Hello, I wanted to start this out by saying that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the Property of Rick Riordan. Any character likeness is attributed to him and his work. I also wanted to start off by saying that this is the first chapter of my FIRST fan fic that I have ever written. I would love it if you would please take the time to read it and give me a little feedback on what I could do to improve it and keep growing as a writer. Thank Ya in advance ^.^

Annabeth's POV:

It seemed like any normal fall morning in New York. I awoke to the sound of rain drops on my window and my alarm going off, signaling that today was my first day of High School. I got out of bed like any other day, took a shower and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

The closer I got to the kitchen, the stronger the smell of pancakes became. I walked into the kitchen to see my dad, Frederick, sitting at the counter, drinking a cup of coffee while reading the New York Times while my stepmother Julia stood at the stove flipping pancakes humming to herself. I cleared my throat to get their attention and to signify my arrival.

My dad looked over and gave me a warm, for him smile and said, "Good morning honey, are you excited for your first day of school."

This took me a little off guard because the relationship I share with my father is rocky at best. He became very distant from me after my mom, Athena, died in a car accident when I was five. He married Julia about a year after my mom's death and things were never the same after he remarried.

I have never been able to put my finger on the exact reason why he seemed to resent me so much, The only reason I have been able to think of is that I remind him of my mother and he still hasn't gotten over her loss quite yet.

I responded curtly with, "Good morning," and sat down at the far end of the counter after getting myself a glass of orange juice. Julia brought me and my father a plate of pancakes each and started to ask if I had everything ready for school.

I told her I had my books packed and my schedule printed out and had one copy in my pocket and a spare copy in my backpack, just in case anything happened.

I sat, eating my pancakes in silence until Julia looked at the clock and exclaimed, "look at

the time, we should get going Annabeth."

I looked at the clock, she was right. I said goodbye to my dad as Julia grabbed her purse and car keys. Our elevator ride down to the lobby of our building was quiet. When the doors opened, I thanked Julia for driving me to school because of the rain (Usually I would walk, weather permitting).

She said that it was no big deal and that it was less trouble to drive me to school than to take care of me when I got sick because I walked to and from school in the rain.

I laughed a little at her comment, a pang of sadness creeped into my heart as the thought that Julia cared more about me than my own father.

We made small talk as we walked to the car, parked in a garage across the street. We got in Julia's Volkswagen Jetta Wagon and pulled out of the garage in silence.

About a block from home, Julia broke the silence asking if I wanted to turn on the radio.

I hit the radio power button and set the station to 92.3 KRock. It just so happened that one of my favorite songs, Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High by the Arctic Monkeys was playing. I looked over at Julia and saw the corners of her lips droop just a tad. I know what she and my father tell me about how the music that I like isn't very lady like and that I should really grow up and find a better taste in music. This morning, there was none of that talk as Julia looked out the windshield not talking to me whilst I sat in the passenger seat humming along to songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker. After Let Her Go by Passenger finished, I saw a black haired boy walking down the sidewalk with a backpack and light blue hoodie pulled all the way up onto his head to stop the rain from dripping onto his face. Little did I know that that boy would change my life.

We pulled up to school and I got out of the car and felt the rain immediately start pounding my head. I hurriedly opened the back door and pulled my backpack off of the back seat as I said thank you to Julia for driving me to school. I closed the door and all I heard of her response were the words "good luck."

I ran inside the doors of Goode High School, the school that I would be attending for the next four years. After making sure that none of my books or supplies were wet, I set off to find my best friend Thalia.

Thalia and I had grown up together in the same building when I was young and went to the same elementary and middle schools too. We became really good friends after my mom died and she found me crying in the stairwell. After that moment, the two of us became practically inseparable. Thalia and I personified the phrase "never judge a book by its cover." She had long black hair and piercing blue eyes, usually surrounded with a thin line of black eyeliner, and always wore black jeans, usually ripped with her signature faded army jacket, some band's t-shirt and military style combat boots. I was the exact opposite. I had long blonde hair, gray eyes and usually tried to wear non-ripped blue jeans (that fit loosely), a t-shirt and a pair of black converse. She looked like the type of girl who would knock your teeth out if you said something that she didn't like, while I just tried to look normal and not stand out.

I found her at her locker, slamming her fists into it and swearing under her breath. I called out her name and she jumped a little bit as she turned to see who called her name. When she saw that it was me, she gave up beating up her locker and came over to me.

I asked her what her locker had done to her that it deserved a beating. She gave a small smile and a chuckle and responded, "the damned thing won't open."

I asked her if she had put in the right combination. She rolled her eyes and said, "of course I did, that's the first thing that I made sure of."

"Are you positive that you put it in correctly," I asked. Under her breath she muttered, "I guess that it may have been wrong." She handed me a paper with the numbers 7, 2 and 18 on it. I walked up to her locker, twisted the lock until I had entered the final number and lifted on the plunger and the door opened.

I looked over at Thalia, who was turning a light shade of red. I told her to remember to be patient and make sure that she entered the right combination before getting frustrated and trying to beat the locker until it decided to open for her.

She looked at me sheepishly and said, "I promise not to kill my locker until I've tried the right combination next time."

After a few minutes of small talk, I pulled out my schedule to see where my first class was and to also see if Thalia and I had any of the same classes. My heart sank as the only class I had with her was english, the very first class of the day.

Let me be the first to tell you that I have trouble making friends, I don't know if it is because of my ADHD or just the fact that I speak my mind regardless of how well received they would be.

The first bell rang and Thalia asked "shall we go to class?" as she stuck out her arm to me. I laughed as I wrapped my arm through hers as we walked towards our first class.

We walked into our classroom to find that we were the first two there. (Not a good sign in my books because it shows that people showing up late would be a common practice in this class) Thalia saw me and gave me a small jab in the ribs and said, "look on the bright side Annie, there is no shortage of seats for us to pick from."

I jabbed Thalia back in the ribs and said, "you of all people should know not to call me Annie." She looked at me and said that it was the only way that she could make me mad, which made me laugh a little.

We picked seats at the back of the room and waited for class to start. Other students slowly trickled in through the door, picking seats and talking with friends. That was when he walked in, the boy in the light blue hoodie I saw while driving to school this morning. He walked in through the door absolutely soaked and miserable looking. His arrival drew snickers and hushed laughter from other students. He looked away from them and slowly made his way towards the back of the room where Thalia and I were sitting.

I looked away from him as he made his walk towards the back and was slightly startled when he asked me if the seat next to me was taken. I told him that it wasn't and he sat down.
Little did I know, those few words were the beginning of so much more.