A contest.

She wanted me to do her little contest.

Another one.

I have not won any of the contests that she put me up to. She makes me test my strength, of which I have none; test my intelligence, or lack thereof; and, worst of all, makes me compete against others. That means embarrassing myself with people around. Not good.

"So, what's this contest for? Strength, smarts, wit? Come on, tell me, before I get scared." Yeah right, it was a little too late for that.

"This, Percy, is a contest of…. drum roll please…love!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"What?" I yelled.

"You heard me! Its simple, you just get a girl to fall in love with you. And no magic potions for you, mister." Annabeth joked.

"How long do I have?" I asked.

"Two months. No, one. No, two. You might need extra time, your self confidence is pretty low." Annabeth wrinkled her nose at the last part.

I knew she was right though. I just didn't think I was that good at anything, not at school, athletics, or even looks. I was completely average in school, all straight C's, always. I was kind of athletic, when I was extra careful trying to keep the ball away from my face. I didn't have much hand-eye coordination. As for looks, I had pretty eyes, I guess. People complimented them, even Clarisse. Clarisse was rock-hard, too, so it was pretty funny when she told me. I had black hair, which is kind of weird, cause my skin is kind of pale, so its really contrasting. I'm kind of normal looking, not too buff but not to skinny. I have small muscles, which is fine by me. I don't dress like a nerd, and don't have braces or glasses, either. I guess I'm okay.

"Any specific girl I have to ask?" I asked Annabeth, hoping I didn't have to ask out someone like Clarisse. That would be a nightmare.

"Nope, anyone you like, but they have to love you at the end of the time period. You don't have to love them back, though. It would be nice, however, if you did." Annabeth clarified.

"Okay."

"Okay. Any questions?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah. What happens if I win?" I ask, wanting to know if it was worth it.

"You get a girlfriend! Isn't that enough for you?" Annabeth questioned.

"Oh. Forgot about the lucky winner who gets to be my lucky girlfriend." I replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever. Why'd you say lucky twice?" Annabeth asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

I did? Oh. "Because that's just how lucky she'll be!" I came up with, ducking before Annabeth swatted my head.

"Sure. But!" Annabeth yelled, smirking evilly.

"But?" I whimpered.

"If you lose!" Uh-oh.

"Aw, you have actual faith in me!" I smiled.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat. Anyways, if you lose, you owe me…." She thought about it.

"Five dollars?" I pleaded.

"1,000 dollars! And a car!" She exclaimed. My jaw dropped. Where was I supposed to get one thousand dollars and a car! I wasn't rich, unlike a certain evil blonde I knew.

"Annabeth, your family is rich, and you already have a car! Why not something easier to obtain!" I reasoned.

"Ooh, obtain! That's probably the smartest word you've ever said, Percy! Anyways, I set my requirements high so that you'd be more likely to try to win. You never try your hardest, and I know that you have true potential to do something great, Percy." Wow. That was pretty deep. The best I could usually get out of Annabeth was, 'your clothes are actually clean today. Usually you smell funky, like you just finished dumpster diving. Good job!' Yeah, Annabeth isn't exactly the nicest girl on earth.

There was an awkward pause, where I shuffled my feet, waiting for something to happen. Finally I decided to end it, saying, "Thanks, Annabeth, I guess you could have potential, too, if you decided to detangle your hair for once in your life."

I love turning stuff to jokes; it lightens everyone's mood. Annabeth smiled, and we spent most of the rest of our afternoon taking turns insulting each other. It was a very fun time, even though Annabeth and I are probably one hundred times more self-conscious than we were before we started. We both knew that everything we said to each other was completely false, especially my joke about her tangled hair. That was possibly the worst comeback ever; everyone knew Annabeth's hair was always pin straight and neatly trimmed. Annabeth was, like, the smartest, most organized person I knew.

Don't tell her I said that, she'd laugh her head off.

Now, back to the contest. I had to decide my first girl, and I kind of had a feeling I knew who it was.