Chapter 3

My first thought was: why is it so foggy in here?

My second was, why am I in a ball gown?

I was standing in the middle of what seemed to be a ball room, surrounded by fog. I spun in a circle, my dress slapping my shoes-high heels? I never wore high heels! Not unless my mother was throwing a party, or I was going to a special occasion.

I couldn't see, the fog was everywhere. If there were walls, I couldn't tell. I was standing in the middle of a room. The only parts I could see were the ceiling and the floor. Above me was a gorgeous but huge chandelier. If that thing fell, it would crush me flat. The entire ceiling was painted with gods and goddesses, all in a circle: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Athena (whom my mother was named after and one of my personal favorites from Greek mythology), Dionysus, Hestia, Hera, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, and the twin archers Apollo and Artemis. A satyr was feeding Dionysus a grape while Zeus was looking down, lightning bolt in hand, as if deciding which puny mortal he were going to vaporize next, just for fun. I could see him doing that.

"Where am I?" I called. My voice echoed. Lifting the skirts of my dress I started forward, hoping to just walk through the fog and find a door, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. When I reached my fingers out they connected to a solid wall. I frowned. Okay, can't leave that way. I turned-and stopped, cocking my head to the side to listen.

How long has that music been playing? Maybe my distracted mind just missed it, tuning it out, but I heard it now. It wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast, either. It was a waltz. I didn't realize what was happening, but the song was hypnotizing. It was the kind of music to stop you in your tracks and make you just stand there and listen to the love and sadness pouring from the sound, spilling out and seeping down into the very core of your soul. I didn't try to fight it, I just closed my eyes, letting myself sway to the music. I giggled to myself. Good thing I was alone. I must've looked totally ridiculous. One of my hands was holding my dress skirt, the other was suspended in midair, as if I were holding someone's hand. I laughed again.

Oh well, I thought. At least I was only embarrassing to myself and no one else. If Thalia had been here she would've danced with me. Or Jason, or Leo. Even Percy, or my old time friend Luke. If I tried I could almost actually feel his warm strong hand in mine.

Impossible, unfortunately. Luke is in Westport, Connecticut. He lives there with his parents. Or rather, his dad. His mother...well...it was a long story.

Either way, I still missed him terribly. Even though he was seven years older than me, growing up, there were times when I thought I may have loved him as more than a friend. He hasn't visited me in so long, I still wasn't sure of my feelings.

Suddenly I felt someone squeeze my hand, the one suspended in the air, and my eyes shot open. My thoughts were trained so hard on Luke I hadn't noticed that someone had joined my one-person dance party while I was off in la-la land.

Sea green eyes stared at me, kind and gentle. "You look like you need a friend." He grinned, wrapping his other hand around my waist and gently pulling our bodies together. I didn't know what to say. Looking around me, there were people everywhere, twirling around us, laughing and enjoying the party. The once empty room was now full and alive. The music changed to something slower, softer. Even a little sad. And maybe a little bit hopeful, too.

"Hopeful," Percy said, as if reading my thoughts. His fingers came up to gently stroke the side of my cheek. He sighed. "Always hoping."

And then I woke up.

Sitting up in bed, I groaned, looking at my alarm clock. Four o' clock in the morning. I had two more hours and my body decides to wake up now? I sat there for a moment, groggy and confused. It felt like I'd been in another time, another life, and suddenly got jerked back to reality with a sharp slap to the face. I knew I'd been dreaming before I woke up, but it was slowly drifting away. I couldn't even remember who'd been in it or what it was about. Those were the worst, especially if it was a good dream. the harder I tried to hang on the more it slipped away. Oh well. Maybe it would come back to me later.

To pass the time, since I knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon, I sat at my desk, pulling my "secret project," as dad liked to call it, out of my drawer. It actually wasn't a secret, I'd just never shown it to my parents. The one time I tried, my mother, who was on the phone at the time, glanced at the sheets I held out to her and mouthed 'later, sweetheart.' I didn't bother going back later, because I knew she'd already forgotten.

It was mostly sketches, ideas and plans for the place I wanted to create. If I could, I would build my own city. I'd visited the Parthenon when I was sixteen, going with my mother on a business trip to Athens, and ever since then I'd been obsessed with creating something similar. I especially loved it because it was a temple to Athena, their patron goddess. It was a historical monument, permanent. That was what I wanted. Something that would stand tall and proud for ages and ages to come. It was a big dream, but I wouldn't give up. If possible, I'd pass down the ideas and notes to my children, and their children. Call me crazy, but I often dreamed of tearing down New York and rebuilding the entire city, beautiful and new.

After a while I finally put my stuff away and stood, stretching. Time for a shower. I grabbed my clothes and headed to the bathroom. Looking at my phone, I saw that I had three new messages. The first was from Thalia.

Hey, just wanted to let you know that my feet stink today. See you at school!

I rolled my eyes. Thalia's stinking feet were no surprise. They stunk every day. She knew good and well I wouldn't stay over at her house unless she was wearing socks. Her message wasn't all that surprising either. Thalia had a knack for her random moments of weirdness. Whatever she was thinking, or whatever happened to pop into her head at the time, she said out loud. Her honesty wasn't exactly appreciated by some, but she didn't care. She thrived at being different, and I loved her for it.

Checking my next message, I found a short but sweet message from my oldest friend.

Hey beautiful, hope you're doing alright. Hope to see you soon. -Luke

My heart fluttered, and I swallowed. Don't get a big head, I told myself. He's called you that forever now, and today is no different. But what did he mean by see you soon?

The last message was from an unknown number.

Help. I'd forgotten how badly Thalia's feet stunk. I think I'd prefer Jason's old gym locker. -Percy

I laughed out loud, then quickly covered my mouth with my hand, not wanting to wake my parents.

"Glad to have you back, Seaweed Brain," I muttered, grinning.

I turned the water on, letting the water heat up before undressing and stepping in. Had I known how crazy my day was about to become, I would have stayed at home in bed.

...

Thalia found me at my locker.

"Morning," she greeted cheerfully. Then she saw my face, and she frowned, immediately becoming concerned. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

I didn't answer her at first. I grabbed a mirror, checking myself in the reflection. Staring back at me were red puffy eyes from crying, my hair a tangled mess. "Can I borrow a brush?" I asked. Wordlessly she fished in her bag for her brush and handed it to me. I yanked it through my hair, the tangles making me wince. There probably wasn't anything I could do for my puffy eyes, unfortuately. I handed Thalia back the brush and closed my locker, maybe with a little more force than neccessary. Thalia waited, giving me a minute to speak, which I appreciated. I leaned my head back against my locker.

"My parents are getting a divorce," I finally said. "And it's my fault."

Thalia gaped. "Really? I mean, I know they've been rocky for ages now, but Annabeth, that's not your fault."

"He cheated on her, Thalia." A tear rolled down my cheek. "And I caught him. He told me not to say anything because he didn't want to tear our family apart. I never told anyone, not even Luke."

"Oh, Annabeth." She stepped forward and hugged me. I clung to her tightly. We stood there for a moment, then she grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eye. "Listen to me, okay? That is not your fault. Your dad made a mistake. But remember, these are your parents. They will always love you, no matter what. It was wrong of him to ask you to hide it, but he made his bed, so now he has to lay in it. Maybe they'll be happier apart."

"Maybe," I said halfheartedly. "Actually...I know they will. Mom's packing up her stuff now. She didn't want me to move, since this is my last year of high school. She said she was going to stay close, though." My thoughts traveled back to this morning.

It was mostly a blur, a lot of things were happening at once. Dad was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. Mom was pacing the length of the kitchen. He was saying sorry over and over again, but mom shook her head. Finally she left the room, and dad started crying. That was when I started crying, too. After a while dad left for work, but mom stayed home to pack. I wanted to go with her, but she told me to stay with my dad and finish high school. She was going to visit my older brother Malcolm, and she'd be back in two weeks. I missed her already.

"Will you be okay today?" Thalia asked gently.

I nodded, wiping off the remaining tears on my cheeks. "I think so. I-"

"Thalia! Annabeth!"

We turned. Jason and Percy were running toward us at full speed. They stopped, huffing. They'd been running pretty hard and fast. They both looked pale and shaken. Immediately I knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" I gripped Percy's arm. "Percy? What happened?"

Percy was still gasping for air, but eventually he swallowed and said, "Brunner...classroom..."

"What?" Thalia looked at Jason.

"Mr. Brunner had a heart attack," Jason told us. "The ambulance is here. Hurry!"