Disclaimer: I do not own PJO! This chapter is longer than the last one, and from Annabeth's point of view. I will switch around every once in a while. The description of Silena is one of many descriptions, but I chose the one from The Ultimate Guide, so sorry if you're disappointed. Thanks to booklover484 for being my first reviewer!
Chapter Two: The Beauty
You are the only exception, you are the only exception, you are the only exception.
I grab my phone, happy to wake up to my favorite song by Paramore. I flip open my phone and the first thing I hear are my best friends Silena Beauregard, Thalia Grace, and Juniper Woods.
"OMG Annabeth! Have you heard?" they all scream and add squeals to the end of their sentences.
"Good morning to you, too. Have I heard what?" I ask groggily as I get up to get dressed.=
"About Prince Percy!" they squeal once again. I hold my phone away from my ear to keep myself from going deaf.
"Ouch! What about him?" I say as I pick out my favorite outfit to start off the week. A short sleeve, yellow, flowing top that brings out my eyes paired with my white skinny jeans and white and green plaid Vans.
"He broke up with Princess Rachel!" they scream. I sigh as I walk to my bathroom to finish getting ready.
"And this is news because…" I pause at the end of my sentence.
"HE'S SINGLE!" they yell and squeal.
"Who cares?" I say with an exasperated tone. I'm tired of every single girl obsessing over Prince Percy. He's cute, yes, but to me he is just another spoiled Prince who likes attention, even though I have never met him.
"Every single girl in Atlantis! Well, except YOU!" Silena says, finally calming down, but emphasizing the word "you".
"Of course I don't care. He's just a spoiled brat. Anyway, I have to go if I want to make it to school on time," I say while trying to tame my curly honey blonde hair.
"Whatever. Before you know it, Annabeth Chase, you will be under the spell of Prince Perseus Orion Jackson," says Juniper.
"More like a curse," I grumble.
"See you later. Bye," I say.
My hair finally under control, I look at myself in the mirror. The honey blonde hair curled like a princess's flows down and stops midway down my back. I see my luscious, pink lips and high cheekbones. My curvy, athletic figure is more noticeable with my outfit. The splash of freckles across my tan nose and yellow shirt bring out my grey eyes. I have always considered myself pretty, but not as beautiful as my three closest friends, even though they tell me otherwise.
Silena has long, golden hair that flows all the way down to the end of her back. She has long eyelashes and naturally luscious red lips. Her eyes seem to change every day from green to blue. Her heart-shaped face is complimented by her pearly white smile. She is slim and an average height for a 17 year old teenager.
Thalia is a punk beauty. She has spiky jet-black hair and an athletic figure. Her long face and black clothes are overlooked when someone sees her eyes. They are piercing blue and look like sapphires. She is the tallest of our group of four and is clever, along with being independent. Silena on the other hand, is the girly-girl who likes to fawn over boys and go shopping.
Juniper has wispy hair the color of amber and pretty green eyes. She loves the environment, and will do anything to protect it. We call her fun-sized because of how short she is, but she is still very beautiful. The only thing that the three girls have in common is obsessing over Prince Percy, like every other girl in Atlantis.
Once I'm finished applying my small amount of mascara and pale pink lip gloss, I head downstairs to greet my brothers, Matthew and Bobby, my dad Frederick, and my step-mom.
"Morning," I say as I pour myself a bowl of my favorite cereal, Frosted Flakes.
"And how did my gorgeous 17 year old daughter sleep last night?" my dad asks with a smile, looking up from his newspaper at our kitchen table. Ever since he got re-married to my step-mom, he has been much happier.
My mom, Minerva, died giving birth to me and my father was devastated. But, when he met my step-mom, he was immediately happier and so was I. She is the mother that I always dreamed of when I was a little girl.
"Perfectly fine dad. Thanks," I reply with a laugh. I can hear Matthew and Bobby chattering away and then my step-mom walks in with my brothers wearing an elegant white-button blouse with a gray pencil skirt and black heels. Her brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she is carrying a black tote bag. My step-mom works in the palace as one of the many assistants that deliver messages and take calls for the royal family. All those of her profession dress like this.
"Hi honey. Hi sweetie," she says while pausing to give my dad a kiss.
"Hi mom," I say. "Well I have to go. I'll see you after school,"
I ruffle my brother's hair. I then grab by book bag and car keys. I walk into our garage and slide into the driver's seat of my Blue Honda Civic. I press the button on my control pad to open the garage and back out onto the street leading to my school. Goode High School is said to be the best public school in New York.
When I park in my usual spot at my school, Silena, Thalia, and Juniper see my car and come running to me. What's with girls and boys? I ask myself.
"Finally! You're here! Let's go inside!" says Silena. I laugh at her eagerness. Thalia and Juniper each grab one of my arms and drag me through the halls of our big high school to get to our lockers. As I'm being dragged, I hear the same thing being said by every single girl we pass.
"Prince Percy… single… I hope he comes to our school… EEEEK!" the girls say. I flinch whenever the girls shriek. When we get to our lockers, I finally realize how much Prince Percy means to these lovesick girls.
"I guess Prince Percy being single really is a big deal, huh?" I ask, almost with a hint of guilt in my voice. Almost.
"The brilliant Annabeth has finally figured out the easiest problem in history. But yes, this is MAJOR!" Thalia says with a twinkle in her eyes. She seems so different than her usual tough self.
"It just seems stupid to obsess over a boy they don't even know," I say as I put some of my books in my locker.
"You have a point," they say at the same time.
"See? Anyway, let's forget about it. Besides, Silena, I see someone coming that I know you know," I say with a smug grin on my face.
Thalia, Juniper, and Silena turn around to see the boy Silena has liked since the sixth grade, Charles Beckendorf. Nobody is allowed to call him Charles, only Beckendorf, but Silena still calls him Charles and he doesn't seem to mind.
"Hi Silena," Beckendorf says, looking awkward.
"Hi Charles," Silena almost squeaks and then starts blushing.
"I-I was wondering, uh, if you would, um, go on a d-date with me S-Saturday night," he stutters, blushing alongside with Silena. Silena looks as if Prince Percy just asked her to marry him. A mixture of joy and shock spreads onto her face.
"O-Of course!" she says, putting on a dazzling smile while I smile and roll my eyes.
"Okay… well… I'll… uh… see you later… I guess," he says. Before he leaves, he surprises all four of us by giving her a kiss, and then running away. Silena is blushes and smiles fiercely.
"I cannot believe I just got my first kiss," she says in a small voice.
"Me neither. Well, now I'm the only one left," I say as the bell rings for our first class. Thalia had her first kiss a month ago with Nico Di Angelo who has secretly had a crush on her since the seventh grade. Juniper had her first kiss a year ago with Grover Underwood, another nature freak. Those two boys happen to be the best friends of Prince Percy, along with Beckendorf. I myself have never been kissed, but many have tried.
Juniper, Thalia, Silena, and I walk to our least favorite subject, Math, taught by the dull Mrs. Dodds. We survive through her endless lectures and our next period, Science, with the loud and enthusiastic Mr. Decker. Social Studies with Mr. Kringle passes in a blur. When lunch comes, I can still hear the shrill and excited squeals of girls throughout the cafeteria as they talk about the newly single Prince Percy. Even though Silena, Thalia, and Juniper are not part of the groups of girls looking through magazines for the details of Percy and Rachel's breakup -who knows how they got the magazines so fast- I can tell they want to be.
"Just go," I say to their anxious faces.
"Thank you!" they screech. Ouch I think while flinching. No wonder boys find us annoying. I look at Thalia, Juniper, and Silena and wonder what it's like to be in their shoes. It must be exciting, but my little brothers and my fantasy books are all the excitement I need right now I reassure myself. Study hall is our next period. I spend it finishing my project for Greek Mythology while every other girl spends it surfing the internet for more information on the one and only Prince Percy. Sixth period is my favorite period, Greek Mythology with Mr. Brunner. I didn't except it to be the place where I found the worst possible news of my life, but for other girls it was the greatest opportunity of a lifetime.
"Okay kids, for the first 20 minutes of class you are to read a book," says Mr. Brunner. A collective groan spreads throughout some of my classmates, but I'm excited and take out my newest addition to the Annabeth Chase library: Beautiful Creatures.
Mr. Brunner winks at me and I smile back. After the first ten minutes of class pass by, there is a knock at the door, but I'm too absorbed in my book to notice. Everyone else turns their heads to see who it is, but mine stays down, until I hear Mr. Brunner arguing with whoever is at the door. I finally tear my head away from my book and the person I see at the door is someone I know for sure doesn't work at our school.
The woman is wearing an elegant white, button-up blouse with a gray pencil skirt and black heels. She's carrying a clipboard. She is shockingly beautiful with her dark brown, wavy hair pulled up in a ponytail and her green eyes that look like the sea, but slightly sad. Every boy in the class is drooling over her; their mouths are shaped like an 'O'. She must be an assistant from the palace.
"This is ridiculous!" yells Mr. Brunner to the mysterious woman.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it is Queen Sally and King Paul's orders," says the woman. A look of sadness flashes across her face, matching the look in her eyes.
"Alright, then. Choose away," Mr. Brunner says, gesturing his hand around the classroom. What does he mean by choose away? I wonder. The woman points to several girls in the class, and I notice that I am one of them. Mr. Brunner then turns to the class and says,
"Girls, if I call out your name, please stand and follow Mrs. Back out into the hallway please. Katie Gardner, Piper Mclean, Silena Beauregard, Thalia Grace, Juniper Woods, and Annabeth Chase," Mr. Brunner says, but cringes as if he is in pain.
I look at the all of the girls throughout the class, and notice that the only most attractive were chosen. Is this some kind of beauty pageant? Ms. Back motions for us to follow her outside into the hallway.
Once outside, I see many more attractive senior girls come out of the other classrooms with women wearing the exact same thing as Ms. Back. I even spot my step-mom and wave to her. She doesn't wave back. An older woman urges us to quiet down and then says,
"I am sure you young ladies have heard of the recent breakup of Prince Percy and Princess Rachel," she says with a warm smile and girls squeal in delight. I feel hands grab both of my arms and turn to see Juniper, Silena, and Thalia at my sides.
The woman continues, "Since this unfortunate event has taken place, King Paul and Queen Sally have found a solution to find the Prince a match. All of you lucky ladies will be trained as princesses for six months. Percy will then meet with all of you individually and decide which one of you will stay for six more months. If he is still fond of you by the end of that time period, the lucky young woman will become his wife," she says proudly.
Girls scream and jump on their feet at the idea of becoming Prince Percy's wife, but I stay silent and think about how much I hate the prince already.
A/N: Well I hoped you liked this next chapter. I will try to update soon and the only thing you need to is review!