Beep! Beep! Beep!
Annabeth groaned, reaching blindly toward her alarm clock until her fingers found and punched the off button. She desperately wanted to go back to sleep, having slept at about 1:00 A.M. last night, but she had school.
Ugh.
Forcing her limbs to move, the fifteen-year-old heaved herself out of bed, taking a moment to collect herself. Her eyes were bleary, and she guessed her curly blonde hair was an absolute rat's nest, but she just couldn't seem to gather enough energy to stand up. Maybe I should take just five more minutes...? she thought, the notion sounding extremely appealing. Yeah, I'll do that.
Annabeth was about to flop back onto the comfort of her bed when her eye noticed the time.
7:03 A.M.
The girl's light gray orbs widened as her brain processed the information. She'd overslept.
School was in thirty minutes.
"Shit!" Annabeth exclaimed, adrenaline surging through her body. Amazing how she could go from a bleary-eyed zombie to a rocket in the span of a second. Almost on their own accord, her legs leaped into action, and before she knew it, Annabeth was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth while frantically trying to scrub her face at the same time. It didn't exactly work out the way she'd planned, resulting in a drenched shirt, but she hardly noticed. If her father found out that she'd been late to school, she might as well dig her own grave and jump into it.
Faster than she'd known she could move, Annabeth was in her school uniform, which consisted of a burgundy shirt, a white jacket, and a pair of black pants. Most of the girls in her school wore skirts, but Annabeth had found out long ago that dresses didn't agree with her (long story). Grabbing a slice of bread, which was all time would allow, she grasped it between her teeth, swung her bag over her shoulder, and burst out the door, checking her watch.
7:13 A.M.
As expected, her dad was already out for work. Annabeth hardly saw him these days, because he left before she woke up and after she went to bed. For all she knew, he hadn't even come home yesterday and was on a business trip to the Bahamas.
Swinging herself onto her bike, Annabeth undid the lock securing it, set it on the road, and began pedaling like a madwoman. If cars honked at her, she didn't notice it. If a police car was chasing her for speeding, she didn't see it. It people cursed at her, she didn't hear it. Her body was focused on one command given by her brain, and one command only: Get your ass to school right now.
With a fair amount of colorful language, Annabeth pedaled into the school gates. Everyone else was already at their lockers or heading to classes. A few curious looks were thrown at her as she passed, but no one stopped or talked to her.
Reaching her own locker, Annabeth's fingers scrabbled at the lock, frantically trying to put in her combination. Unfortunately, her jittery nerves made her sloppy, and it took her three attempts to input the damn code. When her locker door finally swung open, the girl wasted no time, grabbed all of her textbooks, and raced as fast as she could possibly race to her class. As she slid into her seat and dumped her materials, the bell rang.
Thank God. Annabeth thought. Technically, she wasn't actually late, though there were a few snickers from the class. She ignored it. Fuck them.
(After school)
Finally! Annabeth mentally sighed with joy as the bell signaling the end of the day rang. It sounded like a call to heaven. Today was Friday, which meant she'd have to go to her self-defense class that her father insisted she take. Annabeth wasn't sure why, but she respected her father's decisions. Maybe it was her mother's will that she know some martial arts skills.
Her mother...
Annabeth barely remembered her mother. She barely recalled what she looked like, and her father refused to say. He'd changes when her mother had died, that much she did remember. When his wife had been alive, Thomas Blackburn had been, with his family, a gentle, happy, loving man. After her death...it was as if all love was frozen from his heart forever, turning him bitter and cold.
What Annabeth did remember only made her more frustrated. She knew that her mother had blonde hair like hers, though her eyes had been a gentle chocolate brown, not shades of gray like Annabeth's. She remembered that she'd been kind and friendly and upbeat, even when things were looking down. Even when she was dying.
Most of all, though...
She remembered those words that her mother would say to her over and over and over again.
Don't let anyone push you around. Don't let anyone tell you what to do. And above all, don't ever let anyone own you.
Those words were Annabeth's core. She'd built herself, her life, around them, based on them. No one, nothing, was ever going own her. She was herself. Her own person. Her own property. No one was going to treat her like their pet, because she wouldn't let them. She absolutely would not allow it.
Storing the wayward thoughts at the back of her mind, Annabeth grabbed her bag and headed out of the classroom with a polite, "Have a good day," to her teacher, Mrs. Jones. Her self-defense class was in thirty minutes, so she'd have to get going straight away.
"Annabeth!"
Startled, Annabeth turned. Standing behind her was her friend best Emily. "Oh, hey there, Em." she greeted. "What's up?"
"Not much," Emily replied, flipping her perfectly combed hair over her shoulder. "I just wanted to invite you to this party we're having. Sorry for the short notice."
"Party?" Annabeth was intrigued. She hardly ever went to parties, because she normally had too much to do, taking care of herself in her father's absence. But today was one of those rare occasions where teachers cut them some slack, because summer was approaching in two weeks. "When is it?" she asked.
"It starts at five-thirty." Emily replied. "Can you come?"
Annabeth smiled. Her class ended at five. "Where's it gonna be held?"
"At the YMCA near the school."
"Oh yeah. I can come then."
Emily's face brightened. "Really? Awesome!" she crowed. "Maybe we'll meet some hot guys there!"
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth faked a snort. "Of course, all you think about is the guys, Em." she laughed.
Said girl mimed a pout, shoving Annabeth playfully. "I do not!"
Annabeth grinned. "Face it, you do."
"Okay, fine. Maybe I do." Emily relented with a smile. "Anyways, see ya at the party, girl."
"See you."
As Emily bounced away, Annabeth turned to her locker, got her materials, and left the school. Though summer was fast approaching, today's weather seemed particularly breezy, not that Annabeth minded it. She loved the cooler weather, and intense heat drove her batshit crazy.
Jumping on her bike, Annabeth took off once again, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair. Her bike had been a birthday present from her father when she was fourteen, and it was probably one of the only things she'd gotten from him. Annabeth had learned not to ask for much when it came to her father. She just had to be grateful for what she had, Annabeth thought as she peddled past a bench.
The teenager was so engrossed that she didn't notice a tall figure in a white hoodie with the hood pulled tight over his head, obscuring his features sitting on the bench. As she zipped by on her bike, the figure tilted his head up slightly to watch her, a maniacal grin forming on his face.
"Hello there, dollface."
And there's everyone's favorite psycho killer.
That was terrible, wasn't it? I know it was terrible.
Thanks for reading, and see you guys soon! ^^
