Seaweed and Wise - Never letting go

11. Embarrassment for life (Annabeth's POV)

When I woke up I was alone in the bed, and most of my siblings had already left. I was the worst Head counseelor since I started going on guests.
How did Percy wake up before me?
There. I glanced a note saying Wanted to let you sleep in, you know where I'll be. -Percy
What was he doing so late last night anyway?
I hurried to the Mess hall for breakfast only to find him sitting at his table with all our friends. It was an amazing sight. Everyone was just chatting, smiling at each other, or stuffing themselves with the strangest meals while doing the two things altogether. Percy beckoned me to the table as he glanced me. I bit my cheek in a content grin that spread across my face.
"Has anyone told Hazel and Frank that you're alive?" I heard Piper ask as I got closer, everyone stiffened in that second and Jason dropped the pie he was eating.
I laughed, what would they do without me?
"Morning." I kissed Percy on his cheek. "I told them through an Iris-message yesterday. They'll come in two weeks, total."
I sat down next to Percy.
"Morning Wise girl," he said. He also looked awfully goofy.
"What are you up to?" I frowned at him a little suspiciously.
"Not much really, but Piper wanted to take you and Calypso out. Maybe I'll set up an orchestra or two while you're gone." Percy said flatly.
And I still didn't believe him a word of innocence.
"I was thinkink about going out of camp to buy some clothes. You don't get much more than orange camp shirts in the camp store. You know... And since we're all going to school in less than a month and I don't even have a backpack." Piper announced.
I looked at her with suspicion too, there was something smelly about Piper asking me to go shopping, or her wanting to go anywhere near a mall for that matter.
"Yeah." I didn't have the perfect battle gear either, not anymore that I lost everything on our 'travels'.
"I think we should go." I agreed, but I still couldn't get rid of the idea of Percy planning something unholy crazy.
We did leave around 10 am though.
Tessa took us. She had a driving license already... And a car she got from her father. I would start the driving school soon too... The time was running fast.
I also asked Katie to go with us, she needed a rest from everything going on and I needed the most people I knew to surround me outside. So, upon realizing how many monsters we'd attract, I asked Lou to do a small cloaking spell she figured a few months ago. It wasn't perfect but it was something.
--------------------------------------------------
"Piper, what the Hades are you doing?" Katie laughed. Some people turned around wide eyed at the outburst.
We were all laughing almost hysterically.
I couldn't figure out whether Piper was doing whatever she was doing just to publically humiliate her mother or if she really did it just to enjoy the small escape to the mortal world but she was presenting a model show of the craziest outfits you could imagine. A two year old wouldn't dress so.
Piper walked out of the changing room once again, catwalk runway style, in an oversized shirt with a lightning bolt on it and jeans with a cloudy sky pattern that she found in the kid's section. She put on some fake dioptric glasses.
"What?" Piper laughed, trying not to though. "You don't think my Grace-Woo collection is just perfect?!" Piper said drop dead seriously. "Well I shall see into that with my boss!" She stormed back in, throwing her hair around.
"They're gonna carry us out in padded cuffs if you don't quit it." Tessa chuckled.
"I'd get a brick on something though." I smirked.
"You know how long it took to find these? You think I wasn't aiming for bricks? Do you even know me?" Piper laughed. "I'm a brick for Halloween." She muttered and finally changed back to her clothes.
It was really nice to just talk about such stupid things.
We shopped for a few more hours with breaks for food as no one wanted the food from the same store.
I chose a salad at this vegeterian restaurant Piper picked to stick with her for moral support this time and Katie, for some unknown reason, ordered a lemon shake at McDonalds, spicy Chinese, and a carrot juice.
None of us understood why, but at one point she took Calypso's spare chilly bag from the burger menu and spilled it on the icecream shake. "Just to taste it."
"Gross."
"Ewww."
"You're really going to eat that now?" Piper asked.
Katie looked at us all innocently. "No?" She shook her head. "But I really do want to know." She burst out almost desperately.
"I think we'll pass on that one," Piper replied quickly.
"Bon appetit!" I said.
We all sat at the table, waiting for Katie's next move.
"It's really..." She licked the top layer of the thing it's become. "Gross, excuse me!" Katie ran to the bathrooms.
Trying not to giggle too loud, I ran after her.
We ended up carrying the bags full of clothes and school suplies to the car many times so we could continue shopping, of that I wasn't so proud of until we entered the bookstore... I chose a few books. Just a few... Or 12. But the others wanted to read them too!
Later we all stopped by the food store and bought things we promised to our siblings and boyfriends.
I felt like a dealer but instead of drugs I was carrying tons of sugar filled hyperactivity bombs.
Katie got some baby clothes too, quite prematurely, but still I was looking forward to see such little babies. Just like anyone would.
In Katie's choices of clothes, she just went for baggy and comfortable. But she just couldn't decide for the colours of the tiny clothes she was getting for the little human inside her.
We took Calypso to a movie called Mr. and Mrs Smith. She didn't get much of the jokes yet but she liked it anyway.
The girl was really cool, even though she almost knocked out a guy who tried to get her phone number.
Mental note: Don't upset that Calypso, she's got some scary skills.
When we headed towards the car it was so late already. And of course we had to stop at some small store because Piper and Katie claimed that they really needed to pee...
"You should have went at the mall." Tessa frowned.
"Yes mother," we said in sync.
Why did we all go to the small store? In case some monsters would try to attack us...
The lady at the cash box looked at us as if we just came to rob her.
Katie asked where the rest rooms were and the lady pointed to the left. Without a word or a "hi".
"The rest rooms are only for the customers." The woman muttered.
And in that moment I've had just enough of her rudeness. I grabbed the first thing on the counter shelves without even looking at it and threw it on the cash box.
"I'm a customer now," I said with a sweetened smile.
The lady looked at me guestionably and I finally checked what I was just about to buy.
Suddenly the girls, who all stood by me, started laughing like idiots. I almost had a heart attack when I realized why they were laughing so hard.
I panicked and paid with the my card.
'Really Annabeth? Really!?' I scolded myself as I started thinkink of Athena checking her kid's purchases.
I put my buy into my backpack and closed it swiftly.
"Smooth..." Piper mocked me and I threw her the toilet key and pointed her there.
My face turned beet red.
We helped each other get the things we bought to our cabins when we finally arrived back. When I got to mine I found Percy sitting on my bed, uncapping and closing Riptide.
I threw the backpack on the bed and dropped the shopping bags next to my trunk.
"Did you buy me the blue raspberry gummi rings, Annabeth?" Percy jumped to full alert mode as he saw me.
"Hi to you too," I laughed. "Yes, they're in my backpack," I called as I walked over to the door to close them so I could change to leisurewear.
I changed and wanted to show Percy my stuff but he was already holding onto something. Percy was choking on a laugh.
"Annabeth why did you buy this?" He was just as red from the fit as I was at the store. And now would be again...
"No!" I cried out silently. "No, no, no..."
Percy was holding the box of condoms.
I covered my face with my hands.
"The stupid cashier said that the rest rooms were for customers only, so... Grabbed the first thing. Paid with my mother's credit card... Oh gods, you weren't supposed to see that."
"This is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me, you get that?" I muttered.
Percy kept looking at me, goofy thoughts running through his head for sure.
"Don't say that twice," he chuckled.
"Stop it and give me that stupid box," I ordered. He threw it at me and just as I missed it by hand and kicked it back up with my foot, Malcolm came into the cabin.
He stared at me and I quickly stuffed the box into my pocket, hoping he didn't see.
But Malcolm just stared at me, then at Percy, and back at me. We stared at each other with Percy and then looked at my older brother.
"I don't want to know anything, be safe guys." Malcolm said.
He turned slowly and walked out of the cabin.
We both started laughing hysterically and I sat down next to him.
"If you ever say a word about that I'm gonna kill you, understood?"
"Yeah," Percy said, trying to stop laughing. But we were still bubbling even after we finished dinner.
"What's so funny?" Piper asked.
"Nothing. We had a bit of a theatre in our cabin, things were said, cards were shown." I chuckled.
Piper burst into laughter as she realized. And Jason with Leo, the only one's who had no idea, just sat there like two potatoes.
"I want to know," Jason begged. Leo joined in.
"Seriously, what are you laughing at?"

Vendy