Excerpt: Autocosm

Gregor, always the competitive one, also began to climb out of the pool of water, at a speed that would impress even spider man. When he got to the top, he pointed and shouted at Royce, “I win!” and then made a triumphant leap. What he really meant was that he was faster than Royce, which he ended up having to explain to him over a series of cocky retorts.
“I guess we might as well get out,” shrugged Annabeth.
“Sure,” Houl commented. “Ladies first.”
Annabeth graciously said “Thank you,” and was about to climb out when she froze. She turned and glared at Houl. “No, you first,” she said with a cold expression.
“No, I insist,” he persisted.
“Are you kidding me? I know what you’re trying to do!”
“I don’t. I’m just being polite. Please inform me.”
“You pervert. Look, it’s a near vertical climb up there!”
“Pervert? Since when did you call gentlemen perverts?” he exclaimed in exaggerated and most likely acted shock and offense.
“Gentlemen? You just want to get a chance to look at my ass!”
“Look, if you insist on being so stubborn, I’ll go first.”
She was yelling now. “Oh, way to stray away from the topic when I have you cornered!”
“I’m on topic!” he yelled back as he began to scale the cliff.
“Not the topic of importance here!”
“I’m on the general topic, okay?!”
“Not close enough!”
Royce and Gregor laughed at the argument as they waited at the top. “Oh, come on, Annabeth,” said Gregor, “it’s not every day you meet someone who compliments you on your looks!”
“You little twerp!” she screamed from the bottom of the cliff. “I’m going to kill you!” she then summoned up all of her might and scrambled up the cliff, pushing off Houl on her way up, and lunged at Gregor, who shrieked and crouched into a ball. She stopped at the last moment and put on a smile. “It’s okay, I’m not actually going to hurt you,” she told him. It was when Gregor stood up and smiled with relief that she kicked him in the knee. “Never say that again!” she yelled as she walked away, leaving him hopping up and down and breathing heavily from the pain as he smiled.