"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Alice, happy birthday to you!" a chorus of people all shoved in my small dining room sang to a wide eyed Alice.

She grinned like a maniac before blowing out all of her candles in one breathe. "Cake, cake, cake, cake!"

I rolled my eyes before scooping the cake up from the table and over to the kitchen, Alice on my heels. "Alright, Alice, calm down! There's enough for everyone..."

Alice watched greedily as I carefully sliced her Finding Nemo birthday cake and distributed it into even slices. She immediately grabbed the first slice.

"I want the one with Nemo on it!" she cried. "And the one with the most frosting..."

I laughed and brought the piece to the table, Alice anxiously chasing after me in her pursuit of cake. She instantly sat down and devoured the slice, leaving her absolutely covered in blue frosting, which made me burst out laughing.

After snapping a few photos of her, a knock at the door reluctantly pulled me away from the party.

"I'll answer it," I told Thalia, who was rushing towards the door. "Go have some cake, relax. Oh, but don't forget to take more pictures!"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You're obsessed. Sure, mom."

I ignored Thalia and made my way to the door. Once I swung it open I was greeted by a delivery man holding two boxes, once of them labeled Live Animal, which made me jump.

"Delivery for Annabeth Chase?" the delivery man asked as he read the name off of one of the boxes.

I frowned at the packages before taking a step back. "I'm Annabeth Chase, but I didn't order anything. Especially not anything alive."

He peered at the box and simply shrugged. "I don't know, ma'am. Maybe someone sent them to
you. I just deliver the packages. Please, take these, they're getting heavy."

I reluctantly accepted the boxes, which were heavier than expected. My eyes widened as I examined the boxes. "Why are there no air holes in the box? And who would send me a live animal?"

"I dunno," he replied, and I could tell he was being truthful. This man didn't look like he cared enough to lie. "I don't think they're dead animals, though, as I don't smell anything. Have a good day."

"Mm, great, you, too," I said uncomfortably before returning inside. I placed the boxes on the counter in the now deserted cake. I made my way to the box marked Live Animal just to get it over with.

I carefully ripped open the package while grimacing, terrified of what might be inside. Once all the package was gone I realized there was a small clown fish in the box rather than my worst nightmares.

I sighed with relief  as the fish swam around in a tightly secured water container. After peering at it for several seconds I moved onto the second box.

Upon opening it I saw it was filled with fish supplies, which I quickly took out of the box. Once it was empty I saw a small note at the bottom. I hastily snatched it and scanned the page.

'Dear Alice,
Happy Birthday! Your mom told me it was your birthday, and I couldn't resist getting you one of the clown fish you seemed to love. I hope you enjoy him.
P.S. Annabeth, the second box is filled with supplies, so no need to buy anything.
-Percy'

My face went red as I read the letter over and over again. He had remembered her birthday, down to the day. That was something I'd told him nearly half a year ago, how on earth did he remember that?!

Just then Thalia walked in and her jaw dropped. I quickly crumpled the letter and smiled innocently at her. "What the hell is all this?"

I laughed nervously as I stuffed the letter in my pocket. "Just a last minute gift I got for Alice. Her very own clown fish. Maybe this will make her want to watch Finding Nemo less, huh?"

"I sure hope so," Thalia said with an easy laugh. "How come you didn't tell me? This is such a great gift idea, I know Alice is gonna love it."

"I know she will," I said wistfully, my mind wandering off to Percy again. "I...I guess I just wanted it to be a surprise."