Annabeth's POV
July 31
I laid sprawled out on my bedroom floor for about 4 hours. Three completed puzzles were displayed in front of me, and I sat up to admire my work.
When I was satisfied, I planted my palms on the ground and pushed myself up off of my position on the floor. My lamp was illuminating the room brightly, substituting the sun that was beginning to lower in the sky.
Artemis had been lounging on my bed while I was assembling the puzzles, and at my sudden movement she jumped down. The two of us traveled over to the door, and I opened it. The silver colored cat pranced out, waiting beside the stairs for me.
We glided down the stairs and into the living room. I stood at the base of the stairs while Artemis disappeared into the library. I was bored, and didn't feel like watching anything on the television. I could go into the library with the cat and resume my book, but I didn't feel like doing that either. I exhaled in annoyance and walked through the entrance hall and into the dining room. I pushed open the door into the kitchen and decided to make dinner for my mother and I.
A few cooks had already been bustling around trying to prepare meals for us, and seeing me enter they all stopped abruptly.
"Miss Annabeth, what are you doing in here?" A lady asked. I recognized her as Enid Hart, our head chef.
"I decided to help make dinner for this evening, if that's alright? I'm unbearably bored, I need something to do." I said, giving her a pleading look. She nodded shortly before shooing the extra workers out. I smiled at them as they left, and told them to enjoy the rest of their day. A few moments later, it was just me and Enid, and lots of kitchen appliances.
"So," Enid said slowly, turning to face me. "What dish did you have in mind?"
I thought for a moment. I was in the mood for a soup tonight. A soup seemed like a reasonable choice, for somebody who's never really prepared a meal before. Maybe a chicken noodle soup would do, or broccoli cheese?
"I think maybe a chicken noodle soup would do nicely." I thought out loud, and Enid nodded.
"I can go grab anything we need. You stay here, I'll be right back." She said before turning and disappearing into the pantry. I stood beside the counter and drummed my fingers on the surface before Enid reappeared.
"Anything else we need will be in the refrigerator." She tilted her head in the direction of which the refrigerator stood, and I nodded before making my way over.
The chicken and carrots were in the freezer, and I pulled them out. I quickly dropped them onto the surface of the counter, due to the thin layer of ice that was chilling my hands. I wiped the melted water off on a dishrag, before Enid began giving me instructions.
"Cut up the carrots while I prepare the broth. If you finish before me, begin cutting the chicken as well."
I nodded and did as she said. My hands opened a utensil draw and took out a sharp cutting knife. It cut through the carrots easily, and I made a pile of carrot pieces off to the side of the cutting board.
As Enid had prepared for, I was done cutting the orange vegetables before she'd gotten the broth fully finished. I unwrapped the chicken and began tearing through it as well.
The two of us continued working until I had a heap of carrots and chicken waiting to be used. Enid was gently stirring her broth she'd made in a large pot on the oven.
"Just come over here and scrape those into the pot. The noodles will take less time to cook than the meat, so we'll put the chicken in first." She said, and I did what she told me to. I walked over and scraped the chicken into the warm broth. (Keep in mind I'm not Gordon Ramsay idk how to make soup I just eat it)
A little while later, we put the noodles and carrot bits into the almost boiling broth. I turned to Enid and gave her a smile.
"Thanks for letting me help. I was so bored without mother here." I told her, which even though mother usually came home at around 8pm, today was just especially dreary without her. I wanted to tell her about the unusual people I'd met at the bookstore earlier today, and I didn't feel like lazing around. Helping make dinner with Enid was well-spent time, and covered at least an hour or so of my day.
Enid dipped her head at me. "Of course, glad I could help."
I smiled and left after Enid assured me she would keep the soup warm for my mother and I to enjoy later.
I brought myself into the library and sat down in the window seat. Instead of reading, I had gotten my phone and earbuds from upstairs. Music started filling my ears as I rested my head against the window and watched the light drizzle of rain that had begun during my time in the kitchen.
***
After what seemed like forever, the front door finally pushed open and let my mother inside. I pulled my phone out from my pocket and paused the music, then ripped the earbud cord away from my ears as I jumped up and flew out of the library.
My mother was standing in the entrance hall, her hand to her head with her eyes closed, the way you would do if you had a headache. I slowed my pace and walked more quietly as to not agitate her.
"Mother? Are you alright?" I asked, and my mothers eyes opened.
"Oh yes, Annabeth. My work day was just particularly stressful today, and obviously longer. I assume your day was more relaxing than mine?" She asked, and I managed a nod.
"It was quite enjoyable." I said. That wasn't a complete lie, I've gotten tons of new books now to take with me to school. And I had a pretty new necklace as well. Despite the noisy nincompoops I had encountered, the bookstore was very quaint. And I had a lovely time eating ice cream and listening to music on the way home with Malcom.
My mother looked pleased at this. "I'm glad you had a nice day. Shall we eat?" She asked, hanging her coat up onto the rack then leading me towards the dining room.
Enid had already laid out our bowls of hot soup, and it was accompanied by tall glasses of water.
The two of us sat down across from one another, and I waited for my mother to take the first bite. As she lifted her spoon up, I took a breath.
She swallowed it and her eyes lit up.
"Oh, that is marvelous! Unlike any soup we've eaten for dinner before. I can't tell what they did differently."
I smiled with pride. "Well, mother, I helped Enid make the soup."
My mother looked at me with a bit of shock. "I never knew you could cook!" She exclaimed, and took another bite of the soup. I did the same and had a moment of satisfaction before replying.
"It was mostly Enid, I really didn't do much. I just cut up the ingredients then helped stir it into broth." I said modestly, not wanting to take any of the credit from Enid.
Mother waved a hand as if declaring my statement nonsense. "You still did something, and it's simply delicious."
I beamed at this before taking another bite of the soup. It was really good.
"So," my mother said after a few seconds of quiet. "What did you do during your day out?"
I recapped my whole day to her. I told her about listening to music on the way to town, how adorable the shops were, the boys I'd run into, the books and necklace I bought, Malcom and I eating pasta and ice cream. She nodded her head throughout everything I said, visibly taking in my words.
"Seems like you had an exciting day. Who knew you'd make a few new friends?"
I rolled my eyes at this comment. "Mother, we aren't friends. They're just stupid boys I encountered. I don't plan on meeting them again, and if I did I certainly wouldn't try to get to know them. They're clearly troublemakers." I said, my tone implying I was done with the conversation.
My mother sighed, but didn't press the matter any further.
We ate the rest of our dinner in silence, the only sound being our spoons clinking against the bowls.
When the two of us had wiped our mouths clean of any remainders of the food, two men came in and picked up our dishes before bringing them back into the kitchen.
We walked out of the dining room and through the entrance hall. We ascended the stairs and separated as we walked over to our different places on opposite sides of the hallway.
"Goodnight, Annabeth!" My mother called, and I told her the same before she disappeared into her bedroom and I stepped into my bathroom.
***
After showering, brushing my teeth and washing my face, I left my bathroom and slipped inside my bedroom.
I padded across the wooden floor (gold rush anyone) to my wardrobe and changed into the same thing I'd worn last night: plaid pajama pants and a white T-shirt. I pulled my hair back into a low ponytail, then crept over to my bed. The mattress bent under my weight as I sat down. My phone had been left downstairs in the library when I had rushed out to greet my mother. I made a mental note that tomorrow when I went to sleep I had to charge it, so I'd have some music to listen to during the flight to England.
I sighed at the reminder that I would be leaving home in a day, but decided to brush it aside. I still had a whole day, and I could make it count.
I let out a small sigh before leaning back onto the bed. I rolled over to my side and switched off the lamp, then turned to my opposite side and let myself fall asleep.
***
August 1
The sun peeked through my window the next morning, causing me to open my eyes and sit up.
I realized today I had to pack all of the belongings I wanted to bring with me to the boarding school. A long yawn escaped my lips as I stretched and mentally prepared myself for the long day of packing and organizing.
I had just gotten changed, a faded black shirt with some band logo and Jean shorts, when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
"Come in?" I said, wondering who would be needing to see me at this hour. I lifted the phone beside me up to see it was 9am, so my mother should have left for work already. Despite that, the door opened and my mother stepped in. She was wearing casual jeans with a loose cream colored blouse. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she hadn't bothered straightening her hair today. Her natural hair is like mine, curly and wild, but she usually straightens it to look more professional. Today it was the opposite, completely unruly. It made her even more beautiful.
"Mother? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Oh, I am. But I took the day off, it's our last day together before you leave and I want to spend it with you."
I won't lie, that made me happy. I wanted to spend time with my mom before I left, and now we'd have the whole day together. I smiled at her and moved forward to give her a hug.
"Thank you, mother. It means a lot to me that we'll spend some time together." I said, while her hand smoothed the back of my head.
"Of course, dear! You're not the only one that will be sad when you leave, you know." She told me, before moving around me to sit on my bed. I frowned at that, because if she was sad about me leaving then why was I going in the first place?
I followed behind my mother and sat down beside her. My eyes scanned my bedroom, wondering what I should pack. We sat in silence for a few moments before my mother stood up and took my hand.
"We need to get your trunk and bag before we begin packing." She said, leading me out of the room and down the hall towards a storage room on the wall on the opposite side of my bedroom.
I followed her inside and she flicked the light on, revealing a room filled with boxes and random items all over the floor. Old paintings and pictures were hung on the walls, and I found myself looking at a photo of what seemed to be a younger version of my mother standing beside a man with kind sea green eyes and unruly black hair.
My mother stepped carefully through the messy room, avoiding touching anything. She made her way across the floor until she reached a pile of items covered in an old sheet. She lifted the sheet up, revealing many wooden trunks and a few backpacks underneath.
She beckoned me over to her and I tiptoed my way through the cluster of items before I was standing beside her.
"Pick a backpack, and this trunk will do fine to hold all of your items." She said, picking up one of the large trunks. It was a dark wood with a leather handle, photos and stamps adorned the front. In golden lettering, carved into the wood at the top, read "Chase", our last name. I smiled and nodded at my mother. She gestured to the pile of old backpacks, some looking relatively new and others looking a bit worn out. They were all a leather with a flap at the top, and a buckle closing the flap. The straps were long and thin.
I picked up a nice sized gray-blue one, similar to the color of the car Malcom and I had gone to town in yesterday. It was a bit worn out, but it wasn't dirty or anything and it would do the job. It was the same as all the others, in the way that it had the long straps and flap at the top. It was a fancy leather, but as I said before it was well worn out by now. The only difference was that this, like the trunk, also had gold lettering at the front of the flap. "Chase."
I looked up at my mother and she had a distant smile on her face.
"Why is this bag the only one that says Chase on it? And that trunk?" I asked, my head tilting in curiosity.
"It was your father's, he kept his maps and such in that bag." She said. She spoke like she wasn't really here, like she was lost in a memory. I instantly felt bad using the bag and placed it back on the floor.
"I'll pick a different one, then."
My mother grabbed my arm, stopping me from picking up a dark red colored bag.
"No, take this one. I'm sure your father would want you to have, and so do I." She said, her voice hushed. I nodded and straightened up again, picking the bag up with me.
We turned out the light in the room and walked back into my bedroom, laying the trunk and bag onto the floor beside the door.
"Pick the clothes you want to bring." My mother instructed, and I walked over to the wardrobe to grab a few clothes off of their hanger. As I tossed each item of clothing onto my bed, my mother picked it up and folded it neatly into the trunk.
***
Once all my clothes had been put into the trunk, I carefully laid all of my books I'd bought at the bookstore on top of them. Along with a few other books from our library, by a few I mean maybe 10 or 13. I also added other things such as my sketchbook, photos of me and my mom, a small box of jewelry, then stuff out of my bathroom like hair products, body wash, toothbrush. Then I put a small amount of makeup in there along with my hairbrush. I didn't put a lot, I'm not a huge makeup girl.
***
Once we were sure I had everything, the day was almost over. The sun was setting and mother and I had spent the whole day packing, talking, and laughing. It was 8pm now, and when we had finished packing we ate dinner then watched the Gilmore Girls together. It was sort of our show, you know?
Now I was sitting in bed relaxing with my phone in hand. I was scrolling through dumb videos online, and mentally preparing myself for what would happen tomorrow.
Tomorrow I would get up and go to the airport, then fly to England. I'd be driven to a hotel to stay at overnight, then taken to school the next day. Somebody would give me a tour of the school and my schedule and all that junk, then I'd officially be attending school. Boarding school. Far away from home.
I groaned inwardly and turned off my phone, flipping back onto my pillow. My room was dark, so I didn't need to turn out the light. Instead I just lay back and allowed myself to get the much needed rest I'd need before the next few days, and the rest of the year.
Word count-3000 ö it's so perfect