PERCABETH CHAPTER ONE

ANNABETH POV

I play with my hair as I patiently sit in the back of the U-Haul truck. The air is musty, and I feel uncomfortable. I shuffle a little closer into the corner as the furniture bounces around me. As I look at my watch in the dark, I sigh. It's only two thirty. More than three hours until we get to Connecticut. The truck suddenly jerks to the left, and I hit my head on the wall.

"Can you drive a little more civilized?" I demand, but I know he can't hear me. I settle back into the corner, and close my eyes. New school, new friends, new life. I think to myself, but then I take it back. No new friends. I will keep my old friends forever. My dad had just gotten a job as an architect in Connecticut. He took the job, and next thing I know I'm moving to Greenwich. Leaving my friends behind. Leaving my boyfriend, Charlie behind. Leaving my life behind. My mom and twin brothers were completely fine with his decision. "Oh honey, you'll meet so many amazing friends!" I remember mom gushing. I chuckle to my self. Making friends in California was hard enough. Now, I'm moving to an expensive neighborhood. How can I possibly fit in?

Suddenly, I miss my friends. I miss Selena Beauregard and Rachel Dare, my best friends, but mostly I miss Charlie. My boyfriend. Even if I visited him, I won't have him back. He died a hero. Last summer, he was working on a cruise ship for a summer job, and he drowned saving a little girl. His rescuers found him barely alive, and they confirmed Charlie's last words. "Tell… Tell Annabeth I love her."

Tears sting my eyes as the driver makes a rough turn. "Charlie…" I whisper to myself. "I love you." I close my eyes and it forces the tears out of my eyes. I feel them roll down my cheek but I don't care. All that I care about is the empty hole in my heart, where Charlie should have been.

Now, moving across the East Cost, I realize. I was so lucky to have good friends I'll never find again.

I close my eyes and drift off.

"Annabeth! We're here!" My dad's voice forces me awake. I open my eyes suddenly and grab onto a moving box for support. The bright light of the afternoon sun blinds my eyes and I close them. The back of the truck is open and as I open my eyes, I see a curt upper class residential village.

The usual palm trees like in California are gone, replaced by the large elm and oak trees in people's lawns. The bustling avenues and laughing have disappeared, replaced by silence and the occasional bark of a dog. Everything is different. I stretch my feet as the driver takes our things out of the back.

I hop out of the truck and quickly thank the driver. I walk outside and realize we're parked in a driveway. The driveway to my new house. A medium sized house with a pale tilted roof and stone and wood walls. It's a cute storybook house and for a second, I actually like it. Unlike in California where we lived in a two-bedroom apartment, there is a small lawn with one lone red dragon tree. The leaves are bright red.

Our house is smaller than the houses on our street. Looking onto Aaron Drive, I see giant mansions. Our new house can't compare those houses. Unlike my little brother Bobby, the big mansions do not impress me. I don't mind not being rich; I'm fine with being middle class. Unlike some people.

As we walk into my house, I catch my breath. I've never lived in such a big house. It's amazing. The living room is as big as half of our old apartment, and the walls don't have a scratch on them, their pure pastel. The floor is a glossy wood that I like. As I make my way to the second floor, my mom is already there. "So, where's Bobby and Matthew and my room?" I ask my mom. As she turns to me, her blonde hair shining. "Honey, it's time you grow up. You get your own room."

Her cheeks are red, and I look at her in shock. I thought this day would never come. The day I get my own bedroom. "Where is it?" My voice is breathless. My mom nods over to the two doors on the left. "You choose one, sweetie." Her voice is crisp and her perfume smells like honey. The only thing I can think of doing is hugging her, so I run and embrace her. She pats my back. "I love you, Annabeth." I run off to choose a room.

The room on the left has one of the roofs tilted in, like a gable room. The room is giant compared to my brother's and me old one. The gabled roof is all glass, and there is another big window on one of the walls. The room is bright and clean, and the perfect place for me to draw my sketches. I smile. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.