Ringgg!

"Okay, you're dismissed! Have a great Winter Break!" our English teacher, Mrs. Williams, called out.

Oh gods, Winter Break. I would be boarding a plane to San Francisco in just a few hours.

To be honest, I was kind of nervous. I hadn't even been planning on visiting my family this year, since I had to work on the Argo II, but Chiron insisted I need a "break from camp." Which was probably code for "I know you're acting weird because of Percy's disappearance, so you should spend time with your dad to forget about him."

I was just worried that Leo would screw up something, and then it would take even longer to build that dreaded ship. They needed all the help they could get. But, it was no use arguing with Chiron.

I hadn't realized I was still in the classroom until Mrs. Williams cleared her throat to get my attention. I hurriedly got up out of my seat, dumped my books into my locker, and headed back to my dorm to try to find something productive to do for the rest of the day.

As I walked by, I tried to block out the squeals and giggles that were coming from the other girls. They were all talking about how fun their Winter Break was going to be.

"Ohmugod, you're going to the Bahamas? No way!"

"Psh, that's nothing, I'm going to Paris!"

"Well, I bet none of you are going skiing in Switzerland!"

"Ha! I'm going to ANTARTICA!"

"You're so stupid, Bethany, it's AUSTRALIA."

I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to yell at the bubble headed, clueless girls that flooded the hallway.

Attempting to clear my head, I went over my checklist for things I needed for the trip. I always forgot something whenever I went on a trip somewhere, so I hoped I wouldn't forget something again this time.

Dagger, ambrosia and nectar, tops, jeans, toothbrush, money, underwear, hairbrush, laptop, presents- PRESENTS! I forgot to pack all the Christmas presents.

I speed-walked through the hallway and pushed past people until I found my dorm, number 651. I rapped on the door hurriedly, not wanting to stand out with the girls for another minute. There was no answer. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and fumbled with my key, inserted it in the lock, and quickly shut the door before any of Mia's friends barged in and started squealing again.

"Mia?" I called out, looking around our tiny room. She wasn't sprawled out on her bed or rapidly texting on her phone like she usually was, which was pretty strange.

I shrugged my shoulders and pulled out my laptop, which was buried underneath the piles and piles of blueprints, old homework, and stacks of architecture books that were messily thrown on my desk. If I were at camp, I would have surely failed my cabin investigation.

Just as I was about to turn on the power button of my laptop, Mia flew into the room as if she was being chased by someone, slammed the door shut, and locked it in less than five seconds.

"Uh, what the heck are you doing?" I asked, giving her a confused look.

"Had to run away from the preps," she panted, catching her breath. "I was going to take a shower, but I couldn't even make it to the bathroom. Everybody's freaking out over Winter Break. I don't see what the big deal is."

She rolled her eyes and plopped down on her bed, which was parallel to mine. Throwing her un-used towel and shampoo on the ground, she kicked off her shoes and spread out her legs across the top of her mattress.

I laughed. "Yeah, me neither. Winter Break. Whoop-de-doo."

"At least your dad likes you. I'm pretty sure my parents still hate me," she muttered.

Mia had a tendency to exaggerate things.

Not wanting to discuss our mutual family problems any longer, I attempted to change the subject.

"When's your flight?" I blurted.

She arched an eyebrow. "I think it's at six-fifteen. When's yours?"

"Six-thirty. I guess we'll just leave together." I smiled.

"Hey, do you think they have any cute guys in Colorado?" she asked excitedly, completely changing the subject. Anything that had to do with boys immediately cheered her up.

"I don't know. I've never been there. Besides, didn't you say you were going to take a break from guys?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.

"I changed my mind. I need something to do while I'm there, right?"

"You're going skiing."

Mia snorted. "Yay, skiing with my parents, my sister, and my brother. So fun," she said sarcastically. "I'm going to have the time of my life."

I was about to reply with some smart comment, until my eyes landed on my suitcase, which was leaning against the wall plastered with sketches of Olympus. I suddenly remembered my ADHD moment in the hallway a few minutes before, when I was going over my checklist and had remembered that I still hadn't packed the presents. I leapt off the bed and knelt down to pull out the gifts that were hidden underneath it.

I had gotten my dad a book on old war airplanes, an iPad Hermes had given me, and a mysterious package Athena had told me to give him. I had no idea what was inside. I bought Susan a necklace and pair of earrings that Mia said were "absolutely gorgeous," and Matthew and Bobby Mythomagic cards and some game I had recalled them talking about. Considering I had no idea what they might want, it took me days to figure out what they would like.

"Oh my gosh, Annabeth Chase forgot to do something? It's a miracle!" Mia teased as she watched me pull out the presents.

"Shut up," I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I'm a human, aren't I?"

Well, I was also half goddess, but she didn't need to know that…

I packed all of the brightly wrapped presents neatly in the remaining space in the suitcase and zipped it shut. I placed it back against the wall and picked up my laptop again, which I had forgotten to turn on when Mia had barged into the room.

"Annabeth?" Mia asked. "Yeah?" I replied, looking up from the laptop. She was painting her toenails a bunch of different colors.

She bit her lip. "You were talking about someone in your sleep the other day. And you sounded really mad. Who's Hera?"

I froze. What other things did I say in my sleep? She could have figured out everything about demigods, and that wasn't a problem I wanted to deal with.

"Um, she's a really rude girl I knew in California," I lied. "I can't stand her."

"Oh."

"So, what other things did you hear?" I asked nervously.

She tapped her chin as she thought. "Um, something about your boyfriend and a person named Gaea. You must have some really messed up dreams."

I held back a sigh of relief as I realized that she knew nothing about Greek mythology. Most mortals these days didn't even know any of the gods or goddesses, which helped demigods keep their cover.

For the next few hours, Mia went on and on about something while I researched things about Rome on Daedalus' laptop. Before I knew it, it was already ten, so I figured I should try to get a few hours of sleep before my flight. I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in months, so there was really no point of me even attempting to get some rest, but there was nothing else to do. Reading about Roman ways of torture just made me even more worried about Percy, and my stupid dyslexia practically killed my eyes.

"Good night, Annabeth," Mia yawned, pulling me out of my trance.

"'Night, Mia," I mumbled, resting my head on my pillow.

And so I slept (not very peacefully), my mind flooded with thoughts about what troubles I might face the next day, and of course, Percy.

A/N: Sorry it was short! This was just the introductory chapter though. I'll hopefully have a longer chapter next time. So, make sure to REVIEW! I need to know if anybody is actually reading this. I also accept PM's. Flames welcome! Any OOC-ness? Suggestions? Tell me!