To my dear readers:
Yes, you, person reading this. I am talking to you. If you have read this story before, you may notice some tiny differences. Well, okay, not tiny. But these changes are for the better. Don't worry, your knowledge of the contents of this story will not be severely distorted once you continue reading. I hope.
If you haven't read this story before . . . well, hello there, new reader! You are lucky to not have witnessed the horrendous so-called piece of literature made by a twelve-year-old beginner. Please enjoy this story with the knowledge that it is not as bad as it once was.
I really appreciate CC's, so if you find any faults in the story or points that are a little messy or could be improved, please do tell me. Also, if you find some parts of the story that you like or find humorous (The first time I wrote this story, I honestly had no idea that I could actually be funny), you can also include that in your review. But please be reminded that CC's are not the same as flames. If you decide to hate me or my work, please at least give a reason for why you hate it so I can improve and make you happy.
Thank you for reading this short A/N. Now, on to the story!
Oh, wait . . . before I forget—
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Obviously, it is called fan fiction, so I don't think I needed to tell you that. But anyway, I have absolutely no rights to The 39 Clues and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All the characters mentioned in this story from those two book franchises were created and formed by their respective writers and/or publishers. They are not my intellectual property. Any other familiar objects in this story are also not my property. All I own is my brain, my laptop, my FFN account, and my far-fetched ideas to make these worlds collide. Oh, I also own this story, but I don't own the stuff I previously said that are part of my story. I hope this all made sense. If it didn't, I know you guys know what a disclaimer is anyway.
Chapter One—First Day of School
The clue hunt had probably been the most exciting yet exhausting experience in Amy Cahill's life. With all that drama, danger, and near-death experiences, she felt that she could handle anything. Not that she wanted to handle anything like the clue hunt ever again. It was way too traumatizing to repeat. She would rather live a quiet and peaceful life in their newly-bought apartment in New York, keeping the Cahill activity to a minimum. This is the reason why she decided she wanted to go back to school as soon as possible.
Amy told this to Fiske and Nellie, Amy and Dan's new legal guardians, as they sat in the living room, rationing their two million dollars obtained from the clue hunt.
"School? Seriously, Amy? Out of all the things you could buy with your money, you want to spend most of it on torture." Dan said, looking up from his long list that had 'AWESOME STUFF TO BUY WITH MY MILLION BUCKS' scrawled messily at the top.
Amy rolled her eyes. "It's not torture. School can be fun . . . at least sometimes. Besides, don't you want to go back to your normal life?"
"I think going to school is a great idea. I'll look for a school for you both immediately." Fiske said, writing down the suggestion in his own list of things to use the money for. Fiske and Nellie held on to their money to avoid the event of Dan spending his entire million dollars on collectible cards, video games, and junk food. They allocated most of their money to renovate the Cahill mansion in Attleboro and used a small part of it to buy the apartment where they stayed temporarily.
Dan groaned. "But this is all Amy's idea! Why do I have to go to school too?"
Nellie patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, kiddo. You've traveled around the world, uncovered the secrets of some of your famous ancestors, and you've survived your crazy relatives. School should be a breeze."
Dan grumbled, but they went back to thinking of other things to use the money for.
"How about a banana slicer?" Fiske suggested. They all looked at him weirdly. "What? It's a very useful invention!"
"Really, Fiske?" Nellie asked with her eyebrow raised.
"Someone gave me a flyer about it. It looked ready nice there." Fiske said sheepishly. "No? Okay, then. No need to stare at me rudely."
"Amy! The bus will be here in 10 minutes! Get out here and eat! I made waffles!" Nellie called out from the kitchen.
Amy ran out of her room with her backpack slung on one shoulder and her hair flying wildly in the air. She ran her fingers through her hair as she sat down in front of the small dining table with a plate full of blueberry waffles on top.
It was her first day at Goode High School—a strange name, but she wasn't complaining. She thought that her life would somehow slowly go back to normal during her stay in that school. Unfortunately, Goode was only for high school students, so Dan had to be placed in a different school. Most of the middle schools Fiske looked at had a long wait list, so he still hadn't enrolled Dan. Of course, Dan was happy with this current arrangement, but Fiske said that if none of those schools he inquired in opened up, he would enroll him in the slightly expensive private school near Goode. A rain cloud followed Dan around the whole day.
Amy gulped down her orange juice after scarfing down the waffles. "Thanks, Nellie! I'm off to school now. Tell Uncle Fiske I said bye!"
"Good luck, kiddo! Have a nice first day!" Nellie called out as Amy walked hastily out of the apartment and down four flights of stairs.
She exited the building and walked to the nearby bus stop just as the yellow school bus slowed down and came to a full stop. The doors opened, and Amy hesitantly walked in. Even after all she's been through, she was still extremely nervous for her first day. She knew absolutely no one, and her social skills haven't improved so much. As she stared at all the new faces on the bus, her knees started shaking, and she was sure she would stutter if she ever said a word.
There weren't that many available seats left, so she tried choosing the seat with the nicest-looking person beside it, which happened to be a blonde girl looking out the window. As she took her seat, the bus began to move. The girl didn't seem to notice Amy beside her. After a couple of minutes of silence, the bus stopped in another neighborhood and more people got in.
"The architecture is amazing, isn't it?" The girl muttered. Amy jumped slightly at the broken silence.
The girl was looking at the Empire State Building that could be seen towering above the city. The clouds were covering the tip of the infrastructure. Amy did think it was a beautiful sight. "Uh, y-yeah," Amy stuttered. She looked down and silently cursed herself for still stuttering.
The girl faced Amy. "Hi, I'm Annabeth."
Amy stared at her. Her eyes were a startling gray. "A-Amy."
"Hi, Amy." Annabeth said. "So is it your first day at Goode?"
"Yes, it i-is." Amy took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "How about you? How long have you been here?"
"Oh, it's my first day too." Annabeth looked concernedly at Amy. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, yeah, I just—" Amy swallowed. "I have a fear of crowds."
Annabeth gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay. Everyone's afraid of something. I think enochlophobia's an acceptable fear, as far as phobias go. I believe it's like a combination of claustrophobia and glossophobia, because basically, you feel trapped and confined with people you don't want to talk to. Is that correct?" Amy just nodded. "I think it's better than having a fear like arachnephobia. I mean, it doesn't seem practical, and it's easier for people to prank you."
"You're afraid of spiders?" Amy asked, surprised that this athletic-looking girl could be afraid of tiny arachnids.
Annabeth sighed. "Yeah, it's pretty stupid, I know."
"N-no, no, like you said, everyone's afraid of something. And a lot of people have that fear." Amy said.
"Yeah, you're right." Annabeth smiled and looked out the window. "I think we're here."
The bus stopped in front of the building. All the students inside stepped out, including Amy and Annabeth. Before the last student could get out of the vehicle, however, a loud honk resounded from behind the bus. It made the students jump and back away from the bus. The student who was about to get out of the bus jumped out quickly. The bus driver honked back, cursed, then drove off. A limousine then replaced the bus. It stopped right in front of the bewildered students.
Annabeth tilted her head and muttered, "Is that Rachel?"
"Who?" Amy asked.
Before Annabeth could reply, a boy with caramel-colored skin and amber eyes emerged from the limo. He glared at the crowd in front of him, which caused the students to walk away from the scene, but when his amber eyes locked with a pair of jade ones, his demeanor faltered briefly.
That moment lasted for only a second, but Amy noticed it. She saw the slight joy and fear in his eyes. Somehow, that made her feel a little giddy. Ian Kabra was happy to see her. Yet he was also scared for some reason. He walked towards Amy and gave her a charming smile.
"Hello, love. It's been a while." he said with his silky British accent that gave Amy goosebumps.
"W-what are y-you doing here?" she demanded weakly.
"Natalie and I will be staying in America for a while. We came here for mum's . . ." he explained. "Well, let's just say she's having fun for now. Father is gone as well. I shall stay in school for as long as I can or until running my family's art dealership business becomes too troublesome." He explained.
"Where's Natalie?" Amy asked.
"I'm right here." Natalie Kabra stepped her designer shoe-clad feet onto the pavement and got out of the vehicle. "Hello there, Amy."
"H-hi, N-Natalie." Amy said.
Natalie tutted. "You still have that dreadful stutter? And your fashion sense still has not improved, I see. I thought with your million dollars, you would stop being so poor already. I don't usually offer shopping trips, but I think you're in desperate need for a makeover."
"Natalie," Ian scolded her sister. "I think you should get back inside the limo now. You wouldn't want to be late for school."
Natalie scowled and climbed inside the vehicle. "Fine. But honestly, I don't know what you see in her, brother. Nice to see you again, Amy. Ta-ta!"
The limousine drove off around the curb and out of sight. An awkward silence hung in the air until Annabeth cleared her throat. "Um, hi. I'm Annabeth."
Ian glanced at her and seemed slightly surprised that she was there. "Oh, hello." He extended his hand out to her. If she was a friend of Amy's he would want to get on her good side. "Ian Kabra. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
The bell rang to signal the start of the school day.
"I think we should go now." Annabeth suggested.
"Yeah, we should. Come on." Amy said, and the three of them walked briskly into the building.