I don't own The Percy Jackson series.

Rachel

Being the oracle isn't easy- but nobody had said that it would be. I mean, I knew what happened to Luke's mom. I knew that I could be rejected, or worse, that I wouldn't be. It's not too bad, and living in a cave during breaks from school is actually quite cool. But school? That's a whole different kettle of fish. My point is, if you think that being a high school student is hard then you should try being the Oracle of Delphi at Goode High.

I'm always panicking that I'm going to start spouting a prophecy in the middle of math class. So being on a reality show would probably heighten that fear, right?

Wrong.

If I start talking about demigods or the Minotaur when the cameras are on me, then I can easily lie and say it was just for good television. I'll be a hero, MTV will love me, and my dad won't send me back to Clarion. I barely managed to talk him out of it after that first awful month.

"So what do you think they'll ask you?" Annabeth asked, tapping the steering wheel of her car as we waited for the stop light to change.

"I have no idea. What classes I take? Clubs? If I have anger issues? Your guess is as good as mine." I shrugged as Annabeth accelerated. A few minutes later, we turned into the school parking lot.

"They probably want to find out if you're worth filming." Annabeth said. I was a little early, so we discussed it for a while.

"Just mention your dad." She suggested. "They'll definitely put you in if they know your rich."

"How come?" I laughed. It was weird- ever since I became the oracle, Annabeth seemed to like me a whole lot more. She totally didn't have to know that I kissed Percy- or that I enjoyed it.

"The rich girl is always a crazy psychopath." Annabeth grinned. Her phone started ringing, and she offered me an apologetic smile before answering it.

"Hey Seaweed Brain…Yeah. That sounds good." She spoke into it.

"See you later." I mouthed at her, and got out the car.

The school's auditorium wasn't too big, and the red cushioned seats were spilling their insides where bored students had picked at them.

"Dare!" Jason yelled from across the room. He was stood leaning against the wall with the Stoll brothers. I made my way over with a smile and stood with them. Thalia was stood on the stage while a dark haired man and a redheaded woman wearing headsets pointed at her and talked quietly. There must have been a hundred kids sitting in the seats around us.

"Have they asked her anything yet?" I asked, but Jason shook his head.

"No. She's the first one to go, so I'm not really sure what they want to know."

"Thalia Grace." The women smiled sunnily at her.

"It's just Thalia." Thalia responded automatically.

"Right. Okay." The woman jotted something down. "I'm Daphne, and this is Sam. We're from MTV and we want to see who we're going to have as our main features. We're looking for around seven people. I must say, that's a rather interesting style you have there. I like it."

Thalia looked down at her outfit. She wore black jeans that were so shredded it looked like she'd been in a fight with a chimera. Her t-shirt was bright red with a black Nirvana smiley face on it splashed across it like it had been spray painted on.

"Thanks." She shrugged.

"So Thalia, tell us a bit about your personality." Sam smiled at her encouragingly.

"Well, I'm not exactly one of those girls that gushes about boys, or fashion, or going to prom. I'm pretty rebellious, and I like to let my wild side show. I don't take shit from anybody, and people tend not to give me any because they know I'd kick their asses." Thalia grinned.

"Good, good. What about school life? Take any weird clubs or classes? Relatives? Age?" Daphne asked without looking up from the notepad she was writing in.

"I'm a senior. My brother Jason is a sophomore, he's stood over there." She pointed Jason out, and he grinned at the MTV workers. "I'm on the school archery team, but that's not really that weird."

"Alrighty then, thanks Thalia." Sam shot her a thumbs up as she walked off the stage and back towards us.

"That was great, they'll definitely want you." I said as the Stoll brothers clapped her on the shoulder. About twenty minutes later, Travis' name was called.

"I'm Travis." He grinned, oozing charm. "My twin and I are probably the most hilarious juniors you'll ever meet. This one time, we put a hedgehog in Miss Crawley's desk drawer. She totally put her hand straight on it and cried. It was classic."

Travis continued to woo the two execs and make them laugh with his and Conner's funny stories. By the time they called 'next', I was certain that he'd won a place for both him and his brother. In fact, as the hours trailed by I wondered if they were even going to bother calling Connor up at all.

"Jason Grace!"

"Wish me luck." He murmured, and we whispered encouragements as made his way forward.

"My name's Jason." He told them. "I'm a sophomore, as Thalia told you. I like to lead people. I'm compassionate, but I'm really self-critical. I care a lot about my friends, so you'll often see me with them."

"Thank you, Jason. Next!"

I waited and waited for my audition, but the fates must hate me. Out of all those kids in there it seemed like I was doomed to be the last one to go up onto the stage.

"Who do you think's gonna get a place?" Thalia asked, playing with the silver chain around her neck.

"Nobody's more interesting that us." Connor grinned and fist bumped Travis.

"Idiot." Thalia rolled her eyes. "Who else?"

"I think Lauren's in with a good shot." Jason said thoughtfully, and subtly pointed her out. Lauren was like a child's dress up doll- she wore flowing dresses and red lipstick that went well with her wavy dark hair. We didn't really know her that well, but she didn't seem too nice. She was a rich girl, and when she auditioned she had promised a lot of cat fights, parties and bitching.

"What about Alex? They love a jock." Thalia nodded in the direction of the captain of the football team. He had dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes- I was willing to admit that he was attractive but after sitting behind him in French for the last few months, I could accurately conclude that he was the dullest guy I'd ever met in my whole life. And that's including previous oracle lives.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare!"

Finally. We'd been hanging around here for four hours, and I was the very last name to be called.

"We've pretty much filled all the spaces but one." Daphne lipsticked a smile at me. "So impress us, and you could be in with a shot. No promises!"

"Okay, so my name's Rachel. My father runs Dare Enterprises-"

"I've heard of that! It's malls and stuff, right?" Sam interrupted.

"Right. I'm pretty relaxed and easy going, but I know what makes good television and-"

Daphne waved a hand at me to stop. Glancing up, I realized what the two of them were looking for.

"Um, sorry." Annabeth had come crashing through the auditorium doors. "It's pull, right? I thought it was push."

"Her!" Daphne yelled, pointing straight at Annabeth. "She's the one!"

"I agree." Sam grinned. "Come here!"

I watched with my jaw dropped as Annabeth awkwardly made her way down to the MTV execs.

"Have you come to audition?" Daphne asked excitedly.

"Um, no. I'm just here to pick up my friend and-"

"Tell us about yourself!" Sam demanded.

"Okay…I'm Annabeth Chase. I go to Goode. Um, I'm an honours student. I like architecture and-"

"Perfect! Just perfect! You've got the look darling!" Daphne squealed.

"You're done, sweetheart." Sam said without looking up from his notepad. It took a while before I realized he was talking to me. Still in shock, I slowly made my way off the stage. Jason shot me a sympathetic look, but my brain still hadn't processed it properly.

"The final list is ready!" Sam announced to the waiting students. "It really didn't take long to deliberate. Features have been awarded to Thalia Grace, Lauren Walker, Travis Stoll, Alex Mason, Connor Stoll, Caitlyn Fencer and Annabeth Chase!"

Thalia and the Stolls ran over to Annabeth to celebrate as all the other students groaned.

"Sucks, right?" Jason asked as he leaned against the wall. I could tell it didn't really bother him though- he was happy for his sister. I, however, had really wanted a place.

"Yeah." I muttered, kicking at an empty can. "Sucks."