Alright, we're back. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. We're constantly inching closer and closer to the 300 review mark.
Last chapter I asked you what common food item Percy suggested Athena should have made and a lot of you knew the right answer. Congratulations goes out to the following people for correctly giving me the answer of pizza: Guardian of Artemis, Shadowing, ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted, scarlet1474, God Of The Underworld, alyaJackson, MissSemi-Dependent, Milk of Awesomeness, elliefs, Cupcake girl282, frikki90, percyjason, Wisdom daughter, anaabeth120, Mila-is-a-bookworm-101, , ElmoDaHorse, LeahTymara, annabeth the wise girl, IamTiffanyDaughterofHermes, slleong99, AliceOfMusic, annabetheverdeen1, ACOOLGUY, Ble fotia, daughterofpercabeth12188, The ExtraOrdinary Outsider, QueenOfAshes, FlorenceBradbury, Readerforlife122, the quill12, The Demigod Gryffindor and three guests. Wow, that's a lot of names.
Onto the chapter. This is Chapter 10. It's short, but we get another dream. I won't spoil anything and just let you guys read.
Enjoy Chapter Ten of Scars and Recognition.
Disclaimer: Percy and Annabeth didn't know each other until they were twelve, not six.
Chapter Ten: Percy POV
School continued. About two weeks in we had our first Greek test and our class average was outstanding, like a 95% or something ridiculous like that. Swimming started and the coach pushed me harder than the other kids, as he expected me to be the captain of the swim team this year, even though I was only a junior. We still had a couple months until swim season, but I still used that time to get in shape.
A month into the school year Annabeth and I were doing pretty good. We didn't really hang out outside of school, but she was best friends with Thalia. I swear those two hung out every day of the week, they were so close. Our relationship was tense to say the least, but we were on good terms. We had become friends once more and needless to say I was hoping we would become more than that.
One weekend Thalia brought Annabeth over to our apartment, which was surprising. I was busy playing Fifa online when Thalia walked into my room. At first I didn't notice her, but once I did I was so surprised I let in a goal.
"Dammit Thalia," I said. "Why did you – oh, hi Annabeth." I had totally missed the blonde-haired girl walk in behind my cousin.
"Hey," she replied a little nervously. "Are you playing Fifa?"
For a second I had forgotten the game. I turned back towards my TV and put the ball back in play.
"Yeah," I said distracted.
"A piece of advice Annabeth. Don't distract my cousin when he's playing Fifa. He'll let you know about it."
"Hey," I said without turning from the screen. "You don't reach god status with distractions."
I could almost feel Thalia roll her eyes at me from behind me. I scored another goal and took a quick look over my shoulder at Annabeth who looked confused.
"Percy likes to call himself a Fifa god," Thalia told her. "He thinks it's a big deal how he's known as the best Fifa player at Goode High School."
"Oh, and what are you known for, Thalia?" I said, scoring another goal and making the score 7-1. "That's right, being the Fifa god's cousin. So shut up."
I heard Annabeth let out a short laugh from behind me and I grinned.
Thalia sighed and changed the topic as we heard a door close out in the living room.
"I think your mom just got home. I'm going to go introduce her to Annabeth."
"Kay," I said distracted. "Have fun."
I noticed Annabeth lingered behind to see me make it 8-1 before she was dragged off by Thalia.
I smirked to myself as the guy I was playing forfeited and disconnected.
I decided to take a break and head out to see what my mom brought back from the grocery store.
When I got out to the kitchen the three girls were laughing together. I'm assuming one of them made a joke (probably about me) and the other two thought it was hysterical because it was so true.
I saw some soda sitting off to the side and I managed to grab one and get halfway down the hallway before my mom realized I had even come into the room.
"Percy, hey, you're alive!" She said and the girls laughed.
"Hey mom," I said, not bothering to turn around. "Thanks for the soda. Let me know when dinner is ready." I avoided my mom's cries and ducked back into my room, closing the door. I know, that was probably mean, but whatever. My mom knew I wasn't really mad at her.
I started up another online game and I heard Thalia and Annabeth pass by my door, Thalia knocking on it loudly just to be obnoxious.
Around two hours later my mom called the three of us out for dinner. For once I was locked in a tight match, 1-1, going into the last few minutes of the game. My mom called me, once, twice more and I credited my inability to score due to my mom's pressure. The game ended in a tie.
I walked out into the kitchen and found that my mom had ordered pizza, both cheese and pepperoni. I grabbed a new soda from the fridge and sat down next to my cousin at the table. I grabbed two slices of pepperoni and within five minutes was headed back for my third.
"Percy, do you even chew your food?" My mother asked.
Just for good measure, I took a huge bite and exaggerated the chewing motions before turning back and devouring the remaining part of the slice. I saw Thalia roll her eyes to my left, but she didn't say anything. I finished two more slices before I was finally satisfied.
I helped my mom clean up the dishes as Thalia took Annabeth back to her room.
Soon, however, the sun had set and I had to go to sleep. Annabeth had left to head back to her own home and Thalia was finally quiet. I had a little bit of peace and calm, but that didn't last for long. That night another dream came to me.
I was in a taxi, I think. It was hard to tell because I was up front. I was driving along, occasionally stopping to pick up someone who was flagging me down and then taking them to their destination.
About an hour or so into my shift, I got a call from a guy, presumably my boss, saying I should pick up this elderly couple and take them to their beach house. I kindly obliged, one, because my boss told me to and if I didn't I would be fired, and two, I actually liked taxiing around the elderly. You have to have a certain kind of patience when driving a taxi and another kind of patience with the elderly.
I picked up the couple, as per my boss's request, and I helped them get their bags into the trunk of the taxi. I helped them get in and once they were, closed the door and walked around to the other side of the car.
"Where to?" I asked them, but weirdly it wasn't my voice. The gentleman replied.
"Montauk meadows," he said. "House number 202."
"Alright, I know it." For once, my dream self was telling the truth. I actually knew where that was. It was close to our own cabin on the beach, although it was in the more luxurious section.
I turned back around in my seat and started the car. It was around a half-hour drive out of the city, but I was patient. We had a couple delays, but the elderly couple said it was fine and not to rush, so I waited out the delays. We got to the beach house in around forty minutes and again I helped them get their bags out of the car. I asked if they wanted me to carry them to the house, but the gentleman declined.
"Hand it to me," he said. "I'm supposed to be the one impressing my wife, not you."
I had to smile. I handed him the second bag and watched to make sure he could handle it alright. Sure enough, the two of them made it to the house unscathed and I made sure to check the trunk and the back seat to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. They hadn't, so I started the car back up and headed back towards the city. I checked the clock, almost 4 PM already, and was surprised by how fast time flies when you're a taxi driver. I shook my head and decided to take the scenic route along the beach, although at this time of day it would probably be crowded with people.
I pushed the thought aside and just focused on the route. Within a couple minutes, I saw the beach up ahead and, although it was crowded, didn't seem as crowded as it should be. I guess that's me being a taxi driver in a city for you.
I took my eyes off the road for a half-second, looking at the ice cream shop to my left. When I turned back, I noticed a kid standing out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, but they didn't do much. I heard the thump and I woke with a start.
I shot up in my bed, breathing heavily. What had I just seen? I looked at my clock, 2 AM. I sighed and tried to go back to sleep, but found I couldn't. I sat up in bed once more, trying to get slightly comfortable. Moonlight streamed through my apartment window, so I could see everything pretty clearly.
I looked down to my left to the bedside dresser that was there. It was the color of oak, but slightly lighter due to all of the wear and tear it has gone through. Besides my light, only two other objects sat on the dresser, both of which were pictures.
The first one was of me and Thalia, last year when I got my driver's license. Thalia was to my right and we were both leaning up against the new car that my dad, who I've never even seen in my life, bought me, a 2011 Dodge Charger, which was dark blue like the deep depths of the ocean. I was looking sheepishly down towards the ground, a sarcastic smile my face and Thalia had her head thrown back as if she was laughing. If I remember correctly, my mom had jokingly said something about me and girls and being able to drive them myself now, and Thalia thought it was absolutely hilarious. Me, not so much.
The second picture was of me and Annabeth at our preschool graduation, just a couple of weeks prior to the accident. It would be the last ever picture of the two of us together.
We were both dressed up nice, as was requested by the school for the graduation. I was wearing a little tux, with a blue bow tie, and Annabeth had on a simple gray dress. In the picture I had my left arm wrapped around her shoulder and I was intently staring at the camera, a huge smile on my face. Annabeth, on the other hand, was turned to look at me, an inquisitive (but sparkling) look in her eye. I remember looking at this picture every night before I went to bed for around six months straight, wondering where she had gone.
I placed the pictures back on the top of the dresser and I opened the drawer, which only contained two items, a book and some beads. I picked out the book, our preschool yearbook and flipped through to our class. I saw Annabeth, Thalia and the Stoll brothers. Oh, the Stoll brothers. Even then they were troublemakers.
I placed the yearbook aside and brought out the group of beads, which alternated red and white along a simple string. Oh how much things have changed. Oh how much I have changed.
When I first saw Annabeth in school that first day, I was overjoyed to say the least. But ever since she's come back, things haven't always been good. My flashbacks came back for the first time in seven years and the scar on my chest always wants to send me back to that moment in time.
I was hoping to try to put this accident behind the two of us. Now all it seems is that it's getting pushed in front of us.
I sighed and put the items back in the drawer, closing it once they were inside. I laid back down in bed, hoping to get some sleep.
A/N:
So, what did you think? Short, but I think it was effective.
Onto news: I will be uploading one final chapter for this story before I head up to college next Saturday. This chapter will be up on the 13th of August, next Tuesday. This story is not nearly finished, but it will be a long time since it will be updated seeing as I will be four-and-a-half hours from home. I think you guys will enjoy it and I have a little cliffy set up to make you guys think even more.
Now I'm going to introduce something new I'm starting on my profile. It's called Quote Trivia and this is how it works: I will be putting a random quote down in the bottom author's note and you must tell me who said it and which book the quote took place in. Bonus points go for those who can tell me who the quote is being said to. As an FYI these will be taking the place of the trivia questions. I will still continue the Question of the Chapter, but they will not be trivia questions. Alright, here we go.
Who said this quote: "But do you support the gods because they are good, or because they are your family?"
That's a pretty hard one. We'll see how many of you guys get it.
Onto the Question of the Chapter: When did you first start reading the Percy Jackson series?
I started in 2007. I was on a trip to New York (the state, not the city) and I started reading the first book at our hotel one night and I remember not being able to put it down. Honestly, I remember thinking that I was sure I wasn't going to like this book, but boy was I wrong. I'm so glad I liked that book now that I think about it.
Make sure to review!
Thanks!
-PSON
