Worthless.
Imperfect.
Useless.
Ugly.
The names just keep trickling in his ears, every week, every day, every minute, every second.
Waste.
Inferior.
Flawed.
Faulty.
One would think that it would hurt him. But Percy Jackson was force with a heart covered with gold; strong, good-willed, but also shielded by thick walls. He was used to these names, since when you grow up with people naming you, you have no choice but to adapt.
In this society, every Imperfect had to adapt. When a baby was in the early stages of growing, the parents decided whether or not to do genetic-thingies them. Most-if not all-people who could afford it chose to, picking a style number from the many options. Still, it was an expensive process and the poorer people couldn't afford it. So if you were born without a style, or were born "Imperfect", as they called it, you were immediately labeled as a poor, stupid being. And that's what Percy was-a good-for-nothing, lowly creature.
The other "Perfects", sometimes referred to as "Designers", snickered as Percy walked by, but the venomous laughs just bounced off his golden shield that protected his heart. Percy, however, still received some sort of pain from their words, and only the few close to him could see his shoulders drop the slightest. Nonetheless, he kept walking with his head high.
He got to homeroom fine. The locker obeyed him and opened, Grover accompanied him to class, and Percy had sidestepped the outstretched leg of the "perfect" Luke Castellan. Percy sat in his assigned seat and waited to get dismissed to first period.
But before that happened, Annabeth Chase walked in, brushing him harshly without bothering to apologize. Percy scowled in annoyance. Why did she think she was so above him he didn't deserve an apology? Just because her father created an own style for her didn't mean anything. He was just as good as she was!
Except he wasn't.
Annabeth Chase was that one person nobody competed with for the simple reason that they couldn't. Her perfect figure and sharp grey eyes shot you down. Her perfect curls somehow intimidate you with their flawless glow. Even when Annabeth was little, she beat Percy (and everyone else) at everything. She was the president of Goode High School's student council, captain of the volleyball and track teams, on track to be valedictorian, and was asked out more than a million times by nearly every boy in this school. She had even caught the eye of the most popular jock, Luke Castellan, the jerk who loved to make Percy's life a living hell.
Annabeth Chase was so far ahead it was ridiculous for anyone, imperfect or not, to even consider they could come relatively close.
And, because Percy had the crappiest luck in this universe, she was his lab partner for first period AP Biology.
Yes, it was not a surprise that Annabeth had gotten into such a class. Percy, though? That was strange, even to him. But the placement test was mostly about marine biology, a subject he excelled in. When he was just a baby, he would be out in the ocean with the fish and crabs at Montauk. Heck, if anyone was a water baby, Percy was.
But, all of a sudden, he wanted to run to regular science when caught under the grey eyes that bore lasers through his very soul. Percy tried to turn his attention to the teacher to refrain himself from hiding under the table.
"First project, class!" called the professor, Mr. Brunner. His wheelchair and odd attire sparked Percy's curiosity. Maybe he would have like this teacher had he not put him with freaking Annabeth Chase. "Find three samples of wild marine flora and conduct experiments of your choice on the specimens. This counts for seventy percent of your grade for this semester. Rubrics, instructions, and further guidance are place in the centres of your tables. Begin as soon as possible to be sure you do not rush at the due date. Don't do that. It not only kills your grade, but it kills your ability of procrastination for the rest of the year. Like to procrastinate? Don't do so on this project, or you might never be able to procrastinate again." Mr. Brunner grinned, winked, and let the class get started on their projects.
Immediately, Annabeth's manicured hands found the stack of papers. Her fingers shuffled through all of them and her eyes squinted in concentration. Percy stared, motionless, too intimidated and unsure to really do anything but look.
"So, are you going to sit there like a piece of shit or help me?" Annabeth looked at him disapprovingly. "Tell me, will I be doing all the work? Honestly, if I am, I will do it."
Percy blinked confusedly, because oh crap Annabeth freakin' Chase was was talking to him.
Apparently, the blonde girl with princess curls took that as a no,you can do all of the work. She shook her head. "Well, it's not like expected anything better of you people," she muttered over her breath, just loud enough for Percy to hear.
"Hey!" Percy snapped, breaking his silence, because this goddamn woman wasn't going to give him another label if he could help it. "I'll collect the samples. You design the experiment. We do the experiment together. Done. Kaput."
The grey eyes widened at his outburst. Inwardly, Percy smirked. Damn right she be surprised. Sooner or later, this girl would know that she can't bump into him and treat him like shit anymore.
"Fine," Annabeth said carefully after she regained her composure. Her eyes narrowed and regained their intimidating look. "However, if we get anything less than an A because of your negligence, it's you who will be dead in the back alley."
She turned, smacking her curls in his face. But it didn't stand a chance of wiping that grin on Percy's face. He managed to surprise Annabeth Chase. And from that point onward, he decided to do his best to surprise that girl however many times he could.