panicked and brought his hands to his face, exclaiming: "My… my eyes! I can't see!"

Alex laughed. Seeing someone so intimidating crying over something that would disappear in a few seconds was funny. He jumped over an employee who threw himself in his path, using the man's back as a platform to propel himself forward out of the store. He stretched his wings before he even touched the ground and flew away.

Minutes later, he was sitting by some discarded boxes one block away in an alleyway, trying to stretch his back from the cramps he'd get from flying. He could barely do it for five minutes, and couldn't really go that high yet, but at least he was getting better than before.

The young demigod leaned back on the brick wall of the building. Seconds later, he heard hurried steps and happy giggles approaching him.

"I did it, Alex! I did it!" Annabeth yelled in glee, smiling from ear to ear. Her blond locks bobbed with each step, and she had her hand raised high in the air, a thick stack of dollars in it.

Alex laughed. "Good fuckin' job, pipsqueak!" The little girl presented him with the stack. He took it gently from her hands and began counting. Their plan had been simple: Alex would distract the cashier and employees of the mini-mart while Annabeth went for the register. Pretty simple, but-

"What's 'fuckin'?" Annabeth asked, bringing a finger to her chin.

The stack of bills fell to the floor, dirtying them with grim and trash. Alex quickly gathered them so they didn't get ruined further, and then looked at Annabeth.

"Well, uh- how do I tell you this… oh! I know. How about next time your mother comes to talk to you in your dreams, you ask her?"

"Alright!"

The boy sighed in relief. Crisis averted. He had lost count of the days since he met Annabeth, but he was sure it was now around the seven-month mark. Summer was almost over, but the hot temperatures didn't stop him from wearing the Nemean Lion jacket. Actually, it was Annabeth who had been using it the most, but in case the plan went wrong, he wore it this time.

A lot and, at the same time, barely anything had changed aside from the temperature. It all began when Annabeth's mother, the goddess Athena, came to her in her dreams. Alex thought at first it was just that — a dream — and that Annabeth must've missed(?) her godly mother. But when things became a bit more specific about certain topics (Topics which he will not elaborate on), he had to believe it was real.

Athena started with simple things. Days which they should leave the boundaries of the cabin or not, depending on the quantity of monsters nearby. Then, weirdly, she told her daughter some exact coordinates without elaborating. Alex had no choice but to go there blind, only to find some weird supplies he had no idea about. So, the next night, Athena came to Annabeth's dreams again and explained to her how Alex could make dummies to train with using those materials.

From that day onwards, both Alex and Annabeth began training, using the assembled dummies Alex made. Alex, too, tried to teach Annabeth some moves, even if he thought they were a bit rudimentary. He never learned from anyone, after all.

200… 400… 800!

"Jesus Christ, pipsqueak! You got us enough to last us two months!" Alex exclaimed, ruffling her head in happiness.

Annabeth gave him another grin filled with pride. "Hehe!"

"You know what?" Alex asked, setting four fifty dollar bills aside and putting the rest in the backpack. "How about we go buy some stuff you want to celebrate? Then we can eat pizza! I got those with extra olives you like so much."

"Really?" Her eyes beamed with excitement.

"Really, Annabeth. You got 200 dollars to spend on whatever you like!"

==========

He should've considered his words better. The two of them were running around downtown, Annabeth wanting to check out each store. Funnily enough, she wasn't attracted to the shops Alex thought girls liked like dELiA*s or Caché. They stopped by countless stores selling drawing supplies, books, and one or two clothing stores.

Hot Topic seemed to repulse the little girl, but Alex couldn't help himself from looking at the showcase. It read, in large pink letters, "All about the music." Korn, Manson, Hello Kittie shirts, those giant goth boots, the Tripp pants that Alex really wanted a pair of, studded belts/bracelets, the Living Dead Dolls. It even had a small section for those weird Asian cartoons.

Alex used to buy all his favourite band tees from it. Honestly, he had been collecting some vinyl records so he could hear music, seeing as if he tried a Sony Walkman or a Discman, monsters would swarm after him.

The kiddo wasn't really a fan of the music Alex heard, but that was because her eyes had yet to be opened to the wonders of rock and metal. Well, at least she liked Radiohead and the Pixies. Nirvana was still a work in progress.

After buying everything Annabeth wanted, they sat in a coffee shop and got some shakes and doughnuts to snack on. The little girl happily told him everything she bought: A large sketchbook, some lining pens, a long and a short ruler, an adjustable triangle, a compass, some paper mache, a tape measure, styrofoam and some wooden sticks. It was a lot of stuff, and Alex had to admit he had no idea what some of those things were for. He liked to think he was smart when it came to battle tactics and fighting, but to anything else, especially stuff related to math and arts, he wasn't the brightest tool in the shed.

He guessed he had a knack when it came to mechanics, but that came from his dad hammering the knowledge into his brain while they fixed Grandpa's old truck.

"Enjoying the meal?" A waitress asked. She had her dark hair tied up in a bun, and a soft smile playing on her face.

"Oh, uh… yes, everything is good," Alex answered awkwardly.

"Then let me know if you need anything else, alright?"

The waitress left, and Alex stared at her leave. He couldn't get the feeling that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Annabeth asked. She had drunk her shake a bit too eagerly, and now her lower face was painted white by the chantilly.

Alex turned to her and chuckled. "Nothing's wrong, pipsqueak. Actually, stay still."

He reached for his backpack, and after searching around for a while, brought out a Polaroid camera. Before Annabeth could react, he pressed the camera button and the typical sound of a photo being taken echoed.

"Hey!" She exclaimed and leaned forward to pry the developing photo out of Alex's hands.

"Too late, kiddo!" He laughed, leaning back and raising his arm to get it out of range.

He'd started making Hal's diary a photo album as well. Annabeth always wanted to prepare before a photo, but Alex always thought that the expontaneous ones were always more pretty and genuine. Still, once in a while, he'd bend to her whims, and let her wash her face and fix her hair before taking a picture.

The album was a way to preserve their good times in case… they were separated. Alex wanted Annabeth to grow up and be able to look back on her childhood. So had to record their memories.

"You children want a refill?"

This time, the voice was far deeper, like someone who had their throat burned was speaking. Alex looked up. A man, easily above 7'0, was towering over the table. He was dressed in the same uniform as the waitress: white shirt, green pants, and black apron. But it seemed to be a few sizes below, seeing how the man's bulging muscles almost popped out.

Alex finally understood what was wrong. He looked up at the dude's face, and for a moment, the mist shimmered. He didn't have two eyes, but a large big one on the centre of his face. He was smiling wickedly, and his yellow teeth were crooked. There was what appeared like the start of a stache above his mouth.

"You guys always gotta ruin our leisure time." Alex sighed, sitting up.

"What'd ya say, shorty?" The cyclops asked, frowning with his single brow.

Alex grabbed his doughnut and took a bite, tonguing the piece into his cheek. "We're just passing time. Don't get pissy."

The cyclops grunted a laugh. "That's a kinda fresh answer, there, dinky. I'm gonna have to put that on your tab. Hmm… I'm feeling like eating some fingers. Five of them. Pay up."

Annabeth bolted up, but Alex motioned for her to keep calm. Giving her a wink, he spun like he was delivering a back fist. The doughnut hand caught the surprised cyclops behind the ear and bent him over. Alex forehanded his elbow into the monster's nose; a mix of blood and golden dust spurt, and the cyclops went straight and then over backwards to measure his length in the pavement.

The little girl grabbed her dagger and disappeared underneath the tables. The thick traffic of passersby outside remained oblivious, but the customers inside left quickly, muttering something about a 'brawl'.

Cyclops dude, who was still clutching his face, threw a wide right punch, but Alex tilted to the left and spun. A roundhouse kick hit the monster square in the jaw, which came loose on impact.

"You witwle shit!"

In an acrobatic flip, Alex grabbed his sword from the backpack and landed on top of a table. He pointed it at the monster and smirked. The gleam of celestial bronze seemed to scare him, and as it should. When Alex had a sword in hand, he felt like he could do anything.

"You're on my turf now."