Falling Through Portals

Dart Guns over Coffee

Chapter 74

    "Annabeth,"

    Annabeth hardly heard her as she stacked the books on the floor. Gosh books were just so beautiful.

    "Annabeth!"

    She turned to see Jenny standing at the front door of their cabin looking concerned.

    "Yea?" Annabeth asked, pulling more books off of the shelf.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Organizing," Annabeth said, "All of these books have just been smushed in here and I intend to fix that."

    Instead of answering, Jenny walked over and sat next to her on the hard wooden floor. Annabeth remembered the first time that she had met Jenny. Right off she recognized the strategic warrior talents in her, the careful way that she walked, taking in everything around her. It was something that Annabeth respected since she wasn't great at it.

    "You need to talk to the Cabin," Jenny said as Annabeth cleared off the whole shelf and moved to the one above it, "The camp, Annabeth," she amended. Annabeth knit her eye brows together. She didn't want to be talking to her, let alone the entire camp. She just . . . wanted to be alone. Didn't she deserve that?

    "I am busy," Annabeth said, knowing that she sounded like a whiny little kid. Jenny sighed and pulled one knee up against her chest, trying to get comfortable.

    "Look I know that this is a hard time for you, but you can't just leave the rest of the campers in the lurch. You are our counselor," Jenny said.

    Annabeth lost control of a few books and they clattered to the ground. She sighed and sat the books down before leaning back. "Maybe I shouldn't be."

    Jenny stared at her with mouth agape. "I am not listening to you if you are going to speak like a fool." She stood up and began walking out before turning back to her, "Annabeth, I love you girl, but you need to pull it together."

    With that she was gone. Annabeth let out a long sigh. She should go after her. Tell her that it was just the wake of it talking. But she didn't move. Instead she stared up at the book shelf and spied one of her favorite books. It was a book called How to survive a Garden Gnome Attack "Defend yourself when the Lawn Warriors Strike (And they will)" by Chuck Sambuchino. If Annabeth had picked it out she probably would have laughed at it and then read a page for kicks before putting it back on the shelf, but Percy had bought it for her back in September. She remembered how proud he had been when he gave it to her, wrapped up in purple wrapping paper. When she had read the title out loud he had been stunned. His Dyslexia was so bad when he read it, he had thought it was an architecture book. Somehow the gnomes on the front cover didn't register in his brain. He had been so embarrassed, but she could only laugh as she gave him a hug and kiss.

    She smiled at the book, but before a moment passed, her smile broke and she was crying. Holding the book against her chest, she began to sob.

   

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    The Avengers and Percy and Lorem all sat around the sofa area as they ate a fantastic breakfast of an all you can eat French toast bar. He had already eaten five servings and was ready for more. Percy couldn't believe he had actually spent Christmas with them! He couldn't help grinning ear to ear as they sat together.

    He kept trying to catch Lorem's eye, even though he knew that she wouldn't be as excited as him, he knew that she would at least be happy for him. But Lorem was a statue, expressionless, emotionless. It almost startled him every time she moved to eat another bite of toast. Lorem had almost as big an appetite as Percy did, since she transported them, so it was a surprise that she was still on her first piece of toast.