Krystal109
Guest
|
 |
« on: February 09, 2010, 03:40:30 PM » |
|
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapter 3: Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants
Written by Krystal
As soon as the bus arrived at the station Percy ditched Grover, despite agreeing to let him walk him home, and headed home alone.
Before you meet Percy’s mother you should know that Sally Jackson is the sweetest woman in the world, but is proof that good things do not always come to those that are good natured. Her parents had died in a plane crash, raised by an unloving uncle, and dropped out of college to take care of said uncle. In fact, the only good thing that had happened to Sally was meeting Percy’s father, but even that ended in disaster. Now she was married to an ungrateful man by the name of Gabe Ugliano.
When Percy entered the apartment Gabe sat with his friend’s playing cards, a cloud of smoke surrounding them. As expected, Gabe forced Percy to hand over his cash before he headed angrily to his room. After only a short while Percy heard his mother’s voice as she opened the bedroom door and joined him on the bed. They embraced each other and then ‘Smelly Gabe’ called for Sally to make some dip. Sally ignored him while she listened to Percy talk about school, but knew he was holding something back in his tale. She threw the thought aside and announced that they were going to Montauk, the beach where his parents had met.
Gabe appeared in the doorway requesting his bean dip and was shocked to learn that Sally indeed planned on taking his car for the weekend. Of course, the money would come out of her clothing fund and Percy had to apologize to him for interrupting their poker game. Swallowing his anger and pride, Percy apologized and Sally went off to make the dip.
An hour later Percy was packed and ready to leave as Gabe issued him warnings about scratching his ’78 Camaro, as if he could drive at twelve. As Gabe walked back inside Percy made a gesture, the same he had seen Grover perform, and watched as Gabe went flying up a flight of stairs before Sally drove off.
They arrived at Montauk at sunset and opened up all the windows before eating all the blue candy she had brought home for him. When it got dark they made a fire and ate marshmallows as Sally told stories of when Percy was a child. Eventually getting up the nerve to ask about his father Percy learns that although he knew of Percy, he never met him; a surprise to Percy who seems to recall his warmth. The conversation takes a turn for the worse when they talked of Percy going to school somewhere else. His mother burst into tears as she told him that he had to go away to be safe and memories rushed into Percy’s head. Turns out, Percy’s father wanted him to go to a special school but she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
That night Percy had a vivid dream about a white horse and golden eagle fighting on the storming beach. When he woke it was really storming and there was someone pounding on the front door. Both Sally and Percy rushed to the door and found Grover standing before them with no pants on, cursing in Ancient Greek, and everything Percy thought he knew shattered.
Characters Involved
Percy Jackson
Gabe Ugliano
Eddie
Sally Jackson
Grover Underwood
Characters Mentioned
Mrs. Dodds/Alecto
Mr. Brunner
Places Visited
Percy’s Apartment
Montauk
Memorable Quotes
Percy: Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal. (Page 29)
Percy: Her name is Sally Jackson and she’s the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. (Page 29)
Percy: Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell would’ve covered up everything else. (Page 31)
Percy: I loved the place.
We’d been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she’d met my dad. (Page 37)
Grover: “O Zeu kai alloi theoi!” he yelled. “It’s right behind me! Didn’t you tell her?”
Percy: I was too shocked to register that he’d just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I’d understood him perfectly. (Page 42)
Questions for consideration:
What do you think is so significant about the sixth grade when it comes to Percy?
Why do you think Percy’s mom wasn’t surprised to see Grover? How did he know to find them at the beach?
|
Author