You Belong to my Heart: A Percabeth FF

2. Annabeth

Chapter 2: Annabeth

"Bye mom!" I called out, grabbing my backpack and phone from the counter. I pushed open the door and let a sigh of relief. A warm summer breeze met my face and left my skin tingling. I loved getting out of the house, with my pushy mother who insisted I did most of the house chores. The house chores weren't that bothersome, but the constant criticizing for every little action was so frustrating.

It was almost eight in the morning, but the summer sun was already up. It was already such a hot day and I could already feel droplets of sweat forming on the side of my forehead. I looked down at my phone, 7:45. I only had a couple minutes to get to the park, where I worked. Well, actually, it was more of a volunteer effort, since I didn't get paid. I loved working at the summer camp. I had recently moved, and I was already making new friends... I arrived at the park and met Piper, my best friend here, in our little hiding spot. But we mostly used it to plan activities for the kids. Today, we wanted to organize an enormous game of capture-the-flag.

I turned the corner to our hiding spot. She was already there, sitting on the floor, on her phone. She was wearing her usual outfit: a ski-jacket, some denim shorts and her hiking boots, but she managed to make it look like designer clothes. I sat down next to her.

She looked up and smiled. "Okay so what's the plan?" she whispered, all mysterious. I giggled, but showed her a quick sketch of the idea I had.

"Plan for what?" interrupted Thalia Grace, the leader of this camp. I looked off her shoulder.

"Oh, we want to organize a big capture-flag-game for the kids," I quickly explained. Did she think we were doing something illegal?

She paused to think and my heart leaped in my throat. Her blue eyes were flickering between Piper and I, before they softened into what seemed like a smile. "That's a great idea. We need more of these interactive games. You know what? I like it so much, I'll make it camp tradition. Fridays are capture-the-flag days," she grinned.

"But we — we don't even have a plan ready," I mustered.

"And it's not Friday," added Piper.

"Exactly. You'll run a test round today, see how it goes, what we can fix and Friday, it starts for real. Deal?"

Piper and I looked at each other. Her eyes shined. I bet mine were too. She shrugged, and I shrugged back. "Deal," I accepted. We went over the plan I had designed once more, and then ran off to start the camp.

We held our usual session of morning meditation and yoga. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. To stretch while the morning sun warmed my back.

It was right before lunch that Piper and I finally had everything ready. It was a little difficult to find time to prepare during the camp, but we had given each other simple tasks, while the other watched over the kids.

The kids were finishing up their lunch, and most of them were already done. "Ready?" whispered Piper. She sounded nervous, and I put my arm around her.

"Ready," I smiled, confidently. I walked over to a platform we used for announcements. I whistled and waved everyone towards me. The kids lumbered towards us. "Listen up campers! Are you ready for the most epic game of capture-the-flag?" I yelled. Enthusiasm was key when talking to younger children.

They cheered back. I smiled at Piper, and she smirked. Her nervous energy seemed to have faded away. It had been her idea after all.

"Let's do this!" she screamed.

"Okay, here are the teams!" I started reading names off a list. Our two groups had a total of about fifty children, so the list was really long. "Team Green with me! Team Red with Piper!"

A group of kids reluctantly followed me. I caught the eye of one of my most enthusiastic little guys. Tyson. I waved him over and he came running. "Hey buddy! Ready to play?"

"Yeah!" he smiled giddily. I smiled, Tyson was one of my favorite kids at the camp. He was always so sweet and caring about everyone. His friends called him over. "I gotta go," he told me, as he squeezed my hand and left to be with his friends.

The game went pretty well. I don't mean to brag, but my team won. There were only a few injuries and everyone said they had a great time. Even Thalia's blue eyes seemed to soften again as she saw more smiles and faces illuminated with happiness. Piper and I chatted a little after, and we discussed what could have gone better, but they were all simple fixes.

Now, I was picking up the flags and gathering my personal belongings. Tyson came up to me. "Thanks Ms. Chase! I loved the game," he hugged me. I smiled down at him. These were the moments that made you want to risk everything. These moments made me feel confident and invincible. If only the feeling wouldn't go away. Then life wouldn't be so hard.

The other leaders were preparing for the afternoon session, but I wanted to enjoy my summer. My backpack with my notebook bounced against my back as I headed home. And, like every other day, I went home with a smile.

Note: Happy late birthday Percy and Percabeth!