Changing the Future

Chapter 15

The next couple of weeks were some of the best of my life. Being head counselor came to me naturally, much to my surprise. Sure, I wasn't the most popular girl in my cabin when having to admonish people for stealing stuff from the Ares cabin and not expect it to come bite them in the butt. I also had to remind the Stoll brothers that setting the Demeter cabin on fire was not an acceptable gesture of friendship, earning some fake groans from the two of them as they dashed off to pull another prank. 

For the first time in my life, I felt like I blended in with others, not the freak amongst a bunch of normal people. Even back home, I'd been picked on for being a nerd, and that was just without Holly, Carol, Kathleen, Mandy, and Ilene contributing to it. Sure, adoration from teachers was nice and all, but I was always the girl that ate lunch by herself in the library. I would've sat with Rebecca and Jade, but their electives made it so they had the second lunch, leaving me by myself.

I guess my previous situation could've been worse. I mean, I still had friends and Mrs. Stetson, so it wasn't all bad. But I hated high school, the way I felt like I was being scrutinized under a microscope by all the older kids whose classes I was in. Not my fault I was taking precalc honors in sophomore year, but they still picked on me anyway.

I was broken out of my reverie by a loud clap of thunder booming overhead. The clouds above camp were dark gray and swirling around violently, ready to burst with an incoming torrent. The magical borders surrounding camp would prevent the rain from landing in the valley, but I still thought that the proximity of the lightning was too close for comfort.

Later, as the sun was starting to set, I heard an angry growl rip itself free from a beast's throat. No one else paid it much attention, brushing off the growl as coming from something in the woods. But I knew better, and it appeared Annabeth did as well.

The two of us dashed to the borders, the rain coming down in slanted sheets, making it impossible to see anything. I saw a flash of red before a black, shadowy figure charged forward, its head getting stuck in Thalia and Luke's pine tree.

"We need to help whoever's out there," Annabeth said, gripping the hilt of her dagger tightly. We both winced as the figure pulled back, a loud snap! echoing through the rain. A figure of a child approached the tree, tugging at something with all their might before rolling backward, clinging to the object.

"Give him a chance," I told Annabeth, fighting every instinct in my body that was screaming for me to go help Percy. When it was clear that he had won, I instructed Annabeth to go find Chiron and tell him of what had happened.

Annabeth looked kind of miffed about not getting to fight the monster, but she didn't argue, sheathing her dagger and taking off for the Big House, her blonde curls bouncing as she ran. I moved out of the way, too, not wanting Percy to see me yet. This was a crucial moment in the books, one that I couldn't possibly interfere with unless I wanted to sacrifice the possibility of Percy and Annabeth's relationship.

From a safe distance, I watched as Percy dragged an unconscious Grover towards the Big House, shouting for someone to help him. Some of the nearby dryads took pity on Percy and whisked Grover away, steering him in the direction of the Big House.

I trailed behind Percy, watching as he fell to his back on the porch of the Big House, Chiron and Annabeth standing above him. "He's the one. He must be," she said, looking up at the centaur.

"Silence, Annabeth," Chiron said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

Annabeth then expertly stooped down and wrapped Percy's arms around her shoulders, letting the rest of his body drag behind her as she took him inside. I knew she'd bring him down to the former infirmary in the basement, one that was typically reserved for cases like Percy's. It was much easier to convince a new kid that they were at a camp when they woke up in a cot instead of the hospital-esque setting that the infirmary ran by the Apollo children gave off.