Sun kissed - Apollo.

4: Grover unexpectedly loses his pants.

Confession time: Percy made us ditch Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.

He told me. "I know, I know. It is rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man."

I couldn't blame my twin for that really, Grover was freaking me out too with his muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to he sixth grade?"

It gave me the creeps that he talked like that, like Medusa was gonna surprise jump us and turn us into stone.

Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made us promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, Percy got our suitcases, pulled me along, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," he told the driver.

"I don't feel good about leaving him." I told him.

But i got the same reason again from Percy. Even if it didn't sit well with me for leaving Grover behind. He was getting even on my nerves with his anxious manners. So I couldn't dwell on it for long.

A word about my mother, before you meet her.

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. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.

I don't have any memories of him, but Percy got just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.

See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.

Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea. I think he might be some sailer or something, maybe he is in some special department of the marines.

She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised us on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew we weren't easy kids.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When Percy and i were young, Percy nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.

Between the two of them, Percy and Gabe, they made mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and Percy got along ... well, when we came home is a good example.

I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."

"Where's our mom?" Percy said, not beating around the bush.

"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"

That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?