1: Why I feel like my brain's dripping out my ears.

Mornings have never been good for me; I don't suppose they're good for anyone. But this morning, gods I felt horrendous.

All I remember of last night is that I was out on a date with Annabeth, daughter of Athena. My best friend and for the past few
weeks my girlfriend. Well, all I remember is that we were out on a date, traipsing around Manhattan like we were the only people in this city. And well being demi-gods and being unlucky as we were a monster
found, and attacked us. Only a hellhound. Nothing we couldn't handle, but that's not the point. It ruined absolutely everything. You'd think that after the summer we'd had, the gods would've given us a break.
But wow, how wrong would you be.

Anyway, back to the point. Annabeth had just stabbed the thing while I kept it distracted, she'd managed to do it undetected wearing her invisibility cap. Honestly, I could've taken it down by myself and so could she, but we had to make things short and sweet. So hellhound gone, Annabeth wiping monster goo off her knife, me astounded by her beauty in the sunset. Just how things should be. Grinning inanely as I jogged to her side, I slipped my arm around her waist and we carried on with our evening.

We strolled along the harbour like a couple seriously in love, which I suppose we were. I think, I hope. The sunset threw reds and pinks across the coast. The sea has always been my favourite place in the whole world. It's a part of me. See, thing is my dad's a Greek god, like Annabeth's mom, goddess of wisdom and battle strategies. My dad, Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes. So the ocean being one of the only places I honestly enjoyed being, comes as no surprise.

Realising that it was getting late, and that we both had school the next day, we headed for home. I dropped Annabeth off at her dorm as if nothing had happened. And I supposed it was normal for us to get attacked outside the boundaries of camp, one of the only places that demi-gods, like us could be safe. So I dropped Annabeth off at her student house with a kiss. It wasn't as unexpected as it used to be, but it still sent my mind reeling. I still caught my breath in my throat every time we'd part and she'd look at me with her startling, deep grey eyes. So on a high, I turned with reluctance and headed home too.

Not paying the most attention to where I was going, I ended up walking into a few people, and lampposts, and cars, and walls.

Can you blame me? You see, Annabeth's got this thing about her, she's domineering and intelligent, and she's a natural born leader. And although I'm as stubborn as they come, I can't help but follow her every command. Her skin is tanned, flawless and smooth as a baby's rear. She's got blond hair that falls in a cascade of curls past her shoulders. Princess curls. Now, she's got a streak of grey, like me, from bearing the weight of the sky a few years back. And her eyes, captivating, analysing, beautiful.

It took me twice the normal time to get home, about ten minutes. As I walked down the hallway to my mother's, step father's and my apartment. I was completely oblivious to the elderly woman from the
apartment next door scowling at me.
"Boy!" she screeched at me in the same voice she used everyday to torment me. It brought me out of my train of thought. I turned, trying
to hide my annoyance
"Yes, Ms Mingay?" I replied, trying to sound at least civil. The witch sneered at me distastefully.
"I have another job for you, boy." and with that she turned I had to follow, or I'd be paying for it later.

Her flat, stained yellow with cigarette smoke and smelling of stale alcohol (I knew the smell well, mom's ex-husband, Gabe, was no stranger to booze), was the mirror image of my own. She led me into a room that would have been mom and Paul's, which was obviously the woman's living room. Here she lounged on a frail rocking chair, granny
style, along with balls of yarn and knitting needles on the table beside it. I stared down at her incredulously, my black hair falling
into my line of sight.

"There's a spider in my bedroom. Get it out." she snapped at me. We'd gone through this routine a countless amount of times. But today the spider had to be in a really awkward place. It hung, almost innocently, from her abnormally high ceiling, in the middle of the room. The only way I would be able to reach it would be if I stood on the corner of her bedside cabinet and leaned over, ready to be out of there I simply climbed and reached out.

It was easier than it seemed, climbing the cabinet and stretching to the spider. I plucked it from its web instantly. And know me, I fell. I landed on my knees and flew forward towards the base of the bed. It
would've broken my nose had it not been for my invincibility. But gods did it hurt. I slowly got up, still clutching the spider in my hand
and I headed out the door.

I released the spider into the wilderness which was the flower bed outside my bedroom window; the moonlace I had gotten from Calypso's garden glowed in the light of the moon that had taken the place of the sun. I sighed and drifted to my bed. With a headache that could only be described as what felt like a chisel being force up my nasal cavity and into my brain. Where I passed out instantly.

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