Adele Black: The End

62 Hours

Adele Black: The End

62 hours

I stood in front of the mirror in the communal bathrooms and looked down at the sink. Locks of blonde hair rested in it. I needed a fresh start. And whether it was my ADHD-riddled brain or not, I impulsively cut my blonde licks off and now had a choppy bob.

Maybe it was akin to me wanting a fresh new start when I get to London. Maybe it was akin to me wanting to be more independent. Maybe it was akin to me wanting to say goodbye to all the problems I've been outrunning and instead saying hello to all the consequences.

"You know what you need?" A voice asked.

"What?" I replied, looking straight at the mirror.

The voice was Jamie. Jamie was a daughter of Aphrodite and the resident beauty guru of Camp Half Blood. She had voluminous dark hair that was curled into natural tight ringlets and dark skin and eyes the color of the sky on a bright sunny day.

"You need a few helix piercings, and maybe a nose piercing. You're going for that badass independent look, right?" Jamie said, her voice persuasive.

I nodded. Perhaps it was another brush of impulsivity brought on by a classic case of demigod ADHD. Perhaps it wasn't. It didn't matter, though, because either way, the night before I was to go to England, I found myself with three silver helix hoops on my left ear, and a silver hoop were a stud would normally be on the left side of my nose.

When I woke up the next morning, I tip toed over to Annabeth's bed and shook her gently.

"I'm leaving," I whispered.

"I'll see you off," she sleepily said, using her hands to rid her eyes of whatever crusts were there.

The two of us looked very different as we traveled to the border of Camp Half Blood and the rest of the world. Annabeth was wearing a pair of pink and gray plaid pajama pants and a shirt that judging by its size was obviously Percy's and a pair of slippers. Her hair was a tangled mess despite it being held back in some sort of ponytail that must have come half undone while she slept.

While she looked like the epitome of somebody just rolling out of bed, I did not. Instead, I wore a pair of short jean shorts, an orange Camp Half Blood shirt that had the sleeves cut off and was cropped a little bit, and a pair of black high tops.

Chiron was there to meet us. He wasn't in his wheelchair, instead opting to be in full centaur form. He also didn't have the blanket with him. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know, either.

"Some ambrosia and nectar. I know it's scarce in England, so I gave you a good supply," Chiron said as he handed the food and drink of the gods and goddesses to me.

"Thank you, Chiron," I said as I put the ambrosia and nectar in my backpack.

He nodded. I found myself wrapping my arms around his torso— because that was as far as I could reach when he was in his full centaur form— and told him, "Thank you, Chiron. For everything."

Chiron hugged me back as well as he could without causing me to fall back onto my butt.

"I will see you again, Adele. Do not act like this is the last time we will meet, child," he said.

It sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself more than anything else.

I nodded. I then gave Annabeth a hug.

"Make sure to write, okay? You'll have to update me on what happens with George," she requested with a smile.

"Don't worry, I will," I assured her.