Anci stood underneath the shade of a tree. The sun had barely risen, and the usually busy streets of New York City were empty. The spring breeze brushed against her hair, tickling her dark skin. She smiled, lifting her head up to face the white, fluffy clouds. One of them looked particularly like a goat.

The day was April twenty-first, her thirteenth birthday. She was finally a teenager, and the thought delighted her. Her mother wouldn't be able to tell her what to do anymore. She was old enough to finally make her own decisions.

Anci pressed the palm of her hand against the tree trunk, feeling a spark of energy. The tree seemed to creak underneath her hand, but the sense was gone in less than a second. She rested her cheek against the rough bark, content that her first order of business was to get out of the stuffy apartment. It had been four months since she and her mother had moved there. Four months since Anci had started public school for the first time. She didn't pretend that she didn't miss the rolling fields, the small rivers, or the trees of the countryside, but she really missed it that day.

"Anci?" Her mother called. "What are you doing outside?"

She turned to find her mother watching her behind an open window. Their apartment was on the ground level, and it was both a great and terrible thing. "I'm thirteen." Anci simply put it as if that answered anything.

"Happy birthday, pumpkin. Now, come inside. It's not even seven yet."

"But I'm thirteen! I want to stay out here!"

"And I'm thirty-four."

"Please?"

"Oh, alright." She gave in. "Don't go off too far."

Anci frowned when her mother disappeared inside. She let out a breath, feeling a bit bad. Her mother didn't deserve her complaints. She was far too good for that. Dorrin Monroe was a hardworking woman, albeit poor. She worked several jobs, and there were always bags under her eyes that not even makeup could hide.

Backing away from the tree, Anci looked back at the sky to find the goat cloud gone. In its stead was a regular one, boring and unoriginal. It was still beautiful though, and Anci stood there for a moment longer before moving.

The apartment was small and cramped with only two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a main room that doubled as the kitchen. If she was to stand in the center of her room, Anci could reach both walls with her hands, and she wasn't that tall to begin with. Her bed took up most of the space, and her bedside table barely made it in. Luckily, she didn't have many things. Just her textbooks and a scrapbook or two. Besides, it was cozy that way. New York was cold in the winter, and her old room in the countryside had been far too big for warm air to stay in one place.

"Mama, what time will you be home from work?" Anci asked. She opened the fridge, which was emptier than usual.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't know, pumpkin. I'm sorry."

Anci smiled at her mother, pushing down the disappointment that rose up. "Don't worry," she said. "It's alright. I'll be fine."

"Maybe you can invite Eustace over tonight," she suggested. "I'm sure he'll be happy to."

Eustace was Anci's best friend. Her first and only friend for that matter. She had never been much of a person to go out of her way to meet people, and that made school hard. Then, Eustace came along one day. Naturally, they gravitated towards each other as they were both new students. But as time passed on, Anci found that they had more in common than she had originally thought.

"Yeah, I'll do that," she said. "Thanks."

Anci picked out an apple, crunching into it as she pulled out a chair. Sitting, she looked out the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her mother pack up her things for work. Anci glanced at the time, chewing quietly. She would have to get ready herself soon.

Her mother suddenly sighed loudly. Anci swung her head over at her, blinking when she pulled out a neatly wrapped package. "Mama?"

"I was going to wait," she explained, "but seeing as I don't know when I'm getting back, I suppose I might as well give it to you now."

Her throat went dry, and Anci gingerly took the package. Her fingers brushed against the green wrapping paper. "Oh, Mama," she whispered. Anci looked up. "You didn't have to. You should have saved the money for something more important."

Her mother shook her head, wrapping her arms around Anci. She pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You're the most important thing I have, pumpkin. Happy birthday."

Anci leaned into her embrace, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt a lone tear run down her face. "Can I open it?" she asked softly.

"Of course! I didn't give it to you for you to look at."

She didn't waste another second, tearing open the package. Anci gasped when she wrangled the gift free, and she held it up in the light. It was a leatherbound scrapbook. A great tree was pressed into the cover, and her name was embroidered on it.

Althaea Monroe.

The text was so fancy Anci couldn't read what was printed underneath it. Her dyslexia didn't help it. She looked at her mother, questionly. "What does it say?"

"I'll leave that for you to figure out," she laughed. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you."

Her mother smiled, and she stood up. She slung her bag over her shoulder. "I should get going, now," she said. "Have a good day at school."

Anci clutched the scrapbook to her chest. She gulped as her mother opened the front door. She hesitated. "Mama?"

"Pumpkin?"

"What am I supposed to put in here?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Her mother frowned. "I thought you said your other books were filled."

"They are," Anci whispered. "But we don't live... there, anymore. There's nothing here to—" She paused. "Nevermind," she said. "I'll figure something out. You should leave. I don't want to be the reason you're late."

Her mother held her gaze for a moment before nodding. "I love you, Anci."

Anci watched her mother leave. "I love you, too," she said.

The rest of the morning went by with a blur, and Anci settled into the monotonous routine that had taken up her life. She stuffed her journals into her backpack and tossed out a stack of papers. There was probably nothing important in them.

Glancing at her new scrapbook, Anci slowed. She picked it up again, her fingertips tracing over the intricate design. She squinted at the words, but still, she couldn't seem to decipher them.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts, and Anci quickly shoved the book into her bag. She tripped over herself as she threw herself onto the door. Laughter bubbled from her throat as she flung it open.

Eustace met her with a raised eyebrow. He looked down at her, a good head taller. The corner of his lip quirked up, and he smirked. "What is this?" he said. "Eustace appreciation day? I love the hustle."

"Ha, ha," Anci snorted. She closed the door behind her. "You wish. Clearly, it must be Anci appreciation day. I mean, come on. I get my own bodyguard."

"Yeah? Who?"

Anci shot him a pointed look, rolling her eyes. "He's a bit clunky and oblivious, so I don't know if you'd want to meet him."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"I'm not clunky! Or oblivious!"

"Your words have been heard and will duly be ignored."

"That's not fair!" Eustace protested.

"Sorry, birthday powers." Anci shrugged. She led the way down the street. "Not my rules."

"How come I didn't get birthday powers on my birthday?" Eustace asked, bouncing forward to catch up.

"Cause you're not me. That must suck."

"I'd pay not to be you," Eustace said. "Eustace appreciation day is about me."

Anci laughed. She bumped playfully into his shoulder. "Race you to the park?" she said. "Last one there has to do what the other wants the whole day."

"You know I'm not as fast as you!"

"Ready? Go!"

Anci bolted forward, grinning as Eustace shouted after her. The wind blew through her hair, and it felt like flying. The feeling ended all too soon, and Anci slid to a stop at the entrance to Central Park. She looked up at all the trees, the grass that huddled next to the sidewalk. Of all the places she had come across in New York City, Central Park was what reminded her most of home.

She smiled as she walked in, twirling around. She spread her arms out, and tilted her chin up to face the sky. The sun was finally in the sky, and all the clouds had disappeared. The blue color of the sky stretched as far as the eye could see and farther. Anci closed her eyes and breathed in the air.

The familiar clicking sound of Eustace's footsteps drifted into her ear, and she spun around. She stuck her tongue out at him as he stopped to catch his breath, hands on his knees. "Game over," she said. "I want a smoothie."

"This early in the morning?"

"Are you telling me you don't want a smoothie?"

"We're getting smoothies," he quickly said. "The usual?"

"Duh."

Eustace chuckled, and they began to walk in a comfortable silence. The city was beginning to wake up, and noise started filling up the air on the streets. But there in Central Park, the chaotic nature of the city had yet to taint the whistling trees. The sound of water was clear in her ears, and the birds sang in beautiful harmonies. And of course, there was the everlasting tapping sound of Eustace walking.

Anci glanced down at his shoes. She inclined her head, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her overalls. "I still don't know how you do that," she said. "Are you sure you aren't a tap dancer?"

"One thousand percent sure," Eustace said, looking down. He seemed to tense, but Anci barely noticed it. She bent down to look at his shoes.

"You sure?"

"Very." Eustace cleared his throat. "So what do you say about ice cream?"

"I thought we were getting smoothies."

"Right."

Standing, Anci studied Eustace closely. He squirmed underneath her stare, and she frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said a little too quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Whatever you say," Anci muttered. She decided to drop the subject.

They went quiet again, but this time, Anci could tell that something was bothering Eustace. She frowned, glancing at him. She didn't say anything though, knowing that he wouldn't give in. Of course, she could just use her birthday powers, but it felt wrong to force the answer out of him.

Anci was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the third pair of footsteps that began following them. Poor Eustace didn't seem to hear them either, chewing nervously on his lip. And when she did, it was too late.

Freezing in her tracks, Anci perked up. Her ears twitched, and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. And before she could say anything, the wind was knocked out of her, and Anci flew backwards. 

---

I suppose I should start the first author's note by saying hi. Soooo... hi. I'm Pili. Welcome to my Percy Jackson fanfiction. :D

I have nothing to say about this chapter besides that I like it. A lot actually. Chapter updates will be completely random, but I like to think that I'll post at least once a week. Now that I say that, I will have jinxed it, but we shall see. 

Also, thank you for picking up this story. I love you. 

P.S. You see that little star button down there. Click it. This is probably the only point in the whole fic where I will say this.