Chapter 13: Annabeth and I Become Cleaners for Two Days

Day 4

Seaweed Brain...

Was someone calling me? But it was all blurry, like I was underwater.

Seaweed Brain...

I felt the drowsiness overcoming me. Finally, sleep.

"PERCY!"

Someone smacked me on my head, resulting in me to wake up. I looked to my right and saw Annabeth, gazing directly at me. With that stance, I already knew she was reading what was on my mind.

We were sitting on the couch while watching National Geographic, her favourite channel.

Ugh.

"You're not okay," she said.

"W-what?" I shook my head to clear the drowsiness away.

"You're not okay," Annabeth repeated.

"How did you know?" I asked stupidly.

"You were dozing off. You lack sleep."

I wiped my mouth with my arm, just in case there was saliva sliding down on my chin. Nope, I hadn't been drooling. "It's just that...the show's boring."

"Is this because of last night, the one you told me about?" Annabeth asked sincerely.

I gave her my best sad puppy eyes. I couldn't sleep properly last night because I'd been feeling the regret that had been in my heart.

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Percy, it's fine by me. We had a total of fun, anyway. You can't easily forget that."

"But—" I stopped. I couldn't say, But I badly need the pictures so that I could put them inside the photo album that I was supposed to give to you.

She doesn't need to know that yet, I thought.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "But...?"

I gulped. "I mean, you know, I wanted Mom and Paul to see what we were doing while they were gone. So...yeah."

She eyed me, then shrugged. "Makes sense. Oh, well, we'll just have to tell them what happened and all."

"Y-yeah."

We watched in silence. Penguins were now swimming in the ocean, but I wasn't listening to the narrator. I was thinking of when to give my present to Annabeth. On her first day of school? Tomorrow?

My thoughts were interrupted when Annabeth suddenly asked, "Percy?"

I turned to her. "Hmm?"

"When will Paul and your mom be back?"

"Beats me. Maybe two days after or they'll still extend their vacation," I replied.

She got up, then walked to the television and wiped her finger on top of it. "I think we should help your mom a bit."

I followed her. "What do you mean?"

"We should clean your place. Dust and cobwebs are everywhere, and I'm sure that cleaning your apartment will take days. But hey, we don't have any plans for today. And it's still one-thirty in the afternoon. Are you up for it, Seaweed Brain?" she added, grinning.

I grinned back. "Cleaning the stables is so much harder, Wise Girl."

After a few minutes we finished preparing the cleaning equipment, then put them in the kitchen.

Annabeth got a cloth and handed me a mop. "First stop is the kitchen. I'll take care of the cabinets. Yours is the floor. Got that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, madam."

I heard Annabeth mutter "Seaweed Brain" before turning to her cleaning area.

I looked at the mop that I was holding, suddenly having a bright idea. I checked to see what Annabeth was currently doing, her back to me. She was wiping canned goods while standing on a mini steel ladder.

I looked up and extended my hand to the sprinkler system, concentrating hard. In a few seconds water started pouring down everywhere in the kitchen.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted, shooting poisonous daggers at me. Both of us were now soaking wet. Actually, I let myself get wet.

I smiled at her innocently. "Who said that cleaning this place could take days?"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain! Turn off the sprinklers this instant!" she demanded.

"After five minutes," I replied casually.

I could see that Annabeth roll her eyes. "Cheater," she said.

"Hey, it's not my fault I have this kind of power. I should use it for the greater good."

"Whatever." She was starting to climb down when her foot slipped.

I instantly reacted to catch her before she'd hit the floor. "Annabeth!"

I caught her by the waist. Unfortunately, I slipped too, so both of us fell onto the floor.

"Oww," Annabeth and I moaned in unison. She was on top of me.

My poor, poor head.

"Percy, are you fine?" she asked.

I opened my eyes to see her face full of concern. She looked so great, even with her hair drenched. My heart skipped a beat. "I-I think so."

I was totally surprised by what Annabeth did next: she kissed me. I responded back eagerly, feeling the pain in my head disappearing. Was it because of the kiss or the water?

Ah, who cares?

Annabeth pulled away, and I pouted, wanting her to kiss me again. "Isn't revenge sweeter the second time around?"

I caressed her face. "Hmm?"

"Don't you remember what you did yesterday?"

Oh, right. I'd kissed her at the Bethesda Fountain while water had been raining down on us. I grinned. "Such a wise move, Wise Girl."

She stuck her tongue out, looking childish. "Of course. I'm a child of Athena, after all. 'Sides, I think this is our new routine: kissing while there's water falling down on us."

Annabeth gave me a peck on the lips after that.

000

Next place to clean: the bathroom and living room.

The kitchen had been dried off, and also Annabeth and I.

I told her that I'd be the one who would clean the bathroom and would just catch up to help her. She agreed.

I used my special talent to clean the bathroom. After a while it was now looking fresh.

I went back to the living room to help Annabeth out.

Cleaning the biggest part in my apartment was kinda tiring, Wipe here, wipe there, and wipe everywhere.

It was almost six in the evening when we finished cleaning everything in the living room. We'd gotten distracted by kissing and playing around like children every fifty minutes or so.

Sighing in relief, Annabeth and I sat on the couch.

"One room to go," she said.

"Can't we just leave it for tomorrow?" I complained.

Annabeth gave me "the look," causing me to quickly shut my mouth.

"Well," she said after a minute, "we could clean your room tomorrow."

My stomach grumbled in agreement.

She laughed. "'Sides, a certain someone is already hungry. Let's have dinner at McDonald's. My treat."

I kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Wise Girl."

000

Day 5

We started cleaning my bedroom nine in the morning. Annabeth had said my room was very dusty.

"But Mom just cleaned my room last week," I informed her.

"Last week, Percy," Annabeth replied. "Last week. You shouldn't depend on Sally all the time."

"But Mom loves to clean my room."

Before she could reply, someone rang the doorbell.

"I'll get it," I said to save myself from another lecture of Annabeth.

I went to answer the door and opened it to see a mailman grinning at me, his face half covered by his hat. Why he was grinning like that was beyond me. Maybe he was just a happy-go-lucky mailman.

"Delivery for Perseus Jackson," he said jovially.

I didn't know what he was talking about at first, and then remembered about yesterday. "Oh, the prizes."

"Sign here, please." He handed me an electronic signature pad and a stylus.

I was about to write my signature on the gadget when I heard some hissing. Why did this seem familiar?

Looking again at the stylus, I saw two tiny green snakes wriggling on it, causing me to almost throw the thing away.

"George? Martha?" I asked, surprise evident in my voice.

Hey, Percy. Have you got me a rat?George asked.

This is not the time to ask for a rat, George, Martha chided.

I faced the mailman who'd removed his hat, showing his salt-and-pepper hair, and bowed in front of him. "H-Hermes."

"No need for formalities, Percy. And it's nice to see you again," Hermes said. "Well, go ahead and sign it up."

I signed and handed back the pad and stylus. "I wasn't expecting you'd be the one to deliver the package."

Hermes' eyes were beaming. "Actually, Aphrodite asked me to deliver it to you personally. She also said that there was a bonus inside the box."

"So, where's the package?"

He pointed at the mini table in the living room, and then a medium-sized box suddenly popped out of nowhere.

"There you go," Hermes said, then checked his iPhone. "Well, I can't stay long. I have to go now, Percy. More deliveries to attend. Say hi to Annabeth for me, will you?"

I smiled my thanks. "Yeah, sure."

Hermes winked. George and Martha also said their good-byes to me.

He closed the door and a brilliant flash erupted on the door line. I opened it again to see that the god of travel wasn't in front of my doorstep anymore.

What's with the gods' and goddesses' exit nowadays?

I rushed to my room to tell Annabeth the good news.

"Hey, Annabeth, the prizes already arri—" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw what she was holding in her hand: a photo album.

No, scratch that.

THE photo album.