Tale of the Raging Sea

Chapter 7

[September 8th, 1941]

It was a hard day for me. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving California. I was finally starting to have fun. Everything was perfect. I had a girlfriend, a good Naval position, and wonderful friends. Days before, we had a barbecue party for Frank. He had to leave on a secret mission the British gave to him. Connor and Travis made jokes about him being a spy, which angered Frank. He sure got them back by flipped their chairs over. Hazel was extremely sad. She and Frank were starting to get really close. I felt sorry for them. Our positions required us to leave the lovely ladies we came to meet. Before he embarked on his mission, Hazel got on her tiptoes and gave Frank a giant kiss.

"Go get them, Zhang." she told him.

Frank nodded. "I will. I'll make sure this war ends soon. I promise."

With that, he kissed her back and left. After a few days, Hazel tried her best not to cry, until she couldn't hold in her tears anymore. I comforted her as much as I could. She reminded me of this little girl back home who lived next door. She cried a lot, which annoyed me at times, but since she saw me as her bigger brother, it didn't bother me as much. I always managed to make her smile. It took sometime with Hazel, but she warmed up to me.

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Beckendorf, Jason, the Stolls, and I had our belongings ready, hanging off of our shoulders. Annabeth and Piper were there. They didn't look too happy, but they tried their best to smile at us. Silena and this new girl, whose name was Katie Gardner, was there with the Annabeth and Piper. Silena was talking to Charlie (a nickname we had for Charles), but she looked like she wasn't enjoying the conversation. Katie was talking to the twins. She pointed at one of them, I don't know who is who so I couldn't tell. I soon found out she was dating Travis and the one she pointing at was Connor. She told Connor to watch after his brother and to not do stupid things or let him be around other girls. Travis made a face when she said that. He assured her that she was the only one.

Before we boarded, Piper gave Jason a big hug and a very long kiss. She pulled back and took in  the features of his face, as if she was trying to memorize it. 

"Do you have my picture?" She asked her boyfriend.

"On my heart." Jason said, patting his chest.

"Good." She replied, before she took her face in her hands and gave him series of kisses.

Annabeth came up to me slowly and gave me a hard hug. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her shoulder.

"Don't forget about me, Percy." She pleaded.

I hugged her tighter. "Trust me.  I won't.

She pulled back with an angry look on her face. "Don't go cheating on my either. I'll ring your neck."

I chuckled and gave her small, quick kiss. "Not going to happen. I only want you."

Annabeth blushed and put her forehead to mine. We stayed like that until the horn of boat scared the both of us. I pretty used to it, but it was so loud, it startled Annabeth even more. She hugged me and buried into her face in my shoulder. Jason tapped my other shoulder. It was time to go. I rubbed her back to comfort her.

"Annabeth, I have to go." I whispered into her ear. She hugged me tighter. "Annabeth..."

Finally, she let me go and gave me a passionate kiss. "You're going to come back to me. You promised." She reached into her messenger bag and gave me a portfolio full of paper and her favorite pen. "Write whenever you can. I want to know everything." I smiled and took the writing material. It was just like her to want to know things. She craved knowledge more than anything. Every time she picked up a book, it wasn't fairy tales. No. It was science textbooks and/or airplane manuals.