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FIC: The Necklace of Harmonia, chpt 13
Title: The Necklace of Harmonia (Daughter of Wisdom 3)
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, Chase family, OCs, various others, Gen with slight Percy/Annabeth
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: After an eventful summer, Annabeth Chase is on her way to boarding school for the first time. With her friends Thalia and Percy close by, she's looking forward to spending the year in New York. But soon, she finds herself dealing with unfathomable dreams, tangled plots, and a mysterious necklace that keeps finding its way back to her. Worse still, her father wants her to move to the most dangerous city in the country. The choices Annabeth faces this year will have her questioning the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and family. And most of all, just what it means to keep a promise. An alternate PoV retelling of Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse. Part 3 of the Daughter of Wisdom series.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: I Get A Fun Homework Assignment
Rating: G
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Chiron, OCs
Word Count: 2,714
Chapter Summary: Annabeth finally gets a teacher she clicks with.
Back to fic content page
I spent an uneventful week at camp before it was time to return to school. Chiron said nothing about my abrupt return, but informed me quietly that he had contacted my father to let him know I'd arrived safely.
I didn't reply. I wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. Chiron didn't push the issue. He was more worried about Clarisse and how we hadn't heard from her for almost a month now.
Thalia was miffed that Remy had been a pet of the Hunters all along.
'I thought he was a sign from the gods! I didn't realise he was affiliated with them. I wouldn't have taken his help if I'd known.'
'What do you have against them anyway?'
'They're just so-they think they know everything. It's annoying.' She sighed. 'It's not that I don't think what they do is cool. But when they found us, you know, before, I'd have had to leave you and L-' She bit her lip. 'They're just so smug, acting like I chose wrong. I didn't, okay?'
I held up my hands. 'I didn't say you did.'
She raised her eyebrows. 'You're not seriously thinking of joining them, are you?'
'Would it be so bad?'
Thalia gave my brochure a dark look. 'Read the fine print, Annabeth. Are you sure you're ready to give up everything for them?'
I thought of my dad, moving across the country. Maybe I'd never see him again. Why shouldn't I find myself a new family? 'It's not like I have a lot to give up.'
She gave me a look that said she didn't believe this at all. 'All you need is one thing you can't give up on yet.'
She didn't elaborate, and she didn't bring up the Hunters again after that.
I wished Thalia wasn't so set against Zoë's offer. If she'd been open to it, I probably would have embraced the possibility with open arms.
Part of the draw was that being a Hunter was forever. The idea was like a salve on the hollow ache that had followed me up from Richmond. I couldn't shake the pervasive sense of temporariness that had come over me in my stripped childhood bedroom. Nothing in your life is meant to last, it said. Even at camp, the only home I'd known for the past seven years, everything I owned could fit into one duffel bag.
Was there any greater mark of temporariness than living out of a bag?
I'd have to leave camp eventually. There were no campers over the age of eighteen. Luke had been the oldest, and it was rare that he'd stayed as long as he had. All the other counsellors had either gone off to college and learnt to live in the outside world … or died in it.
Once, I'd told Percy that the real world was where you learned if you were good enough. I'd insisted on following him on his first quest because I wanted to prove that I could make it outside camp. I guess even then, I'd known I would need to leave some day.
Would it be so bad to leave now and become a Hunter? Who else was offering me a home, a family-one that might finally be permanent?
The little ghost girl tending the central hearth was back again, sitting so close to it that she almost seemed to be in the fire itself. She smiled sweetly at me, and I got the strange feeling that she sensed my dilemma. She turned her head slightly so that her chin was pointing towards the cabin on the opposite side of the green, one down from mine.
My insides did a slow turn over as I stared at the empty Poseidon cabin.
Thalia was right. I might not have a lot to tether me to my current life, but sometimes just one thing-one person-could be enough to make you hesitate.
+++
When we got back to school, it was like Ms Seunis and Izzy had never existed. The only evidence of our battle was the cordoned-off computer lab, which hadn't yet been repaired. Computer science classes were moved to a spare classroom where a few ancient computers had once languished in dusty corners. Now they were set up in the centre of the room, but there were nowhere near enough of them for the whole class.
Standing at the front of the room was a new teacher. She had an unexceptional sort of face, grey-haired and middle-aged, with bland features framed by crow's eyes and frown wrinkles.
'Who's that?' Thalia whispered.
'I guess she's replacing Kit-Seunis,' I said.
Cheryl gave us a strange look. 'Mrs Carlson's been teaching us Computer Science since October, remember?'
'Ah.' Thalia nodded in understanding. 'The Mist,' she whispered to me. 'Chiron's been teaching me more about how it works.'
Of course. I knew the Mist made stuff appear normal to mortals, but this was the first time I'd experienced the way it warped actual memories. Although now that I thought about it, Percy had once told me about the Kindly One who'd posed as his pre-algebra teacher. After he'd disposed of her, his entire school had believed their teacher had been a different woman all along.
'It didn't manage to fix the computer lab, though,' I said under my breath.
'It's harder when there's real damage.'
'Enough chatter back there,' Mrs Carlson called. Her tone was firm, but not unfriendly. 'I know this isn't an ideal set-up, but since we can't be in our usual lab, we'll have to make do. You'll have to take turns with the computers we've got.' She looked around the class. 'Who has completed the holiday homework?'
I looked blankly at Thalia. One big problem with the Mist creating false memories for the mortals-we didn't have any of those memories.
Thalia shrugged and leaned over to Cheryl. 'What was the homework again?'
'Prep for Photoshop. We had to draw a design to convert into digital art,' Cheryl said. She held out her half-drawn line-art (it was a sketch of some cartoon character I recognised but couldn't name). 'I'm not quite done either.'
Mrs Carlson directed a few girls who had completed sketches to start with the programme. 'I'll show you how to reproduce these digitally,' she told them. To the rest of us, she said, 'Keep working on your designs. You'll each get a turn soon.'
I pulled out my sketch pad and tore out a page for Thalia. As she hurriedly scribbled something on it, I flipped through my earlier sketches. I could easily pretend I'd done them for the homework assignment. It would actually be interesting to see how they would turn out digitally. Only once had I used software to design structures-in the time-bending Lotus Casino. I suspected a fair bit of magic had been involved in making that programme work.
While I waited my turn, I flipped to an empty page and doodled absently, thinking of the imaginary city I'd built in Las Vegas.
It wasn't long before Mrs Carlson called Thalia, Cheryl, and me up for our turns at the computer. She got us started with the programme one by one. I was the last to go. Mrs Carlson opened a blank file for me, then looked at my sketch pad.
'That's very abstract,' she commented.
I hadn't really been paying attention to what I'd been sketching. I thought I might have done some of my favourite structures-the Parthenon was one I tended to return to over and over again-but I found that my hand had drawn a complex diagram that twisted and turned all over the page. 'It's a maze, I think.'
Mrs Carlson raised her eyebrows. 'You think. Didn't you plan it?'
'It was just a random drawing.' I started to flip back to one of my earlier pieces, thinking maybe my designs for the art and crafts cabin that I'd done last year might suit the class exercise better. Mrs Carlson stayed my hand. She squinted at my random sketch.
'Most people draw a maze in two dimensions. You've given these rising walls-it's a proper labyrinth.'
My head jerked up at the word.
'And the lines-not many people can pull this off in a sketch, but they have a very Hellenic feel to them. Almost like you've drawn inspiration from-' She broke off, smiling wryly. 'Sorry. It's just that I used to be an architect. In fact, I was one for much longer than I was a teacher.'
My jaw fell open. 'I want to be an architect!'
'Do you?' Mrs Carlson beamed at me. 'I wish you'd said something before! There's all sorts of tools you'd appreciate, and we could have modified this project … Well, that's neither here nor there now. There's not much time left today, so we'll just get you started with the basics, but if you come see me during Study Hall later, I'd love to talk more about it.'
As Mrs Carlson predicted, there really wasn't time during the class to do much more than create a basic outline of one of my buildings (I chose a sketch of the temple I'd always wanted to build at camp). I thought wistfully of the destroyed computer lab. How much further could I have gotten if the whole class didn't have to share the handful of slow computers in this classroom? For the first time, I actually found a class interesting.
Thalia was sceptical when I told her what Mrs Carlson had said. 'She wants you to go to her office alone?' She twirled her bracelet around her wrist. 'I don't like the sound of it. What if she's a monster?'
'Two in a row? That seems a bit unlikely.'
'Take your knife anyway.'
'I always do.'
Mrs Carlson turned out to be perfectly normal, though. She even kept a cookie jar on her desk, which she said was for students who came by (they were a bit hard and tasteless, but I decided not to mention this). Instead of the usual framed photographs most adults had in their offices, she had pictures of famous monuments: the Golden Gate Bridge (it was gorgeous, but I had to look away quickly, painfully reminded of my dad's move to San Francisco), the San Louis arch (which brought up another scary memory of Percy jumping off it into the Mississippi River … long story), Hoover Dam, the Eiffel Tower, the Guggenheim … There was a series of buildings I couldn't tear my eyes from. These were so perfectly blended into the surrounding natural scenery, they seemed to grow out of the earth itself.
'Ah, the Frank Lloyd Wrights,' Mrs Carlson said, noticing my fascination with them. 'A stunning example of the organic style. He was a strong advocate of architecture imitating nature. Beautiful, isn't it?' She motioned for me to take a seat. 'I can see you do have an avid interest in buildings.'
'I want to design them,' I admitted. 'I want to make something-' Permanent. I swallowed. 'Something really great.'
Mrs Carlson studied the Frank Lloyd Wright pictures for a moment longer. 'Have you done any design classes before?'
I shook my head. 'I've only sketched stuff. And, um, I did get to draw up plans for-' I couldn't very well mention I'd redesigned a cabin at camp that had gotten torched by a drakon last summer. 'I go to summer camp,' I amended. 'I did a bit of stuff there.'
'An architecture camp?' Mrs Carlson looked impressed.
'Er, no. Just-just a camp.'
'You might consider trying one of the university summer schools,' Mrs Carlson mused. 'Of course, they're mostly for high school students, but you'll be a freshman soon enough.' She shook her head. 'We can talk about that later. What I really wanted to show you is this.' She turned the screen of her desktop computer to face me. On it was a 3D layout of a blueprint for a tall tower. A window on the left of the screen showed a list of commands for different layers of the image. I watched, fascinated, as Mrs Carlson brought up different views of the blueprint. It was like the magic building game I'd played in the Lotus Casino. Maybe it wasn't as advanced, but it was better, because this was real.
'Would you like to learn how to use the software?' Mrs Carlson asked. 'We could make it your project for class.'
I nodded fervently, too thrilled to speak.
'Good. Now to get you started with a project …' She turned back to her row of architectural photographs. 'I know you like the Frank Lloyd Wrights, but they might be a bit complex to start with.' Her gaze landed on an old picture of a building complex centred around a pair of towers. 'I wonder …'
'Are those the twin towers?' I'd never had a chance to see them in person. The year after I'd arrived at camp, they'd been destroyed in a terrorist attack-or possibly Ares duking it out with a minor god. Chiron wasn't entirely certain.
Mrs Carlson nodded. 'Now known as Ground Zero. It's been levelled out, and I believe rebuilding is starting soon.'
'Could I design something for it?'
'Could you?' There was a steely glint in her eyes. It was the same way Chiron looked when he had a special challenge up his sleeve for capture the flag. 'What do you think?'
My mind was already racing through ideas. It would be a monument that commemorated the tragedy that had happened, but also included a nod to the gods so that they would appreciate it, too. The style would have to be a blend of ancient and modern. Marble wouldn't fit, but maybe I could use steel for the supports, and work in some stone for the decorative façades …
Mrs Carlson laughed. 'I can see you're already on the task. That's settled, then.' She offered me another cookie, which I politely declined. 'I won't keep you now, but bring your ideas to class next week. Hopefully the lab will be up and running again. I'll be able to get you started designing it in AutoCAD. Meanwhile …' She opened a drawer and rifled through the papers inside. 'Here.'
I took the brochure she handed me. The first page had a picture of a few kids posing with little 3D building models. The text was in fine print, which made it hard to decipher, but I managed to make out Cornell Summer College at the top.
'It's a summer programme,' Mrs Carlson explained. 'For architecture. Something to think about for next year, when you're in high school. It may be a bit far-Cornell's in Ithaca-but it's a good programme. Though I may be a bit biased, since I went to grad school there.'
'Oh.' I didn't know what to say. I couldn't really go to a summer school, not with camp. Not with Kronos out there, plotting a war with the army Luke was collecting for him.
But a summer spent completely immersed in architectural design …
'Have you thought about which high school you'll be applying for?'
'I-not really.' I thought fleetingly of my father's words-San Francisco has so many good schools, ones with great architecture programmes, too.
'Well, think about it. If you're really serious about architecture, it's never too early to start thinking about how to build your career.'
That evening, I laid the Cornell brochure next to the one the Hunters had given me and stared at them for a long time. If I joined the Hunters, would I be able to study architecture, the way Izzy had attended school here? Would I get all these opportunities that I couldn't have if I went back to being a year-rounder at camp?
It was the first time I'd ever wondered if living at camp might be an obstacle to achieving my dreams.
In the middle of my contemplation, Thalia came in. She looked at the Hunters' brochure, started to say something, then seemed to think the better of it. She just shook her head and went into the bathroom.
Chapter 14
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, Chase family, OCs, various others, Gen with slight Percy/Annabeth
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: After an eventful summer, Annabeth Chase is on her way to boarding school for the first time. With her friends Thalia and Percy close by, she's looking forward to spending the year in New York. But soon, she finds herself dealing with unfathomable dreams, tangled plots, and a mysterious necklace that keeps finding its way back to her. Worse still, her father wants her to move to the most dangerous city in the country. The choices Annabeth faces this year will have her questioning the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and family. And most of all, just what it means to keep a promise. An alternate PoV retelling of Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse. Part 3 of the Daughter of Wisdom series.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: I Get A Fun Homework Assignment
Rating: G
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Chiron, OCs
Word Count: 2,714
Chapter Summary: Annabeth finally gets a teacher she clicks with.
Back to fic content page
I spent an uneventful week at camp before it was time to return to school. Chiron said nothing about my abrupt return, but informed me quietly that he had contacted my father to let him know I'd arrived safely.
I didn't reply. I wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. Chiron didn't push the issue. He was more worried about Clarisse and how we hadn't heard from her for almost a month now.
Thalia was miffed that Remy had been a pet of the Hunters all along.
'I thought he was a sign from the gods! I didn't realise he was affiliated with them. I wouldn't have taken his help if I'd known.'
'What do you have against them anyway?'
'They're just so-they think they know everything. It's annoying.' She sighed. 'It's not that I don't think what they do is cool. But when they found us, you know, before, I'd have had to leave you and L-' She bit her lip. 'They're just so smug, acting like I chose wrong. I didn't, okay?'
I held up my hands. 'I didn't say you did.'
She raised her eyebrows. 'You're not seriously thinking of joining them, are you?'
'Would it be so bad?'
Thalia gave my brochure a dark look. 'Read the fine print, Annabeth. Are you sure you're ready to give up everything for them?'
I thought of my dad, moving across the country. Maybe I'd never see him again. Why shouldn't I find myself a new family? 'It's not like I have a lot to give up.'
She gave me a look that said she didn't believe this at all. 'All you need is one thing you can't give up on yet.'
She didn't elaborate, and she didn't bring up the Hunters again after that.
I wished Thalia wasn't so set against Zoë's offer. If she'd been open to it, I probably would have embraced the possibility with open arms.
Part of the draw was that being a Hunter was forever. The idea was like a salve on the hollow ache that had followed me up from Richmond. I couldn't shake the pervasive sense of temporariness that had come over me in my stripped childhood bedroom. Nothing in your life is meant to last, it said. Even at camp, the only home I'd known for the past seven years, everything I owned could fit into one duffel bag.
Was there any greater mark of temporariness than living out of a bag?
I'd have to leave camp eventually. There were no campers over the age of eighteen. Luke had been the oldest, and it was rare that he'd stayed as long as he had. All the other counsellors had either gone off to college and learnt to live in the outside world … or died in it.
Once, I'd told Percy that the real world was where you learned if you were good enough. I'd insisted on following him on his first quest because I wanted to prove that I could make it outside camp. I guess even then, I'd known I would need to leave some day.
Would it be so bad to leave now and become a Hunter? Who else was offering me a home, a family-one that might finally be permanent?
The little ghost girl tending the central hearth was back again, sitting so close to it that she almost seemed to be in the fire itself. She smiled sweetly at me, and I got the strange feeling that she sensed my dilemma. She turned her head slightly so that her chin was pointing towards the cabin on the opposite side of the green, one down from mine.
My insides did a slow turn over as I stared at the empty Poseidon cabin.
Thalia was right. I might not have a lot to tether me to my current life, but sometimes just one thing-one person-could be enough to make you hesitate.
+++
When we got back to school, it was like Ms Seunis and Izzy had never existed. The only evidence of our battle was the cordoned-off computer lab, which hadn't yet been repaired. Computer science classes were moved to a spare classroom where a few ancient computers had once languished in dusty corners. Now they were set up in the centre of the room, but there were nowhere near enough of them for the whole class.
Standing at the front of the room was a new teacher. She had an unexceptional sort of face, grey-haired and middle-aged, with bland features framed by crow's eyes and frown wrinkles.
'Who's that?' Thalia whispered.
'I guess she's replacing Kit-Seunis,' I said.
Cheryl gave us a strange look. 'Mrs Carlson's been teaching us Computer Science since October, remember?'
'Ah.' Thalia nodded in understanding. 'The Mist,' she whispered to me. 'Chiron's been teaching me more about how it works.'
Of course. I knew the Mist made stuff appear normal to mortals, but this was the first time I'd experienced the way it warped actual memories. Although now that I thought about it, Percy had once told me about the Kindly One who'd posed as his pre-algebra teacher. After he'd disposed of her, his entire school had believed their teacher had been a different woman all along.
'It didn't manage to fix the computer lab, though,' I said under my breath.
'It's harder when there's real damage.'
'Enough chatter back there,' Mrs Carlson called. Her tone was firm, but not unfriendly. 'I know this isn't an ideal set-up, but since we can't be in our usual lab, we'll have to make do. You'll have to take turns with the computers we've got.' She looked around the class. 'Who has completed the holiday homework?'
I looked blankly at Thalia. One big problem with the Mist creating false memories for the mortals-we didn't have any of those memories.
Thalia shrugged and leaned over to Cheryl. 'What was the homework again?'
'Prep for Photoshop. We had to draw a design to convert into digital art,' Cheryl said. She held out her half-drawn line-art (it was a sketch of some cartoon character I recognised but couldn't name). 'I'm not quite done either.'
Mrs Carlson directed a few girls who had completed sketches to start with the programme. 'I'll show you how to reproduce these digitally,' she told them. To the rest of us, she said, 'Keep working on your designs. You'll each get a turn soon.'
I pulled out my sketch pad and tore out a page for Thalia. As she hurriedly scribbled something on it, I flipped through my earlier sketches. I could easily pretend I'd done them for the homework assignment. It would actually be interesting to see how they would turn out digitally. Only once had I used software to design structures-in the time-bending Lotus Casino. I suspected a fair bit of magic had been involved in making that programme work.
While I waited my turn, I flipped to an empty page and doodled absently, thinking of the imaginary city I'd built in Las Vegas.
It wasn't long before Mrs Carlson called Thalia, Cheryl, and me up for our turns at the computer. She got us started with the programme one by one. I was the last to go. Mrs Carlson opened a blank file for me, then looked at my sketch pad.
'That's very abstract,' she commented.
I hadn't really been paying attention to what I'd been sketching. I thought I might have done some of my favourite structures-the Parthenon was one I tended to return to over and over again-but I found that my hand had drawn a complex diagram that twisted and turned all over the page. 'It's a maze, I think.'
Mrs Carlson raised her eyebrows. 'You think. Didn't you plan it?'
'It was just a random drawing.' I started to flip back to one of my earlier pieces, thinking maybe my designs for the art and crafts cabin that I'd done last year might suit the class exercise better. Mrs Carlson stayed my hand. She squinted at my random sketch.
'Most people draw a maze in two dimensions. You've given these rising walls-it's a proper labyrinth.'
My head jerked up at the word.
'And the lines-not many people can pull this off in a sketch, but they have a very Hellenic feel to them. Almost like you've drawn inspiration from-' She broke off, smiling wryly. 'Sorry. It's just that I used to be an architect. In fact, I was one for much longer than I was a teacher.'
My jaw fell open. 'I want to be an architect!'
'Do you?' Mrs Carlson beamed at me. 'I wish you'd said something before! There's all sorts of tools you'd appreciate, and we could have modified this project … Well, that's neither here nor there now. There's not much time left today, so we'll just get you started with the basics, but if you come see me during Study Hall later, I'd love to talk more about it.'
As Mrs Carlson predicted, there really wasn't time during the class to do much more than create a basic outline of one of my buildings (I chose a sketch of the temple I'd always wanted to build at camp). I thought wistfully of the destroyed computer lab. How much further could I have gotten if the whole class didn't have to share the handful of slow computers in this classroom? For the first time, I actually found a class interesting.
Thalia was sceptical when I told her what Mrs Carlson had said. 'She wants you to go to her office alone?' She twirled her bracelet around her wrist. 'I don't like the sound of it. What if she's a monster?'
'Two in a row? That seems a bit unlikely.'
'Take your knife anyway.'
'I always do.'
Mrs Carlson turned out to be perfectly normal, though. She even kept a cookie jar on her desk, which she said was for students who came by (they were a bit hard and tasteless, but I decided not to mention this). Instead of the usual framed photographs most adults had in their offices, she had pictures of famous monuments: the Golden Gate Bridge (it was gorgeous, but I had to look away quickly, painfully reminded of my dad's move to San Francisco), the San Louis arch (which brought up another scary memory of Percy jumping off it into the Mississippi River … long story), Hoover Dam, the Eiffel Tower, the Guggenheim … There was a series of buildings I couldn't tear my eyes from. These were so perfectly blended into the surrounding natural scenery, they seemed to grow out of the earth itself.
'Ah, the Frank Lloyd Wrights,' Mrs Carlson said, noticing my fascination with them. 'A stunning example of the organic style. He was a strong advocate of architecture imitating nature. Beautiful, isn't it?' She motioned for me to take a seat. 'I can see you do have an avid interest in buildings.'
'I want to design them,' I admitted. 'I want to make something-' Permanent. I swallowed. 'Something really great.'
Mrs Carlson studied the Frank Lloyd Wright pictures for a moment longer. 'Have you done any design classes before?'
I shook my head. 'I've only sketched stuff. And, um, I did get to draw up plans for-' I couldn't very well mention I'd redesigned a cabin at camp that had gotten torched by a drakon last summer. 'I go to summer camp,' I amended. 'I did a bit of stuff there.'
'An architecture camp?' Mrs Carlson looked impressed.
'Er, no. Just-just a camp.'
'You might consider trying one of the university summer schools,' Mrs Carlson mused. 'Of course, they're mostly for high school students, but you'll be a freshman soon enough.' She shook her head. 'We can talk about that later. What I really wanted to show you is this.' She turned the screen of her desktop computer to face me. On it was a 3D layout of a blueprint for a tall tower. A window on the left of the screen showed a list of commands for different layers of the image. I watched, fascinated, as Mrs Carlson brought up different views of the blueprint. It was like the magic building game I'd played in the Lotus Casino. Maybe it wasn't as advanced, but it was better, because this was real.
'Would you like to learn how to use the software?' Mrs Carlson asked. 'We could make it your project for class.'
I nodded fervently, too thrilled to speak.
'Good. Now to get you started with a project …' She turned back to her row of architectural photographs. 'I know you like the Frank Lloyd Wrights, but they might be a bit complex to start with.' Her gaze landed on an old picture of a building complex centred around a pair of towers. 'I wonder …'
'Are those the twin towers?' I'd never had a chance to see them in person. The year after I'd arrived at camp, they'd been destroyed in a terrorist attack-or possibly Ares duking it out with a minor god. Chiron wasn't entirely certain.
Mrs Carlson nodded. 'Now known as Ground Zero. It's been levelled out, and I believe rebuilding is starting soon.'
'Could I design something for it?'
'Could you?' There was a steely glint in her eyes. It was the same way Chiron looked when he had a special challenge up his sleeve for capture the flag. 'What do you think?'
My mind was already racing through ideas. It would be a monument that commemorated the tragedy that had happened, but also included a nod to the gods so that they would appreciate it, too. The style would have to be a blend of ancient and modern. Marble wouldn't fit, but maybe I could use steel for the supports, and work in some stone for the decorative façades …
Mrs Carlson laughed. 'I can see you're already on the task. That's settled, then.' She offered me another cookie, which I politely declined. 'I won't keep you now, but bring your ideas to class next week. Hopefully the lab will be up and running again. I'll be able to get you started designing it in AutoCAD. Meanwhile …' She opened a drawer and rifled through the papers inside. 'Here.'
I took the brochure she handed me. The first page had a picture of a few kids posing with little 3D building models. The text was in fine print, which made it hard to decipher, but I managed to make out Cornell Summer College at the top.
'It's a summer programme,' Mrs Carlson explained. 'For architecture. Something to think about for next year, when you're in high school. It may be a bit far-Cornell's in Ithaca-but it's a good programme. Though I may be a bit biased, since I went to grad school there.'
'Oh.' I didn't know what to say. I couldn't really go to a summer school, not with camp. Not with Kronos out there, plotting a war with the army Luke was collecting for him.
But a summer spent completely immersed in architectural design …
'Have you thought about which high school you'll be applying for?'
'I-not really.' I thought fleetingly of my father's words-San Francisco has so many good schools, ones with great architecture programmes, too.
'Well, think about it. If you're really serious about architecture, it's never too early to start thinking about how to build your career.'
That evening, I laid the Cornell brochure next to the one the Hunters had given me and stared at them for a long time. If I joined the Hunters, would I be able to study architecture, the way Izzy had attended school here? Would I get all these opportunities that I couldn't have if I went back to being a year-rounder at camp?
It was the first time I'd ever wondered if living at camp might be an obstacle to achieving my dreams.
In the middle of my contemplation, Thalia came in. She looked at the Hunters' brochure, started to say something, then seemed to think the better of it. She just shook her head and went into the bathroom.
Chapter 14