Long time no update! I don't really like this chapter, so I'll try to make the next chapter better.

I also updated my profile a bit too. And I made a Tumblr for my fics! It's peggythepegasus.

So until next time~


"I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer…"

-The Lightning Thief


"So this year's bead will be Thalia's pine tree!" Chiron announced. "Carson, if you would please."

The head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin brought up the bead. Annabeth was proud to have her first bead, but she felt silent tears flow down her face. Why couldn't Thalia be here too, to celebrate the joy?

She felt Luke put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know," he said, and gave her a hug.

"It's not fair," Annabeth said.

"I know," he said again. "I know."

Chiron saw her face, and his eyes softened. He motioned with his head to the Big House, and Annabeth nodded. She quickly wiped her tears away.

"Thank you, Luke," Annabeth sniffed. "It's almost lights out. Marshall's going to get mad at me if I'm late."

That was a lie. Marshall was a happy-go-lucky guy. It was a wonder why they let him be head counselor.

"You're getting better at lying, Annabeth," Luke chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He ruffled her hair and walked away. Once the campfire was put out, Annabeth walked over to the Big House.

"Annabeth, sit," Chiron said, motioning to a cushiony chair. "Don't worry about Mr. D. He's probably asleep."

That didn't reassure Annabeth, but she took a seat.

"Hot chocolate?" he offered.

"Yes, please," Annabeth said.

Chiron opened a hot chocolate mix. "Milk or no milk?"

Annabeth smiled. "Milk."

Chiron handed her the hot chocolate, and wheeled his wheelchair so he was facing her. "I understand that you're distraught about Thalia."

Annabeth nodded, sipping her drink. It warmed her down to her toes. She loved hot chocolate, even though it was summer right now. "Is she dead?"

Chiron shrugged. "Some consider her dead, some don't. I believe that she's still alive, but in tree form. Her spirit protects the camp, and I believe that our spirits are a part of our life, so to speak. What do you think, Annabeth?"

"I guess," she mumbled. "But if her spirit is still here, then what about the other parts her life? Like her physical form and strength?"

Chiron stayed silent for a moment. "Let's just say that she's recovering her strength right now, and Zeus turned her into a tree so that she'll have a chance of living."

"So will she come back as human one day?" Annabeth asked.

"Perhaps," Chiron said.

That was good enough for Annabeth. She finished off her hot chocolate. "Thank you, sir."

"Any time Annabeth," he smiled. "Good night."

Annabeth left to go back to her cabin, not letting go of that hope.


Annabeth sat by the lake watching the trireme fight. It was the finals and Athena and Hephaestus were battling for first place. Annabeth wasn't allowed to compete along with her cabinmates since she was considered "too young."

"Come on!" Annabeth said. She winced as the Hephaestus cabins transformed their oars into spears. That would cause a lot of damage. But on the bright side, they wouldn't be able to move unless they installed some kind of motor or something…. If they did, she wouldn't be surprised.

"Passionate much?" Luke asked, settling down next to her.

Annabeth blushed. "Well, my cabin wasn't the one eliminated in the first round."

Luke laughed. "That wasn't my idea!"

The Hermes Cabin had gotten eliminated because one of the campers decided to pull a dirty prank. It must've been bad since Chiron was usually pretty light on that part.

Campers started gathering around to watch the fight. It was pretty intense.

The Hephaestus trireme launched a bronze cannonball, but the Athena trireme detonated it in midair with a huge crossbow.

But the Athena weapons were too weak to cause much damage on the other trireme, and the Hephaestus trireme couldn't launch a successful attack.

Even Chiron came out to watch.

"It's the most intense trireme battle in a century," Luke said.

Annabeth noted that the Hephaestus cabin had a lot of fire-related weapons.

Right then, one of Hephaestus's bomb blew up in the water. The Athena trireme tilted to one side.

"No!" she yelled.

They steadied themselves, but most of their weapons sank in the lake. Annabeth bit her lip. She had made a last resort explosive and gave it to her cabin to compensate for not being able to play. If they remembered it…

Then the Hephaestus cabin got out their biggest weapon: a firework. Annabeth gulped. The Athena cabin hustled around, yelling orders, and she saw them take out the Greek fire explosive that she had made. It was packed with other things to make a more massive explosion.

But they couldn't fight fire with fire.

They launched the firework right as they threw her explosive.

Luke covered her eyes as the two weapons exploded in midair, creating a bright flash.

"Can I look now?" Annabeth asked, and Luke uncovered her eyes.

The Hephaestus trireme toppeled over, and Athena's remained standing. Everyone cheered, but the weapons from the Hephaestus's trireme decided to explode. And of course, being made by them, it was able to burn underwater too.

The Athena cabin's trireme caught fire, and everyone screamed.

"Off the boat!" Chiron yelled.

The naiads started putting the fire out with water as it sank.

"So, is it a draw?" Carson grinned.

"You really want a rematch after all that?" Marshall asked.

"Can we just reward them with the 'Craziest Trireme Battle' award?" Luke asked.

Chiron chuckled. "Why not. Trireme battles are canceled for the month so we can clean up the lake!"

The campers groaned.


"Carson, if you present this year's beads please," Chiron said. Carson brought up the beads of a Greek trireme on fire. "In the honor of the most intense trireme battle of the century!"
The campers cheered as they got the bead.

Annabeth proudly put her bead on her necklace. Another one next to Thalia's tree. Now she wouldn't be lonely.


Hushed whispers were going around the camp like crazy.

"Did you hear? The Party Ponies are coming!"

"Mr. D's going to throw one of his wild parties."

"Run for your lives!"

It wasn't until night she saw what they meant.

"So I apologize if you aren't able to sleep tonight," Chiron said. "Counselors, don't let any campers below the age of twelve come out of their cabins without a chaperone."

Then the Party Ponies decided to stampede all over the place.

"Yo, Chiron! Nice to see you again!" a centaur with googly eyes said.

"Nice to see you too, Marcus," Chiron sighed.

The centaurs ran around crazy for a moment until Chiron managed to calm them down.

"Mr. D will be coming shortly," Chiron said. "Campers, go to bed."

"Awww!" they said, but let themselves be led off.

"Annabeth," Luke whispered. "Want to sneak out and see the party?"

"But won't we be breaking the rules?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "I bet everyone else is going to do the same thing. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Annabeth grinned as Luke grabbed her hand and ran to the shadow of the Hermes's cabin.

"Party all night! Yeah!" one of them yelled.

He got a drink from the punch bowl where Mr. D was staying at.

They started banging heads with each other, leaving Chiron to shake his head. There was loud music blaring out of nowhere which was clearly inappropriate.

"Really?" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

Luke laughed. "Look at that centaur."

He pointed to the one that was sashaying around wearing a prom dress.

"What the heck is that?"Annabeth laughed.

The centaur walked on two hind feet as if he were completely human. Chiron sighed again. "Oh dear."

"Anyone want to dance with me?"

One of the centaurs bumped into him, and he fell, giving Annabeth a scene that scarred her for life.

She didn't want to wear a prom dress ever after that.


Chiron cleared his throat. "I hope you all had a nice summer—"

Demigods started laughing and coughing, probably thinking about that centaur in the prom dress.

"—when you should've been in your cabins," Chiron completed.

They laughed.

"Bring out the beads please," he said, and Carson did so. "I see you had a very original idea for the bead this year, Carson."

"It was a no-brainer," he grinned, and passed them out.

The campers started laughing, even Malcolm, a new Athena camper that came in this summer.

"This was a weird first summer," Malcolm said.

"Weirdest summer for me too," Annabeth smiled. "I'm looking forward to the other summers. You?"

"Same."

She couldn't help the grin that came on her face.