The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

inside.
    ‘Come on, babe!’ the satyr said. ‘You know it’s not like that!’
    Frank froze. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Hazel had mentioned being worried about the coach. She’d insisted something was bothering him, but Frank hadn’t thought much of it until now.
    He’d never heard the coach talk so
gently
. Usually the only sounds Frank heard from the coach’s cabin were sporting events on the TV, or the coach yelling, ‘Yeah! Get ’em!’ as he watched his favourite martial arts movies. Frank was pretty sure the coach wouldn’t be calling Chuck Norris
babe
.
    Another voice spoke – female, but barely audible, like it was coming from a long way away.
    ‘I will,’ Coach Hedge promised. ‘But, uh, we’re going into battle –’ he cleared his throat – ‘and it may get ugly. You just
stay safe
. I’ll get back. Honest.’
    Frank couldn’t stand it any more. He knocked loudly. ‘Hey, Coach?’
    The talking stopped.
    Frank counted to six. The door flew open.
    Coach Hedge stood there scowling, his eyes bloodshot, like he’d been watching too much TV. He wore his usual baseball cap and gym shorts, with a leather cuirass over hisshirt and a whistle hanging from his neck, maybe in case he wanted to call a foul against the monster armies.
    ‘Zhang. What do you want?’
    ‘Uh, we’re getting ready for battle. We need you above deck.’
    The coach’s goatee quivered. ‘Yeah. Course you do.’ He sounded strangely unexcited about the prospect of a fight.
    ‘I didn’t mean to – I mean, I heard you talking,’ Frank stammered. ‘Were you sending an Iris-message?’
    Hedge looked like he might smack Frank in the face or at least blow the whistle really loud. Then his shoulders slumped. He heaved a sigh and turned inside, leaving Frank standing awkwardly in the doorway.
    The coach plopped down on his berth. His cupped his chin in his hand and stared glumly around his cabin. The place looked like a college dorm room after a hurricane – the floor strewn with laundry (maybe for wearing, maybe for snacks; it was hard to tell with satyrs), DVDs and dirty dishes scattered around the TV on the dresser. Every time the ship tilted, a mismatched herd of sports equipment rolled across the floor – footballs, basketballs, baseballs and, for some reason, a single billiard ball. Tufts of goat hair floated through the air and collected under the furniture in clumps. Dust goats? Goat bunnies?
    On the coach’s nightstand sat a bowl of water, a stack of golden drachmas, a flashlight and glass prism for making rainbows. The coach had obviously come prepared to make a lot of Iris-messages.
    Frank remembered what Piper had told him about the coach’s cloud nymph girlfriend who worked for Piper’s dad. What was the girlfriend’s name … Melinda? Millicent? No, Mellie.
    ‘Uh, is your girlfriend Mellie all right?’ Frank ventured.
    ‘None of your business!’ the coach snapped.
    ‘Okay.’
    Hedge rolled his eyes. ‘Fine! If you must know – yes, I was talking to Mellie. But she’s not my girlfriend any more.’
    ‘Oh …’ Frank’s heart sank. ‘You broke up?’
    ‘No, you dolt! We got married! She’s my wife!’
    Frank would’ve been less stunned if the coach had smacked him. ‘Coach, that’s – that’s great! When – how –?’
    ‘None of your business!’ he yelled again.
    ‘Um … all right.’
    ‘End of May,’ the coach said. ‘Just before the
Argo II
sailed. We didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.’
    Frank felt like the ship was tilting again, but it must have been just him. The herd of wild sports equipment stayed put against the far wall.
    All this time the coach had been
married
? In spite of being a newlywed, he’d agreed to come on this quest. No wonder Hedge made so many calls back home. No wonder he was so cranky and belligerent.
    Still … Frank sensed there was more going on. The coach’s tone during the Iris-message made it sound like they were discussing a problem.
    ‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,’ Frank said. ‘But … is she okay?’
    ‘It was a private conversation!’
    ‘Yeah. You’re right.’
    ‘Fine! I’ll tell you.’ Hedge plucked some fur off his thigh and let it float through the air. ‘She took a break from her job in L.A., went to Camp Half-Blood for the summer, because we figured –’ His voice cracked. ‘We figured it would be safer. Now she’s stuck there, with the Romans about to attack.