I go to see my mom after work the next day.
She was excited to see me, but she was a little sad that I was leaving for college in a few weeks.
"I'm so proud of you, Percy," she compliments me.
I blush and laugh. My mom has always told me that she's proud of me, even when I totally mess up. But this time, I especially believe her.
"I couldn't have done this without you, Mom."
She started to cry and I put a hand on her shoulder.
"Mom," I assure her, "I'm gonna be okay. I'll come and visit. And college doesn't last forever."
She sighs. "I know, but I'm going to miss you so much."
I pull her into a hug and hold her tight. She wraps her arms around me and I smile. I never hugged my mom much as a kid, but now I realize how important it is to her.
"Just don't do anything dumb, okay?" She says, pulling away.
I smile. "I promise."
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Annabeth and I get all packed up for camp before leaving for camp. Most of our stuff is already packed, so we just have the necessities.
I let Annabeth use the bathroom first. She's always excited about going to camp, so she gets ready really fast. Me, on the other hand, not so much.
After a while, she goes silent. It kinda scares me, because she's always super loud when she's in a hurry.
Then, I hear her vomit.
I rush to the bathroom and pull her hair behind her ears and keep it back there until she finishes.
"I thought you said your stomach was feeling better," I say as she catches her breath.
"It was," she slumps down. "As soon as I smelled the barbecue down the street, it made me nauseous."
"That's weird. You love barbecue."
"I know."
She thinks for a minute, and then her eyes widen as if she'd just made an obvious discovery.
"Annabeth?" I ask. "Are you okay?"
She looks up at me. "I'm fine."
"Okay..."
"We should go."
"But I still need to brush my teeth."
She gets up and rushes out of the bathroom. "Make it quick."
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We're about half way to camp when Annabeth tells me to stop at a pharmacy.
"What do you need here?" I ask her.
"I'm thirsty, and camp is still pretty far away, and there's no gas stations in this area. You need anything?"
"Um, no thanks."
"Okay. I'll be right back."
She runs into the store and seems very anxious. What's her deal? She never acts like this.
But I think she knows why she's getting sick.
And I might, too.