Chapter #1

~Annabeth~

I stared at the large, brick school in front of me. It was an abnormally sunny morning, and students were filing into the building, heading to class. I shouldered my blue backpack and read the banner that was plastered above the front doors: "Welcome to Goode High! Remember to have a 'goode' day!"

I shook my head. Typical.

As I slowly walked into the large building I felt the eyes of the other students on me, whispering to each other. I heard a few snippets of their conversations,

Who's she?

I didn't know we were getting a new kid

What's that bruise on her cheek?

I did my best to ignore them. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know what I had been through in these past few months.

There was a sign pointing in the direction of the office, and that's where I assumed I had to go. I entered the office, a small room with glass windows and a large desk with a kind looking woman sitting behind it. Behind the desk was a door that probably led to a copier room or the teacher's lounge.

The woman looked up at me and met my eyes. She looked to maybe be in her early thirties. She had light blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders a dimpled smile. I couldn't decipher what type of eyes she had, though. They seemed to always be changing. "Why hello dear, how may I help you?"

I shifted in my standing position. "Um, I'm a new student. I called a couple days ago and-,"

"Annabeth Chase, I presume?" she asked.

I sighed, thankful that I had been accepted. "Yes, that's me."

"Ah, well lovely to meet you, dear! I'm Mrs. Venus, but you can call me Aphrodite," she pulled out a couple things from the desk drawer and set them down in front of me. She pointed to each piece of paper as she explained its purpose. "This is your daily schedule. It also has your locker number and combination. This is your library pass and you can get your textbooks from there today, and here's some forms for your parents to sign."

I cringed inwardly, but it wasn't the first time I had to forge a signature.

"You can also come to me if you have any questions," Aphrodite said.

I beamed at her. At the last school the secretary had shown me nothing but disgust. It felt nice to finally be welcomed somewhere. "Thank you."

"I also have a guide to show you around, he should be here an-,"

The door to the office suddenly opened, and a tall boy with short cropped blonde hair and light skin. He wore a purple shirt and plain jeans. The only perfection I noticed was a small scar above his upper lip.

His gaze met mine, and I immediately tense. His eyes were blue, just like-

"You okay, dear?" Mrs. Aphrodite asked me.

I noticed that I was slightly shaking. I took a breath and nodded. I didn't know what I started to freak out. Besides, this boy's eyes were darker than his. They were a more peaceful, sky blue color. "Sorry, I'm fine."

"As I was saying, this is Jason Grace. He's a senior also, and has some classes with you. He'll be your guide for today,"

"Okay," I muttered quietly, avoiding Jason's gaze.

Jason smiled at raised a hand to the office door. "After you."

"If you have any questions, you can ask Jason. Have a good day at Goode!" Mrs Aphrodite said, and gave me a small wink.

I smiled to myself as I walked out of the office and back into the hallway. They were now completely empty. I assumed classes had started.

"So, where're you from, Annabeth?" Jason asked me, leaning against a locker.

"San Francisco," I answered, staring at the floor.

"Oh, that's cool. I had a couple friends who lived in Cali..."

I didn't say anything else.

Jason led me down the different hallways of Goode High. He showed me the different classrooms and where the cafeteria was located. He told me which teachers to respect, and which you could have fun with. Even though I wasn't comfortable around him, he was still a five star tour guide.

"How-how many students are in the senior year?" I asked hesitantly.

"Oh, not that much. A little under one hundred. There's about one hundred students in each grade." Jason answered.

I nodded. We walked down a long hallway with navy blue lockers.

Jason led me to locker number 456. "This is your locker." he pointed to the one to the right. "This is my locker, so you'll be forced to talk to me every day."

"Wh-who's on the other side of me?" I asked, crossing my arms nervously.

Jason cracked a smile. "Oh that's Percy. He's one of my friends. He's on the swim team."

"Oh..." I muttered, but a cord struck in my head. Percy. Where had I heard that name before?

Jason's smile turned into a frown. "Is something?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, no." I said immediately. I was not about to tell this stranger about my past life.

He shrugged, and then pointed to the backpack that was slung over my shoulder. "Can I help you unpack into your locker."

I glanced hesitantly at my backpack then reluctantly said, "Sure..."

I set my backpack on the floor and pulled out my daily schedule. I went up to my locker and grabbed the black lock and started turning the numbers that were plastered on the paper. 08-16-93

Jason and I silently worked together setting the notebooks and folders I had brought to the school in my blank locker. Jason said that during lunch we could walk down to the library and grab my textbooks. Once we were finished, I thanked Jason quietly, but I noticed that he was staring at me silently. I felt my stomach twist and turn. I didn't like being stared at like that.

"Um?" I asked, trying to show my annoyance.

Instead of apologizing, he pointed to my cheek. "What's that?"

My hand subconsciously moved up to under my eye, and I winced as I felt pain.

"It's, er, nothing." I lied.

Jason crossed his arms. "It looks like something."

I quickly needed to come up with an excuse. I couldn't have Jason being suspicious.

"I bumped into a pole," was the first thing I came up with.

"Uh, huh," Jason nodded not convinced, and he took a step forward. "What's this on your arm?"

I looked down at my bicep and saw a big purple bruise. Great, how was I going to come up with a lie for that?

"Basketball," I mumbled. "Fell on it."

Jason looked at me with a hard expression "Are you sure?"

I let out a groan. This was taking way too much time and energy. "Look, can we just get to class?" I asked desperately.

Jason thought for a moment, then sighed. "Okay, sorry. I shouldn't be poking around in your personal business."

"It's fine," I answered, relieved. "I'm used to it."

He looked at me sympathetically. "Say, what's your name again?"

"Annabeth...Annabeth Chase," I said.

"Annabeth," he thought about my name for a moment.

"Yeah, I know. It's not a very co-," I started to say, but then he interrupted me.

"I like it," he commented.

I was taken back. "Y-you do?"

He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Yeah, it's different, but I like it. I think it suits you."

I felt the heat rise to my face. "Uh, thanks..."

"So, Annabeth. Want to go to class?" he asked.

"O-okay," I said, finding the whole interaction a bit weird.

"I have to warn you about Mrs. Dodds though. She's a demon," he said, and barred his teeth in a joking manner.

I let out a chuckle, and was almost shocked at myself. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed. "I think I've had worse."

"Well, let's go and find out," Jason said.

I quickly grabbed a notebook and a pencil from my locker, and together, we walked down the hallway into Mrs. Dodds classroom. He didn't say anything else, except when we were about to enter the classroom.

"Hey Annabeth, do you want to sit with me and and my friends at lunch?" he offered me.

I was completely stunned. I had never been asked to sit with somebody on my first day of school. Usually all the kids thought I was a freak.

"O-okay," I said.

He beamed at me. "Cool."

Jason opened the door for me and I walked inside.

I was actually starting to feel good about this place.