A/N: If you want to help me, if you have any complains, questions, suggestions or if you just want to talk, message me. I'll reply. :D
Enjoy! :)
Chapter 1 – A Wretched Choice
Annabeth's POV
It felt good to finally take some time off from work. I have to say that this vacation that my friends have been planning for probably a year now was well deserved.
Other than my workaholic tendencies, which was, uhm well, all the time, another reason for this vacation to be moved repeatedly is that our schedules never seem to coordinate with one another. Once everyone would be set for the vacation, one would have something suddenly come up. For example, Silena would have a fashion week to cover and write about, Thalia would be urgently sent off to somewhere to take photos for the magazine, Katie would be running over to the publishing house on last minute because the publisher wanted to get the manuscript a couple weeks earlier than the deadline, or I would be flown to a country to cover or report a protest or some event. Although one thing I can't understand is that there were a couple of times when we all already simultaneously filed for a leave and the vacation still would be cancelled. As if there was another person who was part of the planned vacation. Or perhaps, I'm just over-thinking things.
It was a night before our flight and right now, I was bracing myself and expecting a call from one of my friends, calling off the trip. I, for one, already had my bag packed. It should have been filled with thick clothes that are suited for really cold weather: gloves, beanies, a spare coat, scarves, sweaters, and the like. Since our vacation was rescheduled repeatedly, I had to pack clothes that were fit for summer. I looked at the view that my huge window offered me. The busy streets of Times Square were just bustling with cars, cabs, and people. All of which looked minute from the floor I was on. The light coming from the LED lights was something that always made me smile and grateful that I actually bought this loft just beside the famous tourist spot.
The sound from the whistling kettle caused me to look away from the scene and scurry towards the kitchen. I filled my mug with hot water and poured the remaining into a thermos. I watched the tea bag float to the surface and change the water's color to brown. I carried my mug and padded barefoot from the kitchen, through the living room, and to my office. The window from my office offered a similar view. I placed my mug down on a coaster on my work table and sat down.
My office was neat and orderly due to the time allowance I allotted to cleaning it. The room had some file cabinets, numerous bookcases and book shelves, and a couple boxes, which were stacked neatly. My work table was situated on the corner of the room. It faced the wall and to its side was one huge floor length glass window that allowed me to look at Times Square. There were numerous picture frames that were hung and held pictures of the places I have been to due to my profession. One of the picture frames held my first ever news article written and published as a CNN correspondent.
Yup, that is my job. I always get sent to different countries to cover, report, or write about the latest happenings there. To be a CNN correspondent is one of my dreams and I couldn't be happier with my current job. Name a country and perhaps I have been there already. I've even reached Iraq! Was it weird to see my name as the author of a news article posted on the website of CNN? No. How about seeing my face on the television, reporting in the studio or out on the streets? Yeah, it was weird at first but I got used to it. The first time I saw my face on the morning news on the CNN channel, I almost choked on my coffee and a couple minutes later, some friends of mine started phoning in and telling me that they saw me on the television. It's overwhelming but soon enough, I got used to it. Now, the boxes, book shelves, bookcases, and file cabinets in my office all contained researches, recordings, and other sources for my reports and articles.
My friends work in media as well.
Thalia Grace works as a photographer in National Geographic and she usually gets sent to different places, sometimes to extreme places, to get photographs that will be printed on National Geographic magazines. A large number of her photographs were even compiled on National Geographic's huge book of pictures. She even has a short commercial on the National Geographic channel where she talked about her job as the company's photographer. The commercial would then be aired a couple times a day.
Silena Beauregard is a freelance writer for fashion magazines. She was naturally inclined to fashion because her mother was already in that sector of work. Her mother was a model, who then started her own fashion line and perfume collection. When Silena was younger, she was in fashion shows alongside her mother and she was even her mother's model in all her fashion shows. Until today, she occasionally still modeled for her mom and with her mom. Although being on the catwalk was second on her list. She preferred writing about fashion. Silena started writing for Seventeen and her scope just got bigger and bigger. She has written for a lot of top fashion magazines and she already made a name for herself. You can actually read her articles on Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, Glamour, Lucky, Allure, W, and more. She was even a judge on Project Runaway with Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia.
Katie Gardner always had her name on the daily newspaper. She wrote for New York Times' travel section. Honestly, her job is one of the best jobs in the world, according to me. You get sent to different countries, do whatever you want, have fun, and write about the place. You actually get paid to have a vacation in the world's awesome vacation spots. Katie has already visited just as much countries I went to. She was always the one who planned our getaways. She would make us go to the places she has been to because she already knew the place from where to stay, what to do, and what to eat. It's just one of the perks of having a travel writer as your friend. Katie is also an aspiring author. She already has a manuscript containing a couple chapters. Just a couple more chapters and she'd be done with the manuscript of her first book. Although the publishing house that already considered publishing her book constantly asks her for updates and drafts for comments to refine the book. Another perk of being paid to visit different countries is that she gets to incorporate her experiences in her book.
How did we meet you ask? Well, we met in college when we all had the same writing class under Mr. Brunner. I could still remember those days when we were in one classroom. Chiron, Mr. Brunner's alternative name, was a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair and bushy eyebrows. He had intense brown eyes which would look even more intense, if possible, whenever he would check and read our papers. Chiron was on a wheelchair and he would sometimes have someone to accompany him, which was why Dionysus was sometimes in the class as well. Dionysus was Chiron's student assistant. Dionysus had a red nose and a chubby face, which was topped with curly black hair. He usually went to class with bloodshot eyes, most probably because of the alcohol he drank the night earlier, and always had a can of Diet Coke in his hand. He wore his signature Hawaiian shirts with tiger or leopard prints and purple running shoes. Dionysus never ever got our names right. Annabelle Chasm. Telia Grey. Celine Bureau. Kasey Gardenia. The list would go on and we never found out if he really did that on purpose or not. To be honest, I think that he does it on purpose cause the exemption to the wrong name calling were always Pollux and Castor.
I sipped my hot tea and looked at the screen of my laptop. I refreshed the homepage of the CNN website and saw my article on the top of the latest news section. Well, that's the last article before I am officially on leave. It was about Ukraine. I was about to close the web browser when I suddenly got a message. I smiled when I read Malcolm's message.
Great article, Annabeth. Good job! He wrote.
Thanks, Malcolm! It feels good to finally turn in that article. It's also good to know that Petro Poroshenko has extended a week-long ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists in the east for another three days. Perhaps peace is just arms reach. Well, hopefully. How are the Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds? I replied.
Same old, same old. Baghdad's really getting beaten up. U.S. though started to send armed drones there.
So I heard. I don't know how to feel about it.
Ditto. Have you heard about the search for the MH370?
Yeah, new search area: southern Indian Ocean. They say that the search would take twelve months at most although they're still starting on August.
Any news on the abducted Nigerian school girls?
Nada. Are you updated with the FIFA? I asked.
Not really. All I know is that one of Uruguay's player bit a Italian player.
Yeah, Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez is banned from all football-related activity for four months, suspended for Uruguay's next nine internationals, and was fined 100,000 Swiss francs. It was his third time to bite a person in a football match. Oscar Tabarez, Uruguay's coach, is going to quit FIFA in protest. Even Chiellina agreed that it was too much. I informed him.
Whoa. Thanks for the information.
Do you know the remaining teams?
Ask Don Riddell. Gods, Annabeth, for all I know you're interested in FIFA so much cause you're interested in Don as well. I know those moves, Annabeth. He teased.
I rolled my eyes but smiled. I thought for a remark. I laughed maniacally and typed quickly. How about you? How's it going with trying to get closer with Christiane Amanpour? Did you sweat bullets when she asked how your day was or how you were?
He replied after a while. ...that was good. Okay, we're even.
I sipped my tea again before typing. Now if you teased me to Anthony Bourdain, I wouldn't bother trying to deny anything and maybe I'd even tell you to go on.
Same.
I was about to type a tease saying, "Well, who knew we had the same taste in men," but Malcolm immediately corrected himself.
I mean, I'd do the same if you teased me to Katie Linendoll. He restated himself.
I cocked my head to the side, pictured the girl Malcolm was pertaining to, and replied. Yeah, she knows her gadgets alright. She's also such a natural in front of the camera with her bubbly personality.
I like how she prefers wearing her glasses in front of the camera instead of hiding it. Malcolm chimed in.
And I have to say, she is good looking. She looks adorable. I've worked with her a couple of times already. You do know that she does her regular tech segments on CNN Newsroom, right?
Yeah.
I smiled and teased him. I bet you're trying to get a promotion as the CNN Newsroom news anchor.
What? No. (Maybe). He replied, making me laugh.
I should mention you to her sometime soon, if we get to work together again.
Aww, shucks. You don't have to do that but if you insist, sure why not, no one is stopping you. Anyhoo, enough about that. When are you leaving?
Tomorrow at five in the afternoon. Why?
Nothing, I'll just miss you.
I'll miss you too. I replied. Babushka doll?
Babushka doll. Have fun!
See you around the CNN headquarters soon! I wrote and then finally decided exit my web browser.
Well, now I know what to get Malcolm from the place where I'll be vacationing at.
Malcolm is a reporter at CNN as well. He's the co-worker I'm closest to. We met a couple years ago when I started working at CNN as a journalist for articles on the website because he was a journalist as well. We were usually under an umbrella topic, which meant that we had the same topic but different scopes. Most of the time, we would have the same source so we ended up doing research together. When we got promoted from writing articles to reporting out on the streets, we were still given an umbrella topic, which meant that we were sent to the same place together. Now, it seems as if either one of us would be having our own talk show soon.
I turned my laptop off and downed my remaining tea. I brought my empty mug, left my office, and went to the kitchen. After refilling my mug with hot water from the thermos and reusing my tea bag, I went to the living room and decided to watch TV to let the time pass by. I turned on the television as I carefully set my mug down on the coffee table and sat on my sofa. By default, the channel that I was on was none other than CNN. I stared at my television screen as Richard Quest appeared on my screen. I watched for a while and decided that I already watched this episode before. I surfed through the channels and settled for a travel channel. I smiled to myself because they were using a strategy to raise their ratings. They were airing different shows with episodes about Brazil because the World Cup was being held there.
After a couple hours, my tea was finished and I found myself wanting to go to Brazil, even joining Carnaval and visiting Ipanema. No doubt that Katie already went to Brazil and wrote about it even before the start of the World Cup. Once New York Times got a whiff that the World Cup was to be done in Brazil, they immediately sent Katie there. I was about to resign to bed when I found out that the next show was Anthony Bourdain's. Well, I could spare a couple more hours.
When Bourdain's show was over, I looked at the clock above the television and saw that it was already two in the morning. I should probably go to sleep but I was nowhere near being sleepy. I got my used mug and washed it. I got ready for bed. Once I made sure that my front door was locked, I went up to my bedroom, which was just above my kitchen. I looked over the railings and saw that the lights from Times Square illuminated my living room. I lied down on my bed despite the fact that I wasn't sleepy but as my head hit the pillow, I was already asleep.
I hesitantly opened my eyes and groaned as I discovered that the sun has found its way through my window. I closed my eyes and pressed my face against my pillow. I sighed and went down to the kitchen to prepare my daily cup of coffee. I turned on my coffee maker and went to the bathroom, instinctively turning on the television using the remote as I went. I splashed water on my face to try to remove my grogginess and gargled water to remove the taste and smell of sleep in my mouth. I tied my hair into a neat ponytail and went back to the kitchen, which was in perfect timing cause my coffee was ready. I got my mug to pour my hot coffee into and then watched the CNN International Desk. Michael Holmes was a guy who I would usually see around the CNN headquarters and share a couple of talks with.
Once I was acquainted and updated with the international news and the coffee that my machine made was finished, I hastily went upstairs to ready my clothes for work and get my towel. I looked at the clock and realized that I was running late. I ran to the bathroom and before the water heater could at least make the water lukewarm, the ice cold water soaked me, making me realize that I was on leave. I gasped and immediately turned off the shower. I laughed as I wrapped my towel around myself. How could I forget?
I had time to kill before the flight. So what do I do now?
I returned my work clothes in the closet and got out my workout clothes. I wore my Dri Fit tank top, running shorts, and running shoes. I went downstairs to brush my teeth and fix my hair once more. Before I left my loft, I drank water and double checked if I had everything I needed: keys, my phone, and its earphones. With that, I was ready to go.
I walked a couple blocks, sixteen if I counted correctly, before I arrived at Central Park. I did a couple stretches and then started jogging.
When I was younger, I used to jog every day. Even on the weekends! Apparently, when you start working, you barely have time for yourself and the spare time you do get is spent on catching up on your sleep. Any opportunity I get to jog, I would pounce at it.
Despite the fact that it was already around eleven-thirty in the morning, there were still a lot of people who were jogging as well. The warm summer breeze greeted my face as I passed by the beautiful lush green grass and colorful blooming flowers. I listened to my selection of music that had musicians sing mellow notes. I was offered bliss and there was nothing I wanted to do but jog contentedly around Central Park.
As I slowed down my pace to a steady walk, I looked for an empty bench to sit on. Once deemed successful, I sat on a cool bench and waited for my breathing and heartbeat slow down. I removed my earphones, closed my eyes, and listened to the different sounds around me. Children were laughing as they enjoyed the last moments of their summer. People seated near me would excitedly chatter about something not relevant to me, perhaps news, gossip, stories, and whatnot. The birds chirped loud enough for me to hear over the busy streets of New York City. The taxis honked their horns angrily but it came to me as a faint noise. Bikers would speed pass by me and would get a couple of complaints from people around. There was a tour happening nearby and as well as what sounds like a children's party. I slowly opened my eyes and squinted because of the sudden brightness of my surroundings. I took a deep breath and let it out before deciding to walk home.
I arrived at my loft around one in the afternoon, feeling satisfied with my morning workout. I removed my running shoes and quickly checked my phone for any news update before walking to the kitchen, turning on the television again on the way. I thought about making coffee again but decided against it. Instead, I boiled water and readied my mug and teabag. I opened the refrigerator door and looked for something I could munch on. I scoped at what was in my fridge and settled for yogurt. I watched CNN Newsroom as I ate my yogurt. When the whistling kettle went off, I quickly poured the boiling water into the mug and poured the remaining into the thermos. I threw away the yogurt container and got a Granny Smith apple which was the last fruit in my basket on the kitchen counter. I savored each bite of my apple and sipped my hot tea as I watched TV. It was already around two-thirty in the afternoon when I was finished with my snack. I went to the bathroom to get ready for the flight. To be honest, I was still expecting a call from my friends, telling me that the vacation is yet again postponed despite the fact that it was only a couple of hours before our plane leaves the country.
I took a shower which was longer than I planned. The cold water felt good and it seemed like something that could beat the hot and humid summer air. I wrapped the towel around myself as I exited the shower. I brushed my teeth, ran a brush through my wet hair, and went up to the bedroom. Absentmindedly brushing my hair, I looked at the clothes stacked up in my cabinet and tried to choose something that was comfortable, fitting, and practical for the ten hour flight. I looked at the clock and it was just a little over two hours before our flight
Huh, no calls. Looks like we'll really have our vacation.
I ended up choosing my favorite loose Toms maroon tank top that had a black and white printed pocket on the upper right side of the bust area. I paired it with a pair of light wash skinny jeans and my taupe Toms desert wedge boots. I was thinking about wearing my low cut Converse Chucks because it was really practical and comfortable but we're talking about travelling with Silena Beauregard here. If she would see me wear a shirt, jeans, and my Converse, she'd say it was fine but I was playing it safe more than she liked. So I at least try to put an effort in trying to dress nicely.
I got my brown satchel, which was fairly big, and chucked in the things that I needed the most for this trip. I had my passport, my ticket, wallet, keys of the loft, a charger for my phone, a powerbank, a bottle of my favorite cologne, a brush with a couple hair ties, sunglasses, a beanie, and a light brown scarf. Instantly along with these things were a steno notebook and a pencil, which I placed a pair in every bag I owned since I saw it as a necessity for my job. The beanie and scarf were uncalled for but, you know, maybe I would get cold on the airplane. I just wanted to be ready for anything. I took one more look around my room to double check if I missed anything.
I brought my luggage down to the living room with labor and checked if all my appliances that needed to be turned off were off. I went to my office, got my tablet, and placed it in my satchel. I decided to bring it along because my laptop was far too big and took up too much space if I brought it with me. I stood in front of one of the bookcases and looked for a book that I'd like to read for the flight. One thing I hated the most is having an idle mind. It makes me feel like I have been wasting my time if I don't have something to ponder on. Once I chose a book that would keep me company, I left my office and then left my loft.
As I exited my building, the sun instantly shined on my face. I squinted as I quickly searched for my sunglasses in my satchel. I put on my perfectly round sunglasses on and raised my hand to hail a taxi.
"Do you need some help, miss?" The taxi driver asked me as he stopped his empty taxi in front of me.
"Oh, I'm fine. I can do this. Thank you." I said as I carried my luggage to the trunk of the taxi with much labor.
"Where to?" He asked as I got in the taxi.
"JFK Airport." I flashed him a smile as I leaned back and checked my phone if there were any messages.
Nope, no one is cancelling the trip.
A couple minutes later, we arrived at the airport and I paid for my fare. I entered the airport and raised my sunglasses so it was perched up on top of my head. I rolled my luggage to the check-in counter and checked in my bag. I was about to line up for immigration when my phone rang.
"Annabeth Chase."
"Hey, Annabeth, it's Thalia."
My stomach sank, "Please don't tell me that the trip is off."
"Yeah, about that..."
"Eugh. Why do we even postpone this trip when we never actually go on it?" I rambled on, exasperated.
Then Thalia laughed.
"What? How is this funny for you?"
"I was kidding. I was just going to ask you where you were."
"Not cool, Thalia. Not cool." I said. "I'm at the airport and I already checked in."
"I'd get why you'd be so worked up about the trip getting cancelled again." She laughed. "I'm on my way. Meet me at the pre-departure area then we'll go to the lounge together."
"Okay, okay, fine." I said then ended the call.
I got my sunglasses from the top of my head and placed it in my satchel along with my phone. I got my passport out and lined up for immigration.
"Hey, Annabeth." The immigration officer greeted me.
"Hey, Argus." I smiled widely at him.
"Where are you off to now?" He asked me.
"Moscow." I said as I gave him my thick passport.
"Oh, are you covering a Ukraine story again?" He asked as he knowingly flipped to the last pages of my passport. "Didn't you just arrive here from Ukraine...last week ago? See? August 10." He read the latest stamp.
I laughed, "Yeah, but this time for vacation. Do you want anything? A babushka doll?"
"Anything goes." He said as he pressed a stamp on my passport and gave it back to me. "See you soon. Have fun!"
"Thank you!" I said joyfully and lined up to go through the metal detectors.
Immigration officers smiled joyfully and knowingly and greeted me as I passed the metal detectors and got frisked. I wholeheartedly smiled back at them and greeted them as well. I got my satchel and waved goodbye to them as I walked around the pre-departure area.
I was at the newsstand when somebody tapped my shoulder.
"See? I knew you'd be here." A girl with short black hair and electric blue eyes smiled at me.
"Thalia!" I exclaimed excitedly and hugged her.
She quickly reciprocated it and released me. "I almost didn't recognize you." She said as she pointed to my hair.
"Yeah. It was starting to be a handful and lucky me, it was more than the required length." I smiled.
My long curly blonde hair used to reach the small of my back but it was starting to get difficult. I mean, I usually tied my hair or bun it but I tend to last longer in the shower because I had to spend extra time to rinse out the shampoo and conditioner. Plus it was economically wasteful. Also long hair was something not ideal for my work cause I usually get sent to chaotic places. So I cut it short and donated it to a foundation that made wigs for cancer patients and survivors. It felt good actually to help them somehow. Now, I had shoulder length hair that still curled naturally.
"It looks good on you." Thalia said.
"Thanks. I was hoping you'd say that." I smiled. "Your new hair suits you as well."
Thalia wore a black NatGeo shirt, faded ripped jeans, and black combat boots. Her black hair, which used to be shoulder length but is now a pixie cut because Silena talked Thalia into getting her hair cut, wasn't styled to be spiky today. Probably because she knew that she would be in an airplane for the rest of the day. She got a little tanner as well which was probably due to her latest photo shoot assignment but you could still see her freckles across her nose. She still wore her silver bracelet which I assumed she never took off ever since she received it. She carried a huge camera bag and another bag for her personal belongings.
"I can't believe we're actually finally going on this trip." I laughed.
"I know right! It took us, what, two years of postponing and rescheduling."
"And now, August 17, we're finally flying to Moscow."
We both laughed and then started walking to the business class lounge of our airlines since we still had two hours to kill. Silena and Katie insisted that we book business classes for this flight but if you asked Thalia and me, we'd be more than fine in economy class.
Thalia was the one I was closest to in our group of friends. Perhaps it was because we usually had the same views and opinions over most things. Like taking up political science classes was better than taking up creative writing classes. That guy who wanted to get coffee together was just a waste of time. We had the same genre of almost everything. The list goes on.
When we reached the entrance of the lounge, Katie was sitting on an airport bench near the entrance and it looked like she was sleepy.
"I was waiting for you guys." She smiled at us and stood up.
She wore a yellow green bandeau and an Aztec print floor length skirt, which she wore on her waist instead of her hips. She paired simple sandals with this ensemble. Her black hair was styled in a way that she looked as if she just came from the beach. She pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head and it showed her tired brown eyes.
"Hey Katie." I greeted her and gave her a hug.
Thalia did the same and we all sat down on the bench, waiting for Silena to arrive.
"Where's Silena?" Thalia asked Katie.
"She said that she was on her way. She just had to pick up something." Katie replied.
The three of us just sat down on the airport benches as we waited for Silena to arrive. Thalia took out a sketch book from her bag and continued drawing what looked like Barbie who had an arrow through her head. Well, better not disturb her. Katie had her sunglasses perched back on her nose and she took a deep sigh.
"Katie, it looks like you haven't slept at all." I pointed out.
"Yeah, two days in a row. This is my third day."
I looked at her in disbelief, "What?! What have you been doing?"
"I've been rushing a couple articles for the newspaper to make up for my absence and the same time the publisher wanted the complete manuscript."
"Gods, you should've told us. We could've at least -"
"What? Postpone it for another year. No thank you. Look. I did it and now I'm here for you guys and still looking fine." She lowered her sunglasses to look at me straight in the eyes. "So if you guys don't let me get the window seat, I swear to the gods, I will lose it."
"Okay, okay. You can sleep on my shoulder now as we wait, if you want."
"Nah, I'm fine." She sighed, read a message on her phone, and then placed her head on my shoulder. "Wake me up, Annabeth. Give me enough energy to at least be awake until we board the plane."
"What do you suggest?" I asked her.
"You come up with that." She said. "How about Truth or Dare? Let's play that. Thalia, join us."
I looked over at Thalia and amazingly, she agreed to play along. I, to be honest, thought that the game is just a waste of time but I had no choice but to play along because even Thalia was up for it.
"Thalia, truth or dare?" Katie started.
Thalia had a thoughtful expression, "Hmm, truth."
"Who's the guy in the photograph in the picture frame above your work table? The one beside the photo of the four of us."
Thalia kept quiet. I was silent as well, waiting for whatever to unfold.
Katie went on, "You can't say that the photo came with the picture frame because no other picture frame in the city had the same photo that came with the frame. I know, I checked."
I couldn't help but smile because Katie seemed to be determined to find out who that guy was.
"I also found another photo of him hanging in the red room."
Thalia's expression changed to rage in an instant, "I told you never to go in there!"
"I thought it was the bathroom!" Katie defended herself.
"It kind of does look like a bathroom...with a red light bulb sticking out of the top of the door." I helped.
Thalia was quiet for a couple seconds and her expression softened, "It's a guy I've been seeing for a while now."
"I knew it!" Katie said victoriously.
"Oh please don't tell me that it's that guy who asked you out for coffee." I looked at her with a helpless expression.
Thalia laughed at me and said, "We met weeks before that guy asked for coffee."
"Come on. I spill the deets." Katie said excitedly.
"His name is Luke Castellan. He's the youngest senior pilot in Olympus Airlines."
"So that explains why the photo in the red room was of a guy in a cockpit, flying a plane." Katie mused. "How did you guys meet?"
"We met when I went to summer camp for the first time when I was old enough to go. I really wanted to be away from my mother so any chance I got; I'd grab it and try my best to maximize my time without her. You guys already know why."
"Uhm, I kind of don't." Katie piped in.
I think I was the only one out of the three who knew why. Thalia told me everything about her family when we had that camping trip for one subject back in college. It was a team building activity although I believe it was really uncalled for. Thalia and I shared a tent and she just told me everything.
She was raised by an alcoholic mother. Beryl Grace was an actress who believed that her looks and talent could bring her anywhere. She had a rich, powerful, and well known bachelor, who later became her father, fall in love with her the moment he saw her on stage. Her mother turned to alcohol the moment her father left them, which was after Thalia was born. Thalia tried running away countless of times but the authorities would bring her back to her mother, who would be sober enough to talk to the police. Her mother never wanted her to leave because Thalia was the only reminder she had of successfully having a rich man fall in love with her. When Thalia was seven years old, her father came back and she had a baby brother named Jason. Her father Zeus left them once again and her mother went back to alcohol as well. Thalia really wanted to leave but her fear of having her mother neglect or hurt her baby brother kept her going home every day. Eventually, her mother sobered up.
One day, her mother wanted to go out and have a picnic with Jason and Thalia. She left Jason with her mother for a couple of minutes to get the picnic basket but as she returned, Jason was gone. Her mother was panicking but Thalia broke. She called the police on her mother and she completely turned her back on her. Just a couple years ago, she received news that her mother died in a car crash but she scoffed and commented that her mother was most likely drunk.
Knowing her family background was one of the reasons why I was closest to her. She trusted me enough to actually open up about her dysfunctional family.
In present time, she reconciled with her father Zeus, who was more than eager to be a father figure in her life. She found her brother in Sonoma Valley. Jason now lives in Manhattan as well and works for Zeus as the CEO of Olympus Airlines, an airline company that their father owns.
Thalia waved her hand dismissively at what Katie said and gave me a knowing look. She continued, "Luke and I became friends and we promised to go back to the camp every summer. From being campers, we became the cabin heads. Eventually, I stopped going and we stopped communicating as well. One summer a lot of years ago, Dad tried to get me to conquer my fear of heights and got me to try flying a plane during a flight and Luke was the pilot for that flight. To be honest, the feeling was like finding a jewel in the desert."
"Aww." Katie cooed.
"After that, we exchanged numbers and we hang out from time to time. Last year, he asked me to teach him how to take decent photos. For one whole day, we went around New York City and took tons of pictures. Rockefeller, Times Square, Chrysler, Empire State, Charging Bull, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Central Station. When it was dark, we went to a park in New Jersey where you have a wonderful view of the skyline of the city, he insisted we went there last. He asked me for four shots of long exposure photos. With the flash of his phone, he spelled words out. I didn't really focus on what he was spelling out because I was making sure my hand wasn't shaking to a point it would interfere with the photo."
"What did he spell?" I asked, actually getting excited.
"Go. Out. With. Me?" Thalia enumerated with her fingers.
"How in the world did you manage to hide that from us?" Katie gave her a disbelieving look. "It sounds like he's amazing...and perfect. Gods, who comes up with that? Please do tell me if he has a brother."
Thalia laughed, "I'll give you a heads up."
"Can we meet him? I swear we won't embarrass you. Well, we'll try." I joked. "When can we meet him?"
"I actually already scheduled dinner for us when we come back from our vacation." Thalia smiled shyly. "Surprise."
"I did say try." I smiled back at her. "Luke Castellan. Maybe I should do a background check on him."
"Shut up. He's a decent person." Thalia defended him.
I had a thoughtful expression for a couple of seconds, "Yeah, no, it's not changing my mind."
"Annabeth, truth or dare?" Thalia asked me then stuck her tongue out.
"Truth." I firmly said.
"Are you seeing anybody right now?" Thalia asked.
"I knew that question would come up!" I exclaimed.
"Malcolm?" Katie asked.
"What? I - what. Malcolm. Why? No." I was at lost for words but only short words came out for answers.
"Because he's all you mention or talk about when we get together." Katie defended herself again.
"No. Malcolm is just a co-worker. A friend. He's the one I'm closest to in work. Come on, guys. He's like a brother to me. Guys. Really? Come on."
"Well, that speculation is out of the way." Thalia said. "Katie, truth or dare?"
"Since this round is filled with truths, I'll be the brave one. Dare."
"Okay, this one is easy." I said. "I dare you to use 'totes magotes' in an article along with a randomly and cleverly placed 'blah'."
Katie had a thoughtful expression then said, "Consider it done."
"Thalia, truth or dare?" I asked.
"I don't want to be a wuss. Dare."
"I dare you to wear something girly for this vacation. Something that you wouldn't wear unless forced to, like a dress, a skirt, or shorts." Katie said with a smug look on her face.
"Oh Gods." Thalia had a horrified look. "Fine but I didn't bring anything like...that."
"We'll give you something to work with. Just look for something in Silena's bag." I said, actually having fun.
"Annabeth, truth or dare?"
I kept quiet and weighed my options.
"Are you thinking about picking truth?" Thalia raised her eyebrows at me. "Annabeth is thinking about turning down the dare option."
"Hey, Annabeth isn't a wuss. She'd surely pick dare this time. Right, Annabeth?" Katie said with conviction. "You get sent to chaotic places and no doubt you can handle a dare."
I gave them a weird look and chose dare cause it seemed like they were taunting me to choose dare. Both of them became quiet as they thought of something for me to do.
"You wanted me to choose dare and you can't think of anything. Wow guys." I gave them an incredulous look.
"Shh, we're thinking something you would never even consider doing." Thalia sushed me.
"Yeah. Something big and memorable." Katie added.
"Fine, you guys think in the lounge cause Silena's here." I said as I spotted our friend strutting her way towards us.
Silena wore a white lace shorts and a denim dress shirt which ends she tied and sleeves she rolled up until her elbow. She wore tan oxford shoes and topped her outfit with a black floppy hat. Her wavy black hair swayed as she took each step. Her blue eyes looked pointedly at us. She carried her handbag and two medium sized paper bags. And most people really do look up and stare at her even for a couple seconds.
"Gods, where have you been?" Thalia asked rather impatiently.
"I just picked these up," She raised the paper bags, "and ran into the editor-in-chief of Marie Claire. She wanted to have me interviewed for the next issue of the magazine."
"Wow. Congratulations!" I smiled widely at her. "Did you say yes?"
"Of course! I'll be doing the interview when we come back."
"After our dinner with Thalia." Katie smirked and moved her eyebrows up and down.
I laughed and agreed with Katie while Thalia just whined at us.
"What? What's happening? I missed something. Eugh, guys, you have to fill me in." Silena said.
"Alright, come on. We'll tell you in the lounge." I said as we went through the doors and went down the stairs to the business class lounge.
We got to the lounge and presented our boarding passes to the person behind the desk. We immediately claimed the loveseat and two chairs that encircled a coffee table. Thalia and I sat down on the loveseat while Silena and Katie got the single seats. Undoubtedly, the seats here were far more comfortable compared to the ones outside.
"Wait, first things first." Silena got our attention. "I like the new hair, Annabeth. I'm still liking the hair, Thalia. I love the outfit, Katie." She said as she motioned to whatever she was admiring.
The lounge had a huge table that served different food: sandwiches, sushi, sashimi, porridge, cookies, cake, cereals, fresh fruits, yogurt, and so many more. They had a fridge with different juices and milk. They served coffee and tea. I bet they have ice cream here as well. We left our bags and started getting food. Once satisfied, we went back to our seats and talked.
"Oh Thalia, I'm so happy for you! I bet Luke is a great man because he managed to win you heart over." Silena said while Katie and I snickered.
Silena kept quiet the whole time we told her about our game. From Luke up to our dares.
"Katie, can you place the 'blah' in a place where your readers would really stop reading and ask themselves if they read it properly?" Silena smiled at Katie, concealing her laugh.
Katie gave her a salute, "Sure thing."
"And Thalia, lucky you! You can wear this!" Silena gave Thalia one of her paper bags. "It was a good thing I decided to go shopping before we leave. It's just a simple summer dress. It would look fine on you and it would go along with your boots just fine."
Thalia looked inside the paper bag and groaned. She gave Silena a helpless look and gave Katie and me death glares. She looked at the dress again and hung her head.
"What's in the other bag?" Thalia asked Silena as she pointed to the other paper bag.
"It's another dress and a pair of sandals." Silena replied. "Why? You want to wear this?"
Thalia looked at me, "Annabeth, please." She pleaded with a look that matched the expression on her face.
"What? Please what?" I scrunched my eyebrows at her before sipping my coffee.
"Don't let me dress up alone. You have to wear the other dress."
"Excuse me? Why me? Are you trying to say something about what I'm wearing? Why not Katie?" I asked, rather offended.
"Don't get me wrong, I like what you're wearing but Silena likes what Katie's wearing. Also Katie is already wearing a skirt and Silena is wearing something I'm also dared to wear: shorts." Thalia defended.
"Hey! Don't drag me into this!" Silena raised her voice.
"Yeah, don't drag her into this." I said.
"But Annabeth could use a wardrobe change." Silena said lowly.
"Hey!" I whipped my head to stare at Silena in the meanest way possible.
"I mean, I think there's nothing wrong with what you're wearing but it's too safe." She said.
I looked around. Katie was nodding her head, agreeing. Thalia gave me a pleading look. Silena gave me an apologetic look.
"You guys, I swear, will be the death of me." I finally said.
Thalia threw her fists in the air before hugging me, "I love you." She mumbled against my hair.
"Ugh, I hate you." I replied and briskly grabbed the paper bag from Silena's hand to show my rage.
I quickly walked to the comfort room with heavy steps to get away from them and show how mad I was. Apparently, the carpeted floor made my steps almost inaudible. I locked myself in the comfort room and took out the dress. I stared at it. The floor length dress had a gradient effect. From its thin straps up to the backside area, it was dark blue. It then fades to white up until the knees. From white, it fades to light blue until the end of the dress. If you looked at the front of the dress, it looked normal but as I turn around, it reveals to be backless. You could see my bare back up until a couple inches below the small of my back. As if the one who designed the dress wasn't satisfied with the exposed skin, there was a slit on the side of the dress up until the half of my thigh.
I huffed and hastily changed into the dress while muttering statements like "good for nothing friends", "I'm just embarrassing myself", and "Stupid, asinine, moronic things you do to make people happy". I changed my boots for plain sandals. I looked at my reflection and fixed my hair. The longer I looked at the mirror, the faster my anger disappears but the moment I turn around, the anger rises again. I sighed and decided to stick by my choice. I took out a small pouch out of my bag, which was hidden in a small pocket of my bag. I removed the piece of jewelry inside and wore the elegant owl necklace that my mother gave me. I fixed my hair again before exiting the comfort room.
"Wow, Annabeth, the dress looks amazing on you." Silena said. "And it fits you nicely."
I blankly stared at her for a moment and then gave her a sarcastic smile. I sat back down on the loveseat and mouthed "You owe me big time" to Thalia as she walked to the comfort room to change as well.
"Your hair is perfect with the dress." Katie commented.
"Oh, you think so? Have you noticed the back?" I said and turned so she could see my bare back.
"Yep, that's why your hair is perfect. It doesn't defeat the purpose of the dress."
"Gods." I sighed.
Thalia came out after a couple of minutes. She was now wearing a short dark blue tube dress that had flowers printed on it. The dress hung a couple inches above her knees. Good for her, the dress covered her back unlike mine. She still wore her combat boots, which looked fine with the dress. As she sat down, she immediately got her bag and pulled out her denim jacket which she wore. I instantly regretted bringing a scarf instead of a cardigan or something so I could follow Thalia. Stupid scarf.
I sucked it up and pushed away my anger. Better not start the long awaited vacation on a bad foot.
We continued talking as we munched on the different foods we picked. Katie drank cups of coffee to chase away the sleep long enough until our plane arrive. I stuck with tea, fruits, yogurt, and ice cream. Thalia ate sushi and sashimi. Silena ate sweets.
"I wonder who the pilot for our flight." Katie wondered out loud as she tipped her head to the side and rested it on her index finger.
"Why?" Thalia asked.
"Ooh, someone has a crush!" I teased her with a singsong tone before I popped a grape into my mouth.
"Perks of being a travel writer: you get to meet great pilots." Silena commented.
"Did you get his name?" I asked her.
"Unfortunately, no." Katie said with much dismay. "The first time I was on a flight with him, I was on my way to Los Angeles. Our flight was delayed because of him. Every passenger was already on the plane then he walks into the plane, saying that he was from the duty free shop. He probably stole something because on his way to the cockpit, he was recounting his encounter with the ground security. Gods, I was annoyed by him."
"Wait." Thalia interrupted. "And you actually like him? That is so unlike you."
"I didn't say I like him." Katie replied and continued on. "Next time I was with him, I was from Switzerland to New York. I barely had any sleep that day. When I got in the plane, I immediately sat down on my seat without checking it. Apparently, he thought it was funny to put a melted chocolate egg on my seat and a couple of the other passengers' as well."
"How sure are you that he was the one who did it?" I asked.
"After a few minutes later, the crew announced an apology for the prank that one of the pilots did. He does so many pranks like going out of the cockpit to check on a random passenger's window because there was a malfunction on one of the engines, announcing that the airport tower wasn't responding so we'd have to land at another country's airport, telling everyone to brace cause we were about to crash, having the plane plummet down nose first to act as if we were crashing, dropping all the oxygen masks and then later telling us that they pressed the wrong button, and more." Katie said, annoyed.
"Sounds like a prankster." Silena said. "He sounds fun though but does he ever wonder if there were passengers who'd get a heart attack or something?"
Katie shrugged, "Sounds like a jerk to me."
"Sounds like you like him." Thalia teased.
"Shut up." Katie rolled her eyes but I could see her cheeks get a bit redder.
"Olympus Airlines?" Thalia asked Katie. "Maybe I could ask Jason or Luke."
"Yeah, New York Times only chooses the best."
I feigned a cough and discreetly said, "Suck up."
Katie gave me a long look, scoping me up and down before looking away as if she doesn't care and wouldn't even spend her effort to. I laughed and so did Katie. When the laughter died down and normal chatter about our careers filled my ears, I looked at my phone and checked for news update while listening to them.
Silena was going to be interviewed by Marie Claire's top journalist and will have her own photo shoot. If all things go to plan, her interview will be on the October issue. Katie already submitted her complete manuscript and will be read by the publisher and the readers of the publisher. The publisher said that the first copies of the book will be out on the Ber months. Her work in New York Times remains the same but she has no protests. She loves it there. Thalia is going to be sent to Greenland soon for pictures. She's expecting an extra job in National Graphic too as a magazine editor.
"Flight SD004 bound for Moscow is now boarding." The person behind the front desk announced. "Flight SD004 bound for Moscow is now boarding." He repeated.
"Come on guys." Silena said as we stood up and grabbed our things.
"Hey guys, we should've walked and gone around because now we have to spend ten hours sitting on our butts." I said as I carried my bag and added paper bag and adjusted my dress.
"Stop fretting over the dress, Annabeth. It looks fine, dear." Katie said, fixing her hair and shouldering her bag.
We left the lounge, thanking the person on our way out. It felt weird not having cloth graze against my back. We pushed through the glass doors of the lounge and made our way to the gate where the tube that would bring us to the plane.
As we got to the gate, there was already a queue of passengers just waiting to be accommodated to the plane. The ground airline employees called for the business class passengers to board first and when the four of us started lining up, Silena tapped my shoulder.
"What's up?" I asked as I turned around to look at her.
"You still don't have a dare, right?" She asked me and I just wanted to lie. "I have one for you."
"Isn't wearing your overbearing dress enough?" I groaned.
"I dare you to heavily flirt with him." She inconspicuously pointed to a guy who was walking briskly through the crowd with another guy in tow who on the other hand looked composed and walked leisurely.
"What? Silena, don't be absurd. We're about to board the plane. I can't do that in, what, a minute?" I reasoned.
"He's on our flight, dummy." Silena smiled.
"What makes you so sure?"
"He's making his way here." She said as she continued to keep an eye on him.
A/N: Thanks for reading! :)
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Question of the Chapter: Do you enjoy traveling? Where have you traveled to? :)