PERCY'S POV
One thing about this Annabeth girl was that she sure wasn't going to go down easily. Apparently her father had had Chiron sign her up with a bodyguard without her assent. And now I looked like the bad guy.
Seeing that she was clearly losing the shouting match, she grunted and stormed off, giving me a glare. I sighed. This is going to be fun.
"Uh, sorry you had to see that Percy. My daughter and I…So I've vacated the room next to Annabeth's for you. It is luxurious enough for you, believe me. Whenever you're hungry, just call the cook through the telephone and he'll send up whatever you want through the dumb waiter. There are all sorts of entertainment for you here. If you have any problems, just come to my office."
"How long will this be?"
"Well…maybe a month. I am undertaking a project and I will be busy so hopefully…yeah."
"And you still won't tell us the reason why you want your daughter protected so badly that you sought help from a non-governmental intelligence company?"
Chiron played with the wheels of his wheelchair. I pretended not to notice his nervousness.
"I'm sorry, but no."
I shrugged. My own room, with 'all sorts' of entertainment, cooks who will serve me any dish I want, and I was pretty sure there was even a British butler hidden somewhere around the house. And all I had to do was protect the little heiress. A deal to die for, right?
Wrong. The moment I woke up, I was feeling groggy. Chiron told me I had to go to school with Annabeth as part of my contract. I had slept late the previous night, reading reports on her biotech billionaire father.
I took out my toothbrush and trudged to the nearest bathroom, still in my briefs. When I entered, my view was all foggy and it was warm, but I lazily made my way to the sink.
No sooner had I opened the taps than I heard the sound of curtains being pulled. Shit.
"Percy!" a shrill voice exclaimed; Annabeth.
By the time I turned around, luckily, she had grabbed a towel and covered herself. I closed my eyes, as if hoping that Annabeth would not notice my presence if I did so.
"Sorry, sorry." I sighed, "This is not how I wanted to introduce myself."
"This floor itself has six other bathrooms and you just happened to have come to the one where I was showering?" she wiggled a finger at me.
I threw my arms up in surrender. "It's not what you think. I just…you…it was the closest one around!" I said, doubting that she would believe me.
She looked at me up and down. Then she blushed. Suddenly, she held on to her towel tightly and defensively, but before she went, she said, "And put on a towel, for Pete's sake."
So much for first impression.
There was a silent agreement between the two of us to keep the bathroom incident to ourselves.
After changing to black pants, a V-neck muscle-fit T-shirt, a leather jacket and a pair of Vans, I met Annabeth on the driveway, to instruct her on the protocol.
"Okay, so part of my assignment is to protect you from any physical danger. This doesn't mean I'm going to be fighting your wars for you in school, mind you. And you don't need to act like someone's watching you, I can blend in. so I won't affect whatever you'll be doing. You do your thing, and I'll worry about any grenades or knives. Oh, and last and most important, the less people who know about me, the better."
Annabeth looked bored, "Sure."
Even though we were going to the same school, we used different means. Annabeth went in a chauffeured Rolls Royce while I rode in my classic black Harley-Davidson.
All eyes were on me when I rolled into the school premises. Apparently, not many guys owned motorbikes. Goode High School, was what was plastered on the face of the main block. Just as I was about to enter the conveniently placed parking space, some blonde jock with a convertible BMW rushed into it, almost hitting me in the process. Dicks.
Annabeth arrived a few minutes later and was already absorbed into her clique. Since it was the beginning of a new semester, I wasn't late for anything.
Step 1: Fit in
As I walked around studying the environment, I saw a kid about my age sitting by himself on the grass. He had shaggy hair and a goatee and wore a green shirt saying 'THE PEOTRY OF THE EARTH IS NEVER DEAD'. He also had a pair of crutches placed beside him. Don't be too noticeable Percy. I went and said hi. He told me he was called Grover. He said he was an environmentalist. I chucked my jacket and sat next to him. We slowly chatted till we became what you can call friends. No attachments Percy.
After a few minutes, a bell rang and, even though Grover had to use crutches, he was the one who lifted me up and insisted that we hurry back to class or else we'd be penalized. Before I entered the Math room, I shot a glimpse at Annabeth, who also turned and looked at me. Our gazes met for a few seconds, and then she turned again and strolled into the Physics room. That was awkward. She'll be okay, I said to myself.
But unfortunately, I was really good at losing my stuff. It wasn't until lunch break when I realized that I had misplaced my leather jacket. Grover and I returned to the spot where I had left it but it wasn't there. I was pissed off; I had put my ridiculously valuable phone in that jacket.
However, I assured Grover that it wasn't his fault. The poor kid was hyperventilating because he thought he was the one who made me forget my jacket. It was when we entered the lunch hall that I felt my luck was not as lousy as I thought. A girl was reading a novel which she had placed on top of my jacket on the table. She was relatively far away, but it was my favorite jacket, so I could notice it easily.
Grover followed my gaze and nudged me on the shoulder. "That's Calypso over there. One of the hottest girls in school, if you ask me. In the levels of girls like Annabeth over there. But she likes to be left alone…" Grover continued talking but all of a sudden I was mesmerized by the girl reading the novel.
She had hazel eyes, flowing black hair and dimples when she was reading. It was obvious she was trying to concentrate on her novel; by the way she was scrunching her nose and knitting her eyebrows. Before I knew it, I was walking towards her, leaving a mumbling Grover.
No attachments Percy. Shut up conscience. Percy… Conscience, if you had a face, I'd punch it right now. Percy Goddammit! You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Conscience,i f you're seeing the what I'm seeing, you'd say it's worth it.
She looked up and smiled. "I'm sorry. I was meaning to take this jacket to the Lost and Found office. Is it yours?"
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