Percy hadn't really left Olympus since becoming a god. One aspect of himself or another had always stuck around, riding out the last of the victory party, attending godhood orientation, and even getting into a scuffle with Ares. But mostly Percy explored every part of Olympus he'd never seen before.

Granted, a lot of it was rubble, but many gods had used magic to build makeshift throne rooms where their palaces had been. Percy had visited a few of them, and he was already learning the ropes of how the gods traded favors.

Apollo's was one of the more lavish temporary throne rooms. The seats were lined with velvet cushions, and Apollo's own throne was completely gold. A guitar serenaded Percy inside.

"Percy Jackson!" said Apollo. "I assume you're here to praise my godhood orientation video! Yours was the first showing since its premiere, you know."

"Oh. Yeah," said Percy. He should've known it was Apollo who'd put that together. "Yeah, it was great. I really loved the, uh, fireworks."

"Right? Clio thought it was too much, but I told her it really set the mood, you know?"

"It definitely did that," said Percy. "But I also wanted to talk to you about something else. You run Hephaestus TV, right?"

"Of course!" said Apollo. "Can you imagine if the old blacksmith were in charge of the actual content on there? It'd be a total snooze fest. Of course he turned it over to me . . . even if he does still get branding rights and royalties."

"Right. Well, I wanted to ask you if I could run a regular PSA on unclaimed demigods."

Apollo frowned. "What about them?"

"Most of the demigods who fought for Kronos were unclaimed, you know. Being crammed into the Hermes cabin, feeling like your godly parent doesn't care about you - it's so demoralizing. Being a demigod is hard enough already. The gods can make it easier on their kids if they at least claim them by the time they're thirteen."

"Huh. You make a good point, Percy. I like to think I'm good about claiming my children. . . . At least, I don't think any of the unclaimed kids are mine . . ."

"I'm sure it's just an honest mistake most of the time. Some gods have a lot of kids, and they don't realize how much time goes by. They lose track. But if we did regular PSAs featuring one or two unclaimed demigods - we'd include where they're from, who their mortal parent is, stuff like that - it would make a big difference."

"I don't see us doing a PSA," said Apollo. Before Percy could protest, he continued, "I see us doing a whole feature. I want to capture the angst, the pathos, directly from the source. I haven't done a documentary in ages, and they're back in vogue. . . . Would you host?"

"Me? But I'm not an actor."

"Nonsense. You and that Annabeth girl did great in that special broadcast from a water park a few years ago."

Percy blushed. "That wasn't acting."

"That's what I mean! You're a natural -"

"Excuse me, Lord Apollo? I'm here for your consultation . . ."

Percy whirled around just as Annabeth came through the door. She stopped short when she saw Percy. He didn't blame her. They had been friendly the last time they talked, but their new situation was still uncomfortable.

"Speak of the devil!" said Apollo, not acknowledging the awkwardness between them. "Annabeth, you have to convince Percy to host on my latest project."

"Your latest project?"

"My documentary on unclaimed demigods at Camp Half-Blood! Percy's a perfect host for it, don't you think?"

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not really the showbiz type . . ." He looked pleadingly at Annabeth, hoping she would talk Apollo out of it.

He should've known better than to think she'd ever make it easy on him. "Well if a documentary is going to have a host, it should be someone who has personal experience with the subject matter," said Annabeth. "Otherwise there's no credibility. And gods are more willing to listen to another god. So unless you know any other gods who have experience with being unclaimed . . ."

Whenever Annabeth made sense, she always made too much sense. "Fine, I'll do it," said Percy. "But I'm going to need a lot of coaching, Apollo."

"Oh, just act natural," said Annabeth, a little irritably. She never had much patience with Percy acting unsure of himself. "You're a personable guy, Percy. That's why people listen to you."

"Pers'nable Percy," began Apollo. "Poseidon's new attendant / A fabulous host."

Before he could start another haiku, Annabeth said, "Speaking of fabulous, I wanted to get your feedback on this redesign of your palace . . ." She pulled Daedalus's laptop from her bag.

"Yes, of course," said Apollo. "We'll hammer out the details on the documentary later, Percy. Good luck with your other reforms!"

Percy hadn't mentioned any of said reforms directly to Apollo, but this didn't bother him. As the god of prophecy, Apollo wasn't always as clueless as he sometimes acted. Maybe Apollo had foreseen Percy's plans going well. . . . Or maybe he'd just heard Percy was sponsoring the new cabins at Camp Half-Blood.

Whatever. Percy would rather believe that luck was actually on his side for a change.

Percy was still getting used to having a cell phone. Half the time he had it on ringer when it needed to be on vibrate, and vice versa. He'd replaced two phones in two weeks because he kept losing them. (If Percy knew more magic, he'd be able to summon the phones from wherever he'd left them. But he was having a hard time getting the hang of it.) It was enough to make Percy consider going back to Iris-messaging only.

The only thing stopping him was Annabeth. Now that they both had phones, they could text each other every day. Although they were both slow texters, and even autocorrect didn't catch all their spelling mistakes (when it didn't make it worse), texting was still less awkward than talking in person. Daily texts also kept Percy and Annabeth in much closer contact than they'd had any other school year.

Can't wait to see you and apallo running around camp with a film crew Percy's phone chirped at him. Annabeth's text was signed with a couple cry-laughing emoji.

Well see whose laughing when we interview you

Nah. Athena claimed me my first night at camp. No cabinet 11 for me

Of course she did

Um yeah literally all the goods where watching when we came to camp

True. It would be out of character for the gods to miss Zeus's daughter being turned into a tree after being chased by a horde of monsters.

Oh. Yeah I guest they would be

So tholias going to be in town this weekend

Cool

She wants to hit up lee parker meridien with us

Why

Because we agreed two? When the hunters stepped in to cover Lincoln tunnel during the battle of Manhattan remember

Oh yeah

Since Amphitrite's reveal, Thalia had loomed in the back of Percy's mind like the due date for a book report. Not quite real, but vaguely threatening. He tried not to think how their next hangout would go. Soon the secret would be staring him in the face.

Lol its not like you to forgot cheeseburger plans

Yeah but allot happened sink then

Yeah. Allot has changed

Not everything tho

I though that's why you became a god. Because you wanted thinks to change

Yeah I no

And your already getting a lot done in a short amount of time

Helps to able to split yourself into 3 people

Nice. Doesn't explain why the other gods get nothing done

Haha

Srsly tho I'm glad your getting allot done. Idk if I could stand it otherwise

Ok idk how to take that

I just mean you no what I said last time you were at camp

Yeah

How could Percy forget? When he had tried to explain to Annabeth why he had become a god, she had understood right away. "You still want to be the hero," she'd said.

"That's not a bad thing, you know," Percy had said defensively.

"It's not," she'd said. "But you know . . . it was so embarrassing when my mom called you out on your fatal flaw, but she had a point. You can't always have it all."

What the heck? Percy had thought. It hadn't even been two hours since Athena had congratulated Percy on saving both his friends and the world. "I've managed just fine so far," he'd said testily.

"Yeah, but there's more than one way to lose a friend, Percy."

"But . . . we'll still be friends, won't we?"

"For as long as we can." Annabeth had looked away. "Look, I don't blame you for taking up this opportunity. And whatever sacrifices you make . . . well, the people you'll help will be worth it."

Percy had taken her hand. "I'm not looking to make any sacrifices anytime soon."

It wood be harder dealing with all these if it weren't for something really important Annabeth texted.

Yeah I get it

Good. So lee parker meridien Friday at 6?

Sounds good

I'll let tholia no