Just for you to know, Ariella is Annabeth, I just changed her name.

I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

"Get up you lousy little girl!" yelled my stepmother behind my door. I pushed my covers away and slowly sat down. Today's the day, I thought to myself. Nothing can go wrong. I got out of bed with a huge smile in my face, one that would fade away too soon.

I opened my window and let the smell of Manhattan enter my room. I loved this city more than any other city I had lived in, it gave me the feeling of home. I put on my uniform, a short plaid skirt with shorts under, knee-long, black socks with black, doll-like shoes, a white dress shirt and the school's vest. This was the uniform of the best school in New York City, the Shuriken Academy. It had the name of a weapon because some Japanese people founded it about 100 years ago. I tied a pink ribbon to the collar of my shirt and ran to the kitchen.

In the kitchen were my stepmother and her two daughters, Stephanie and Cornelia. They were the meanest teenagers I had ever seen. Cornelia had bright red hair and dark, mossy green eyes while Stephanie had pale blond hair and her eyes were the color of honey. They were both beautiful but they were missing something. A brain.

"Good morning Ariella. Good morning Josh. " said my stepmother as my father entered the room. My stepmother was disgusting. She had a very straight nose, her hair looked beautiful but when you touched it, it felt like hay. Her face was very bony and there were some visible wrinkles that she tried to hide but never succeeded. She always wore heavy make-up making her look like those old ladies who still think that they are as gorgeous as they were 30 years ago. And worse of all, she was fake. Not fake as in not human, she just pretended too much. That woman hated me like if I were the devil or something. But whenever my father was around, she treated me like if I was one of her daughters. My friends always told me that my story was similar to Cinderella's and I would just say no. But sometimes I really wished I had a fairy godmother.

"So Ari, are you ready for the Awards Ceremony?" my father asked smiling at me. My father could be a god. He was lovely and pure. He never got mad at me for anything. He would always sit down with me and talk. I loved him more than I have loved anyone in this world. But what I didn't understand was why my father married a witch. He told me that my mother had to leave for some reason but she left me with him. He never talked much about my mom and I never pushed him because I was always afraid to hurt him.

"Yep," I said smiling at my father. His brown eyes sparkled today. He knew that this award ceremony was very significant for me. He promised me that he would come but he told me that he would bring my stepmother and my stepsisters with him. I begged him not to but he told me that after, we would go buy some books. That shut me up.

"Hey Ari," said Cornelia. "What awards are you getting?"

I normally don't brag but, she was asking for it. "Best Math average, best Chemistry average, best History average, best behavior and best student." I smiled at her

"Wow," said my stepmother, "You sound like a nerd. No offense of course." She gave me a sarcastic smile.

"Well, it's better to be a nerd than to have 2 brainless daughters. No offense of course." I gave her smile back. She looked like she was about to punch me. Cornelia and Stephanie exchanged puzzled looks.

"So we will see you today Ariella," said my father, ending our discussion.

After eating some pancakes, the best dish my father makes, I grabbed my messenger bag and left home. None of my stepsisters went to school with me because they didn't manage to pass Shuriken Academy's test. Their mother was furious about that but my father put them in the public school right around the corner. This pissed off my stepmother even more, but I was glad he did that. It meant that he didn't totally like my stepsisters which neither did I.

As I walked to the bus station, I saw my best friend Grover walking along.

"Hey Grover!" I yelled at him but he didn't seem to notice. "Grover!" I yelled again. He looked thoughtful but the look on his face definitely meant it was something bad. I walked up to him. "GROVER!" I yelled with all my might. He looked up, surprised to see me.

"Um.. Hey Ari! I didn't expect to see you so early today." His voice was weak like if he was trying to hide something.

"Stop that Grover, its 7. I get here at 7 everyday." I looked at him suspiciously. "What's wrong. You looked worried."

"N-nothing," he said shaking.

"What's wrong Grover, what are you hiding?"

"Look, the bus is here." He was obviously trying to hide something from me. I looked back and the bus was coming. It stopped right in front of me. The doors opened and I stepped in. I took my normal seat next to Grover where we normally have our morning talks but today he was quite. Grover has been my best friend ever since I had been in the Shuriken Academy. He had curly brown hair which he always hid with his red cap, his arms were tan but very hairy and his eyes were brown like a tree's trunk. He was not the most attractive guy in the world but he was my best friend.

The bus made a sharp turn making me slap into Grover. Surprised, he looked at me.

"Hey, you look pretty today. Hey, you're wearing make-up! So what's the important thing going on today?" I was shocked. Grover was the one who knew everything that was going at school. He knew all the dates better than the kids in the Student Council. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Grover, are you alright? Do you know what day today is?" I asked him.

"Yep, I'm fine. Today is May the 2nd. OH! The Awards Ceremony! Gosh, I completely forgot about it. So that's why you are wearing make-up!" I was about to answer him when the driver slammed on the brakes making me almost hit the seat in front of me. I settled up and looked at the driver. He showed no expression in his face but he was staring directly at me. Beside me, Grover stood up.

"Let's get out of here Ariella." I followed Grover into the school. We went to our homeroom where our teachers led us downstairs to the gym where a stage was. We sat on those uncomfortable plastic chairs, but I didn't mind. Grover sat beside me. I waited for one of my friends to come sit beside me but my Math teacher came rolling his wheelchair instead. Oh great, things can't get any better I thought.

The Awards Ceremony started right on time. I looked around, and I found my father sitting on the bleachers. Next to him were my stepmother and my stepsisters. The expression they held in their faces was of a little kid who was forced to do something against his will. This view made me smile.

The Awards Ceremony went by swiftly. I got up to receive all my awards. But at the end I was supposed to say my speech. When the microphone was on my hand, Ms. Ferguson came and snatched it out of my hand. I had practiced my speech so much and she simply took it away from me. At the end of the ceremony, Mrs. Ferguson came to talk to me.

"Follow me Ariella," she said sternly. I couldn't think of anything bad I had done these days. But Mrs. Ferguson didn't need me to do something to hate me. She hated me for no reason. Ever since I stepped into this school, she made it clear that she did not like me. I was the only person in the 9th grade that ended the school year with an A+ average and she still hated me. Every other teacher loved me beside her. She seemed to be a stranger among the teachers.

I followed her into the school building. She led me to a huge room in the basement that I didn't even know existed. The room was very dusty. I assumed it was closed for a long time and no one ever came to clean it. Empty shelves lined up against the walls and there seemed to be no lights in this room. The only light came from the open door which we had just entered from. This made the room that was already creepy, creepier.

"Um… Excuse me Mrs. Ferguson," I said trying to call her attention. She slowly turned her head in my direction making me swallow hard. "I just wanted to ask if this would take long because I want to see my father." I nervously looked at her.

"How long it will take will depend on how long you hide it."

"What? Hide it? Hide what?" I looked at Mrs. Ferguson confused. What would I be hiding?

"You know exactly what I am talking about Ariella Chase!" Her voice was like nails on a chalk board. I took a step back cautiously.

"I have no clue what you are talking about."

"I know you stole it!"

"Stole what? Look Mrs. Ferguson, I really have no clue what you are talking about. Maybe it was someone else who stole whatever you are looking for." She looked at me irritated.

"Very well Ariella Chase," she said in a calmer voice. "If you don't want to give it, I will take it from you!" I took two steps back while Mrs. Ferguson seemed to transform. Her skin color became darker, wings popped out from her back, her hair disappeared and so did her clothes, leaving behind a bony creature that looked creepier that the room. I always thought that Mrs. Ferguson didn't fit in but I never expected her to not fit in at all. She flew to the top of one of the shelves.

"Give it to me!" She yelled as the skydived towards me. I yelled and threw myself to the other side of the room at the same time. She landed at the far corner of the room. My hands were shaking as I realized that Mrs. Ferguson wanted to kill me. I had to find a way out of here. I looked at the door but Mrs. Ferguson could fly so she would definitely get there faster than me. C'mon Ariella, don't panic, I thought to myself. I looked at Mrs. Ferguson. Her eyes looked like a hunter's, ready to kill. I would have to fight. Running was worthless when you enemy could fly. But I wasn't the fighting kind. I always hated fighting. I would always solve my problem diplomatically (maybe that's why I got elected as Vice President of the Student Council), fighting was not an option. But now, it was fight or get killed. I quickly searched the room for something to use as a weapon. Something shinny under a shelf caught my eye. Mrs. Ferguson was getting ready to launch at me. I waited this she was flying towards me to run towards the shinny object. I looked back, hoping to see my English teacher crash into a shelf but she swiftly landed instead. I reached the shinny thing and pulled it out. It was a sword. A bronze sword. Mrs. Ferguson was getting ready to charge at me again. I looked at the sword. There was only one way to get out.

Mrs. Ferguson came flying towards me. I held the sword up and when she was close to me, I slashed the sword on her. She gave a high-pitched yelled. I closed my eyes not knowing what to expect. Everything went quite. Slowly, I opened my eyes and in front of me, where Mrs. Ferguson should be standing, was a pile of dust. I froze. A light wind came and blew all the dust away leaving me alone in the empty room. I let the sword drop and I ran as fast as I could. While I ran, I saw a figure lurking behind the wall. It looked like my Math teacher but when I got there, he was gone.

I went back to the gym hoping to see my father. I searched all over for him but I couldn't find him or my stepmother. So I decided to look for my Math teacher. I found him talking to a few students near the bleachers.

"Excuse me Mr. Bulmer, could I talk with you for a second?"

"Sure Ariella, come over here." He managed his wheelchair around the bunch of kids and led me to the other side of the bleachers.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" He asked me. His eyes blazed with curiosity.

"I was just wondering," I thought of a way to say it, "If you had seen Mrs. Ferguson."

"Mrs. Ferguson?" He looked confusedly at me. "Who is Mrs. Ferguson?"

Now I was the one confused, "Mrs. Ferguson, my English teacher. The one-"

"Oh," he said laughing happily, "You mean Mrs. Hudson! She is over there." He pointed to a skinny woman talking to a bunch of parents. "Gosh Ariella, you scared me. I thought for a moment that there was a new teacher that I didn't know of! Ha! I have heard that you have been busy lately, but I never thought you were that busy. You should try to get more sleep honey." I looked at him amazed. I had never seen that so called Mrs. Hudson before. "Look, I have to go now. Congratulations for the awards."

"Thank you." I mumbled. Everything was very strange today and right now I wanted to go home.

"Ariella, what are you doing?" I looked around and I found Grover staring at me.

"Oh… Nothing." His eyes narrowed.

"But you look kind of pale. What happened?"

"Nothing. It's just that I want to go home." He looked at me confused.

"Home? Aren't you the one who always wants to stay in school forever?" He was right. I loved this school a lot. I dedicate all my time to it. That was why I decided to become vice-president of the student council.

"Yes but today I just want to go home. I want to see my father." Grover took one look at me.

"Okay, but I am going with you."

I waited patiently as Grover talked the security into letting us out. It was against school rules to leave school without permission but I also think that it was against school rules to try to kill your students. He signaled for me to come. I put my hood on so that no one would know that it was the vice-president sneaking out of school. As soon as we left the school's street, I took my hood off. Grover didn't talk to me at all. He seemed to be captured in a distant thought. I tried to ignore him but it wasn't possible. He was always to happy and talkative but today he was gloomy and quite.

"Grover," I decided to break the silence. "Do you remember Mrs. Ferguson?"

His ears turned pink. "No, who is she?" Bingo! I thought. Grover's ears would always turn pink whenever he lied.

"Grover, I have known you for more than a year now and I know when you are lying."

"I need to go to the bathroom," he said looking at me like if he was waiting an answer. He changed the subject too fast, not giving me a chance to backup. But since I didn't answer, he added, "Do not leave okay?" I nodded. "I mean it Ariella, you are under my responsibility." I looked at him confused but I nodded. I watched as my hairy best friend with his crutches walked away. He said he had some leg problems I did not know about. As soon as he entered the restroom, I ran home.

I opened the door of the small apartment we lived in. My father was watching TV in the living room. My stepmother was nowhere to be seen. She must be shopping. I slowly entered the room but my father heard me.

"Ariella? What are you doing here?" He looked at me.

"Oh, they let us leave early today," I lied.

"But you came home alone?" My father was always worried about me, even thought I was already 13.

"No, Grover came with me."

"Oh. Hey! You came just on time-"

"Father," I looked at him in the eye. "I have something to tell you."

"So say it."

"I-I..." I didn't know if I could tell him. Sure, he was my father but what would he think if I said that my English teacher was a monster and tried to kill me? "I-I … I just wanted to say that I am very happy that you went to the Awards Ceremony. It meant a lot to me."

A smile spread across his face. "Oh Ariella, it's my job as your father to be there for you." He looked so happy while I was so ashamed. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that we are going on a trip!"

"Really? With my stepsisters?"

"No, just you and me." My face lit up. The last time I traveled alone with my father was when I was two. All the other times we went with my stepmom and sisters. All they wanted to do was shop.

"Where are we going? For how long? When are we leaving?" I asked anxiously.

"To the beach, three days, and right now. Go pack." I smiled and left the room quickly. I swarmed into my room, throwing my backpack. I stuffed my favorite clothes along with things I would need: a book, my IPod, my cell phone, sunglasses, a hat, make-up, toothbrush, jewelry and my laptop. I rushed back to the living room. My father was sitting on the couch with his gray backpack beside him. We walked to the car. I sat beside him in the passenger seat and I watched Manhattan disappear in my window.