Annabeth POV
"Hey Seaweed Brain," I said as I sat down next to Percy for lunch. "Wise Girl," he replied with a nodding of the hat motion. Thalia and Percy started talking about their lame superhero comics as they do every day. I blocked out their conversation (as I do every day) and found myself wrapped up in admiring Luke. He was the "popular" kid at the foster house. I've had a crush on him since I first came to the foster house when I was seven. Ten years later, I'm seventeen and he's nineteen. Luke and Thalia were like my family when I arrived and still are. I've always had a crush on Luke. How could you not? He had dreamy, short, dirty blonde hair and endless eyes. Not to mention his-
"Earth to Annbeth," Thalia called, pulling me out of my dream state. 'Wh-what," I stammered. "Would you tell Percy that Thor is way better than Spiderman?" There they go, talking about their superhero comics again. I just rolled my eyes in response. Thalia and Percy both laughed. What was I going to do with these two? Just as we moved onto a new topic, Luke and his friends came strolling over to our table. My cheeks instantly went red. I always blushed when Luke was around. I was disappointed when all they came over for was to ask Percy to play a game of basketball. "Sure," Percy awkwardly mumbled in reply. Percy looked like he was going to be sick. I always admired that Luke was so friendly with my friends. They must've had a pretty intense game since I didn't see them until curfew.
Luke and his friends all came back with grins on their faces. I'm glad they had a fun time. I still hadn't seen Percy yet. I figured he was just washing off before bed. He must've gotten pretty sweaty with a long game.
Percy POV
As soon as we were out of Annabeth's sight, Luke shoved me into the nearest bathroom, which happened to be the locker room. Luke's friends, Jason and Leo, pinned me against the wall. I closed and winced, preparing myself for the first blow. When Luke finally hit me, it felt like my ribs were being crushed by a hammer. The rest weren't any better. In fact, it felt like they were getting more forceful with each punch, like my pain gave him power. After a while, I started coughing up blood. I knew my upper lip was already stained with it from the multiple blows to my face earlier. Luke had now moved onto my ribs and was punching as hard and fast as he could. When, they were finally done with me they slammed me into a locker.
After a while, I finally escaped the locker. All the blood was dried at this point. I had a lot to cover up tonight, but I knew there was nothing I could do for my chest and stomach. I wobbled to the cot room, where we slept. I knew it was almost curfew and I did NOT want to be caught by Chiron. Luckily I wasn't. As I walked in Chiron shouted, "Lights Out!" I was grateful for the timing, being surrounded by darkness, there was no way any one could see my scars and bruises. I definitely didn't want Annabeth to see them. I reached under my bed for my cover up kit. I had used this a lot since I got here. I covered up all the spots possible to cover up. I snuck a look at my stomach. My rib cage was covered in purplish, black and blue marks. It also looked like one of my ribs was broken. I doubted Chiron would care enough to pay for hospital care. I pulled my shirt back down and got under the sheets. Pretty soon I was out cold.
I was falling through a black pit, wait no the sky. I eventually landed in an open meadow after what seemed like hours. I recognized the field instantly. It was where Pickett's Charge took place during the Battle of Gettysburg. We'd been learning about Gettysburg for a couple weeks now. We were taking a "field trip" there on Thursday. I saw a strange light in the corner of my eye. I started walking towards it. When I got closer, I realized the light was actually a figure. Not just any figure, the figure was my mother's spirit. Of course the aura around her was sparking blue. I ran forward to hug her, but my hands went right through her. Before I got a chance to speak she said one line, "Percy, Thursday all will be revealed to the ones you love." "What is that supposed to me-"But before I could finish, my mom burst into blue light particles. I came out of the meadow and into the light.