I woke up to the wonderful sound of Mia yelling in my ear.

"ANNABETH! WAKE UP! WE'RE GOING TO MISS OUR FLIGHT!"

I groaned and lazily lifted my head up from my comfortable pillow, glaring at Mia for waking me up from my slumber. "Can't you wake me up like a normal person?"

"Nope. Now, come on! It's four o' clock! We have to be there two hours early, right?" she said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

I stood up and stretched, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes while trudging to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth hurriedly while going over the flight information in my head.

Once I finished, Mia and I switched places and I rummaged around in my dresser while she did her business in the bathroom. I picked out an old pair of jeans, a random t-shirt, and my worn out converse. Comfortable, but casual. Perfect for a plane ride.

I got dressed quickly, not wanting to waste any time. I put my hair up in a high ponytail, not even bothering to brush it. My knife was strapped to my calf, hidden by my jeans. I planned on using the Mist to let the baggage checkers let me take my knife. It really wasn't a threat, considering it only killed monsters and demigods. It passes right through mortals. If the Mist didn't work, I would just have to put it in my bag, take it out in baggage check, wait for it to go through the conveyer belt, put it back in, and go through the metal detector thing that looked like a doorway.

All because of a knife that couldn't even harm a mortal.

I made sure I had my plane ticket ready and waited for Mia to get out of the bathroom. When she finally got out, we both picked up our luggage and ran to the elevator. Neither of us wanted to risk missing our flight. We squeezed into the tiny elevator, breathing sighs of relief.

"Are you excited?" Mia asked, her blue eyes showing signs of nervousness.

"Yeah, I guess. Kind of nervous," I replied frankly.

Mia nodded her head in agreement, biting her lip. The old elevator doors finally opened, and we rolled our suitcases out of the lobby. We were immediately met with the sounds of loud, honking horns, car tires screeching, and bright lights. Through all the traffic, I managed to spot a taxi, and we motioned for it to approach us. As soon as he reached us, he got out of the car and took our bags, placing them in the trunk. Mia and I both ignored his disturbing wink.

"So, where to?" the taxi driver asked, grinning.

"John F. Kennedy Airport," I answered swiftly.

He nodded his head and started driving. I glanced at Mia, who was drumming her fingers against her legs anxiously.

"So, when are you coming back?" I asked.

"Um, January third. What about you?"

"January fifth. One day before school starts again."

Awkwardness was clearly in the air. We were both nervous, wondering what our parents would say when they saw us. Mia didn't have as many family problems as me, because she never ran away for five years, but she still had little problems. She wasn't very close with her parents, and they had lots of little disputes. Well, you see, Mia has a little, uh, obsession with boys. She didn't sleep with them of course, just little dates. She wasn't a slut. She just liked boys. A lot.

I fiddled around with my ring, watching the colors shift to different shades of blues and greens. It was like the sea. Also like a certain someone's eyes….

Stop! You promised you wouldn't think about him, I told myself.

I sighed and looked out the window. Despite it being four in the morning, there were still many cars in the streets. I smiled as I remembered Percy telling me about how New York was restless as he gave me a little "tour" around the city.

Before I knew it, we arrived at the airport. I paid the taxi driver, despite Mia insisting she should pay instead. As we entered, I was overwhelmed by all the people around us. Swarms of people were rushing to their flights, some crowded around the elevator, others screaming at the airport employees about delayed planes. How on earth am I supposed to go through security, get my bags weighed, and get on the plane on time?

I was relieved to see that Mia was still standing next to me, and not lost in the crowd.

"Where do we go first?" Mia asked, still staring at the state of the busy airport.

"Um, I think we have to get our bags weighed," I answered while walking towards the line for weighing bags.

Mia followed, getting in line next to me. The line was moving painfully slow, probably moving an inch a minute. This is going to take FOREVER.

While waiting, I looked around. There were a bunch of people from unusual, different countries, some business people, and some girls that appeared to be models, with their insanely tall high heels, short dresses, and designer luggage. There were lots of couples, some reuniting, kissing and hugging like they didn't care that people were staring, and some people who were crying, not wanting to say goodbye. I looked away from the couples, not wanting to be reminded yet again of that certain person that wouldn't leave my mind.

A few agonizing minutes later, we finally reached the front of the line. I set my suitcase onto the scale, hoping that I hadn't over packed. Thankfully, the scale only read 18.5. The limit was twenty, so I was good. The man motioned for me to go, and I found Mia waiting for me a few feet away from security. I took a deep breath, praying to the gods that my plan to hide my knife would work. Mia looked at me questionably, probably wondering why the heck I was nervous about security, but she shrugged it off.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know it's a pretty crappy ending, but I felt like I had to stop it somewhere. Anyway, REVIEW! Flames welcome! Constructive criticism welcome also! Any suggestions, complaints, or questions? PM me or say something in a review! Reviews make me smile, which makes me write another chapter! XD Answer the question of the day, please!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What are some things I need to improve on? Any things I am good at? TELL ME! :D