"Hello," said Kailee.
It was an average hello, and if he had known something was different about her in that moment, Jonah might not have befriended her.
"Hi," he replied.
But he did. And soon he would be there, for better or worse.
She sat down in the desk next to Jonah's and plopped her messenger bag on the floor. "I'm new," she nodded slowly, her dark curls bouncing. "From New York."
Jonah stared at her, his brown eyes wide. "Why'd you move to Lithia?"
"My…dad got transferred to the Verizon building in Tampa. He though Randall was a good-looking school."
"Just don't get on Mrs. Palmer's bad side."
"Got it… Who's that?"
Over the next few weeks, they spent more and more time together, they would go get a donut or a smoothie, or go to the mall with his friends and his friends girlfriends. Amber and Terra were OK, but the rest were snobby cheerleaders. One day they were using microscopes in science when she asked.
"You wanna come over for dinner tonight?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "Sounds fun."
Kailee had to smile. Things were going perfect. Annabeth was a great planner. But she'd be sorry when it was over. She actually liked Jonah, with his shaggy, choppy-cut brown hair and tan. He was fairly muscled, as he liked swimming.
That night, Kailee dressed in a silk top with a pair of jeans. She had just finished straightening her hair when the doorbell rang.
She ran to it and pulled it open with a huge smile on her face. "Jonah!"
A guy that looked about 18 and really similar to Kailee came up behind her and introduced himself. "I'm Percy Jackson, Kailee's…father. You must be Jonah Weston." He turned around and yelled into the kitchen. "Annabeth, SWEETIE," he said more forced but still with some love in it, "Our guest is here!"
They look really young! Jonah whispered
She nodded earnestly when Annabeth entered the doorway. Jonah gasped at the curly blonde.
"Well don't just stand there! Come in," Annabeth urged.
Kailee and Annabeth and Percy all exchanged a look. "Good job, sis," Percy said to Kailee.
"So, Jonah, do you live with your mom or dad?" Annabeth asked, shoveling some food in her mouth.
Jonah looked at her curiously. "How did you know that?"
She froze. How could she have made such a ROOKIE mistake? "Oh, I just…"
"My mom. My dad um… he died in an explosion." He didn't want to share details, but he thought it was fair that they at least KNEW.
"Hephesteaus," Kailee murmured.
"What… Did you just say Hephesteaus? Like the Greek god Hephesteaus?"
Kailee dropped her fork and immediately picked it up. "Um… I talk to myself."
He nodded slowly, like he didn't believe her. Of course he didn't. Why would he… I mean, this family was STRANGE. Like 'Duuuuude what are they talking about?'
Percy butted in. "So, are you thinking of going to any summer camps? It's the last day of school tomorrow."
"Not anything I've planned… Hopefully I won't get kicked out of this one. I've gotten kicked out of all my schools. Normally on the last day."
Everyone exchanged glances.
He didn't even show up. Said he didn't want to get kicked out. She should've guessed. Now she had to go find him.
She used her anti-monster communicator and opened a chat-room called Annabeth, answer.
Annabeth Chase has joined.
Kailee: He's not here!
Annabeth: What?
Kailee: What's his address?
Annabeth: Um…
Kailee: Oh, I'll just do it the hard way!
She shut the mini-computer and slipped it into a pocket of her messenger bag. Let's see… a map. Kailee ripped out a map and quickly deducted where he could live. The school bus he took went to five neighborhoods, one that looked way too rich for his clothing and Jansport book bag. Two of them were filthy, ghetto-ish neighborhoods. That left 2 more. She randomly picked one that looked like a gated community and hailed a taxi.