You know how teachers tell you the magic word is 'please'? That's not true. The magic word is 'puke'. It will get you out of class faster than anything else.

Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.

Maybe if he did really well they'd give him some mouldy apples.

Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face.

It is," I said. "And it's not even difficult. But I need your promise on the River Styx." "What?" Dionysus cried. "You don't trust us?" "Someone once told me," I said, looking at Hades, "you should always get a solemn oath." Hades shrugged. "Guilty.

Now, come over here so I can pat you down." "But you don't have-" Percy stopped. "Uh, sure." He stood next to the armless statue. Terminus conducted a rigorous mental pat down. "You seem to be clean," Terminus decided. "Do you have anything to declare?" "Yes," Percy said. "I declare that this is stupid.

So for Magic Problem-Solving 101, we headed to the training room and blew stuff up.