A/N: Yes! Finally! First chapter finished. If you've read my stories before, you probably hate me...I haven't updated any of my stories since February. I know. I'm that writer. And I feel so bad! But late in the summer, this idea just struck me and I had to get it down. So I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Mean Girls. Simple. Straight to the point.

I have this theory: I am a freak.

Evidence:

I have gotten straight A's my whole life.

I have never lived in once place for more than a year.

I have no mother.

I have never had a boyfriend.

I am sixteen, and today is my first day of school.

Conclusion: My name is Annabeth Chase, and I am a freak of nature.

My father is nervous. I can tell. He is a professor of military history, and apparently that job isn't exactly…crucial at many colleges. We've been moving around for a while, and my father and I have never been able to completely settle down. And because of that, my father made the probably smart decision to homeschool me himself. Surprisingly, it's worked out well. But now, my father and I have settled down in a small apartment in Manhattan, because my dad got a job teaching at Columbia University.

I glance at my dad as he gets out of the car. He had insisted on driving me to Goode High School before heading to his new job. I get slightly concerned when I realize his hands are shaking.

"Uh…Dad? You okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, dear." He comes around the car and kisses me on the forehead. "Have a great day. I won't be able to pick you up, so you might have to walk home. Or you can take the bus. Or you can even ask a friend to drive you home."

"Dad, it's my first day. I don't even know if I'll make friends."

"Ah, don't say that. You're amazing. People won't be able to stay away from you." He gives me another kiss and gets back into the car. "Have a great day, sweetheart. Love you."

"Love you too." I watch and wave as he pulls out of the parking lot. Then I turn my attention towards Goode High School. Kids are milling around, talking, laughing and somehow I know it'll take a while for me to be one of them.

But I'm Annabeth Chase! The few friends I made in other cities have all said that nothing fazes me. They've told me that they like my confidence. They like how I don't care what other people think of me.

Hope that comes in handy now.

I cautiously walk into the classroom and glance around. No one's paying me any attention, which I suppose is better than the alternative. The classroom has about twenty desks, and the room is about half-full. Now comes the tricky game of finding a desk.

I approach a seat in the front row, next to a girl wearing an argyle sweater and black skirt.

"Not there," says the girl behind her. "Her boyfriend's gonna sit there."

"Oh." I back up a couple of steps, and, sure enough, a boy blows past me and takes the desk I was eyeing.

"Hey babe," his girlfriend says.

I turn away from the PDA and head towards a desk next to the girl who helped me out and behind a heavyset guy. I'm about to set my backpack down on the chair when the guy behind the helpful girl stage whispers, "No. He farts. A lot."

"Uh, thanks." I back up one desk next to the guy who helped me out and place my backpack on it. When neither of them says anything, I sit down. I glance over at them and smile, trying to communicate my thanks. They both grin back and nod. The guy has curly auburn hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. The girl, who has spiky black hair, dark makeup, and punk clothing, opens her mouth to say something but closes it when a woman who must be the teacher walks in holding a stack of manila folders.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ana Torres. I will be your homeroom teacher for this year. And I'm also the Calculus teacher for the seniors and some of the juniors." She glances at a pink Post-It note that's on top of her folders. "Oh, yes, and we also have a new student, Annabeth Chase." The guy and girl grin at me as the rest of the class stare openly. I blush and give a tiny smile.

The day so far? Not bad…but not good either.

Having to find a table at lunch is worse than trying to find a desk in my classes. I crane my neck, hoping to spot the guy and girl from homeroom. But with all the people in the cafeteria, I can't pick them out. So…I'm reduced to the absolute worst option.

I have lunch in the bathroom.

My dad walks into the apartment and smiles at me.

"Hi Dad," I say. "How was your first day?"

"Fantastic! The students are so bright!" he exclaims. "What about you, sweetie? How was your first day?"

For a split second I consider telling the truth. Then I realize that's probably not a good idea. Enrolling me at Goode High was a really hard decision for my dad, and I don't want him regretting it. And because of my sucky first day, I'm more determined than ever to make it work.

I paste on a smile. "It was great, Dad. I'm really glad I'm at Goode."

He kisses me on the cheek. "Good."

I walk into homeroom the next morning, and I make sure to get there early to take the same desk I had yesterday. That girl and guy are already there, sitting in their same spots. They peer at me curiously as I walk in. I smile hesitantly.

"Hey, we didn't get the chance to introduce ourselves yesterday," says the spiky-haired girl. "I'm Thalia Grace."

"Grover Underwood," says the guy.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Annabeth Chase. Thanks for helping me out yesterday," I tell them.

"No problem," Thalia says.

"Our pleasure," Grover adds.

"Hey, do you know where room G-14 is?" I asked. Grover holds his hand out for my schedule and I give it to him.

He did a double-take as he read it. "Oh, that must be a—"

"—it's in the back," Thalia cuts in. "Room G-14 is in the back, by the football field. Right, Grover?" They look at each other, and Grover quickly nods.

"Yeah, it is. We'll take you there," Grover says.

Wondering if I'm missing something but at the same time not wanting to say no to a little help, I accept.

We tread through the grass after homeroom. Grover still has my schedule, and he's reading it like it's the Bible.

"You're taking twelfth grade calc?" he asks incredulously.

"Yeah."

"How…?"

I shrug. "I like math."

He stares at me like I'm crazy. "Why?"

"Because it's the same no matter where I move."

Grover hands my schedule back to me and nods. "That's deep. I like her, Thals," he says. Thalia merely grins as we approach a large tree with a wide trunk just made for sitting against.

I look around. "So…where's room G-14?"

Grover laughs as Thalia says, "Burned down in the early nineties."

"I've been homeschooled my whole life, so maybe I'm wrong but…won't we get in trouble for skipping class?"

Thalia looks at me blankly. "Why would we let you get in trouble? We're your friends."

I smile. While I'm not completely on board with the whole ditching thing, I'm certainly in no position to turn down friends.

"So…lunch," Thalia says, turning to me. "Definitely sit with us. Looking for a place to sit is tricky business."

Grover speaks up. "You got your freshmen, AKA fresh meat, preps, jocks, Asian nerds, wannabes, et cetera, et cetera."

"And then there are the coolest people you will ever meet."

"Gee, wonder who that could be?" I joke.

"Oh, it's not just us. We've got a whole posse," Thalia informs me, smiling. "Piper, Hazel, Clarisse, Frank, Silena…am I forgetting anyone else?" She tilts her head and looks at Grover with an expression that makes it clear that she's teasing.

I raise my eyebrows at Grover who blushes and ducks his head. "She's talking about my girlfriend, Juniper," he mutters.

"Aww," I say.

"You'll fit right in with everyone," Thalia tells me. "They'll love you."

I grin at her appreciatively. "Thanks. In all honesty, I've been a little worried about meeting people."

"Are you kidding me? Even without us, you'd have no problem fitting in socially," Grover snorts.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I ask.

"You're a regulation hottie," Thalia states matter-of-factly.

"Um…thank you?"

"No problem. If you weren't so nice, you'd probably fit in with the Plastics." As Grover says that, Thalia slaps him on the arm.

"Don't insult her like that!"

"Who are the Plastics?" I ask. Grover just shakes his head and points to a steady stream of people coming out of the school. In the lead are three gorgeous girls, one actually being carried on the shoulders of a group of muscular guys.

"What…? Is that them?"

"Okay, see that one?" Thalia says, pointing to a tall, skinny Asian girl with pink eye shadow.

"Yeah."

"Drew Tanaka. Isn't she pretty? Well, good thing she has that 'cause she might be the only dumb Asian on the planet. Grover sat next to her in English last year."

"She asked me how to spell orange."

Even though I prefer to get to know people and then decide what I think about them instead of believing others' opinions, I have to laugh at this.

"The brunette? Reyna Williams. She knows everything about everyone," Thalia says.

"That's why her hair's so big. It's full of secrets."

I snort.

"And, lo and behold, evil takes a human form in Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She may seem like your typical selfish, backstabbing, gorgeous popular girl, but in reality she's much, much worse." Thalia points out the girl who was being carried. She's got green eyes and she's super skinny, but the thing that stands out most has to be her curly red hair. As the boys put her down, she blows them a kiss and then struts off to join Drew and Reyna.

As we watch them, Grover says, "Rachel's the Queen Bee—the star—and those other two are just her little workers."

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare…you either love her or you hate her."

At lunchtime, I weave through multiple tables, looking for Thalia, Grover, and their group of friends when someone taps me on the shoulder.

I turn around. "Hey baby," says a Hispanic guy with curly brown hair and pointy ears. "Have we met?"

"No," I say shortly.

"Well, then, allow me to get you—"

"God. Leo, stop being a creep!" a voice says behind me. I whirl around and there's the Queen Bee herself—Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"Shut up, Rachel, it's none of your business," the guy named Leo says angrily.

"Please. You don't blow off my dear friend and then hit on some girl the next day right in front of us!" says the redhead. She looks at me. "Are you interested in him?"

"No."

"Then it's settled. You can go now, Leo." She smirks at him as Leo stalks away. I nod at Rachel in acknowledgement and start to walk off when she says, "Wait. Why don't I know you?"

"I'm new," I answer briefly, fully aware of what Thalia and Grover told me about Rachel. "This is my first year."

"Wow. But you're, like, really pretty."

I blush at the compliment despite myself. "Thanks."

Rachel pounces on my words. "So you agree?"

"Um, I don't—"

"Omigod, I love your bracelet! Where'd you get it?" She takes my wrist and examines a simple sterling silver band with owls engraved on it.

"My dad gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday," I inform her, gently withdrawing my hand from her grasp.

"It's adorable."

"Very fetch," adds the girl named Reyna.

Rachel rolls her eyes. "What is 'fetch'?"

"It's, like, slang for cool. It's from England," Reyna says matter-of-factly.

Rachel just rolls her eyes. "Can you, like, give us a sec?"

"Um…sure." As the three Plastics huddle together, I lean back in my chair and look at Thalia and Grover nervously. They and the rest of their friends stare at me, clearly horrified. I quickly shake my head and shrug my shoulders. Then I face the Plastics immediately as they turn back to me.

"Okay, you should know we don't usually do this, so this is like a really big deal." She looks from side to side to the other two girls. "We want you to sit with us at lunch every day for the rest of the week."

"Umm…that's o—"

"Great! So we'll see you tomorrow."

"On Wednesdays, we wear pink," Drew giggles.

Minutes later, Thalia, Piper, Hazel, and I are standing in the bathroom. The other three are facing me incredulously.

Piper, who I met during English earlier in the day, shakes her head as soon as I tell them what happened during lunch. "Nooo, Annabeth. Stay away from that group. Plastics equals poison."

"Which makes it even weirder that the guys they interact with are so sweet, especially Percy and Jason," Hazel muses.

"I dunno about Percy," Thalia laughs. "He's my cousin," she adds when she sees my confused expression.

"And Jason's Piper's boyfriend," Hazel explains.

"Oh. Well. Anyway. What do I do?"

"Don't do it!" Piper and Hazel chorus.

"Wait."

The three of us turn to her in shock. "What do you mean?" Hazel asks hesitantly.

"Maybe she should. Seriously. She can be our eyes! Do it, you have to. Then you can report back to us and tell us all the nasty stuff they say about everyone in the school."

I don't really like that idea. One, it's dishonest. Two, it's pointless. Where does this get anyone? "Thalia, I don't—"

"Please, Annabeth? It could be a laugh."

I think about it. Then I shrug. What could it hurt, honestly?

"Fine."

A/N: So...hope that lived up to any expectations you may have had. And I'll try really hard to be good about updating this one! Oh, and if the tenses of the story are messed up, it's because I went back and forth a few times, trying to make up my mind. But just so you all know, this story's being told in the present tense. R&R!