''I will be grading your paper on the organization, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and correct summarization,'' my teacher, Ms. Dawson, said. She was explaining a research project we were supposed to do during winter break, which was just a week away.
It was Friday, third-period Language Arts, and the kids at my boarding school were all bored out of their minds.
She continued, ''the presentation of your paper to the class will also be graded. Some possibilities for research topics are countries, animals, presidents, famous landmarks, historical events, culture, sports, diseases, famous architects, artists, scientists, or authors. Any questions?'' she asked.
Famous architects! My brain raced with the possibilities. Michelangelo, Mimar Sinan, Sir Christopher Wren, Louis Henri Sullivan, Le Corbusier, Antoni Gaudi, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Ieoh Ming Pei, Frank Gehry, Frank Lloyd Wright… there were hundreds more to choose from. All with amazing, unique designs and styles. I couldn't wait to get started.
The rest of the class groaned. They were all muttering about how unfair it was to have homework during a vacation. Truthfully, I didn't really understand why we did, either, but I sure wasn't complaining.
It was only October, but this year the school board had decided, for some reason, to move winter break to November instead of December. Everyone was anxious to get out of school so they could go visit their families for the holidays.
I went to a boarding school in New York, near Long Island, which was where Camp Half-Blood was. That way, I wouldn't have to travel through hundreds of miles of monster-infested land, which was pretty much everywhere, to get to camp when I needed to.
A girl named Lily Adkins raised her hand. ''Why?'' she asked. Everyone around her immediately chimed in with his or her opinion.
''Yeah, why?''
''I think this is against the law!''
''I don't have time for this! I'll be too busy stuffing my face with my grandma's famous apple pie!''
''I like pie!''
''I don't! I'm allergic!''
''I feel bad for you, man!''
''I don't! I never feel sympathy or empathy!''
''All right, class!'' Ms. Dawson clapped her hands to get our attention. ''That's enough.'' The class quieted some. ''This research project is an opportunity to learn more about a subject that interests you. You will develop skills that are applicable to school, work, and life. As for why you have to do it during break, well, winter break is a perfect time for this. You all don't have much to do, do you? You'll find more time in your schedule. And we don't want you all to come back forgetting everything you have learned so far this year. This project will be good practice for your researching and writing skills.''
More time in our schedule? Yeah, right. I'd be spending my vacation at Camp Half-Blood, and I'd be extremely busy enjoying myself, reuniting with friends, and most importantly, getting to see Percy again.
Still, I knew I'd find enough time to do this project – that is, if nothing disastrous happened. I really hoped nothing would.
Ms. Dawson continued to explain more rules for the project, seeing that nobody had any good questions. She showed us some examples of past projects, but I wasn't listening anymore now that I'd already made some plans for my paper. I was ADHD, after all.
My mind drifted to camp again. I remembered winter break two years ago, when Percy, Thalia, and I had gone to Westover Hall to meet Grover and find two new demigods, Nico and Bianca di Angelo. How that manticore had hurdled off the cliff, with me still on its back. How Luke had totally betrayed me, forcing me to hold up the sky. I remembered Artemis, taking my load and placing it on her own shoulders to save me. How Percy, Thalia, and Grover had showed up at last with those hunters. And I remembered the final battle with Atlas on Mount Tam, Artemis fighting, Zoe dying, my dad coming to the rescue. I smiled. Good old dad.
I hoped that this winter break wouldn't be as overwhelming. But as a demigod, I seriously doubted it.
Suddenly the intercom came on. ''Attention. Attention, students, '' said the muffled voice of our principal, Mr. Thomas. ''It has begun snowing lightly outside. This may not seem like a big deal, but we have had reports of a huge snowstorm coming for the whole state, with up to eight feet of snow in some areas. This small flurry will rapidly become heavier. The weather forecast says that this one storm will last for only a day, but there will be scattered blizzards of the same kind for the next week or so. The board of education here has decided that school will be dismissed early today, and that winter break will also start early, right after dismissal. Students leaving for vacation are advised to leave now, while the snow is not too heavy. Students who are staying at school for the vacation may report to their dorms. All students' parents have been called and informed of this situation, and they will know to pick you up, so don't worry. Thank you, and have a good extended winter break.''
Cheering erupted throughout the whole school. YES! We got to have three whole weeks of break now, instead of just two. I would get to spend almost a whole month at Camp Half-Blood. And since this blizzard was affecting the whole state, Percy would get to have a long break too, since he also lived in New York.
I couldn't wait to get to Camp Half-Blood. The camp had magical boundaries, so the snowstorm wouldn't have any effect on us. Everything would be great. We'd sing wintery campfire songs. We'd play capture the flag. We'd sing songs around the campfire. Percy and I would have three whole weeks together.
But… wait. Calm down, I told myself. I had been so excited about the snow and getting to go on vacation early that I'd forgotten to consider why there might be such big snowstorms – and in October, too. So big that school would be canceled. As a daughter of the goddess of wisdom, my mind usually caught things like this right away.
It had to be that something was up with the gods. No question about that. Natural disasters, extreme weather – all these things that mortals have great scientific explanations for – are usually the gods' fault.
What was the problem now? Last summer, just two months before, actually, Percy and I had led an army to defeat Kronos, the evil Titan lord who was seeking revenge for his downfall millennia ago. The battle took place in Manhattan, and there were great losses on both sides. Finally, we had won. Peace had been restored. He definitely couldn't have risen again, definitely not this soon. It was something else. But what?
I walked out of the classroom with the mob of people who were crowding the halls. I forced myself to take my mind off what the weather might mean, just for a moment. Chill. It's just snow, gods. No big deal. Think about camp. There's no use worrying.
''Hey, Annabeth!'' my friend Noelle said, catching up with me. ''I can't wait for Christmas!'' I walked over to her, smiled, and shrugged off what I was thinking about. After all, it might just be that the gods felt like making it a white Halloween – as strange as that sounded. But hey, you never knew.
Noelle loved holidays and anything that meant she didn't have to learn. Just like somebody I know. She was an orphan, and her aunt had brought her in after her parents had died, but then sent her off to boarding school because she was too busy with her job as a lawyer. I personally thought that was really selfish of her aunt, and her job was just an excuse to get rid of Noelle. I always got angry when I learned about these kind of things, as my stepmother used to not care about me like that.
But Noelle was a happy-go-lucky person. I don't know how that was, considering her family history. She was great at cheering people up and was always being friendly to everyone. But sometimes she's too energetic.
''Hey!'' I said to her. ''So where are you going for break?''
''Oh, I'm visiting my aunt and uncle. They live in Idaho. They'll be picking me up in their car. A long car trip. You know how easily I get carsick. Yay me. Where are you going?''
''A camp,'' I said. ''I can't wait.''
We walked outside. The snow was falling in little cotton puffs, and most of the ground had been frosted with white already.
I had always loved how the school was designed. It was seven stories tall and built with silver bricks in perfect order. The main entrance was an arch-shaped doorway about twenty feet wide and ten feet tall. The doors were made out of glass. The windows were long and rectangular, with stained glass on either end. It was beautiful.
The architect who had designed it was a genius. In fact, I should ask the principal who had made this school. Whoever did would be a great topic for my research paper. I made a mental note to myself to go back to the school for that quick question to Mr. Thomas before my dad came to pick me up.
''A camp?In winter?'' Noelle asked.
''Camps are not only for summer. And I am also riding a car to get there. My dad's picking me up.''
''Sounds fun! Except for the car part, of course. Your dad is so awesome,'' Noelle said wistfully. Noelle doesn't mind when I talk about my dad. She likes it, really. She's always asking me to tell her about the stuff we do together, so she can 'experience what it's like being a real daughter'.
''Yeah, he's really cool. He's still obsessed those old sappy movies, though. He's been watching this rom-com, from the 1960's or something, and it makes him cry every time. It's hilarious.''
Noelle grinned. ''Sounds like your dad. See you after break,'' she said as she walked off toward an old Ford car driven by an older lady wearing a blue sweater, very red lipstick, dangly earrings, and a white silk scarf, with her gray hair done in a ponytail with a rubber band.
I had no idea why there were so many cars, and how they got here so fast, since the principal had just told them school would be out early like ten minutes ago.
''Bye!'' I watched Noelle and her aunt drive away, then I ran back into the school to ask Mr. Thomas about the school's architect.
There were still a lot of students going out of the doors, so when I tried to get back in, I was almost knocked over several times. When I finally made it through the mob and into the school, I ran to the principal's office.
Mr. Thomas was shuffling through some papers on his desk. When he heard me come in, he looked up.
''Annabeth, what may I help you with today?'' he asked.
''Well, I was wondering who designed this school. My Language Arts teacher assigned this project and I wanted to research an architect – '' I started.
''Yes, yes. The famous research project,'' Principal Thomas interrupted. ''I am pleased that you have such an interest in our school history and in your schoolwork. We don't have many students like you. You seem… different, somehow. In a good way, of course,'' he quickly added.
If only you knew how different I really am, I thought drily.
''Anyways,'' he continued, ''what were you here for? Oh, yes, the school's architect. It was… Mirabelle Benson, I believe. Yes, her. Wonderful skill she has, doesn't she, now?''
Mirabelle Benson? I had never heard of any architect even like her before. Her name sounded more like a pop princess's than a talented creator. I knew Mr. Thomas wasn't joking, though. He never joked.
Oh well, all the more interesting for my project. Ms. Dawson would appreciate the uniqueness.
I asked the principal some more questions and he gave me some websites where I could research Mirabelle and her life. Afterwards I carefully put the papers in my folder and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I thanked Mr. Thomas and walked outside.
It had totally cleared out in front of the school. Where there had previously been a throng of students there now was only sidewalk and grass.
Yes, actual grass. I know, this is New York, but, being the amazing designer that she was, Mirabelle Benson had bordered the main building with 100 feet or so of green pasture.
Anyway, I was staring at the perfection of it all, when something weird happened. One moment everything was perfectly normal. The next, the ground seemed to tremble a bit – like an earthquake, except something was different. The world spun – and I'm not saying this figuratively. It was as if the earth itself were struggling to wake up from a deep sleep.
I'm imagining things! I told myself.
The earth gave one final shake, which sent me tumbling to the ground – the ground, which seemed to be laughing at me.
I got up quickly and brushed myself off. What in the name of the gods was that? That certainly meant something. The earth… the way it shook…
Forget about it. Now. I told myself. But of course I wouldn't forget about it. My brain automatically started calculating all the possible reasons and meanings of this.
An earthquake… well, earthquakes were caused by Poseidon. He was the god of the sea, and also Percy's dad. Could it be that it was just him being moody?
But my brain said, No. It's not him. That didn't feel like it was him. It felt stronger… agonizing… more ancient, older… angrier.
I didn't know how I knew those things. But somehow I could tell.
The earth… the earth itself seemed to be causing it, not a god's strike.
The earth…
Suddenly I heard a car horn honk loudly. It was my dad's Volkswagen.
Dad waved. ''Come on, Annabeth! Don't make me wait all day! This car has been rumbling and making hissing noises for hours! I don't want it to explode like the last one!''
I smiled, forgetting all about the earthquake (Well, not really. My brain just stored it away for now) and ran to the car. ''Hi, Dad. How did you get here so fast?''
My dad lived in San Francisco, and of course my school was in New York, but he was on a special business trip in New Jersey and had insisted on driving me to camp.
''Well, I am just this awesome,'' he said. ''So, I bet you're looking forward to camp.'' He seemed to have forgotten all about the car's apparent threat to explode.
''Yes,'' I said. ''It'll be the best.''
So there's the first chapter! Yay! I hope you like it! I'll try to update and post the next chapter as soon as possible, maybe 2 weeks or so? Likes and reviews are greatly appreciated! You have no idea how much I love those! Suggestions are also welcome! Thanks!