Through Annabeth's Mind: Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief (Annabeth's POV)

4) I Tell Him He Drools. A Lot.

The next day, fortunately, there weren't any spiders in the cabin, so I went on my usual day, or as usual as they get in Camp Half-Blood. I assisted archery and sword fighting, I climbed the lava wall, and then I headed towards the Big House. I had the rest of the day free, so helped Lee in the infirmary for a while, and then walked to the porch. Mr. D and Chiron were playing yet another game of pinochle, Mr. D sipping on his Diet Coke.

"Hello, Annabeth," said Chiron. He was used to seeing me around at this time of the day.

"Hi, Chiron. Hello Mr. D," I replied. He ignored me.

I usually go there some days to play pinochle with them or just watch them play while I mentally assemble different buildings and monuments that I would hopefully build someday. Just a few moments after I arrived, I spotted Percy and Grover walking to the Big House. Percy looked weak, but the energy I saw in his eyes as he walked onto the porch with Grover's help told me he was feeling much better.

Grover was telling Percy something, then he pointed at Chiron, and Percy yelled "Mr Brunner!"

Mr Brunner? Oh, that was probably what they called Chiron at the school he went to, disguising himself as a teacher to see if Grover was right about Percy, if he was really a powerful demigod.

"Ah, good, Percy," Chiron replied. "Now we have four for pinochle."

He offered Percy a chair, and he sat, scooting a little farther away from Mr D. He probably realized the type of person the camp director was, or he had experience with that sort of person. I frowned.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you," Mr D said.

"Uhh, thanks," Percy answered.

"Annabeth?" Chiron asked, and I walked closer. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

"Sure, Chiron," I said.

I looked at the Minotaur horn in his hand, and then at him. So he really did kill the Minotaur by himself. I could have done it too, and he shouldn't expect me to be impressed, so instead...

"You drool when you sleep," I blurted.

The look on his face was priceless. I didn't want to be caught staring, so I sprinted off down the lawn. I quickly grabbed a blanket, a pillow and a sleeping bag, and kept it in a corner of the floor of the cabin, since all the bunks were full. Trying to avoid Luke, I went back to get a book from my cabin to read while I waited.

I sat outside Hermes' Cabin, reading a book in Ancient Greek about architecture, when I spotted Percy and Chiron walking towards me. I looked at Percy, studying him. His bruises were gone, and there were no marks indicating he ever had cuts. His hair looked wind-swept, and it shined a bit in the sun, as if it were wet. He wasn't athletic-looking, but he wasn't unhealthy either. His eyes looked sad, probably because he lost his mother. He talks in his sleep, apart from drooling. I could relate (to losing family, not drooling). The only difference is that I chose to.

I wondered which was his godly parent. It had to be his father; his mom was a mortal. Maybe Apollo? Or Ares? Did I have to go on a quest with a son of Ares? Though he looked calm and peaceful. Maybe not. Hermes? But he didn't have the pointy ears that most Hermes' kids had, even though you can never really tell. He looked like the kind of kid that you'd find skateboarding near the mall, and he did have a mischievous glint in his eyes, and a smile that was equal to him wearing a T-shirt saying the word: "REBEL" or "TROUBLEMAKER".

All of this passed through my brain in a couple of seconds, and then I realized Percy was right in front of me, trying to read the title of my book.

"Annabeth," Chiron said, giving me a look that said something along the lines of: 'I know what you are thinking about'. And believe me sometimes I think he can actually read minds, or maybe it's just the experience from the three thousand years he's lived. I hoped he didn't actually know, because what I was really thinking was quite embarrassing, and I wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even to myself. Yet.

"I have masters' archery class at noon," he continued. "Would you take Percy from here?"

"Yes sir," I responded.

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told Percy, pointing at the doorway. "Make yourself at home."

I walked towards the cabin, Percy right in front of me. When the Hermes' kids saw Chiron, they bowed. Chiron wished Percy good luck, and he galloped to his class.

"Well?" I told Percy. He was just standing there. "Go on."

He tripped walking towards the door, and I tried not to laugh, though there were some snickers from the other campers.

"Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven," I said.

"Regular or undetermined?" Travis asked. Regular meant he was another child of Hermes. Undetermined meant that we still didn't know who his parent was.

"Undetermined," I said, followed by everyone from the cabin groaning. It was true, their cabin was already very full.

Then Luke came forward. My legs turned into jelly, and my cheeks became alarmingly warm. I hadn't even realized he was there. "Now, now, campers. That's what we are here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, over there," he said, pointing at the place where I kept his stuff.

"This is Luke," I introduced. Percy glanced at me, and I realized I was just being a silly girl. I kept a serious face after that. "He's your counsellor for now."

"For now?" he asked, as if he didn't understand. He probably didn't. Luke got that.

"You're undetermined," he explained. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

Percy looked at the faces of the campers, seizing them, and then asked, "How long will I be here?"

"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined." I rolled my eyes.

"How long will that take?," he simply asked again.

The campers laughed at that, and I intervened. Percy was just making a fool of himself.

"Come on," I told him. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"I've already seen it," he replied.

"Come on." I insisted, grabbing his wrist without thinking about it too much, and dragging him outside. The cabin eleven kids were still laughing behind us, and Connor and Travis were probably already planning on how to prank him.