Chapter Two

When I reached the airport in La Guardia at twelve in the morning, I searched the crowd with my mom for Thalia and her dad, while my mom and I went to the luggage department to get our luggage. We decided that we will stay at Thalia's house because they have a guest bedroom. My mom and I are going to stay there for the break. As I look for Thalia, I see a boy, at least twenty-three. He has short, blonde hair with dazzling blue eyes. He was wearing light blue denim jeans with a blue t-shirt. He looked like a guy you would find on the beach, but one feature made him kind of scary looking. As he turned my way, I could see a scar from under his eye to his chin. Something about him was so familiar. Then, he turned. He met my eyes and looked really shocked. He then walked over to me.

"Hi, I'm Luke Castellan," he says, holding out his hand for me to shake it. I shook his hand and then, he surprised me. He hugged me. "Wow! Annabeth, you've grown. I can't believe that you are now, what, fifteen, sixteen?" As he looked back at me, he must have noticed my confused face. " Don't you remember me?" he asked with a confused face like mine.

"Um, not really?" I answered back. Way to go, Annabeth. I have to remember. I don't want to be rude. I tried to go through my head, thinking, thinking, thinking. And then, a few seconds later, it hit me. "Luke? As in my camp's director?" I can't believe it. I met Luke when I was at camp when I was twelve. The camp I went to was called Camp Half-Blood. It's a camp in New York, where you can learn how to fight with weapons, ride horses, and meet other people just like you. I was put into the Athena cabin. Everyone there looks like me and acts like me. Besides home and Thalia's place, it's the only place I can feel like I fit in. At camp, I fought with a dagger unlike other kids who fought with swords. Luke was my instructor for sword lessons or horse riding. He was like the brother I never had.

Yup. That's me," he laughed, bringing me back to reality. He smiled at me and I smiled back. Then, I sighed.

"I'm so ...surprised to see you here," I said, shaking my head. And then, Thalia came forward and hugged me out of no where, pushing Luke a little.

"ANNABETH! I'm so happy! We are going to go see the Empire State Building, and Broadway, and the bridges because I know you love architecture! I can't wait!" Wow, Thalia looked and sounded like she just ate a pack of sugar. She had spiky black hair, electric blue eyes, and a sprinkle of freckles next to her nose. She wore a navy green cardigan with a blue and black striped shirt in the inside. She also wore lightning earrings and wore dark skinny jeans and black combat boots. It was just then and there that she noticed Luke and her face softened and calmed down. "Oh, hey Luke. How you been?" WHAT!

"Hey Thalia. I've missed you guys so much. I can't believe you guys have grown this much since camp. I hope we see each other around again. Bye."He walked towards the same direction he came from. I was going to ask him where that scar came from, because it wasn't on his face during camp. It almost seems like he as avoiding the subject.

"So Thalia." I said awkwardly. Suddenly, I felt as if all of Thalia's hyper energy transferred to me. "Oh. My. Gods! I can't believe we are going to those places! Thank you so much!. This is going to be one of the best vacations ever! And how do you know Luke?" Thalia and I jumped up and down, holding each others hand. My mom came from behind me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Thalia Grace. You have become a beautiful young lady. I hope that your father is alright with us staying at your house." my mom introduced as she was shaking Thalia's hand.

"Thank you Mrs. Chase. Actually, my father was the one who suggested that you stay at our house. I was so happy with the idea, I couldn't turn it down. Oh, and Annabeth, I met Luke at school. Connor and Travis Stoll are Luke's half brothers. I go to school with them and once I had to do a project with them. Do not ask me about the experience because words cannot describe how annoying they were. We got a C- because of them."

"Well, we better get going." I cut in. We grabbed our luggage and exited the airport.

When we got outside, I breathed in the city air and coughed. I'm not used to the city. I have always lived in a suburban area. Not many cars, buildings, and people. As I kept coughing while my mom rubbed my back, Thalia searched for our ride. When she found it, I had stopped coughing and we all walked over to a Toyota Camry. It as a silver, grayish car, and inside was Thalia's dad.

"Hello Mr. Grace. Nice to see you again." I said politely, while he opened the trunk to put our luggage in. He came out of the car and greeted me. He wore a pinstriped suit with black shoes. He looked like a typical business man.

"Annabeth! I'm so glad that you decided to come to New York." He muttered something in my ear so only I can hear. "I'm so glad you didn't bring your brothers. They act like Nico, Jason, and Percy. I just can't stand it." That made me laugh and my mom and Thalia gave me weird looks. "Ah, well if it isn't Mrs. Chase. How lovely to see you hear," he said with a hint of sarcasm. My mom seemed to notice the sarcasm.

"And how nice to see you here to Mr. Grace. I hope you didn't mess up the company this time," she said with sarcasm. She and Mr. Grace started talking about work. I walked over to Thalia and helped out with the luggage.

"Hey, Thalia. I have a question," I said.

"Sure. What's up?" she asked when we were all done putting the luggage into the trunk of the car.

"I was just wondering if your cousins are going to be at your house for the break," I said, hopefully. I do not want to spend my vacation with boys, especially since I just left them.

"Sorry Annabeth, but unfortunately, yes." Thalia actually looked really devastated and looked like she would burst into tears in a few seconds.

"It's okay, Thals. We'll make it through and show those males just who they are dealing with." I stood up like Super Man, with my hands clenched in a fist and on my hips. I looked up into the sky like I was victorious, but as people walked past me, they either laughed, or gave me strange looks. That made Thalia chuckle and made me feel better, even if I was blushing. My mom and Thalia's dad told us to get into the car. When I got inside, I sat next to Thalia and my mom. Since we were all in the back, I wondered who would be in the passenger seat. I haven't seen who it was since I only saw Mr. Grace in the driver's seat. I knew there was someone there because I saw something move. I whispered to Thalia that there was someone in the front seat next to her dad. She looked shocked and confused. I guess she didn't notice there was someone there. I told her to scare that person when I count to three. She nodded.

"Ready? One. Two. THREE!" I yelled. My and Thalia jumped forward and spooked the person in the passengers seat. The person jumped up, hit his head on the roof of the car, and slid back down on his seat. I now know that it was a boy. We were all laughing really hard so Mr. Grace had a hard time concentrating on the road.

"Geez! Tell me next time when you scare me! That means I have to get you back. Revenge, here I come," said a voice I only faintly remember.

"Dad! What is HE doing here. I thought he wouldn't come until, like, eight at night. I bet that Nico is at the house already. Annabeth's right here. You know how she doesn't like boys." Thalia crossed her arms and put on a pouting face.

"Well sweetie, sorry, but I guess they came early. When I said that your friend Annabeth was coming, he jumped up and came rushing to me, begging me to take him to the airport with you. I just can't believe you didn't notice he was in the car. He made a lot of noise you know," Mr. Grace answered in a fatherly voice. I blushed when he said that this person begged him to come with him to the airport to pick my mom and I up. I could tell that HE also blushed. I saw a part of his cheek and it was as red as a tomato.

"Uncle Grace! You promised not to tell! Now I'm embarrassed to show my face." The voice was so familiar, but I just couldn't remember. It's like the whole Luke business again.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't make you embarrassed. Just let me see who you are." I was waiting for his reply.

"Fine, I'll show you." And then, he turned. I gasped. The boy I thought was so annoying was sitting right in front of me. He looked like a more mature person, but I could tell that he still kept that silly kid inside of him. I saw the face of someone none other than Percy Jackson.