[A/N] Hey guys! Sorry for updating so late, I have been working on my other story, The Princess And Her Serpent. Hope you guys read and review for both stories! I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does and hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2
Annabeth's heart skipped so many beats that she thought her might stop beating and she might fall to the floor any second as she walked in.
Five pairs of eyes were focused on her and her every step. Their faces showed pity, worry or otherwise in Chiron's case, no emotion whatsoever. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of her face, forming a single rivulet that glistened in the light. There was absolute silence and the only thing that broke it was the sound of Annabeth's shoes connecting with the hard, wooden floor.
When she finally stopped in the space that was supposed to be hers, Chiron gestured for her to move even more forward. She took one step.
Then another. And another.
Until she was standing right in front of his desk and should she have moved any closer, she would have bumped into the desk and possibly fallen down. The ticking of the grandfather clock at the side of the room signalled that time was still moving, even if he room's inhabitants were not.
After what seemed like an eternity, Chiron opened his mouth to speak as Annabeth braced herself for the worst. "Welcome Ms Chase. It is an honour to have you with us." Oh well, she might as well high-tail it out of there now to save her from the embarrassment and- wait. Did he just say what she thought he did?
Chiron noticed her expression as it changed from self-berating to confusion in the mere span of half a minute. Chiron chuckled and smiled, much to the surprise of the five girls. "This hospital is not a normal one as it caters to special ah, 'disabilities' you might say. And when I mean special, I mean the one-in-a-million kind. As far as we know, there is no other hospital like this. In fact, I myself used to be a patient here and one of the powers I have is to see people's true character."
Seeing that his explanation made no sense to the girls as they tried to fit the pieces together to try and fit it into the recent happenings. Some of them even tried to look like it was perfectly normal that they heard such peculiar explanations every day.
Chiron sighed. Those five girls standing in front of him had so much potential but also had a very long way to go.
"What I mean is that this hospital caters to the supernatural. Any one of you who feels freaked right now may leave." All five girls looked nervously at each other but decided to stay with steely determination in their eyes.
Chiron smiled a genuine smile. Something he had not done in a long, long time. "Ok, you have all passed the first test and that was a good thing, considering I would have had to erase your memory should you have refused." The girl on her right gasped.
"Yes, Juniper. We can and we would do that. This is, after all, a hospital. Anyway, you five will be attending to five special patients on the seventh floor. Each one of you will be a personal nurse to one of them but you may help with the others should you choose to or if they are absent. However, your patient will be your primary concern. You will have a one-week trial and that will be your second test. You may be fired at any time but only by me.
"Each patient's behaviour will be colour coded. The information will be in the guidebook I will hand out to you." He shuffled some papers on his desk and Annabeth realised just how messy the office was. Papers were scattered all over the desk and some were even on the floor and the only neat things were the stacks of papers he handed to the five of them. He should really get that receptionist up here.
They were each given a guidebook, a file and a card. Chiron continued, "I trust that the receptionist, Angela, gave you a silver card with the letter 'G' stamped on it? Yes? Good. Those cards are for guests and can only access this floor and the first. There are five levels of access cards in this hospital.
"The lowest is the guest cards, of course. Then there is the card for all the nurses and doctors tending to normal patients which is from levels two to six and the twelfth level which has the canteen and things for the staff. The next is the one I am about to give you. It is able to reach all levels from ten and below. The second best is the one I have which lets me go to any level in the building. And as for the best one… there are only twelve… so you do not need to know about those."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Just another thing to add to her suspicions. As she examined her card, she noticed that in contrast to the previous card, this one had a golden "S" in a circle instead of the "G".
Chiron continued, "All particulars of your patient will be in those files, but since you will be working closely with each other, I will give you five minutes to mingle before we head up to meet your patients. Also from now on, I expect you to be punctual from now on." He finished off with a warning glance at Annabeth. Annabeth felt her cheeks flush as she hung her head to avoid the other stares and Chiron's warm gaze.
Almost immediately, Thalia broke away from her place in line and ran in front of Annabeth, her electrifying blue eyes ablaze.
"Annabeth! I thought you were smart! And being fifteen minutes late on your first day is hardly a first good impression! If you were let go then, I would probably have never lasted for an hour even." She whined.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. Her best friend could be such a drama queen sometimes. The other three girls watched in interest, obviously not expecting this turn of events.
Annabeth noticed all the other girls and decided that she did not want to start off on the wrong foot with them. Sticking out her hand, she smiled and said, "Hi. My name is Annabeth Chase. It's nice to meet you." And with that, the five girls exploded into chatter with introductions. Annabeth's smile grew wider. She had finally done something right.
The five girls took turns introducing themselves with Annabeth going first. The information went something like this:
Name: Annabeth Chase
Age: 16
Fave hobby: Reading and designing buildings
Fave colour: Grey and green
Dream job: Architect
Why you chose this internship: Easy commute, likes to care for others, best friend and her mutually decided, more like Thalia begged her
Name: Thalia Grace
Fave hobby: Mixing music, listening to Green Day and Linkin Park, as well as hunting
Fave colour: Black
Dream job: Radio DJ
Why you chose this internship: No idea
Name: Rachel Elizabeth Dare
Fave hobby: Painting, drawing and helping the community
Fave colour: Blue
Dream job: Artist
Why you chose this internship: Wants to help people
Name: Katie Gardener
Fave hobby: Gardening (not related to her last name)
Fave colour: Yellow and green
Dream job: Florist, horticulturist, or anything related to plants
Why you chose this internship: People need care like flowers so it will be a good experience
Name: Juniper Green
Fave hobby: Going to nature rallies
Fave colour: Green and brown
Dream job: An ecological scientist
Why you chose this internship: Wants to try and help understand and relate people
Those introductions seemed to shatter the ice as the gaggle of girls started chatting like there was no tomorrow. Chiron smiled. He was glad that they had clicked so well, unlike the previous hew batches. His expression darkened for a few seconds but he quickly wiped it off of his face. Luckily, none of the girls noticed.
Or so he thought. Annabeth had caught that look on his face. Something was up, she just did not have enough evidence yet. She needed to do more digging.
Chiron had to clap his hands together to get the girls' attention. Clearing his throat, He said, "Come on girls, we don't have all day."
The chatter stopped almost immediately as Rachel curiously asked what else they had to do for the rest of the day. Chiron smiled at her endearing curiosity and said, "We shall get to that later. For now, we have to do one of the most important things. One that might help shape your process in this internship." The tension in the room started to reach new heights as they awaited Chiron's answer.
"You are going to meet your patients for the first time."
END OF CHAPTER
