THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH Percy Jackson ... - No one's invited.

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My mom sighed. “Not so much now. When I was younger it was easier. But yes, I’ve always been able
to see more than was good for me. It’s one of the things that caught your father’s attention, when we first
met. Just be careful. Promise me you’ll be safe.”
“We’ll try, Ms. Jackson,” Annabeth said. “Keeping your son safe is a big job, though.” She folded her
arms and glared out the kitchen window. I picked at my napkin and tried not to say anything.
My mom frowned. “What’s going on with you two? Have you been fighting?”
Neither of us said anything.
“I see,” my mom said, and I wondered if she could see through more than just the Mist. It sounded like
she understood what was going on with Annabeth and me, butI sure as heck didn’t. “Well, remember,”
she said, “Grover and Tyson are counting on you two.”
“I know,” Annabeth and I said at the same time, which embarrassed me even more.
My mom smiled. “Percy, you’d better use the phone in the hall. Good luck.”
I was relieved to get out of the kitchen, even though I was nervous about what I was about to do. I went
to the phone and placed the call. The number had washed off my hand a long time ago, but that was
okay. Without meaning to, I’d memorized it.
We arranged a meeting in Times Square. We found Rachel Elizabeth Dare in front of the Marriott
Marquis, and she was completely painted gold.
***
I mean, her face, her hair, her clothes—everything. She looked like she’d been touched by King Midas.
She was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic—copper, bronze, silver. They were
frozen in different poses while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. Some passerby threw money at
the tarp on the sidewalk.
The sign at Rachel’s feet said, URBAN ART FOR KIDS, DONATIONS APPRECIATED.
Annabeth and I stood there for like five minutes, staring at Rachel, but if she noticed us she didn’t let on.
She didn’t move or even blink that I could see. Being ADHD and all, I could not have done that.
Standing still that long would’ve driven me crazy. It was weird to see Rachel in gold, too. She looked like
a statue of somebody famous, an actress or something. Only her eyes were normal green.
“Maybe if we push her over,” Annabeth suggested.
I thought that was a little mean, but Rachel didn’t respond. After another few minutes, a kid in silver
walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he’d been taking a break. He took a pose like he was
lecturing the crowd, right next to Rachel. Rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.
“Hey, Percy.”She grinned. “Good timing! Let’s get some coffee.”
We walked down to a place called the Java Moose on West 43rd. Rachel ordered an Espresso
Extreme, the kind of stuff Grover would like. Annabeth and I got fruit smoothies and we sat at a table
right under the stuffed moose. Nobody even looked twice at Rachel in her golden outfit.