Percy hung up the phone and sighed. His mom hadn't been happy about it, but she understood that you can't exactly tell a god 'no.' The administration had to be getting suspicious, Percy had missed school about once a week the previous year.

How was he supposed to do this? He couldn't exactly walk around Macy's all day, asking for an employee named Valerie, he'd get kicked out before he could find her.

Annabeth would know what to do… and she also didn't have her first day of school until the next week.

Percy ran into his room, rummaging around in his camp trunk until he found a golden drachma on the bottom, underneath all of the clothes, armor and spare Coke that he hadn't bothered to unpack.

Willing his kitchen sink to make a fine mist hadn't been hard, and the window that he'd opened had provided him with enough light for a feeble rainbow. He mumbled a prayer to Iris, and tossed the coin into the mist.

It took a minute, but soon enough, Annabeth appeared in the rainbow. She was brushing her hair into a ponytail, and had earbuds in, mouthing the words to whatever song she was listening to.

"Annabeth!" Percy called, waving at her. "Wise Girl?"

Annabeth's gray eyes shot up from her iPod, "Percy!" she popped the earbuds out of her ears, a grin on her face.

"Hey. Listen, I need some help."

She furrowed her brows, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Percy nodded, "Yeah. But Apollo doesn't seem to care about my education. He wants me to deliver something to one of his… lady friends, I need your help figuring out how."

He looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock, he was running out of time. He quickly explained his mission from Apollo, and they agreed to meet at the Macy's. Thankfully, Annabeth had been able to move into her dorm early, so she wasn't far away.

Not much later, Percy jogged out of the subway exit closest to the shop, and saw Annabeth already at the doors.

"Hi," he said. He kissed her quickly, and grabbed her hand.

"You brought the gift?" Annabeth asked. Her knife was strapped to her leg, and he Yankees cap was fastened around her jean shorts' belt loop.

He nodded and pulled the velvet box out from his pocket, flipping it open to reveal the small, lyre shaped pendant that was hanging on a gold chain.

"It's very pretty. Come on, I've got a plan."

No one seemed to care that there were two sixteen year olds (who probably should've been in school) wandering around a department store. Well, Annabeth insisted she knew what she was doing, but Percy was pretty sure they were just wandering.

They were walking through the menswear section when Annabeth made a victorious noise and dragged Percy over to a large, African American man. He was wearing the standard Macy's employee uniform that they were all dressed in, but his nametag read 'Trey Stewart,' and had 'manager' written underneath.

Annabeth put on her best, friendliest smile, and marched over to him. "Excuse me, sir?"

He turned towards her, "Yes, miss?"

"My friend, Percy and I are looking for an employee named Valerie? She's a friend of Percy's uncle and we have something that we're supposed to give to her."

Trey nodded and gestured for them to follow him, through the menswear, the decor section, and down to the makeup counters. A pretty, redheaded girl was putting products out onto the counter, and Trey led them to her.

"Valerie," he grunted, "These kids say their uncle is friend of yours."

She looked up, a confused look on her face, "Oh? Um, okay."

Trey shuffled off, and Valerie was still looking at them inquisitively.

"How can I help you?"

"Apollo sent us." Percy prayed that the god had used his real name with the girl, but he didn't have to worry. Valerie's face lit up at the mention of his name, "Really? How do you know him?"

"He's my uncle," Percy blurted. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but shifted closer to the son of Poseidon, and he put an arm over her shoulders.

"That's nice. And why'd he send you here?"

Percy presented the box from his pocket, "To give you this."

Annabeth interrupted him, "He couldn't be here himself, he's got a busy day, but he wanted you to have it."

Valerie opened the box, and a grin appeared on her face as she saw the necklace. "Well, thank you very much."

They bid their goodbyes, and Percy and Annabeth found their way out of the huge department store. Hands swinging between them, they strolled down the road, and Percy mumbled, "I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind me missing the rest of the school day."

Annabeth laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I have to disagree, Seaweed Brain. Go to school, I'll see you later."

With one last hug, she left, going down the stairs to the subway and disappearing from Percy's view.

A/N: If you couldn't tell, this was a sequel to part 30. I hope you enjoyed! I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind reviews, I read every single one of them. Please keep leaving me prompts, and tell me when (if you have one) your fall break is. Mine's next week:)

-Emily