I
Percy
Percy smelled food.
He could hear Annabeth moving around in the tiny kitchen of the apartment they shared in New York. Something sizzled, like eggs in a pan. He thought he might smell waffles.
The son of the sea god sat up and rubbed his eyes, the covers falling over the edge of the bed he shared with Annabeth. Of course his girlfriend had her own bed in her own room, but after the war with Gaea, Percy knew that Annabeth had been having nightmares. At night she would snuggle up with him and he would hold her close, pressing his face into her lemon-scented hair.
It was the last day of their senior year of high school, and Percy was getting excited about college in New Rome. He was going to be studying marine biology- of course- and naturally, Annabeth would become an architect. They would be able to see their friends all the time, but Percy was most looking forward to all the time he would be spending with Annabeth.
Stretching, Percy wandered into the kitchen and smiled at the stack of blue waffles on his plate.
"Morning, Wise Girl," he said, leaning over to give Annabeth a kiss.
She kissed him back. "Seaweed Brain," she replied, eyes sparkling. "Last day of school!"
Percy groaned. He had a reputation of getting his schools blown up on the last day. Though this year had not been uneventful- he and Annabeth had survived a hydra and been bombarded with free WalMart samples from the store's monster employees- nothing major had happened, and Percy felt like something was bound to come up. It was seventh grade all over again: he had gone an entire year with no trouble, only to wind up torching the gymnasium on the last day.
Annabeth seemed to understand his unease. Flipping the fried egg onto her plate, she walked over to the kitchen table and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.
"You can do this, Percy. Just think: after today, we'll be in New Rome."
Percy smiled, grateful for her support.
"Love you, Wise Girl," he said, digging into his waffles.
School was boring, but thankfully not dangerous. Most teachers allowed their students to relax on the last day before summer; some insisted on using every last minute to cram knowledge into the students' heads. Percy's history teacher, Mr. Watt, was like that. At least he didn't give any homework.
At the sound of the final bell, Percy relaxed. This was the end of his entire childhood schooling. All the years setting fire to gymnasiums and unleashing cannon balls on school buses, everything leading up to this was now finished. Percy was sure he wouldn't miss it.
He walked out to the parking lot to meet Annabeth, a wide grin stretching across his face as he wrapped her up in a huge hug.
"We did it," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek.
Annabeth beamed up at him. "I always knew we could. But I'd bet twenty drachma that your report card won't show straight A's," she teased.
"Shut up, Wise Girl."
She laughed and got into the car. "San Francisco?"
"San Francisco," Percy agreed. "Here we come."
Together, they left their old life behind as Percy drove out of New York.