Author's Note: Dun dun dun. This is the chapter where their adventure starts. In this chapter, Adam's personality is revealed a bit more.

CHAPTER THREE: I GIVE SWIMMING LESSONS

Percy's POV

My last class of the day was P.E., which I had with Annabeth and Adam. Unlike my most of my other teachers, I took a liking to Mr. Perry. He seemed pretty cool and not too strict with rules. I shuddered at the thought of my seventh grade P.E. teacher who made my class run a mile every day.

"As it should have said on your schedule, we will be doing swimming for this semester and track for next semester," Mr. Perry said after explaining his expectations and safety rules.

I grinned. Swimming was my favorite sport. After all, what would you expect from a son of Poseidon? I glanced over at Annabeth to see her reaction. She had a look of fear in her eyes, but it was gone in a blink of an eye. My gaze still on her, I realized I would have to teach her how to swim eventually.

Annabeth noticed me looking at her, and she turned to me as if to say what the Hades are you doing? Embarrassed, I whipped my head back towards Mr. Perry.

"We have about forty minutes left of class. Let's spend the time getting used to the water. If you don't know how to swim, you can get a friend to help you, or you can come to me. Remember, stay in the shallow pool. No diving!" Mr. Perry shouted at the end.

The guys and the girls went in separate ways to change into our swimming attire.

After about ten minutes, Adam and I were both finished changing and decided to wait for Annabeth. I was wearing navy swimming trunks with white vertical stripes down the side. Adam was in olive swimming trunks with Hawaiian flowers printed all over.

"Does Annabeth know how to swim?" Adam asked me.

"She was never really interested in learning," I explained.

He nodded. "You should teach her then. After all, she is your girlfriend."

"We're not officially going out," I admitted. "Just a few kisses and hugs and holding hands... We never really talked about being together, but everyone just assumes it."

"What?" Adam stared at me blankly. Shaking his head, he said, "Percy, you're gonna have to get serious if you want to stay with her…"

I thought about that. Okay, maybe he had a point there. I never really told Annabeth my feelings about her. It was usually her who talked to me. It was her who kissed me those four times. It was her who always hugged me before entering a life threatening situation. But how would I tell her?

"How can I tell her?" I asked stupidly. By now, I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, and I was starting to sweat a little.

Adam was about to say something when I saw Annabeth approaching us from the other side of the swimming pool. A huge smile spread across my face, and my face started burning. She looked more beautiful than ever, in a modest gray one-piece swimming suit that matched her eyes. Typical Annabeth, I thought. She hated being more girly than necessary.

Adam nudged me. "It looks like your face could use some ice," he laughed. He lowered his voice and looked at me. "I have to admit, she is really pretty. And from what I've heard, brave and smart too. You're lucky to have someone like her."

I mumbled "yeah" and tried not to seem too embarrassed.

After what seemed like hours, Annabeth finally reached us. Her glistening gray eyes were fixed on me. I raised my eyebrow.

Just so you know, I'm not the most athletic person on the face of the earth. I can swordfight, swim, and duel, but it doesn't really show. By that, I mean that I don't have ripped abs and a six pack, yet people think that about me. Sure, I'm pretty muscular, but not lifeguard material as some people would put it.

Annabeth moved her eyes towards Adam and studied him. I locked my eyes on hers until she looked away with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. The next few seconds were silent until Adam gave me a expecting look that screamed Hello? Say something nice to her.

I stumbled over what to say, hoping I wouldn't offend her or em brass myself.

"A-Annabeth, you …uh… look great!" I gave her a smile, which I hoped didn't look too goofy.

Annabeth nodded her head slightly, and said softly, "You do too, Seaweed Brain." She quickly added, "As do you, Adam."

The three of us just stood there awkwardly for a few more moments, until Adam suggested that we get in the pool. I happily agreed, while Annabeth seemed a little worried.

"What is it?" I asked her with a frown.

"I don't know how to swim… so can you guys teach me?" Just what I expected. Wise Girl here didn't know how to swim.

She looked at me and Adam, anticipating an answer. We both said "sure" as we reached the edge of the pool. Annabeth looked at the water nervously.

Adam and I both jumped in the water, splashing tiny droplets of water in Annabeth's direction. The water was pretty warm, considering it was the end of the day. Since we were in the shallow pool, we had to bend our knees and slouch to submerge our bodies. Being in the water was pretty calming after a near chaotic first day of school.

"C'mon, Annabeth. Get in the pool!" I told her.

She flashed me an angry look, but slid in the pool. I could tell she wasn't used to being in this much water, but she showed no signs of fear.

"How does the water feel?" Adam asked her.

Annabeth's teeth were chattering, making it obvious that she was pretty cold. "I-it's okay-y. Not as b-bad as I thought-t."

"So what should we teach her first?" I asked Adam as he spread out his arms in the pool like a butterfly. "Hmmm… when I used to teach kids how to swim, we started out by making them stick their head underwater for a few seconds."

"Okay, Wise Girl, take a breath of air and keep it in your mouth. Go underwater for a few seconds, and stick your head back up when you're out of air," I explained to her.

Adam swam a little closer to Annabeth. "If you feel uncomfortable, just hold on to me, and I'll pull you up."

"Ready?" I asked Annabeth. She nodded and took a breath of air. She quickly submerged her head. I did the same thing.

We were both underwater now, with our faces about a foot apart. Annabeth seemed calm as her eyes wandered around underwater. Trying to lighten the mood, I smiled and made a face at her. Big mistake. She accidentally opened her mouth and started thrashing around like she was in a cage. Adam noticed and pulled her up to the surface while I emerged from underwater. Annabeth spit out the water and started coughing. Her eyes were red from the chlorine.

I reached out and touched her hand. When she didn't protest, I laced my fingers through hers. "You did good, Annabeth. Just don't open your mouth or breathe in when you're underwater, okay?"

"If you didn't smile at me and made yourself look like an idiot, I wouldn't have started laughing," Annabeth protested. I rolled my eyes.

"I was trying to help you calm down," I argued defensively.

"Well, it didn't help, did it?" she almost yelled at me.

By now, most of the students were in the pool staring at us. I sighed. "Come on, guys. You can save the world together but not stay in a pool without arguing?" Adam asked us.

Annabeth looked ready to argue back, but I splashed water at her. "He has a point," I told her.

Then, her expression changed from angry to shocked. I looked at her blankly.

"Hey, what's that?" Adam asked me. He was pointing to where I had splashed Annabeth. There was a mist of water shooting up from the pool. The sunlight overhead created a small rainbow in the fine mist.

The face of Chiron appeared. "This, child, is an Iris message. I take it that Poseidon never sent you any?" he asked Adam.

"Well, no…" Adam said, surprised to be talking to a centaur through a veil of water.

"Percy and Annabeth will explain more about this later. For now, I have to tell you three something," Chiron went on.

"Wait, I don't even know you. And why do you need to talk to me?" Adam asked.

Chiron almost sighed, but stopped himself. "I'm Chiron, the head of Camp Half-Blood. Poseidon has told all of Olympus about you, being the fourth child of the Big Three. And since you are with the two bravest demigods of the century, why not?"

Adam's eyes grew big. "You're Chiron? The famous centaur?"

Chiron nodded. "Yes. You've learned about me in Greek mythology, haven't you? Let's get to the point before this message expires –"

"What if the mortals see us talking to you?" Annabeth interrupted.

"I have manipulated the Mist so it looks like you three are talking to each other. Without any further interruptions, the reason why I am Iris messaging you during school hours is because we have a quest for you three. As you know, Percy's request to the gods to claim their children has resulted in a massive amount of campers next year, even more than we have projected previously." He paused.

"Go on," I said.

"The gods have discussed this matter and decided to open a second Camp Half-Blood to meet the massive demand, as our current camp is in disrepair from the battle. And they unanimously chose Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase to scout for a new location. Poseidon expressed interest in including Adam on the quest as well. Athena has chosen Annabeth to design the new camp, which will be of higher priority than the reconstruction of Olympus."

Annabeth looked proud. "Did the gods specify an area to scout in?" she asked.

"Yes. They want the camp to be on the coast of California. Poseidon informed them he could create a whirlpool linking the two camps together for easy transportation." Chiron looked at us expectantly.

We thought about this for a while. Adam looked pretty excited while Annabeth and I knew better. Quests always had a tendency to turn dangerous.

"Well?" Chiron asked us.

I looked at Annabeth and Adam, who both nodded. "We're in," I told Chiron.

He looked pleased. "I shall notify the gods immediately. Percy, Annabeth, and Adam, your quest begins tomorrow." With that, the message faded.

Annabeth had a look of horror on her face. "Tomorrow?" she asked, unable to believe her ears.

I shrugged. "We've been in worse situations. Besides, how hard can it be to scout for a new location?"

She gave me an exasperated look. "Percy, it's more difficult than you think. The new location has to have everything that current Camp Half-Blood has. Like a beach, a forest, a well hidden entrance… you know."

Oh, right. "How many places in California are like that?" I asked Annabeth and Adam. Since they both used to live there, I figured they would know.

"Not much," Adam admitted. Annabeth nodded her head in agreement.

The sound of Mr. Perry's whistle pierced through my ears. "Time to get dressed," he announced.

"Let's talk more about this at my place. My mom's out of town for a few days," Adam offered as we got out of the pool.

. . . . . . . . .

"So… let's get started," I said. We were sitting on a sofa in Adam's apartment. Annabeth had Daedalus's laptop on the coffee table, which she had just turned on.

She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You've never lived in California, so leave this to me and Adam."

"Fine," I grumbled, as I crossed my arms.

The login screen on the laptop flashed on, with Daedalus's insignia glowing in the center. Annabeth typed in the password. Seconds later, she opened up Google. Her fingers sat poised on the keyboard, ready to type.

She looked at Adam. "Any ideas?"

. . . . . . . . .

I was at the beach, swimming in the cool glistening water, as the sun started setting in the distance. The clear sky was a mirage of blue and orange. I looked around, noticing that I was the only person here. I shrugged it off, and went back to swimming.

I didn't realize that the distance between me and the shore began increasing. Before long, the sand became no more than a tiny speck in the horizon. The sun was no longer in sight, and everything was covered in a blanket of mild darkness – it was probably only about seven, almost eight in the evening. I could clearly see a tiny island in the water in front of me.

I never tire in the water, so I just continued swimming towards it. As the minutes crept by, and the world became darker, I noticed a figure on the island. He or she was lying down on the sand, hurt. I was worried and began to swim at a much faster pace. As soon as I was within twenty feet of the island, I started wheezing.

My lungs felt weak, and every breath I took seemed to only tire me more. This was strange. This wasn't supposed to happen to a son of Poseidon. What was going on?

Before too long, I had the feeling I was sinking in the water. I gasped for air, but only saltwater came in my mouth. I relaxed every muscle in my body as the water started closing over my head. I closed my eyes and didn't even bother breathing as I fell down towards my watery doom.

I woke up in a cold sweat, bolting up from something soft, and flashed my eyes open. Darkness engulfed me. Where was I?

Ooh, it's a cliffhanger… Please review so I know what to improve for future chapters. Plus I'll be more motivated to write.