Olympian

25: Final Prep

Percy POV

I hated the month of May. Never in my life have I been more stressed out. It's not even a stress because I have so much going on; I always have a lot happening. No, this was stress as a result of something I've been waiting for for so long is finally coming.

Now, it was the first week of June, and I'd be leaving for the USA Olympic Trials in Colorado in exactly eight days. I'll be gone for a whole two weeks.

The sad part is that I'm missing my high school graduation.

Graduation was set for Monday next week.

I'll be leaving for Colorado on Sunday next week because the competition will begin on Monday. My first event (a quarterfinals for Butterfly 100m) would be on Tuesday.

"Don't worry about missing the graduation ceremony, honey," my mom said once the dates were finalized. "You're still graduating. At least, you'll get to attend prom."

"I don't think I'll go to prom," I replied.

"PERSEUS JACKSON, YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS," my mom yelped.

"Mom, prom is literally on Saturday. I leave for the trials at 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. It doesn't leave aa lot of time for resting," I explained.

"I don't care. You have to go to prom," my mom stated.

I sighed. It's not that I don't want to go to prom, I just don't think I'll be in the right state of mind at prom or afterwards. It's a matter of preparedness. I don't want anything to distract or deter me during the final days before the biggest competition of my life.

My mom scooted closer to me on the couch. We were simply hanging out tonight with the TV playing in the background. I still have a few minutes before bedtime at 10 o'clock.

"You have to go for Annabeth's sake," my mom added with a smile.

"Mom, we've been over this. Annabeth and I are just friends. We decided to keep things low until I'm ready," I repeated for the hundredth time.

However, even I wasn't believed my own words at this point. Annabeth and I are so much more than what we were telling people.

My mom stared at me with a deadpan look.

"Honey, no offense, but 'just friends' don't make out on a bed," my mom teased.

My cheeks burned red from the incident two weeks ago. Gods, it was so embarrassing, and my mom brought it up way too much.

Annabeth was tutoring me for the final exam in math class. It was the only class where I needed to get a particular grade to pass with a C+. I wasn't particularly focused that day, so Annabeth promised that every correct answer would be met with a kiss.

The strategy worked for a while. But, then, without even knowing it, a small kiss transgressed into a heated make-out session (another false reality moment, I guess). We didn't even realize that we fell atop my bed. However, my mom walked in a few minutes later to call us for dinner. The only saving grace was that we didn't remove any clothes.

Regardless, my mom found us in a fairly compromising situation.

"Can you just forget about that? It just happened in the heat of the moment," I mumbled.

"Heat of the moments shouldn't happen between 'just friends.' That's all I'm pointing out. You have to go to Prom at least to give Annabeth a proper special night," my mom stated firmly.

"Yeah..."

After everything I put Annabeth through, I agree that I owed her a special night. Prom is supposed to be a big deal for girls, so I guess I can join as her date.