"Hey, Anna!" I pick my head up from my book to see Michelle and Adam running – well, Michelle running with Adam walking behind her – over to the tree I'm sitting beneath. Reaching my spot, Michelle drops her backpack and plops down on the ground next to me, her chest quickly rising and falling as she catches her breath. "Mind if we join you out here for lunch? We're not interrupting your solitude, are we?"

I laugh, smiling as my best friend unpacks her lunch. "Not at all. In fact, I'm waiting for Peter to show up as we speak," I reply, searching through the throngs of people for one of the few mortals who means anything to me. "He said he'd meet me out here for lunch, since it's a nice day and all." I tilted my head up to look at the sky; blue with just enough clouds to block the sun.

Michelle bats her eyelashes and leans in close before saying, "oh Peter, you've come to ravish me, I hope!" in a voice that I take to be a mockery of my own. She sits back up, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Did I do that right?" she asks through a mouthful of sandwich.

"I don't think that I should answer that, on pain of death," Adam tells her.

"I suppose that makes sense, dear," she replies before lying down on her stomach, her lunch in front of her.

Rolling my eyes, I return to my book as they converse about their days and absentmindedly take a bite out of my sandwich – peanut butter and jelly. I feel like being the goddess of animals means that I should really do my best not to eat them.

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late. The lunch line was awful," Peter says as he sets his bag gently on the ground.

"As is the food, and yet you still eat it," says Adam.

Peter shrugs, placing his lunch tray down before sitting next to me. "True, but it's easier than making my own lunch at home." He turns his attention to me. "Hi," he says, making me relinquish my hold on my book and greet his smile with my own. He gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "How have the classes been so far today?"

"They've been alright, I suppose." I lower my voice before adding, "it would help if I didn't already know everything they're trying to teach me, I bet."

Peter nods knowingly before replying, "then I bet that means you have even more time to help me study, considering you don't need to."

I laugh, and nuzzle my head into the crook of his neck. "Debatable, but I suppose my grades are superior to yours."

"What can I say? Not being an immortal goddess does that to a person," he whispers, so as not to let Michelle or Adam hear, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It must make your life a lot harder, musn't it?"

He nods his head solemnly. "Indeed. But it's a good thing my girlfriend is."

Shrugging, I sit up straight again and wave away his comment. "That's not really something you need to be announcing, remember?"

Before he can reply, Michelle pipes up, "what's not to be announced? Ooh, are you two telling secrets? I wanna hear!"

"Michelle, if they're secrets, why would we share them with you? The whole point of secrets is that they're secret," Peter retorts, sounding like a fifth grader.

Sticking her lower lip out in a pout, Michelle glowers at him. "Rude."

"Not really," I tell her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Some secrets are for the benefit of everyone, y'know?"

"I guess…"

"I hope you three realize it's time to go back to class," Adam says after glancing at his watch. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to be late; my teacher'll kill me if I get another tardy to his class."

"Oh crap, you're right!" Peter jumps to his feet, extending a hand to help me up. "We're doing a lab after lunch, so I've gotta hurry back. He gives me a quick kiss before running off to class.

Adam leaves with him, meaning Michelle remains with me. "Well, let's go, shall we?" She extends her arm to me and I loop mine through hers as we walk towards the school.

I close my locker door and turn to face my friends who have gathered behind me, waiting for me to finish packing up my school books. "What?"

"Where do you wanna go?"

"Um, home, actually." Michelle's ice-blue eyes narrow at me. "What? I just haven't really been able to see my parents all week because they've been away for work and I'd like to see them. They get home in a couple of hours, so I, uh, want to make sure the house looks nice."

"What have you been doing, throwing reckless and wild parties without inviting your best friends? I'm hurt," Peter says, throwing an arm around my shoulders as we trek down the hallway. "I thought you might actually have liked us. Guess not." He winks at me, blue eyes twinkling.

I stand on my toes and give him a kiss on the cheek. "It's true. I can't stand you guys, which is why I'm dumping you for my parents this weekend."

"Makes sense," Adam chimes in. "We're pretty dull people."

"You got that right."

Michelle and Adam head off in one direction, and I walk Peter to his car, kissing him goodbye before turning and walking down the sidewalk in front of the school. I told my friends earlier in the year that I live just a couple blocks from the school, which, technically, is true. But I don't live there with my actual parents, per se. I live there with two demigods who, for some odd reason, decided to let me stay under their roof. I holler out a hello when I walk in the front door before throwing my backpack down on my bed. Sighing, I close my eyes and snap, whisking myself home.

I reappear on the front walkway of Olympus, waving a hand and changing my shorts and a t-shirt into a Greek chiton. "Mother?" I call out, hoping for a reply. "Are you here?" I slowly make my way towards her gardens. "Mother?"

"Annalyia, is that you?" My mother is standing in the entrance of her gardens, her light green dress reaching her knees and her long brown hair in a braid down her back, a few flyaway hairs haloing her head. Demeter's lips part in a wide smile when she sees me. "Anna!"

"Mother!" I run to embrace her, and she accepts me into her warm arms. "It's been too long."

She plants a small kiss on my head. "It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?" She pulls away, keeping her hands on my shoulders. "That's the longest you've been away from here, isn't it?"

I nod. "Correct. I've missed the beauty of this place, Mother. Especially your gardens; there isn't as much diversity in the plant life where I am. They have some of the most beautiful mountains, though." We stroll to one of the benches and take a seat. "I suppose you've been watching me, no?"

"You could say that," she says, chuckling. "Your father has actually been more interested in you – but only because of that boy you've been hanging around. He's been waiting for you to find a mortal."

A blush creeps its way up my neck. "It's no big deal, Mother. I'm more surprised that you aren't angry at me for that stunt in the woods."

My mother waves her hand, dismissing the entire ordeal. "Things like that happen, Anna dear. At least it was a mortal you could trust, right? And if not, well, no one would have missed him."

"I guess you have a point," I say carefully. "The Mist does its job."

My mother opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted. "What is that noise?"

"That…would be my phone, I believe." I reach into one of the folds in my chiton, pulling out the slide-up phone that I have, purely for communicating with my mortal friends. "Hello?"

"Anna!" It's Michelle. "Are you busy right now?"

"Um," I glance at my mother and the garden, "not exactly. Why?"

"Awesome! Peter, Adam, and I are on our way to your house right now!"

"You're doing, what?" I shout into the phone. "You're going where?"

"Your house, duh. We wanted to surprise you, but I figured that I would give you a little bit of warning in case you were asleep or something. See ya in a couple minutes!" She hangs up.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"My…friends are coming over." I jump up. "My friends are coming over!" I say it with more urgency this time. "Mother what am I going to do? It's not like I can pass those demigods off as my parents, and there's no way that you and Father could get there – I imagine Father is out on business or the like—"

"Annalyia." I stop babbling as my mother says my name. "Your father is here in the palace at the moment. I know that I, for one, am very interested in meeting your friends, and I wager that he would not be adverse to it."

"Really?"

My mother's mouth curves into a half-moon shape. "Yes, love, really." She stands. "You change into normal clothing, and hurry home to meet your friends. Inform the family you're saying with of what is to occur, and your father and I will be there shortly." She kisses my head again. "Now go."

I nod. "Yes, Mother."

The demigods I live with have just left. My friends have yet to arrive, as have my parents. I wonder how they will look and what they will wear and how they will act. Before I can worry myself away, the doorbell rings, meaning that my friends have arrived. "Mother? Father?" I call out their names before checking the door.

"We're hear, Annalyia. Don't worry."

I let out the breath that I have been holding, and make my way to the front door. "Hi guys," I say as I open the door, stepping aside to allow them to enter. "Thanks for the warning."

"Oh it's no problem," Michelle says. "It's what we aim to do."

"So, where are your parents? You said they'd be here by now."

"Mom?" I shout. "Where are you guys?"

"Kitchen, like always, Anna. It's not like you're the one who makes the food."

"Well considering I don't eat any meat, I don't really need to."

My friends follow me into the kitchen to finally meet my parents. My mother's hair is still in a braid, but she has exchanged her dress for a shirt of the same color and blue shorts that stopped just above her knees with a pink apron tied around her waist – she isn't wearing shoes, but she rarely wears more than sandals. Father is in a stormy gray button down shirt and black pinstriped dress pants, his face hidden behind a newspaper that I know he isn't paying any attention to.

It's not like I expected anything else from either of them.

"You certainly look like them," Adam says.

My mother's laugh is light and airy. "Everyone says the same thing." She turns away from the stove, and I notice all of the vegetables on the stove are from her gardens. "Also, as you all probably know, Anna her is a vegetarian, so we tend to stick to that kind of diet in this house. I hope that isn't of any inconvenience."

"Not at all, Mrs. Markus." Michelle drops into one of the seats at the table. "We're used to Anna's 'strange ways'," she says, flashing a grin.

"I don't think it's that strange," Peter says, jumping to my defense. "I think it's cute." He wraps an arm around my waist.

"Yawn," Michelle replies without actually yawning. "We all could have guessed that."

My father peers up over the top of his newspaper. "And how are all of you?" he asks in his deep bass voice.

"Good," the three of them chorus.

"Well okay then," he rumbles before returning to his reading.

The microwave beeps and I am surprised at my mother's knowledge of mortal cooking techniques. "The rice is done," she says. "That means we can eat!"

My friends give a cheer and rush to stand in line for food, Michelle pushing both of the boys to the back of the line with a whoop of success. My mother leaves her place at the stove and allows them to serve themselves. Michelle takes a small portion, but the boys piles their plates high.

Dinner itself goes smoothly, with my parents able to make ample small talk with my friends, leaving me to stay mostly silent and observe their behaviors. My mother handles the interactions better than my father, who is almost as quiet as me throughout the ordeal. My friends, on the other hand, seem to be enjoying themselves immensely, talking their heads off about their families and futures, Mother and Father at rapt attention. Once dinner is finished, Michelle and Peter grab my hands and pull me from the house, shouting their apologies about kidnapping me to my parents.

"Love you guys," I call before they close the door.

"We love you too," Mother shouts back.