Hello fellow fanfictioners!
This is a new story, called Midnight Madness. We won't say anything else because we don't want to ruin the rest for you. Enjoy!
~ThreeOlympianGoddesses
Annabeth Chase sat lonely at the Athena table. Everyone had left the dining pavilion a long time ago, so it was just Annabeth and the dim light blinking on and off above her. She had come here for some peace and quiet to read a new book, since the Athena cabin was hectic these days with all the new campers. Oh yeah, and did I mention it was exactly six days, three hours and 15 minutes to New Year's Eve? So, with all the craziness of the newest additions to the Camp Half-Blood family, there was the fuss of getting ready for the New Year? It was...a disaster.
Annabeth sighed and turned to the last page of her book. Her eyes scanned the page quickly before she slammed the book closed. "I knew that was going to happen!" she yelled, mostly to herself, since there was obviously nobody else around.
She stood up and was about to walk back to her cabin when some campers walked in, talking and laughing. They were all Apollo's. "Oh no, "Annabeth thought. She didn't get along so well with the Apollo clan. They were loud, bright, and obnoxious, just like their father.
Annabeth noticed one girl with red hair around her age was carrying a basket in her hands. She looked closer to see that there were fortune cookies in the basket. The redhead noticed Annabeth staring. She stalked over and looked Annabeth straight into her gray eyes.
"Hi!" she said in a very perky, cheerleader-like voice. She smiled and Annabeth noticed her teeth were blinding white. The girl held the basket out to her. "These are some fortune cookies. My mom's best friend is a psychic and fortune cookies is one of her methods," the girl explained cheerfully. Annabeth was feeling kind of moody before, but the way this girl acted, so bright and confident, made her smile.
"I'm Annabeth Chase. I'm from the Athena cabin. And you are?"
"Tallulah James," the girl said. "I got here last Friday. Don't give me a nickname though. Any nickname that can come from Tallulah will just sound stupid." Annabeth laughed. She liked this girl. And her name, Tallulah, was a perfect fit.
"Well then, Tallulah. I'll take one." Annabeth began to reach inside the basket when Tallulah suddenly swatted her hand back.
"No! You can't possibly LOOK inside while you're picking a fortune. Look away and let the fortune come to YOU," she explained. Annabeth nodded, but for some reason, was amused at Tallulah's quirky ways. She did as she was told, and pulled out a random fortune cookie.
"Open it," Tallulah commanded. Annabeth opened the wrapper and cracked the cookie apart split in the middle. She pulled out the piece of paper, and read it aloud while Tallulah looked over her shoulder eagerly.
"The love of your life will be decided soon enough. New love will blind and confuse you, but by the end of the week, you'll know who the person is in your heart." She blushed, in spite of herself.
"Ooh! A romance, isn't it?" Tallulah smiled again, a mega-watt smile.
"Oh, stop," Annabeth said, giving her a playful shove.
"Hey! I actually take this stuff seriously! So, who's the lucky guy in your life?" she asked, in the same teasing tone.
Annabeth blushed madly. "There's no guy-"
"Hey Annabeth!" The girls turned to see a boy, with sun-kissed skin from hours of swimming, dark wet hair, eyes the color of the sea, and a lifeguard outfit. Undoubtedly, Percy Jackson, Annabeth's secret crush/ best friend.
"Hi, Percy," she said softly. Annabeth felt her face burn up even more, if that was humanely possible. Tallulah shot Annabeth a glance, her eyebrows raised.
"Who's this?" he asked, gesturing to Tallulah.
"Tallulah James, psychic-in-training. Would you like a fortune cookie?" Tallulah said in one big rush. She held the basket out at arm's length.
Percy looked taken aback, but answered, "Uh, okay." He started to reach in, but Tallulah did the same thing to him as she did to Annabeth.
"No! You look AWAY and THEN you pick it! I swear, all of you have to come back to Arizona one day and take one of my classes," Tallulah said, sighing dramatically. Annabeth's lips turned up into a grin at Tallulah's behavior. Percy obliged and covered his eyes with one hand. He plucked a fortune cookie with the other hand and opened the wrapper. Percy then popped the whole cookie in his mouth.
"No, you buffoon! You look at the fortune first!" Tallulah said, in exasperation.
"Oh, sorry," Percy said, his mouth full of cookie. He pried the fortune paper out of his mouth. Stupid. Yep, that's Percy, Annabeth thought to herself.
"So, um, do I read it?" he asked uncertainly.
"Obviously," Annabeth answered, smacking his shoulder.
"Ouch! Well, fine then. It says that I will find the one thing I've been wanting for a while by the end of the week if I proceed with caution," Percy said. Annabeth and Tallulah exchanged frantic glances. By the end of the week.
"What do you think it means, Percy?" Tallulah asked coyly.
He thought for a moment before his face lit up in excitement. "Oh yeah! I lost my lucky New York sweatshirt a while ago, and maybe I'll find it by the end of the week! Thanks, Tallulah! I gotta go!" Percy exclaimed. He raced off in so much happiness that the door nearly hit him on the way out.
"Boys. So utterly clueless," Tallulah said, shaking her head. Her red curls swung around, making it look like Tallulah's hair was on fire.
Annabeth laughed. "Let's go to the lake. It's been a long day already," she suggested.
Tallulah shrugged. "Okay."
Annabeth and Tallulah walked out the big doors of the pavilion. Annabeth squinted as the sun hit her face, as she was not used to the brilliant, gleaming light in the middle of the sky. Tallulah merely put on a large pair of black sunglasses.
On the short walk down to the lake, Annabeth learned that Tallulah had lived in Sedona, Arizona before she came to Camp Half-Blood. Sedona was a place where vortexes aligned, which was probably the cause of Tallulah's eccentric psychic talent. It turns out that she did some fortune-telling in her mom's best friend's studio, too. People actually paid her to find out what would happen in their future.
The girls got down to the lake and sat down on the beach. Annabeth sifted the warm sand through her fingers and let the cool water creep up on her toes as she listened to Tallulah talk. That girl was like a chatterbox that never stopped. But what Annabeth was really thinking about was the fortune. When Percy had come, she had quickly stuffed it into her pocket. She didn't want him to see it, of course. Now, Annabeth pulled it out from her front jean pocket and smoothed out the crinkled paper. She stared hard at the phrase that apparently said she was going to find her true love. Just think about it, one small, little crumpled piece of paper could change somebody's life. Annabeth must've been concentrating really hard on it, because she didn't realize Tallulah had stopped yakking and was staring intently at her, as if to read her expression.
"Hey, Annabeth," she said, snapping her fingers in front of Annabeth's face.
"Mm-hm?" Annabeth asked, her eyes still focused on the slip of paper.
"Watcha thinking 'bout?" she questioned in a sing-song type of tone.
"Nothing," Annabeth answered, trying to cover it up. She casually folded up the paper, this time neatly, and put it in her pocket once again. "So," Annabeth said, hugging her knees," What were you saying?"
Tallulah narrowed her eyes and stared at Annabeth, as if to say,"I know you're keeping a secret but I won't push it." She resumed her storytelling while Annabeth listened to the many adventures of Tallulah's past.
Please review and tell us if we should continue!