The Last Summer

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I Am Embarrassed By Yellow Gloves

A light rain was pattering against the windows of the kitchen, where I stood drinking a soda. I stared through the glass at the dreary April evening, not really looking forward to the task at hand. My mom had gone out for the evening with her new boyfriend, Mr Blowfish. She had left me to do the dishes.

Don't take that the wrong way. I was all for my mom being happy, she deserved it more than a lot of other people. And I didn't mind doing chores to help her out. But I was really tired. I pretty much wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a century, like Sleeping Beauty – minus the dress.

So here I was, a son of Poseidon, staring at a whole stack of dirty plates. With an unenthusiastic yawn, I tore my eyes away from the water drops rolling down the window, put my soda back in the fridge, and started scrubbing the first plate.

As the sponge wiped away the remnants of last night's Pasta Bolognese, I couldn't help but to think of my last big adventure. Everything had happened so long ago, it seemed surreal. In fact, I probably would have passed it off as some really messed up dream if Annabeth wasn't constantly reminding me just how real winter break had been.

You see, we've kept in constant contact – Annabeth and I, just in case anything ever happens in the world of prophecies and monsters. It's been pretty quiet lately, which kind of bothers me. Nico, the poor kid who has no idea Hades is his father, is out there alone somewhere, plotting his revenge on me. At least, I hope he's alone. It would be better than him being recruited by Luke, who apparently survived his fall down the side of a cliff.

At the thought of Luke, I shuddered. Not in fear or anything, because he's a coward. It's more of an angry shudder. Luke really makes me mad. The way he acts, the things he's done, the fact that he's tried to kill me more than once…I think I'm entitled to feel a bit of hatred for the guy.

I got so immersed in my thoughts that it took me a while to hear the familiar voice that was calling my name.

"Percy?"

After some blinking, I focused in on reality again and saw the activities director at Camp Half-Blood standing right in front if me. Only, he wasn't technically there. It was an IM, an Iris-Message – sent through means of Iris, the personification of the rainbow.

"Chiron," I replied, suddenly aware of how ridiculous I must have looked. I was wearing these big, yellow gloves for a reason I don't even remember. It just seemed appropriate at the time. I quickly pulled the gloves off, hoping that Chiron was the only one in the room. If someone else, for example Dionysus, had seen that I would probably be taunted for the better half of the summer.

Which reminded me…

"It's only April," I muttered, "Is something wrong?"

The look on the centaur's face told me everything I needed to know. There was definitely something wrong. I found myself instantly thinking of Annabeth and hoping, beyond anything else, that she was okay.

"It's Nico," Chiron said solemnly. I knew that was bad news, but I still let out a sigh of relief. Chiron must have heard because he looked at me quizzically and I instantly put on my best 'Concerned Percy' face.

"So what happened," I asked. Chiron breathed deeply. I had never seen him looking so stressed, not even when he was marking horrendous Latin papers.

"I received an Iris-Message earlier," Chiron began, "But there was only one problem. I did not see the sender. It was as if they were hidden in the shadows. It worries me, especially what I saw in the message."

"What was it?" I asked, totally interested now. Chiron bit his lip nervously. I knew that look. It was the look every adult gave a child when they were unsure of something.

"I don't want to say much right now," Chiron said, "Let's just say it would be best for you to get to camp as soon as possible."

This was definitely bad. Whatever Chiron had seen in that message had him scared. And I couldn't help but feel the fear trickle into my stomach.

"What about Annabeth?" I asked; not even realizing the words had leaked from my mouth. I felt myself instantly flush at the thought of my friend. Chiron nodded.

"I already contacted her and she's on her way from San Francisco. Anyways, Dionysus is calling. I have to go. Be careful Percy. Things are changing."

With that, Chiron waved his hand and the mist in my kitchen disappeared. I was left by myself again, my eyes darting around the room nervously.

Things are changing.

It was definitely a scary thought. I decided that Chiron was right. The sooner I got to camp, the better. I quickly scrawled a note to my mom, hoping she could read my awful handwriting, telling her where I would be and that I would contact her as soon as I reached camp.

I quickly packed a backpack with a few changed of clothes and put Riptide in my pocket. Saying a quick prayer to my father for protection, I stepped out into the rapidly fading day, instantly getting soaked to the bone. I should have remembered to turn my anti-water shield on. Oh well, too late now.

My next stop was Camp Half-Blood.

It was a pretty far journey.

For the second time that night, I was not looking forward to the task at hand.

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A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that first chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought and whether or not I should continue. Constructive criticism is welcome. Also, please remember I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Cheers!

-Liv xoxo