"Come on, bro!" I shouted, racing toward the ocean. 

"Wait up, Percy!" Jason shouted back.

"You're both too slow!" Leo yelled. "I'll beat all of you!"

"Think again, Leo!" Grover yelled.

I sprinted into the waves, and the seawater enveloped me in its cool embrace. I hoisted myself onto my surfboard and paddled out to sea. My bros and roomates, Leo, Jason, and Grover were close behind me. 

With practiced ease, I lifted myself onto my feet and rode the crest of a wave. Leo laughed to my right and teased that I could do better than that. 

"I'm just getting warmed up, Valdez," I replied with a grin. 

The currents carried me toward another wave, even larger than the last one. Once I reached the crest, I performed the surfing trick known as 'The Barrel' flawlessly. I landed right next to Leo, who appeared impressed as always by my surfing even though we had done this over the summer together. 

"Hey, Perce," Grover called. "Watch this!" 

I shuffled around to watch my best friend. He cruised the crest of another wave and executed three perfect barrel rolls in a row. 

"Nice!" I said, highfiving Grover. 

"You think that's good?" Leo smiled with the usual competitive gleam in his eyes. "I'll beat that." 

"Prove it," Jason said. 

"I will, Grace!" 

Leo stood up on his surfboard and coasted over the apex of the wave. He leaned back, grasped his board, and performed a rodeo flip. He alighted next to Jason on the water with a smirk on his face. 

"I beat it," Leo boasted. 

"You sure about that?" Jason asked, pointing behind Leo's head. 

Leo turned just in time to for a wave to crash over him, while Jason manuevered over the it. Leo fell sideways off his surfboard, and we all burst out laughing. He bobbed to the surface a moment later, sputtering and looking furious. 

"Fuck you, Grace!" Leo yelled. 

"That's what you get for stealing my cheetos yesterday!" Jason shouted back. 

I chortled even harder and happened to glance at the beach inadvertently, causing me to do a double take.  A teenager around my age was running across the sand. She had blonde curly hair pulled into a ponytail and wore a blue Yankees cap. The young woman looked vaguely familiar, but it couldn't be...

"Percy! Percy!" 

I looked around in a slight daze. "Wha..What?"

"You good, man?" Grover said.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," I said, shaking my head to clear the fog. "I...I just thought I saw someone I knew." 

Jason glanced at me curiously then at his watch. "We should head back in. It's almost 8:00." 

The three of us all agreed, so we paddled back to shore. The morning sand was warm beneath my toes, and a salty sea breeze whipped my hair up. We carried our surfboards back to our dorm, and all showered and dressed. 

"What are feeling for breakfast?" I said. 

"How about Starbucks?" Grover suggested hopefully.

"Why not?" Jason agreed. "They have good coffee." 

"Let's go," Leo said. "But we're taking Jason's car; it's the best out of ours." 

The four of us walked down the stairs and to the parking garage about two blocks away. There, we climbed into Jason's Hummer and drove the fifteen minutes to Starbucks. We arrived and walked inside. 

"I'll buy it," Grover said. 

"You don't have to," I pointed out. 

"I know that, but I work here parttime, so I get a discount. Just tell me what you want." 

I wanted a Blueberry Lemonade and an egg wrap; Jason and Leo both wanted an egg and bacon sandwich and a Mocha Frappuccino; Grover desired a cup of Chai Tea and a spinach and egg white wrap. He placed the orders, and we went to sit outside until our food and drinks were ready. 

"Did anyone of you guys see that girl running on the beach?" I said. 

"The blonde?" Leo said. "Yeah, I saw her. Man, she's hot..." 

"Leo," Jason chided, "you can't date her!" 

"Why not?" 

"She's already dating that guy, the blonde with the scar studying Astrophysics...what's his name again?" 

"Luke Castellan," Grover answered. 

"That's right," Jason said. "Anyway, why do you ask Percy?" 

"I think I know her from somewhere." I frowned. "I can't remember where though." 

"Maybe from one of your classes?" Leo suggested.

"Could be," I mused. "I don't think so though..." 

Our food and drinks arrived then, and the conversation shifted to other topics. I only listened idly; my ADHD was insistent that my thoughts stay on the blond girl. Before I knew it, it was 9:00, and we had to head back to campus. The four of us piled into Jason's car again, and he stopped at our dorm. 

Grover, Leo, and I ran upstairs quickly and grabbed our school stuff. Our classes were in the morning, while Jason's were in the afternoon, so he would drop us off at our respective location. I was the first one to leave the car, at the marine biology building. 

"Bye, Perce," Leo said. "See you tonight!" 

"Bye," I said distractedly.

As I settled into my seat, the mystery of the girl on the beach continued to nag at me. The lecture began, but it was hard to focus. My mind kept drifting back to her, trying to figure out who she was.

The professor's voice faded into the background as I stared blankly at the whiteboard, lost in thought. Who was she? Why did she seem so familiar? And most importantly, why couldn't I remember?