Daughter of Mother Earth

Chapter Seventy-One

"Festus, what is that?" She asked.

Unfortunately, the clicking that came from Festus made no sense to Crystal. She looked at Leo for translation.

"Presidential library or something like that," He replied.

Percy, Frank, and Coach Hedge soon emerged from under the deck. Crystal wished them luck on their short expedition, watching as they headed toward the library.

"So, uh," Leo said. "What do we do in the meantime?"

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Crystal gently knocked on Hazel's door. Inside, she could faintly hear Annabeth talking. Crystal peeked through the door and found Hazel sitting on her bed with her knees in her chest.

"Can I come in?" Crystal asked.

The girl nodded and Annabeth made room on the bed for Crystal to sit. It was clear Annabeth was telling stories about her chaotic boyfriend to help cheer up Hazel. An idea popped into Crystal's head.

"Have you ever deep-conditioned?"

The question threw both Hazel and Annabeth off. "What?"

Crystal grinned. "Like your hair. It's been a while since I last took care of my curls, and you, my natural-hair queen, need a little girl time." She turned to Annabeth. "Your curls could use it too, you know."

Annabeth raised a brow. "You have a problem with my hair?"

"No," Crystal shrugged. "But that doesn't mean we can't look pretty as we kick ass."

Hazel laughed genuinely and Crystal's smile widened. She left the room and soon returned with a couple of products in her arms.

"Where did you get all that?" Annabeth eyed the bottles.

Crystal dropped the stuff on the bed. "Remember Alex, from Aphrodite cabin? She insisted I take a few things with me to keep the curlies in check."

To be honest, a little relaxation was needed. It seemed like every five minutes disaster struck. So, the girls took advantage of the downtime they had. It didn't take long for them to end up on the bed with their curls now fresh, hydrated, and slightly damp, as they play a game of cards.

"Hey, you're cheating!" Crystal said as soon as she saw the number of cards in Annabeth's hand. "You took four cards!"

"I did not!"

"Pay me now!" Since the three girls didn't exactly have the option to gamble money in their poker game, they decided on simply using jelly beans from the mess hall. "You cheated."

Annabeth huffed. "It was a mistake!"

"Mistake my ass, you cheated!" Crystal pointed her finger accusingly at the blonde. "You owe me ten jelly beans."

Annabeth suddenly grasped Crystal's wrist, pulling something out from her sleeve. It was an ace of diamonds. A sheepish smile crawled to Crystal's lips as Hazel suddenly burst out laughing, gripping her stomach.

"What's this?" Annabeth shoved the card in her friend's face. "And you accused me of cheating?"

Absolute chaos broke out. Crystal began cursing in Greek, to which Annabeth responded in her own words in the same language. Tears fell from Hazel's eyes from laughing too hard at their bickering. Annabeth reached out of the pile of jellybeans in the center of the bed. Crystal was about to throw her cards down and wrestle for the candy when Frank burst into the room, nearly knocking down the door.