Outside, it was quiet and serene. It was very early in the morning and the golden sun had just barely risen. Birds sang love songs and everything seemed so bright and beautiful. The streets were silent, apart from an occasional businessman talking rapidly into his phones, shoes clacking on the empty sidewalk.
However, that blissful silence was broken by the annoyingly loud and persistent ring of an alarm clock. It was even loud enough for passersby to hear the image-wrecking noise as they looked up with befuddled expressions for where in the world that sound was coming from.
The owner of that particular alarm clock shot up in bed immediately, a stray golden bang slung across her forehead. She was panting from her sudden fright. Realising that it was her alarm, she scowled. Swinging her long bronze legs, clad in a pair of red causal home shorts with a grey singlet to match, she hopped out of bed and raced to her dresser to look at the cursed clock.
"Holy shit! I'm gonna be late!" She exclaimed in surprise, letting out a long stream of obscenities. She hastily grabbed a brush and ran it through her tangled blonde curls, glad that she had already prepared her outfit the night before.
It was a nice light blue blouse with denim jeans and a pair of black converse. Not the most suitable for her job at the hospital that she was about to be late for, but why the heck would she have a nurse's uniform in her closet? She had applied for an internship at Half-blood Hospital. It was second to her choice as an architect, but she figured it would give her better points on her college application. Her father, Frederick Chase had also said something similar.
Even though she had been reluctant to give up an internship for her dream job, she finally cracked after weeks and weeks of begging by her best friend, Thalia Grace, who had applied and gotten into the same internship.
Although, it was surprising that her blue-eyed, black haired friend would apply for something like this. Her personality sure did not suit it. Hell, she was like a bomb on a short fuse. She just hoped Thalia's patients were not the same.
Pushing those delaying thoughts to the back of her mind, she grabbed her grey Kipling sling bag and dashed down the stairs. She burst through the doors of the kitchen and nabbed a piece of toast from her step-brother, Bobby's, plate. "Hey! That's mine! Annabeth!" Much to Bobby's displeasure and Matthew's amusement, she paid no heed to Bobby's shouts of protests and shot like a bullet out the door towards the bus station.
…
Annabeth Chase shaded her eyes as she looked at the imposing building rising from the street before her. Sunlight glinted off its many shining windows, and she spared a moment to be thankful she wasn't in charge of keeping all those panes so spotlessly clean. She could also tell that the architecture was immaculately done. As she neared the entrance, a small chill danced its way up her spine. Something was off, and it was not just because of the fact that she hated hospitals. But for now, she pushed it to the back of her mind.
She tidied her disheveled appearance and shook off the strange feeling of foreboding that had settled in her stomach. There was something that just was not…right about this place. Then, she opened the front door and took her first step into the lobby. The first step of starting her internship.
When she stepped inside, the first thing she saw was a beautiful mahogany desk with papers neatly stacked on top one another with labels to boot and a glittering crystal lamp. She shuddered, imagining the consequences should she accidentally break it. Aiming her sight of vision a little higher, she spotted a young brunette woman sitting behind the desk.
She had previously been speaking with someone else on the telephone. But when she heard the doors opening, she looked up and shot Annabeth a quick smile and a wave towards the seat on her right. Annabeth walked over and took a seat, clutching her hands tightly in her lap. She was fighting, and hopelessly losing, a battle against her nerves.
Annabeth Chase was not a person to get easily nervous or intimidated, but seeing the interior of the building and the lobby, she started to have second thoughts about caving in to Thalia's begging. Damn her cute puppy dog face. Her electric blue eyes just had to be able to turn so soft, didn't they?
"Are you Miss Annabeth Chase? Or are you here for one of the appointment with the doctors?" The older woman's voice startled Annabeth out of the intensive debate in her head. She felt a flush spreading across her cheeks. How embarrassing to have the lady mistake her for a mental patient! "Yes, I'm Annabeth Chase."
It was the lady's turn to blush as she apologised. Then, she said, "Anyway, welcome to Half-Blood Hospital. You should have reported to Chiron five minutes ago." There, she paused and gave Annabeth an impossibly sharp, skeptical look.
Annabeth swore then and there to never be late for this internship ever again.
Thankfully, the lady noticed the cringe on her face and continued on. "Putting that aside, his office is on level thirteen, the highest floor. Take a right and his office is third on the left. Here's your guest pass. Use the lift to reach his office and he will give you your proper pass and equipment. There will also be numerous glass doors and you will need to scan the card to get through. After eight o'clock, there are also guards stationed at the doors on each floor for added security."
With that, she handed me a silver card with a "G" stamped on the top right hand corner and returned to sorting out paperwork even though everything was unnecessarily neat.
Shrugging, she stepped into the lift and through the awaiting doors of the lift. As she waited for the lift to reach her floor, she tapped her foot, listening to the elevator music. It was Burn It Down by Linkin Park. Not that bad and Thalia would love this, Annabeth thought. Although, hospitals would hardly use such a rock song for elevator music. Maybe Thalia bribed the electrician or something. Or maybe she even hooked her iPod to the machine.
Hearing the elevator "ding", Annabeth hurried out and looked at the long line of offices that seemed to go on for eternity. Remembering that she might most likely get fired for being nearly ten minutes late on her first day, she picked up the pace and followed the receptionist's directions.
She stopped in front of a door that was unlike the others, a light brown instead of a dull grey, and a golden nameplate reading "Chiron Brunner". She let out a deep breath and rapped on the door with her knuckle.
Hopefully, she would not get fired. At last that was the worst thing she could do. But on the other hand, it was too late to apply for another internship and she did not like the look of her chances considering that her boss' door looked really important and impressive compared to the others.
"Come in." A low baritone voice said on the other side of the door. When Annabeth walked in, she saw an old man behind the desk with three strangers and Thalia standing in a straight row, two on each side. There was a space in the middle that looked about just her size. The office was humongous! However, it was a no-frill kind of place and there was nothing there for decoration either than things that had actual functions. The only decoration was a roaring fireplace at the side of the room.
Great. So her boss was the practical type.
Thalia shot her a worried smile and a small wave while the others looked curiously at her. Meanwhile, the old man's face remained impassive. Wrinkles were evident on his worn face. He had a full head of white hair and a tiny goatee. His eyes showed years of wisdom, experience and practice.
Annabeth gulped. In her head, her chances were looking worse and worse by the second. Finally, the old man opened his mouth and said, "Hello, Ms Chase. We have been expecting you. Please, come in. We have a few things to discuss."
Damn
