Annabeth is about to pester him further, because it's stupid, and there's got to be more detail than that. Even with fish emergencies as an excuse. Except -

"An hour?" The look she gives him is nothing short of incredulous. "An hour. You can't be serious. And you're only telling me now why?"

Congratulations, the lack of time for preparation and planning has successfully distracted her from the first and mysterious part!