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“Look,” Annabeth said, “There’s a hotel ahead. We should rest for the night.” She pointed towards a tall, luxurious building with a bright sign reading “Lotus Hotel & Casino.” It looked way more expensive than Percy thought they could afford, especially with very little ‘real’ cash, but if Annabeth suggested it, she must’ve had a plan. Or she wanted to go gambling with her new freedom from the camp. He knew Grover would be up for that.
Grover nodded eagerly. He clambered behind his two friends. He was still annoyed about their ride to Vegas in the back of an illegal animal-transporting truck. He brushed a hand through his hair and followed closely behind his best friend.
The hotel looked more deserted than most other Vegas buildings, but none of them stopped to think about the lack of customers going in and out. Even though they looked like teenage street urchins with Percy carrying their best bag of supplies, they were greeted warmly by a hotel attendant. He tipped his hat to Annabeth. She frowned back at him before leaning to look into the sparkling lounge through the set of tall glass doors. The architecture was beautiful and almost antique-looking, but she was surprised to see the rows of arcade games. Behind them were rock climbing walls and waterslides. She looked at her friends and saw they were entranced by them as well.
“You three look very tired. Please, come in and sit.” The adult smiled at them and motioned towards the doors. A woman in a vibrant violet suit with a gold name-tag was already holding a door open. The three kids exchanged looks with each other. It seemed like a safe enough place.
Yet another employee shows up once inside. He’s dressed more casually than the first two, but Percy, being so good with making inferences, can tell by the lotuses on his shirt and the “Lotus Hotel and Casino” tag pinned to his chest. He smiles just as warmly as the others and hands Percy a card. He explains which room they’re in and that their new Lotus Card has unlimited cash for anything in the hotel. This is when Percy gets a little suspicious. Oh well.
Annabeth led them cheerfully to their room, where the three of them changed into clean clothes. Percy was excited by the choice of items. He never owned a lot of clothes and spent most of his middle school days in old band shirts, but he did like having new, unripped jeans. Annabeth went for whatever neutral-colored clothes she saw first.
Back in the huge lobby, they separated. Percy decided to go to the arcade games first and start the night off with some simple games. And there weren’t many people, so he wouldn’t have to wait in a long line for the waterslide if he chose to do it later. Last he saw of Grover, he was running (quite animal-like) across the lobby to the laser-tag room. Annabeth was a few yards from him playing trivia games with another girl their age.
Percy whistled quietly while scanning the games. Most of them were either empty or had a person like him moving between activities. Towards the corner of the room, there were two racing games setup next to each other. There was a variety of brightly-colored buttons on each with random numbers and ‘boost!’ When he was closer, he saw a boy around his age, maybe a year of two younger, in one of the seats. His CashCard laid carelessly next to the pay slot. He had loose dark hair, longer than Percy’s, and tan skin. Percy stared at his screen as the boy effortlessly drifted his maserati through the city. The car showed up on the other screen, too, and Percy realized they were connected, so two people could race each other.
“Can I play?” He said, just loud enough to reach the boy. He didn’t respond until the Maserati flew over the finish line and a large FIRST popped up on his screen. He used a joystick to type NICO into the leaderboard.
He turned around to quietly inspect Percy. His messy hair shook, falling into his eyes, as he nodded. “Yeah,” He said, smiling, “Be ready to lose, though.” Percy laughed and ran his card. He spun the wheel until a Ford GT popped up. Nico watched him silently choose his car and the racing city, because his was still set up from his win. Percy grinned at him as the race started, and Nico grinned back when he saw Percy put them in Venice.
Percy quickly pulled ahead to first place, and he wondered if Nico was letting him win. He glanced at Nico while on a straight road and was surprised to see him watching him. He fumbled and looked back at the road, nervous to have been caught. He had been at the hotel with his sister for almost a month and had never seen Percy. He never noticed many new guests. Especially teenage boys with sea green eyes and tousled hair.
With his attention back on racing, Nico drifted and slammed the boost button multiple times until Percy’s car was in sight.
“Crap,” Percy muttered, trying to push his gas pedal harder, even though it was already to the floor. Nico passed him and centered his Maserati, so Percy couldn’t pull forward. “Hey! That’s not fair!”
“If you want first, you’re going to have to pass me,” Nico said, taunting. Now that he was in the lead, he could relax. Percy glared at him, but he was failing at hiding his amusement. He rarely played arcade racing games, so just being in 2nd was an achievement.
“Too late,” Nico said as he crossed the finish line with Percy behind him. Percy sighed sadly, but put his hand out for a ‘good game’ handshake. Nico smugly shook it. He was glad Percy wasn’t a sore loser.
“I’ll get you next time.” Percy said.