Friday, 4-27-18

The week flashed by without much happening. I continued being Calypso's informant. Annabeth and I rarely talked, just chatting mindlessly every so often. Calypso even took her place and began watching my swim practices.

It was a cloudy Friday, the last one of April. The school year was coming to a close. My final swim meet of the season was five days away.

After a very rigorous training, I was starving. I changed into dark grey basketball shorts and a navy blue tee shirt. Deciding to play it safe, I climbed into a plain black hoodie. I quickly slid into my sneakers before rushing out of the locker room to talk with Calypso.

"That was fast," Calypso commented.

Her light brown hair was braided and draped across her shoulder, drawing attention to her shirt. It was an olive green, short sleeve shirt with capped sleeves and a high neck that conformed to her body. The color brought out the green in her eyes, which I had decided were more of a hazel than a plain brown. She was wearing light washed skinny jeans that were rolled up a few inches, and a pair of black Nikes.

I smiled. "I'm hungry. Do you want to grab something to eat?"

Her eyes flickered up to my face. "S-sure. I'm feeling for pizza. You?"

"I'm always down for pizza. Plus, I know the best place in Manhattan, and it's only a couple of blocks from here. Come on."

Calypso and I started walking to the parlor. After about a minute, Calypso turned toward me. I glanced at her. She looked ready to say something, but was completely holding herself back.

I frowned. "What?"

"It's nothing. Nothing important, anyway." She stared at the ground.

"No, tell me. You can always tell me. I don't like secrets."

Her cheeks flushed. "I was thinking about how the gloomy sky really brings out your eyes. You have beautiful eyes, Percy."

I smirked, trying to play the flattery off, but I was totally blushing like a cherry. "No guy likes being called beautiful, even if it's about his eyes."

She rolled her own eyes. "If you really were a tough guy, you'd accept the compliment."

I chuckled. "Thanks, Caly."

"I was also thinking about your hair. It is so perfectly messy. I think the length of it really suits you, Perce."

"Thanks." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why do you think that?"

"My father was a hairdresser, you know. Yeah, he had a local little store in my hometown. He wanted me to carry on the business but it wasn't my thing. I'm into gardening, like my mother was."

"That's cool. My mom used to garden."

"Why did she stop?"

I looked at Calypso. "She got busy. My mom's an up-and-coming author. She's been trying super hard to get noticed and get published. Plus, we live in an apartment. Not much space for gardening several stories in the air." I laughed.

Calypso frowned. "That's sad. Loads of people garden in California, especially the southern part. I guess life is different here."

"Very." I took in our surroundings. "Oh, look. We're here."

I opened the door for her. She giggled and stepped inside.

"Pick where ever," I told Caly.

She chose a booth in the back right corner, a few feet from the kitchen door. That's also where Nico and his friend Will were sitting over a week before when I had visited the same pizza parlor with Annabeth.

Coincidentally, we also received the same waitress: Silena.

"Oh, hey there, Percy!" she greeted. "No Annabeth today, huh? What can I get for you two for drinks?"

"What do you have for soda?" Caly asked.

"We've got Coke products here."

I smirked at Calypso. "No Pepsi for you."

She smiled sarcastically back. "I'll have a lemonade, if you've got any."

"Yup! And I'll assume you want a Coke, Perce?"

I nodded.

"Great! Be back in a jiffy!"

I scanned the menu. "It's my treat, so order whatever you want," I casually mentioned, making sure she knew.

Her head snapped up. "You don't have to, Perce. I brought money, I can cover for at least myself."

I shook my head. "No way."

"Can I at least do the tip?"

I sighed dramatically, my lips quirking into a smile. "Sure."

I continued searching for something that sparked my interest. I had a couple of options, but I wasn't sure.

"Have any ideas?" I asked.

"Do you want to just get a pizza to share?"

I shrugged. "That works. What's your favorite type?"

"I like Hawaiian pizza."

"Pineapple and ham? I dig it."

She giggled. "Great."

Silena swooped in with our drinks in her hands. "Ta da! Faster than you would even think!"

I laughed.

"So, you guys ready to order? My shift ends soon, so if not I'll be handing you over to another waiter, and I can't promise the same customer service." She winked.

"Yeah, we're good. We are going to get a large Hawaiian pizza, and some garlic bread too."

"Nice choice, my friend. Alright, be right back!"

"Oh, we know!" I called to her retreating back.

She threw her head back and laughed. Her long, silky, straight black hair flowed like water down to her waist.

"She's super nice," Calypso commented.

I nodded. "Yeah, she's pretty cool. She's dating my buddy Beckondorf - uh, Charles Beckondorf - and he brought her to one of my movie hangouts."

"Sounds fun. What is your favorite movie?"

"My favorite animated one is definitely Finding Nemo. Otherwise, I like action movies. The Pirates of the Caribbean ones are pretty good. I'm into superhero movies too. I love Ant Man." I took a sip of my Coke. "What about you?"

"I really loved Hercules as a little kid, but now I would say may favorite is Grease."

I nodded. "My mom likes that movie. You have a lot in common with her."

"Seems like I do."

"You'll have to come over sometime and meet her."

Calypso blushed and toyed with her napkin. "If you'd like."

I grinned. "Of course. She'll love you. We can watch movies with the others afterwards too, or something."

Calypso nodded, a small smile on her face.

Silena whirled to our table, a tray in hand.

"One large Hawaiian pizza, and some garlic bread, all freshly made. Do you two need anything?" She clasped her freshly freed hands together.

"I think we're all set," Calypso said, "but thank you."

Silena smiled. "Enjoy!"

We began munching on our pizza. I know that some people don't like pineapple on pizza, but that pizza made me wonder how. The way the sweet acidity of the pineapple melded with the tang of the tomato sauce - delicious.

I closed my eyes, savoring the commodity that I was experiencing.

Calypso laughed. "It is pretty good, huh?"

"The best in Manhattan, I'm telling you."

I glanced around the table and spotted the garlic bread, which peaked my interest.

"Try some of that," I told Caly, grabbing a piece for myself.

I sank my teeth into the saturated bread. It was very good. The saltiness was almost refreshing after the pineapple.

Calypso sighed. "Yeah, I love this place."

I laughed and took a sip of my drink.

We finished our food and soon enough Silena came back to us with the check. I put the proper amount of money in the little book, while Calypso left a generous tip, just as planned.

We left the parlor very happily.

"Where would you like to go, Calypso? Want me to walk you home?"

She blushed and stared at her feet. "Um, neither of my parents are home, and I'm not as comfortable in my new house yet. Maybe...could I meet your mother today?"

To be honest, her answer did surprise me. I thought she would be to nervous with the idea to jump at an opportunity so quickly.

"Sure. She should be home around now. Come on, my place is this way."

We walked to my apartment building rather quietly. I'm not entirely sure why.

Once we arrived, we trekked up the stairs and down the hall. I fumbled for my keys in my bag.

The door finally opened for us, and we walked inside.

"Mom?" I called.

No one answered.

I looked at Calypso. "No worries. She'll be here soon. Do you want a tour of the apartment?"

She nodded, her hazel eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Okay, well, this is the entryway. You can put your shoes right there, on the mat. To our right is the living room, or the family room, whatever you want to call it. It's where we have most of our movie hangouts. To our left is the kitchen, which is kind of combined with our dining room."

I walked to the far back wall, on the kitchen side of the house. Calypso followed.

"This little scuff on the wall is from when Annabeth, Grover, and I were playing cops and robbers. We were about - oh, maybe 13. Grover was the cop, me and Annabeth were robbers. I convinced her to do some type of cool spy trick. She didn't want to, but she took the challenge on. She totally fell, kicked the wall, and hurt herself. I was so sorry that I let her take home the entire batch of cookies my mom had made us."

I rubbed the back of my neck. I walked down the hallway, which is directly across from the door.

"This first door in our left is the pantry. Right there, on the right, is Mom and Paul's room. Next to that is my room. Over there, at the end of the hall, that's the bathroom, and across from my room is the spare room."

I opened my bedroom door. "Want to go in?"

Calypso shrugged. "Why not?"

We stepped inside of my safe haven. Looking straight from the doorway, my bed was right on your left, the head of it against the same wall as the door. On the right wall was my dresser, and beside that was my small closet. On top of the dresser, I had several trophies for swimming, and even a certificate in a frame from a camp I did in middle school with Annabeth and Grover. On the back wall, I had pinned several posters, all varying. I had a few posters of bands, a couple of my swimming idols, and even one with a picture of some sea turtles. In the far left corner of my room, I had a bean bag. My walls were a deep blue, and the hardwood floor were covered by a humongous rug.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"It looks good. Did you decorate in here by yourself?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Annabeth helped me, during the winter of eighth grade."

Calypso nodded. "Cool."

I heard the door shut. "That must be my mom. Let's go see her."

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That was very long! 1822 words! It was all about Calypso and Percys quickly fashioned friendship. What did you think?

In case you are wondering, this is what I picture Percy's hair as (sorry about the arrow in the corner lol)

Anyway, hope you liked it! Leave a vote of you enjoyed and comment if you like pineapple on pizza or not! I do!