Lukercy: all in the past

I Don't Ignore Percy, But I do Ignore Kronos

On the twenty-first of June Annabeth and Grover came back.

Of course I was immediately concerned with the fact that Percy wasn't here . . . except for the fact that I wasn't worried even a little because I knew what he was doing because, thanks to the Kronos, I'm doing all this again.

Now, the others couldn't know this, they would ask questions, and if I answered truthfully, they would hate me. So, of course, when i went up the hill to congratulate them like everybody else, I asked in a concerned voice where Percy was.

Annabeth was the one to answer me, but that's probably because Grover looked super nervous and she was being a good friend trying to take the heat off him so he could get away. She had said, and I quote, 'he's on Olympus finishing things up.' To anyone who was not from the future, or on the quest, would think she basically said he was, or would be, dead. Luckily I know otherwise, or I would be very scared right now, or, y'know, be me, technically three years ago, also technically a month ago, and be hopeful he's dead. But no, I'm glad he's alive.

Welp, gotta prepare myself to act as normal as I can tomorrow. Also I need a nap, but I cannot have a nap, unless I wanna talk to Kronos, which I don't, so no sleep for me I guess.

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So as it turns out, I forgot Percy returned that night. If I had remembered that, I might not have been as suspicious looking.

See when I saw him I had such a surprised face I'm sure people were looking at me weird. Everybody else was surprised too so I blended in enough, but my mind was going oh shoot, oh shoot, I am not prepared, I am not prepared.

He had gone staight to his cabin which I am very much happy about.

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The next day we celebrated them.

For tradition, they wore laurel weaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then they led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabins made for them.

Annabeth's shroud was very pretty—gray silk with embroidered owls—I heard Percy tell her it was a shame not to bury her in it. She punched him and told him to shut up. I smiled thinking about how great friends they would become.

Now, Percy didn't have any cabin mates, since he was the son of Poseidon, so the Ares cabin had volunteered  to make his shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.

I had grinned when I first saw it because I knew he would have fun burning it.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were surrounded by most of Hermes cabin, Athena cabin, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring his brand-new searcher's license.

I say most of Hermes cabin because I figured I'd stay back to give them some space. Not ignoring, I just know that they probably feel overwhelmed.

The only ones not in a party mood were Ares cabin, who's poisonous looks said they'd never forgive Percy for disgracing their dad.

At the end of it, we all retired to our cabins. And Percy didn't look as down as usual when he went to his.

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On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. The blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, the explode into a million colors.