“Red cattle," Annabeth said. "The cattle of the sun.""What?" I [Percy] asked."They're sacred to Apollo.""Holy cows?”

“I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows- slow, dumb, and bright red.”

“Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people."She nodded. "And so...hypothetically, if these to people likes each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?""Oh..." I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows-slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um...”

“Whenever Percy stopped by to see [Annabeth], she was so lost in thought that the conversation went something like this:Percy: 'Hey, how's it going?'Annabeth: 'Uh, no thanks.'Percy: 'Okay...have you eaten anything today?'Annabeth: 'I think Leo is on duty. Ask him.'Percy: 'So, my hair is on fire.'Annabeth: 'Okay, in a while.”

“Percy, you're a brave guy," [Annabeth] said. "Just take the compliment. I swear, is it so hard?”

“Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot." "He's the sun god," I said."That's not what I meant.”

“Blackjack," Percy said, "this is Piper and Jason. They're friends."The horse nickered."Uh, maybe later," Percy answered.Piper had heard that Percy could speak to horses, being the son of the horse lord Poseidon, but she'd never seen it in action."What does Blackjack want?" she asked."Donuts," Percy said. "Always donuts.”