Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever they went, campers pointed at Percy and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth and Andi, who were still pretty much dripping wet.
They showed Percy a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.
Finally They returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins. "I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."
"Annabeth, Andi. I'm sorry about the toilets."
"Whatever." Andi could tell it wasn't whatever. Which was sad because she wanted her best friend and possible crush( She wasn't ready to label it a crush but if Percy kept being so goddamn cute, it would become a full on crush.) to get along.
"It wasn't my fault." Wrong move.
She looked at him skeptically, and Percy seemed to realize it was his fault. He'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. He clearly didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to him. He had become one with the plumbing( Tots a nickname idea.)
"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.
"Who?"
"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."
"Nope! Annabeth no need for the Oracle." Andi butted in. "Remember the Peter situation. He just got here. He's new to this!" And he just lost his mother, but Andi doubted that he would like the reminder.
Percy stared into the lake, so Andi couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she was sure that she sure a thankful smile on his face. Percy clearly wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at him from the bottom, so he jumped when he noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. Naiads. They smiled and waved as if he were a long-lost friend. Percy waved back.
"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts." Was there something Andi was missing? Cause if yes, she needed to sit down her bestie for some gossip.
"Naiads," Percy repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. Andi wanted to hug him again. "That's it. I want to go home now."
Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us." Nope, Annie. You don't tell a kid that just lost his mom that a random place that kidnapped him is the only safe place for him. It was an unspoken role.
"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?" Andi had to hold in her laugh at that. Sorry but most of these kids were not mentally okay.
"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human." STOP CONFUSING HIM, ANNIE!!
"Half-human and half-what?" Good question.
"I think you know." Nope, nope. Andi was not letting Annabeth deal with new campers ever again. Andi was just about to step in when Percy figured it out.
"God," Percy said. "Half-god."
Andi nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. Even though this isn't how I would rather you find out." Cue side eye to Annabeth, who ignores her. "He's one of the Olympians." He could have been a child of a minor god but Andi could tell that wasn't the case.
"That's ... crazy."
"Is it?" And Annabeth took over again. "What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?" Annabeth was just asking to get smitten wasn't she.
"But those are just-"Percy paused. "But if all the kids here are half-gods-"
"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."
"Then who's your dad?" Andi winced as Annabeth hands tightened around the pier railing. Percy had just trespassed on a sensitive topic.
"My dad is a professor at West Point," Annabeth said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."
"He's human."
"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?" Must Annabeth find a way to nitpick him?
"Who's your mom, then?"
"Cabin six." Andi resisted the urge to scream, He's new Annabeth!
"Meaning?"
Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."
"And my dad?"
"Undetermined," Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."
"Except my mother. She knew."
"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities." Not helping Annie.
"My dad would have. He loved her."
Annabeth gave him a cautious look. She didn't want to burst his bubble. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."
"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"
"The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."Andi always thought that the Gods should take. page from her dad. Sure he wasn't a perfect dad, but he was fairly nice to her and the twins.
"So I'm stuck here," Percy said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"
"It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force." She was going to get smitten one day.
"Annie don't be prejudiced!"
Annabeth continued like Annie hadn't said anything. "The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble-about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here or get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."
"So monsters can't get in here?"
Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."
"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?" Andi wondered the same thing, but like she said, most kids here were not mentally ok.
"Practice fights. Practical jokes."
"Practical jokes?"
"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."
"So ... you're both year-rounders?"
Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt, she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Andi's own, except hers had ten beads since she had been there since she was two.
"I've been here since I was seven," Annabeth said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college. Andi's the only one who has been here longer than me that is our age."
"Why did you both come so young?"
"My dad brought me." Andi simply said, not wanting to get into it.
Annabeth wasn't as nice. She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business."
"Oh." They stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?" Not the best icebreaker, Pretty boy.
"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..." No, no, no, no.
"Unless?"
"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time ..."
Her voice trailed off. Andi knew she was thinking of Luke's quest. He never told them what happened, which was a bad sign. "Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff-"
"Ambrosia."
"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."
Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know something?"
"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"
She clenched her fists. "I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."
"You've been to Olympus?"
"Some of us year-rounders-Luke, Clarisse, Andi , and I and a few others - we took a field trip during the winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."
"But... how did you get there?"
"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at Percy like she was sure he must know this already. "You are a New Yorker, right?" Andi wanted to hit Annabeth with a sign saying that Percy was new to camp, but of course, she would never do that.
"Oh, sure." As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.
"Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by the summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean- Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course, she's got a rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."
Percy shook his head. He looked like he wanted to help, but he was still struggling with the whole demigod stuff.
"I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to herself. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem ..."
Andi knew once Annabeth started talking about quests, it was best to give her some alone time so she dismissed Percy, saying they would meet him at dinner, and led Annabeth to her cabin for some much-needed bestie time.
****************************************************************
"So...."
Fast forward ten minutes later. Andi and Annabeth were in her cabin, sipping some of her diet coke. Despite having brought Annabeth here for some bonding, Andi had no idea what to talk about. It reminded her of the early stage of their friendship when they didn't know what to do together. They had seemed so different, the daughters of wisdom and madness.
The silence was suffocating and just as Andi was getting ready to say something, Annabeth had to hit her with, "Are you about to ask me to steal some Castor's diet coke again? Cause if yes, then no wayyy!!!!"
Andi burst out laughing, which made Annabeth mutter "I'm serious" which just made Andi laugh harder.
"I'm not joking, Meda." Annabeth continued. "I don't wanna get attacked by vines for the rest of the summer."
"He wouldn't," Andi countered. "Pollux on the other hand, definitely would."
"Either way, I'm not stealing anyone's diet coke."
"I wasn't going to ask you to do that."
"Then what were you gonna ask me?" Annabeth sat up and stared at Andi with a questioning gaze.
Andi met her stare, "Can't I just ask to hang out with my best friend?"
"You can..." Annabeth said, "It's just the timing. I mean I thought you would rather hang out with the new boy."
It took Andi a moment to recognize the jealousy in her words. Annabeth Chase and jealousy just didn't go hand in hand. Annabeth was always so sure of herself, someone to look up to. Andi suddenly felt bad for forgetting that Annabeth was also human.
"And why would I when I can hang out with the smartest girl at camp," Andi paused for dramatic effect. "Who is also my BFF"
Annabeth smiled a grateful smile that made it clear she knew what Andi was doing and appreciated it.
"Well, for what it's worth," Annabeth said. "I'd rather be hanging out with you too. Luke is fun and all but he's too stiff sometimes. You're fun and carefree and I love you for it."
Andi smiled back. She often wondered if Annabeth would think she was too different from her and suddenly decide they couldn't be friends anymore. It was nice to know that Annabeth liked that they were different. It was rare to see Annabeth emotionally and the only time Andi had ever seen the girl cry was after she lost Thalia. Andi was honored that Annabeth trusted her enough to show Andi her emotional side.
Yet Andi couldn't pass on the chance to tease her best friend.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather hang out with Peter Johnson?" She said in the most innocent voice she could muster, yet Annabeth saw right through it.
"ANDI!!!"
**************************************
Andi and Annabeth hung out in her cabin for the rest of the day( which may or not have included Annabeth revealing her crush on Peter! Though you didn't hear it from Andi.), before Annabeth had to go lead her cabin down for dinner.
Andi sat down with her brothers, dad, Chiron, and some of the other satyrs. Andi started talking to Grover, who still seemed pretty shaken up from his talk with her dad. Andi knew her dad just wanted to help Grover as he was still young and quite frankly she agreed. Grover had already been on two missions and he was a lot younger than the average satyr.
Andi noticed Percy come down with the Hermes cabin. She waved at him and smiled when he waved back, though he was a little distracted taking in everything. Andi didn't blame him.
Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"
Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"
Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! Andi filled hers with, what else but, Diet coke.
Andi turned to see Percy fill his cup with, was that Blue Cherry Coke? There was definitely a story .She raised an eyebrow at him, which made him blush which in turn made Andi grin.
They all got up and sacrificed a portion of their food to the Gods.
"To dad," Andi caught her dad's eye at that smiled at him. "to Hestia and to Athena."
Andi followed her brothers to their table and watched as Percy stumbled to sacrifice his portion. He looked so much like a lost puppy, it made Andi want to hide him from the world.
"Stop staring with the new boy and eat! Else I'm sure Pollux would love to find out about your new crush."
Andi jumped and turned to see Castor staring at her.
" Shut up!" Andi whisper-yelled, yet she still looked around to make sure Pollux had not seen her. Luckily, he had been too busy talking to their dad about new treats they could make with grapes. That was relief as Andi knew Pollux would go big brother mode the moment he found out.
"He's not my crush!" Yet
Castor just raised a disbelieving eyebrow and took a sip of his diet coke.
Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello." Andi sniffled her laughter, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated. But really, her dad really was the God of Drama. "Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."
A bunch of cheering rose from the Ares table.
"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."
Chiron leaned over to correct him. Andi would have but she didn't want to seem like she cared.
"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."
Everybody cheered. They all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. Andi noticed Annabeth staring at Peter and she grinned despite herself. Andi's good mood showed as the everyone was suddenly hit with hypomania. The songs were more energetic and everyone was singing along. Andi made her way to Annabeth and together they blasted the lyrics of their favorite camp songs till their voices hurt.
Later, as Andi feel asleep, she knew that this summer would be the start of something new
If only she knew how right she was.
A/N
PHEW! I almost didn't finish this on time.
I decided that what I gave you wasn't the real Annabeth and Andi, so here is a closer look at their relationship. I for some reason didn't have a lot of motivation writing this but I hope I can get back into the flow. Also I live for Castor, Pollux and Andi. You'll probably meet Pollux next chapter.
Also Annabeth doesn't like Luke! yeah I didn't like that so I changed it. You'll meet Peter sometime soon, might even give Annabeth and Peter a companion book.
Also working on an Andi playlist, will be in comments.
And official ship name is Perandi! Yeah Percy and Andi wont take five books to get together. They are too obsessed with each other for that. Also Andi calling him pretty boy broke me. In love with them so much.
BTW, Andi feels a lot more intensely than others and that will be explored in the next few chapters .
BYEEEeeeee