Thank you, to whoever's reading this story!
I know the last few chapters weren't too action packed, but don't worry, that's about to change! I only own Penelope.
Don't forget the three R's: READ, REVIEW, REPEAT!
~thegirlwiththetrident

Chapter fourteen: The Trip

~Penelope's POV ~

At the crack of dawn, Penelope woke up, a plan formed in her head, as if the gears in her mind had been working all night to make it.
Another week had passed since the day she'd spent at the beach with Leo, and since then she'd done nothing but train, learn and, when Leo (Piper or sometimes even Annabeth forced her) take a break.
It wasn't that she was always this driven, or at least she didn't think she was, but hearing Chleo's death sentence had made her determined to prove her sister wrong.
Just because she had no clue of her old life, wouldn't mean she was going to fail.
Already she had learnt a lot: Her magic skills were getting better all the time, and even Chleo was impressed with the progress she was making. Her hand to hand combat skills had also improved. The only thing that still bothered her was sword-fighting, a skill she never thought she would master. Ah well.
Today, there would be none of that. Today, Penelope wanted to live, to see normal things, experience an average day in the life of a teenage girl. She had only a vague idea of what that would look like, memorising everything the others ever mentioned.
Pizza, for example. She really wanted to have pizza.
And with Leo telling her yesterday that they would be ready to leave in only a week, she was desperate to have her shot at a normal day before embarking on the quest.
So, she got dressed quietly in the clothes Chleo and Lou had given her, packed a bag with some mortal money she'd taken from the Hecate stash (it wasn't stealing, they were all allowed to take some when they needed it) and two golden drachmas.
Then, she braided her hair down one side, and quietly slipped past her snoring siblings and out into the fresh morning air.
Here, Penelope hesitated. Would it be wiser not to ask Chiron for permission? After all, he might not grant it, and then she'd never get out. And she so wanted to.
First things first, she told herself, picking a pebble up from the ground and turning it in her hand.
This was one of her favourite tricks, and it wasn't long before the pebble had begun to glow, not too bright, but just enough to wake somebody up.
That was the theory, at least.
Holding the pebble carefully in her hand, Penelope made her way to the Aphrodite cabin first.
There was an open window at the back, for which Penelope was thankful, and through which she let her little light float in, concentrating hard on keeping it aloft.
It drifted over to Piper's bed, and gently tapped her nose, shining its light into her eyes.
"Gerroff me" the girl mumbled, making a sweeping motion with her hand, which the pebble dodged easily.
Finally, Piper opened her eyes, saw the pebble and looked around confusedly. When she spotted Pen standing in front of her window, waving, her face turned even more perplexed.
Quietly, Piper picked her way across the room until she was standing in front of the window as well and asked "Pen, what're you doing here?"
"Fancy a trip?" Penelope grinned, holding up her bag.
"Where to?" Piper yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Town" Pen whispered back, her voice excited.
This woke the other girl up, and she said under her breath "What, outside camp? Now?"
Pen nodded and after a minutes hesitation, Piper started to smile as well.
"Well" she said "I think a trip to town might be nice actually."
Just then one of the other girls, Drew, gave a loud grunt.
"Meet you outside in ten minutes" Piper whispered, handing the pebble back to Penelope, who waved and disappeared from the window.
Great, she thought, that wonderful feeling of anticipation filling her inside, one down, three to go.
Next, Penelope made her way to the Athena cabin. There were no windows open here.
This left her a little at a loss, so she peered into each window in turn, trying to see if Annabeth was still asleep. But, to her surprise, Annabeth wasn't in her bunk, and as far as Penelope could see, she wasn't even inside her cabin.
That's odd, she thought, looking around.
Annabeth must have gotten up even earlier than she had.
Penelope was about to go look for her elsewhere, when her eyes got caught on one of the cabins. Cabin number three to be exact.
Maybe, just maybe...
As quietly as she could, Penelope prised the door of the Poseidon cabin open, looking inside.
Sure enough, there was a blonde haired figure sleeping in one of the beds, her body curled up and her face pressed into the pillow.

Oh Annabeth...Penelope thought sadly, her heart squeezing at the sight of her friend.
Carefully, she made her way towards the bunk, and stopped there.
The last time she'd been inside here, she'd lain down on one of the beds right by the door, too scared to have a closer look around.
But now, she couldn't help herself, and she took a moment to simply gaze at the inside of the cabin.
It was beautiful, and calming, and a part of her knew it belonged here.
Why though? That was just another of the questions Penelope' been constantly asking herself since she'd woken up here at camp...
None of that today! She reminded herself firmly, and bent down to shake Annabeth's shoulder.
"Annabeth"
"Mhm..."
"Annabeth, wake up" Pen said a little more firmly.
The daughter of Athena opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused.
"Come one, brainy, we're going on a trip." Pen told here, pulling away the covers.
"Penelope, don't do that!" Annabeth yanked the blanket back up. "Where are we going?"
"A trip" Pen repeated and when Annabeth simply stared at her, she elaborated "To town, today. Piper's already getting dressed."
"Are we allowed?" Annabeth asked, suspiciously.
"Gods, who cares Annabeth." Pen rolled her eyes at her friend's words.
"We could get into serious trouble" Annabeth said, but already she sounded like the idea pleased her.
"You leave camp all the time!" Pen exclaimed, and Annabeth hushed her.
"Sh! Yeah, but I go to visit Sally, that's different."
"So we could just say we tagged along" Pen smiled, and when the blonde girl still didn't seem convinced, she added "Come on, a little bit of normal would do you some good, too. Please?"
She put all of her persuasion into her voice, and finally Annabeth gave in.
"Okay. A little bit of normal sounds good."
"Great! Now all we have to do is get Jason and Leo!" Pen said, already half-way outside.
"Wait, Penelope!" Annabeth called her back.
"What?"
"Why don't we have a girl's day out?"
Penelope considered the idea. Spending sometime with her two friends sounded like a good idea, and she couldn't help but notice that the thought of a girl's outing seemed to make Annabeth happy too. And if there was anything Penelope could do to take her friend's mind of her missing boyfriend, she would do it. Even if that meant Leo might be offended.
"Yeah" she nodded "that sounds great"
"Meet you in ten, then."

Quarter of an hour later, the three girls were walking up Half-Blood Hill.
Just before they crossed the border, Annabeth turned to the other two and gave them some final instructions.
"Right, if you see a monster, no matter how big or small, don't try to fight it on your own, okay? We stay together, we hopefully stay safe. Also, wear this." she brought out a little bottle of silver liquid.
"What's that?" Piper asked.
"It's perfume, to mask our demigod scent. I wear it when I go outside, and although it's not very strong, it should be enough to help us get into safely town at least."
Thankful for Annabeth's thoughtfulness, Penelope took the little bottle and gave first her friends, then herself a few good sprays.
"Right" she said, her anticipation suddenly turning into nervousness. "Here goes nothing."
And with that, Penelope made her first step out of camp.
The world didn't stop turning, and the sky didn't come falling down, so she assumed she was all right.
The other two came as well, and they made their way to a bus stop, which was about half an hour away, Annabeth leading the way.
All the time, Penelope couldn't help but look over her shoulder repeatedly, and jump at every little sound.
"Calm down, magic girl!" Piper laughed, shoving Pen to the side, who turned red and grinned.
"Sorry" she said "It's just so...new."
And it was, as if she'd never experienced anything like this, and for all she knew, she hadn't.
Sure, she knew what a road looked like, and cars too, though how she knew, that was completely unclear. Had she lived in a town before?

Maybe New York would seem familiar. Penelope knew it was a slim hope.
Finally, they arrived at the bus stop, and another while later, they got off in the midst of a city that was already busy and filled with noise.
"Wow." Penelope breathed, trying to take in everything at once. "This is amazing."
And it was: There were all sorts of shops and cafés, people of every kind walking past her, some wearing the most ridiculous clothes, others dressed sophistically on their way to work.
The noise, the smell, the sights; it all crashed in on Penelope, and for a moment she felt quite overwhelmed.
The others must have realised this, for they laughed and said "How about we get you a drink first, huh? You haven't been to New York until you've gone to Starbucks."
"Starbucks?" Penelope asked, confused.
"You Miss," Piper said, conspiratorially "are in for a treat."
And as the girls pulled her down another road full of people, Penelope couldn't help but think that this might turn out as one of the best days she'd had so far.
Or one of the worst.