First of all, sorry for what I posted yesterday, I somehow forgot to proofread this chapter before posting. Here's the chapter again.
Piper dragged me to cabin ten and opened the door. "Hey guys, I found us a new vict- I meant customer. I'd say only her hair needs to be redone, but see for yourself" She shoved me through the door. "Yes, her hair is at least a six out of ten, if not seven" Drew said. "May I ask what level ten would look like?" "A level ten ruined look? That would be Thalia three years ago. She was in here for like three hours and I'm pretty sure she hated every single second of it." "Three hours? I won't be staying here that long, no matter how much charm speak Piper dumps on me." "Don't worry, we'll be faster. The three hours were mostly because she had pine raisin in her hair and that took ages to get out. But we'll be through with you relatively quickly."
Say what you want about the Aphrodite cabin, but they know how to make you look good. Unfortunately, I didn't want to look good. Once they were done with my hair, someone suggested putting some light made up on me. However, the Aphrodite cabin has a very unique idea of what light make up is, so I rejected that idea. "Fine, no makeup. Can we at least paint your nails?" Someone said before pulling a set of different nail polish colors- all shades of pink- from somewhere. "Guys, think about that. I am a girl, I am blonde and my eyes can be interpreted as blue. Do you have any idea how hard this makes it to get any respect as a leader? If I also have pink finger nails, the only leader position I can hope for is cheerleader." "But we haven't had a chance like this in ages" We argued back and forth for a bit before I agreed to an invisible polish that would make my nails harder. Not that it would have been necessary in everyday life, but it would be useful in ultra close combat. For that same purpose, I allowed them to file my nails into the shape of a jagged blade. They also wanted to give my ring some upgrades, but since it was made of glass (Yes, obsidian is a glass and is not very hard to break. Minecraft lied to you) I didn't let them tamper with it in fear that it might break and I wasn't going to let that happen. However, I eventually agreed to have a demi flag painted on one of my nails. Once that was dry, I fled the Aphrodite cabin as fast as I could and ran into my own. Once there, I was hit with the same question as before: what happened to your hair?
"We flew through a lightning storm" I went to bathroom to take a look into the mirror. I didn't know how, but my hair was almost completely straight. "Oh, and then cabin ten happened. They gave me a whole makeover which I'm not so sure I like. At least I got a new ultra close range weapon" I showed them my new jagged nails. "And why exactly did you let them do that?" "It wasn't my choice, they forced me into it. Piper used charm speak. I mean, the nails are great, but I'm not so sure about the hair."
After dinner, I was sure about the hair. It sucked. The lack of curls made it a bit longer than what I was used to. It was also less stable if that makes sense. Previously, my curls had created an interconnected network that stabilized itself, but now every hair was kind of doing its own thing. There was only one solution to this: Bar soap, rinse, tie back. And maybe a bit of fighting ( or any other kind of quick, complex movement, but fighting is more fun) to get a more complex structure into it (When I say complex structure, I mean tangled mess). After doing both of these things, my hair was somewhat acceptable again. Not quite what it used to be, but to be honest, since Tartarus this applied to pretty much every part of my body, so my hair wasn't really my biggest problem. "By the way, our school's opening tomorrow" Piper called from somewhere. "Looks like the mortals actually fixed it really quickly. Oh, wait, that was us" I was about to respond when my brain decided to send me a little reminder that I had almost ten years of trauma piled onto me, in the form of massive dissociation.
When I could think clearly again, I began assessing the situation. I was in my bed in the Athena cabin. Looking at the clock, I saw it was around 6:30. I had somehow missed an entire night and was now only hours away from starting school.
I looked around my cabin and saw some others also already awake. "Ok, what happened since around 8PM yesterday?" I asked. Together, we were able to somewhat recreate the last evening. Apparently, there had been a few switches, which explained my headache. At least whoever had fronted had been thoughtful enough to make sure my school stuff was packed. After breakfast, I was ready to leave. Unlike Percy or Jason, I couldn't just fly there or shoot through the water, so Piper and I had to be driven to school by Argus. Just before we left, I remembered the pump. I went to bunker 9 and got it, along with the now empty briefcase. It wasn't very far to the school, so Piper and I arrived well in time. "Well then, ready for mortal Ta- can I say it?" "sure" "Ready for mortal Tartarus?" "Ready"
Piper
Together, we walked towards the school building. It looked a lot different when inhabited by students and teachers rather than the people supposed to dry it out. Speaking of them, one of them was waiting for us in front of the school, I told him his stuff was in the Delphi strawberries van.
"I'd say we first go find our dorm rooms." Annabeth suggested. "Good idea. I got room number-" "13C, I know. I'll show you where it is, it's not too far from mine" Of course, it would have been nicer to share a room, but unfortunately, someone had (probably unknowingly) decided against it. Well, there was nothing I could do apart from maybe charm speaking the principal. Annabeth showed me where my room was first. There was already someone sitting on one of the beds. I tossed my stuff onto the other one. "Hey, can you watch my stuff for a moment?" I asked her. She looked up from her phone. "Sure thing" "You've just met her less than thirty seconds ago, we don't know if we can trust her" Annabeth complained. "First, you have to work on your trust issues. Second, why wouldn't I trust her? She's not going to let anyone take my stuff, simply because she'd be the prime suspect. That's also why she won't take anything herself. Third, I think I used enough charm speak to bend her will to my liking." "Whatever, I'll just show you where my room is and then you can go back to your stuff." We went along the hallway and around two corners before standing before Annabeth's room. She opened the door and we stepped in. This room was arranged differently than the one we had just been to and, according to Annabeth, also the one she had been in last year.
"Spiders" That word came out of nowhere. "So many spiders. Nooo." This time, Annabeth's voice sounded very childlike. "Are you alright?" I asked. Instead of responding, Annabeth lost her balance, but I was able to catch and support her. I took a look at her face. Panic. "No, leave me alone" Annabeth screamed and tried to pull her shirt over her face. Something about this room was definitely not right. "Do you want me to get you out of here?" I asked. Annabeth nodded. It was only a tiny movement, but a nod nevertheless. Only now did I notice that the room already had someone in it. I gave her a sorry,- I'll-explain-it later look. Right now, Annabeth needed my help. I took her hand and pulled her out of the room and around a corner where I saw the one place where I knew we would be disturbed: the girls' bathroom. Once in a stall, I helped her sit down. Next, I tried to figure out what exactly was going on. "What year do we have?" I asked. "2001" Annabeth replied. She sounded proud, maybe because she knew such a high number (well, high for someone with a voice sounding about seven). 2001. The year Annabeth had run away from home. "Get away from me" she screamed again. I hadn't really had to deal with a flashback this strong, but I tried my best. First, I should probably give Annabeth a hug. Given her voice, this very likely wasn't Annabeth. "By the way, what's your name?" "Luisa" "Well, Luisa, is it okay if I give you a hug?" Another slight nod. I put my arm around her. Now, the difficult part was beginning: actually getting her out of the flashback. "What are you seeing?" I asked "Or feeling" Her voice was barely audible, so I leaned in closer. "There's spiders. So many spiders. They're on me. They're crawling over me. There's one on my arm." "Good, keep telling me what you're feeling" I tried something else now. I put my hand on her arm. "There's something else now" "Right. It's not a spider, is it?" "No, not a spider. Feels like a hand."
That meant she could feel things from the current reality. "I want you to focus on that feeling. Just my hand. Nothing else." I began moving my hands up and down her arm, pressing just enough that she'd notice it, but not enough to hurt her.
I suddenly remembered a detail Annabeth had told me about. "Have you tried calling for your parents?" "Yes, I called for my dad." "He should be there any moment now. Look, he's coming through the door right now." "Dad, finally. There's bad spiders here and- where did the spiders go? They were just here." I knew that this was the perfect opportunity. I heard the door opening and then closing again after a short 'ImsorryIdidn'tknowyouwhereinhere' I should have looked the door. "You're absolutely right, Luisa. The spiders are gone now. There gone now, and they've long been gone. It was in 2001. It's 2010 now. September 2010. It's over now." "No, it's 2001" "Hey, focus on my hands. That's the present. Focus on my voice. Everything else, that's the past."
Okay, so, basically, the rest of this chapter fell into the ocean. Like literally, I typed this on my phone and later dropped it into the water. I still have the phone and am working on recovering the data (this is from a backup taken just one day before) but until that happens, you're left with a gap of around 700 words until the story continues. I'll give you a quick summary: Piper helps Annabeth/Luisa through the flashback and since she obviously can't stay in the triggering room, she switches rooms with the girl who was supposed to be Piper's roommate. Turns out she's actually friends with other girl from the room Annabeth was supposed to go in, so everyone wins. Piper and Annabeth then go to their room. This is where the next chapter will begin.
Also, 50th chapter! I never thought I's get this far.