Here it is, I thought. The start of my last year in college was here. And what do I have to show for it? Oh, I'll have my degree soon enough, and I've had some good times. But what have I really accomplished?

Well, at least it's nice day to be walking around and thinking about my life. I was walking to school, like usual. It helps me relax, and to just enjoy myself. Still, it would be nice to have someone to share it with.

I turned another corner and bumped into a black-haired girl.

"Oh, Thalia …

I didn't expect to bump into you here," I said.

"Well, I normally ride to bus, but since it's a pretty morning I decided to take a walk," she said. "How about you?"

I shrugged. "Oh, I normally walk."

We walked down Walker Avenue and took a right at Juniper. And we bumped into another girl.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Thalia greeted cheerfully.

I looked at her. I'd known Thalia since I was 3, so I knew this meant they were pretty good friends. "You know her?" I asked.

Thalia nodded. "Annabeth, this is Percy Jackson. And this is Annabeth Chase."

I looked at Annabeth. She was pretty, I guess. With curly, blonde hair that, in the sun, looked gold. Her eyes were gray. They looked stern, but she had a huge smile on her face, so I couldn't tell if she was happy or not. I was never good at reading emotions.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Nice to meet you," I said. I put out a hand. She seemed startled, but she reluctantly shook it.

On the way to school, we talked about random. Thalia said she'd met Annabeth last year. Instantly, they became friends. Finally, we arrived at school.

The second I walked into the building, I was surrounded by a mob of lovesick girls. I guess you could call me a popular guy.

I looked over at Thalia, who shook her head and rolled her eyes, and Annabeth, who looked like I fed the girls a love potion and was afraid I'd feed her some. Help, I mouthed. Thalia just shrugged and led Annabeth away.

Today was going to be a long day.

Annabeth POV

Thalia took me to my first hour class. Math. I sat down in a seat, away from the boys.

At my last school, I, uh, kind of liked a boy. We took our relationship a little too far, and well, we got expelled. I was determined not to let that happen here. Even if I liked a boy, no more going into the janitors in nothing but underwear. And the problem is, it was the boy who made me do it, so it's pretty much stay away from boys for me. That includes Percy. Especially Percy. It's pretty hard to resist with him. That other boy, he's exactly like Percy.

"Uh, thank you. I'll, uh, meet you after lunch," Percy said nervously as he backed into the classroom, the group of crazy girls shoving to get into the classroom. "Bye." and he slammed the door shut. He sat down next to me. Oh, no. He turned and looked at me and smiled.

Today was going to be a long day.