Chapter 2: Missing Seaweed Brain
AN: Set over two weeks after Percy left camp for Atlantis
Annabeth's POV
Capture the flag was yesterday, Zeus versus Hades. Of course the Athena cabin was allied with the Zeus cabin, which was led by Thalia of course. The Hades team won, to know small part to my non-participation. You see, Malcolm led the Athena cabin into battle not me. I haven't left my cabin except for meals in two weeks. I have been too busy with my plans for Olympus and my preparations for my first year at Columbia University. Someone just knocked on my door bringing me back to reality.
"Come in!" I said. The door opened and Thalia Grace walked into my room. She was dressed in her usual black Green Day shirt and black cut-off jean shorts with black sneakers. Her jet black hair stuck up in punk rocker style. Then I noticed it, her left eye was swollen and dark blue. She had a very bad black eye.
"Brain, see what happens when you don't help me!" Thalia yelled.
"I'm sorry Thals, I was too busy with work." I said defensively.
"You've never been too busy for capture the flag before, you haven't left this cabin in days, Chiron had to get someone else to teach ancient Greek. He's not dead, he'll be back. You know he would want you to have fun your last summer at camp." Thalia said.
"Whose he?" I asked, knowing darn well who she was talking about.
"Your a daughter of Athena, don't play dumb with me Annie. You know I'm talking about a certain Perseus Jackson!" Thalia said, she hadn't called me Annie since I was a little girl that ran away from home. Then she had to say his name, his full name at that.
"Thals leave me alone, I have work to do. Chiron has agreed to allow me to do my work and forgo other activities as needed." I said.
"How long is this work going to take? You're not staying in here all summer." Thalia said.
"I'm not sure how long it will take especially if I keep getting interrupted." I said incredulously. Thalia just glared at me with her electric blue eyes and I could almost feel the electricity coming out of them.
"You win for now, but I'll be back!" Thalia said as she stormed out of my cabin.
Thank the gods that was over, Thalia can be so hard headed sometimes.
"Someone else can be pretty hard headed to, my dear." A voice said from across the room. I looked and then I saw her walk out of the shadows it was Athena, my mother.
"Mom" I yelled as I ran to her and gave her a big hug.
"Annabeth, I saw and heard that conversation, you know Thalia is just worried about you. Actually, Theseus, Chiron and I are worried as well. I know for a fact that you do not have that much work to keep you away from camp activities so don't give me any excuses." Athena said sternly.
"Mom, I'm just trying to keep myself busy so I don't dwell on my problems." I said.
"Problems? The only problem you have is that the man you love is in Atlantis and will remain there for a year. You need to have fun, train yourself, participate in camp activities with your friends. There are two more capture the flags before the end of summer, I expect your team to win at least one of the remaining contests. Do I make myself clear?" Athena said.
"Yes mom, I will participate in camp activities." I agreed not wanting to upset her.
"Good, as a reward I will come and get you next week, so you can spend a few days with Theseus and I on Olympus." Athena said.
A broad smile stretched across my face. "That sounds great, thank you mom." I said.
"Good, now get out there and have fun. I love you!" Athena said as she disappeared into a golden light. I walked out of my cabin and the sun was still shining brightly, it took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the light. I guess I had been in my cabin for a long time. I get to go to Olympus next week. I can see how the construction work is going and I get to stay with mom and Theseus. That should be a lot of fun.
I walked outside and headed for the training facility, sometimes I forget how big that building is. It looks just like the Temple of Theseus in Athens with it's long marble columns. I walked inside and headed for the archery room. I walked in and Thalia was practicing in the corner, so I made my way over to her. She smiled when she saw me.
"So the brain has finally pulled herself away from the computer I see." Thalia said sarcastically. Sometimes I forget how much alike Percy and Thalia are, they could be brother and sister. A scary thought I know, especially the idea of Percy dressed as a punk rocker.
"Well my mom kinda ordered me to get out of the cabin." I said.
"Good, I'll have to thank her the next time I see her." Thalia said with a wry smile.
"Something makes me think that you already spoke to her." I accused.
Thalia raised her hands in surrender. "Now why would I bother your mother with something like this, it had to be Theseus or Chiron." Thalia said as she smiled at me innocently. I knew better than to trust that smile, but I decided it was better not to argue with her.
"Mind if I practice with you?" I asked.
"No, I would love to have someone to practice with, Nico sucks at archery." Thalia said.
"That doesn't surprise me, his ADHD is a little too severe for him to stay focused for long." I said.
"Tell me about it, the only thing that can keep him focused is making out." Thalia said and then I saw her face turn a bright red.
"What?" I said as I laughed at her face.
"Let's just pretend that I never said that shall we?" Thalia said nervously.
"Alright, if you promise to stop talking about my boyfriend, deal?" I said.
"Deal!" Thalia said.
We continued to shoot arrows until Nico ran into the room yelling, "Thalia!" as he entered. Thalia waved to him and I could tell she was a little embarrassed about how loud Nico had yelled her name.
"What's up ghost boy?" Thalia asked.
"Do you want to go for a walk in the woods?" Nico asked as he winked at Thalia, I tried unsuccessfully to hold in a slight chuckle. Thalia just glared at me and said, "Sure, let's go." Thalia continued to glare at me as she walked out the door with Nico in tow. All I could think of was how cute they were and how hard she was going to hit him when they got out of the training facility. I guess Thalia's and Nico's antics got me thinking about Percy, so I put down my bow and arrows and walked to the lake. As I reached the lake, I sat down on the end of the dock and just thought about all of the great times that Percy and I shared here. I started to wonder what he was doing in Atlantis and how his training was going? I missed him so much and walking around camp just made me miss him more. I can't wait till next week when I get to go to Olympus, at least there I'm not constantly reminded of Percy. Camp is definitely not the same with my seaweed brain, I thought.
AN: I hope everyone enjoyed this short chapter, several people asked me to do at least one chapter about camp without Percy. I think this story will have many short chapters most centered around Percy and his experience in Atlantis, but as you'll see in the next chapter there will be other venues as well.