"You should totally do it!" Evelyn smiled as she and Lena walked in the front door. It was February now, and the snow hadn't slowed at all. Lena was having Evelyn and Lauren over for a sleepover, which was weird for Rion in more ways than one. 

"I don't know... it seems like a ton of work." Lena set her bag down and took off her coat. "Hey, Mom,"

I smiled, my mouth still warm from my coffee, "Hi girls," They went upstairs to Lena's room talking a million miles a minute. 

Rion walked through the door a moment later, shivering. Snow had piled up on his hat. "It's- so- cold."

I laughed, handing him the rest of my coffee, which he chugged in a few seconds. "Better?" 

"Yeah." Rion said, forcing a smile. His hands were still shaking. "Hey, Mom, are Lena and I having a sweet sixteen?" 

It was a perfectly normal question for a fifteen-year-old boy to ask, but I'd never heard it before. Sophia hadn't had time for a sweet sixteen, and she hadn't wanted one. But Rion and Lena... they weren't like her. They were relatively normal kids.

"Uh, I dunno, honey... I'll have to talk to Dad about it." I said. "Why?"

"Oh, some of the guys were asking. You know, cause some of them are having theirs soon." 

"Does Lena want one?" I asked, dialing Percy's number as Rion headed upstairs. 

"I dunno... I'll ask her."

The phone rang and rang, and I was praying for Percy to pick up, because he always knew how to handle the whole 'normal kid' thing. He'd had time to be a normal kid; I'd always been the demigod kind of girl.

Finally, he picked up. "Hello?"

"Perce? It's me."

"Hey Wise Girl! What's up with-"

"Rion and Lena want a sweet sixteen." I waited, our breathing echoing over the phone. 

"So?"

"SO what do I do?" I don't know why I panicked. It was a weird new habit of mine.

"We throw a sweet sixteen. Since when am I answering your questions?"

"Since never. THanks, Seaweed Brain. Love you." I hung up, more stressed out than before.

                                                                                        ~~

Let's put this the simple way; it took more than a little convincing to get me on board. Was a sweet sixteen really that important? Would we have two separate parties? Was a boy-girl party appropraite?

Of course, when it comes to high school parties, Percy completely changed his mind. "They're almost sixteen; we can throw it at a venue someplace."

"What if there's alcohol? Or drugs?" I questioned. "Or the other thing that I'm not saying out loud?"

Rion chuckled. "Relax, Mom. I still think that girls have cooties." Lena couldn't stifle her laughter.

"You have a girlfriend." I reminded him. "I doubt she's a special exception."

In the end, we decided that a sweet sixteen would be okay, but of course, I became the planner. We needed a caterer, a venue, music, guest list, time, date.... all the stars had to align perfectly. I should've let Kathryn Sorenson handle it.

                                                                                        ~~

"Okay, so we can have it at the Country Club or the Community Center. Which do you prefer?" I asked, pulling out my 3-inch party binder. 

"Which one is bigger?" Lena asked, admiring the pictures of the country club.

"Your favorite."

"Okay, let's go with that one then." We both smiled, and I took out the Community Center file. "Did I give you my guest list yet?" 

"No, you and Rion both need to give me those by dinner. Okay?"

March had rolled around, so I was frantic. We wanted to have the party on the twins' birthday, and that was only a month away. Quickly, I called the Country Club to book the venue for the 10th of April, and then called Catie's Catering about the venue. 

"Mom?" Rion called, running in my direction, his phone in his hand. "The DJ cancelled. We're gonna need a new one." 

"Ugh!" I moaned, punching in the passcode to my phone. "Stupid DJ." 

"Are- are you okay, Mom?" Rion asked, a concerned look spreading across his face. "Do you need to sit down? Lena and I can take it from here if you-"

"No! I'm good. Just a little angry, that's all." I tried to force the redness from my face. "Just get your guest list together."

By 11:00 that night, I had all my ducks in a row; the party was set. All I had to do was mail invitations. I drove through the streets of town, the dark casting eerie shadows on the pavement. I pulled up to the drive-by mailbox, pushing in all the invitations. The mailbox creaked as I opened it, making the entire situation seem like a bad one. I got out of there as fast I could. 

There was no way I was going to sleep with all the stress lifted off my shoulders. Once I was under pressure, it took me a while to recover. I drove to the beach, sitting on the rocks up in the dunes. 

The water calmed me down, the way Percy's eyes did, making everything seem okay. I was no daughter of Poseidon, but I did have a connection with the ocean. The steadiness of the waves as they rolled on and off the shore. The crash as they pounded onto the sand. The moon and the stars cast glittering reflections on the endless ocean, vast and undiscovered. 

The touch on my shoulder made me nearly jump out of my skin. "Hey," The voice said, sitting next to me. Thalia. My best friend in the whole wide world other than my husband. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice shaky. 

"You're not okay, Annabeth. I can feel it. Something is happening and I need your help."

"What?" I asked. It was moments like these when I wanted to be done. When I wanted to leave the entire demigod life behind. I didn't have the priviledge my kids did; they could be either. I had no choice. "What are you talking about?"

"I knew you'd be here. I don't know how, but I did. I had to find you. Please, Annabeth, just hear me out."

"Go on."

"It's about Haleigh."

"Haleigh as in your granddaughter?"

"Yeah, Haleigh my granddaughter." Thalia's face was pale white in the moonlight. "She- she's the reincarnation of Echo."

"What?" I exclaimed, barely able to grasp the concept. 

"That's what I said. Paige is crushed. She doesn't know what to do."

"This is what you need me for?" I racked my brain, searching for a solution. Then it came to me. "She has to be blessed by Hera."

"What?"

"Just do it. She has to remove the curse."

                                                                                           ~~

I pushed in the last chair, admiring my handywork. The place looked excellent. Lena drew in an excited breath, than ran over to me. "Mom, you've really outdone yourself. I can't thank you enough."

"Happy Sweet Sixteen, kiddo."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys! Sorry, this isn't the best chapter, but I really needed to get one out for you! I'm way overly tired (my brother had a sleepover bday party) so I'm sorry if the quality is terrible, or if its confusing. 

How have you been? Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2015... that's crazy. You know what else is crazy? On January 28th, 2015, it will be my 3rd year on Wattpad, completed! I'll be onto my 4th year! And right after my birthday too :D

Love you guys!

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER:

Do you guys want the next chapter to be about the family, or more action-packed?

XO
~PercyAnnabeth20owl