A/N: Hey guys, *sweats nervously.* I'm really sorry for the long hiatus, it's completely unacceptable. Lately I have had A LOT going on, and I've had some serious writer's block. I have exams coming up and I'm taking the hardest courses possible so it's really overwhelming. I have swimming every day/night (twice on Tuesdays!) for two hours per practice. On top of that I'm applying to this really prestigious independent school that is only accepting one girl. (I'm starting late). Everything is so hectic I haven't had the time to write. I promised I wouldn't stop writing, and I have the next couple of chapters written so I can update consistently for a little while. Again I apologise, and I will try to be better with updating. Without further adue here is chapter two! Haha that kind of rhymes. Also I'm still looking for a beta if anyone is interested!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series or any of the characters. The only thing I own is the plot to this story.
I slide into my seat just as the last bell rings, signaling that classes have started. I exhale in relief over the fact that I won't receive a tardy slip, but my relaxation is short lived as I look to see who is in my first class.
I scowl on the inside as I see the familiar unruly black hair to my right. Thankfully Jackson hasn't noticed me, his gaze focusing intently on the piece of paper on his desk. I resist the urge to look over, probably just information about some party that he's debating crashing.
Our teacher turns from the blackboard, the wheels of his wheelchair squeaking against the tile floor. A small smile graces my lips as I see that Mr. Brunner is my teacher. Everyone else looks pretty to happen, after all he's known as one of the best teachers at Goode.
I first met Mr. Brunner in freshman year, when I was new and friendless. He took me under his wing of sorts, and on several occasions opened his classroom during lunch so I would have a place to eat. Nearly every year during my high school experience I've been lucky enough to be one of his students, and now I'm in his famous English class.
Mr. Brunner clears his throat, and the quiet chatting comes to a halt. It's a rare thing that a high school teacher can command the attention of an entire class; Mr. Brunner does it effortlessly.
"Welcome to English 101, I'm your teacher Mr. Brunner. If you seem to be in the wrong class there's the door, please leave and um… don't come back."
The class laughs at this, several students looking around to see if anyone is in fact in the wrong class. Mr. Brunner has began every first day of class with this exact statement since Travis Stoll accidently sat in on his class for two weeks thinking it was an Ancient History course.
The laughter dies down after a couple of minutes, Mr. Brunner drumming his calloused fingers on the wheel of his chair absentmindedly. He claps his hands together, smiling warmly at the class.
"Now that we've got that out of the way, I'll call attendance, then we can get into today's topic."
Mr. Brunner begins to rattle off names, and I stare at the clock until I hear my name called.
"Here," I say, my gaze not straying from the timepiece.
Beside me I hear someone chuckle under their breath. Jackson. I turn to face him, my eyes narrowing at the sight of him. He sits draped lazily over his desk, the plastic chair seeming dwarfing compared to him. His fingers fiddle with an uncapped blue pen, and it catches my eye as he twirls it idly. He notices this and immediately stops, dropping it onto the desk. He looks over at me, smirking at my displeasure. He holds my gaze, and we stare at each other as Mr. Brunner continues to give the roll call. Percy breaks our staring contest of sorts and turns to face the front as Mr. Brunner calls his name.
"Yeah," he says deeply, his voice smoky. Behind me I think I hear someone swoon. Lovely. I choose to block out Jackson for the rest of the class, turning my attention to Mr. Brunner as he explains the class outline and expectations.
"... thirty percent of your total mark will be made up from partner and group work. You and your partner will each be scored equally however I will be monitoring the groups to ensure that the contribution of both parties is as equal as circumstances will allow…"
I tune back out, not particularly caring how my mark is made up. Not to be cocky or anything but I'm pretty sure I will do well in this class regardless of my attention to the marking makeup. First classes are always a bore, but soon enough Brunner's classes will be much more interesting.
Class progresses at a sluggish rate and I take to doodling along the margins of my notebook. Just as I finish putting the finishing touches on a sketch of Big Ben I feel a jab in my ribs. I look to my left, my blonde braid making a wide arc before settling on my opposite shoulder. Jackson looks at the board, pretending to pay attention to the lesson. His act looks convincing, his pen poised in his hands ready to take notes, his brow furrowed in concentration. If it weren't for the small smile that he fails to conceal I probably wouldn't have suspected that he was the one to poke me. That and Percy Jackson never takes notes.
I lean towards Percy so that I am close enough for him to hear me.
'What do you want?" I hiss at him. He takes no notice of me, still pretending to be paying attention. I let out an exasperating sigh. God he's so infuriating sometimes.
"Jackson I know you poked me, and I know you'd sooner be eaten by wolves than actually pay attention in a class other than Sex Ed. I will say it again incase your massive ego blocked you from hearing what I said the first time. What. Do. You. Want?"
Percy's smile grows, and he turns to me, his eyebrows raised as though he has no idea what I'm talking about. I roll my eyes, remembering that me being frazzled is exactly what he wants.
"Fine if you don't want to talk that works for me. In fact if you could please refrain from talking to me for-"
I'm cut off by Mr. Brunner calling my name.
"Miss Chase would you care to enlighten the rest of the class as to what you and Mr. Jackson were discussing?"
Jackson smiles as my cheeks become pink about being called out in front of the class. I open my mouth, but for a second nothing comes out as I try to think of something to say.
"I was just confirming with Percy that he understood the course material. He can be a little slow sometimes. Intellectually I mean."
Behind me someone coughs in a futile attempt to conceal laughter, and I turn to Mr. Brunner who smiles. What is my teacher thinking?
"How very kind of you Miss Chase. Since you seem to care for Mr. Jackson's understanding so much why don't the two of you be partners for the next project?"
This time no one conceals their laughter, as the entire class erupts. Surely he must be joking, Mr. Brunner knows as well as anyone that Percy and I should never work together.
My eyes widen, and I open my mouth to protest,
"Mr. Bruner I don't-," I'm cut off as Percy speaks up.
"I think that would be an excellent idea Mr. Brunner, since according to Annabeth I am quite slow. Intellectually I mean." I exhale in amusement at his comment. Then Percy leans back and in a low voice so that only I can hear, he says,
"And who knows. Maybe once we finish we can do some other, more intimate things." He smirks at me, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
My chest tightens, and I feel my face heating up for what feels like the thousandth time today.
"In your dreams Jackson," I mutter to him.
"Exactly."
He winks at me, before leaning forward and uncapping his pen. I sink back in my seat, hoping that I can maintain a low profile for the rest of class.
Later on Mr. Brunner comes around handing out paper for us to give a short response on our summer reading. When he hands me my sheet he smiles knowingly, and I sink lower into my chair.
Perhaps if I sink low enough I can disappear completely. If I have to sit through this class much longer I might die of embarrassment, god knows what Mr. Brunner must think of me after Jackson's and my interaction.
The bell rings and I practically jump out of my seat. I grab my things and rush out of the classroom, Percy is just ahead of me. As he exits the class he turns the corner, but I grab his arm stopping me. He turns around angrily, but once he sees who it is he smirks. I let out a huff of exasperation.
"What the hell was that Jackson?" I question angrily.
"What the hell was what?" He replied arrogantly.
My eyebrows knit in annoyance. This boy will be the death of me.
"If it wasn't for you poking me and talking in class we wouldn't be partners."
"Oh come on Chase, you were talking to me. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were looking for any excuse to be partners with me. Not that I can blame you though."
My eyes narrow, my cheeks flushing from anger. I walk a dangerous line with Jackson, constantly swaying between fighting and flirting. He towers over me, overpowering me in every way physically, yet I don't fear him. I know he won't hurt me, whether it be because of the unspoken rule between us or the shred of morality that I believe has to be buried under layers of arrogance and narcissism. So I continue to taunt him, bait him into arguing with me. I've realized I can't ignore him, because I like to argue with him. So many people tiptoe around your feelings, trying not to hurt you. Not Jackson. He doesn't pretend to be anything but what he is, a narcissistic asshole who doesn't care for anyone except himself. He doesn't treat me like I'm breakable, he doesn't take my feelings into consideration, and as twisted as it is, I like it. I know deep down that I can never cut Jackson out of my life completely, partly because someone like Percy Jackson is unavoidable, and partly because even if I could I wouldn't want to. I know this deep down, but that doesn't stop me from telling him what I'm about to say.
"Listen Jackson, I know you have this idea that I enjoy your company or am actually attracted to you, but I. Am. Not. I detest you with every fibre of my being and everytime I'm around you I am miserable. From now on don't talk to me, or interact with me in any way. You carry on with your life and I'll carry on with mine. Okay?"
If I've upset Percy he shows know sign of it. He just stares at me, his expression stone cold. Good, I could care less about him. His eyes flicker to his arm, which I am still holding onto. I hastily retract my hand, and I see I've left a red shaped hand mark from squeezing it so hard. I hadn't even noticed.
We stand in silence, and once it comes apparent to me that he isn't going to say anything I turn around, my blood pulsing through my veins with anger.
The hall begins to fill up and I push my way past a couple groping each other.
"Chase," Jackson calls from behind me, and I stop though I don't turn around. "You can't avoid me, after all we're English partners." I keep my staring ahead of me. After a moment though I turn around and when I do he's gone, the mass of people swallowing him up in the crowded halls.
I continue to go to classes, staring out the window most of the time. One of my teachers even has the audacity to play name games so everyone can get to know each other better. It's senior year, if I haven't made an effort to be friends with someone it's probably because I don't want to. Luckily the only other class I have with Percy is Math and he sits on the other side of the room. Katie is beside me, and I watch her as she takes notes on the course overview. I absentmindedly scribble on my sheet, the mindless doodling helping me focus better on the lesson. I don't take notes, Ms. Dodds will hand out a syllabus of everything we'll be doing at the end of the period.
I only look at Percy once. He's talking to some football players, his pink lips pursed as he rolls his sea green eyes. My heart flutters, and I remind myself to calm down, after all he's just a boy. A very attractive boy, but a boy all the same. He continues his conversation until the teacher begins to discuss the punishment policy, and I nearly laugh out loud. As if Jackson would care about any of the rules. I'm pretty sure he has broken a minimum of 5 in the first half of the period.
When class ends I walk out with Katie as we head to the cafeteria. Goode has two main lunches, due to the size of the school. One is for the lowerclassmen, freshman and sophomores, and the other is for the upperclassmen, juniors and seniors. Silena is already sitting at our usual table, so I slide into the seat across from her.
"Hey Sil," Katie says cheerfully, plopping down into the seat next to her. Silena jumps one hand clutching her chest.
"Oh, it's you. You scared me." Katie bows her head, smiling shyly.
"Sorry," she apologizes.
"No, it's fine."
I look at Silena questioningly. I raise a blonde eyebrow at her.
"Are you okay?"
Silena nods, tucking a piece of long, glossy black hair behind her ear.
"Yeah I'm fine. Today's just been a little weird…" she trails off and looks down at her food, clearly not wanting to talk about it. Katie doesn't get the message.
"How so?" The colour drains a little from Silena's face, and her eyes flash. She makes an ill attempt to cover up her distress with a smile before returning to her salad.
"Nevermind, it's nothing. I'm just being stupid. Seriously though, it's not a big deal." Katie nods, seemingly convinced with Silena's answer, and I am too, ignoring the gnawing feeling in my gut. If Silena says that she's fine then I should believe her, right?
As I look down at the table I realize I forgot to pack a lunch. I sigh to myself, checking in the pocket of my backpack for cash. I pull out a crumpled five dollar bill, and push up from the table, my elbows cracking.
"I'm going to get some lunch," I say to no one in particular. Katie and Silena nod, and I make my way over to the cafeteria line. I spot Thalia close to the front and go to talk to her.
"Hey Thals," I say to her. She turns around and gives me a friendly smile. I nonchalantly stand beside her and merge myself into the line, though this doesn't go unnoticed by the group of juniors behind us.
"Hey blondie, you can't cut." I roll my eyes at the junior in the middle, he's short and seems to be attempting to grow a beard; it's not working out.
Thalia lets out a sigh of annoyance, and cracks her knuckles in front of her. I think I see the middle junior quiver.
"Oh shut up before I throw you over the salad bar."
I let out a small laugh, but quickly stop when I realize that I'm the only one who thinks it's funny. Thalia's face is stone cold, and if you didn't know her as well as I do you'd think she was serious. Her eyes creased slightly, and though it looks like she's glaring I can tell she's trying not to laugh. Despite being the most intimidating looking of our friend group Thalia is probably the most easy going of all of us.
The junior nods, and one of them reaches out their arm, ushering me forward. I quirk an eyebrow, but choose to let it go. After all I'm not about to get into a fight in the cafeteria line up, unlike Thalia. Finally we get our food, and I give the lunch lady my bill as she hands me a depressing slab of what looks to be macaroni and cheese. I smile at her, resisting the urge to gag. Perhaps I should have skipped lunch.
For the rest of break the four of us make easy conversation, Silena's odd behaviour forgotten. In the remainder of my classes I try my best to pay attention, but it's hard. It seems that my ADHD is kicking in, and I try to recall whether or not I've taken my meds. When the bell finally rings I practically jump out of my seat, and head to my locker to get my gym clothes. Track tryouts are today and if I do well this week then I have a decent shot at making Captain. If I become Track Team Captain maybe Athena will tell me that I'm competent or something.
Silena's locker is just down from mine, and seeing that she's there I walk over. She's getting her binders out and unsuccessfully attempting to stick them in her tiny purse. I lean against the lockers next to her, and wait for her to notice me. She looks up after a minute and gives a small smile.
"Hey I have track practice but after do you want to come over and watch a movie or something? It's only the first day but I could already use some R and R. (A/N: R and R stands for rest and recovery if any of you didn't know :).)
Silena bites her lip as she is trying to decide her answer for my proposition. We're silent for a minute, and I fiddled idly with the zipper of my sweater.
"Sorry I can't," she says, "my dad asked me if I could help out at the store, and I already promised I would. Maybe next time?" I look at her quizzically. Silena's dad owns a chain of chocolate stores, but the only one near us is closed for renovations.
"But isn't the store closed for the rest of the month?" I ask her.
Silena's normally rosy cheeks lose some of their colour.
"Oh um yeah. He wants me to help out with the … inventory. Yeah, he is really swamped right now, and I need to help him, with the inventory… tonight. But we will definitely get together soon. How about a sleepover with the rest of the girls before the Stoll's back to school party?"
I nod at her, not convinced with her excuse. Silena has always been a terrible liar. She avoids eye contact and always gives a little too many details. All signs of a liar.
"Yeah sounds good," I say to her, "see you later I guess."
She nods, smiling sweetly. I quickly walk away from her and into the locker room to get changed. As I lace up my shoes I can't help but wonder why Silena blew me off. She could have just told me she wasn't feeling up to it and I would have understood, I wonder what's going on with her?* * *
"Okay Chase I want you to give me another lap, and if it's not the same speed or faster you're going to keep doing it until it's right. Do you understand?"
I nod at Mr. Mars, wiping sweat from my brow. My legs are shaking from all the drills and laps that we've been running for the past hour, and I can feel the puke rising in my throat. I swallow it down, not wanting to be shamed into using the bucket on the first practice. Mr. Mars is pushing us so hard so he can weed out the weak people right away, and to see who will rise to the top. I bend down into the starting position and my calves already feel like they're on fire. I really should have trained more over the summer. I stare ahead at the lines on the track, rocking back and forth slightly on my toes, pushing back on the starting platform.
The whistle blows and I take off, my long legs stretching with each stride. Despite all the stress that comes along with track meets, running relaxes me. Everything in my life seems so hectic and complicated like I'm standing still and everything around me is spinning. I get so stressed and tired of everything that being able to run and get rid of some of my built up emotions is really helpful. When I'm running the world fades away, there's no more Percy, no more Athena or grades or silly high school drama. I'm just putting one foot in front of the other, breathing in and out.
Despite my best efforts Percy Jackson does invade my thoughts. He's so frustrating, he messes up every logical thought that I have and confuses me endlessly. He aggravates me but for once that's a good thing. The anger and confusion makes me run harder and faster, as if by running I can flee from everything, I can run away from Percy Jackson. I push harder and harder, my even breathing turning into choking gasps until I realize that I've crossed the 400 metre mark and have run almost a full 50 metres past. Using metres in running confused me at first, having to do the conversions in my head was so frustrating, but now it's almost automatic.
I slow down to a stop and bend down, resting my arms on my knees and ease my way into a crouching position. Perspiration drips from my forehead and the side of my face. I spit out the sweat that has begun to fall into my mouth, little droplets coating the track below me.
"Way to go Chase. You ran a 54.89 for a 400 metre after an hour of practice. If you keep up the pace you could be on track to set a state record!" Mr. Mars comes up behind me and gives an awkward pat on the back. I look up at him and smile a little. Athena will be pleased, a state record will definitely improve my chances of earning a scholarship.
"Thanks… coach," I say panting. I'm trying my best to keep my breaths even but it's hard. I turn around and see Michael Yew standing by the water cooler glaring. Michael has wanted the Captaincy since freshman year, and me nearly setting a state record and getting praise from Mr. Mars has practically solidified my chances of being captain. Good, Michael Yew always annoyed me anyways. As if the day couldn't be better Mr. Mars calls out to Michael,
"Hey Yew, get Chase a water will you? She definitely earned it, so quit your sulking and get back to practice or I'll make waterboy your permanent position!"
I stare at the ground, hoping that neither Mr. Mars nor Michael will see me smile. There's nothing I love more than beating someone as cocky as Michael and having coach yell at him for being lazy. It's like a breath of fresh air on a spring day.
Michael hands me the water, practically shoving it into my hand. I mutter a thanks to him but I don't really mean it. I chug the water down, savouring the way the cool liquid feels as it trickles down my throat. Michael probably spit in the water but I can't find it in me to care, God I'm so thirsty.
I finish my water and crumple the cup. I turn around to face the football field, and as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand I see him. Percy Jackson is running, his football gear fully on and I can't help but admire how good he looks in the uniform. Everyone at Goode knows that Percy is the best high school swimmer in the city, possibly in the entire state, but with swim team not starting until the winter he needs something active to do so he can cross train. I watch him transfixed as he breaks out into a full sprint, hands in the air before coming back down to cradle the football that was thrown to him. He stops and stands still as his coach barks some command out to him. I take this time to admire how nice his butt looks in the football pants. Then, as if it's happening in slow motion Percy turns around and makes eye contact with me. Our eyes lock from across the field and I blush, though my cheeks are so red that he wouldn't even notice. To put it lightly I look like I've been hit by a bus, my blonde hair falling out of my elastic, the curls frizzing at the end. My face is tomato red and my tank top is covered in sweat stains. My knobby knees are all scratched up from falling on the track earlier. Percy on the other hand looks like he was just brought down from the heavens. His tan face has a rosy tint on his cheeks, and the physical exercise make the muscles in his arms more defined. His ebony locks are plastered along his face, his sea green eyes bright.
The staring between us only lasts a moment, but to me it feels like an eternity. Percy breaks the contact, frowning at me before running off as his coach yells something to him. I sigh as I pick up the paper water cup that I must have dropped, and head towards the change room to shower.
Sometimes I wish Jackson would look at me just once with the lust that is written clearly upon his face when he sees an attractive girl. I'm not ugly, but I'm no bombshell, and guys like Percy don't think twice about girls like me. I'm inexplicably average in looks, my only outstanding quality is my brain and unfortunately in today's society smart girls are not sought after. I don't need male appreciation to make me feel validated, I'm independent and am confident in myself which is all that really matters I suppose. It would be nice though if when a guy looked at me he'd think I was beautiful or even sexy rather than whether or not I'd let him copy off my Biology homework.
I step out of the showers and dress quickly, braiding my damp curls to keep them from puffing out. As I exit the change room I steal a glance at the mirror making sure I look presentable. Athena expects me to be the perfect model child, part of that is keeping up appearances.
I walk quickly to my car. I never wanted a car and I barely ever use it, but Athena thought it important that I have one.
"The subway is for lowly people, people who we are not to associate with. You are a Chase, and Chase's are not like regular people."
I nod at Athena when she says this, internally rolling my eyes. It's true, once the Chase name was well known and reputable. Years ago the Chase's were the main architect for the Rockefeller's, my ancestors responsible for the construction of nearly a third of all the buildings in Manhattan. Not any more though, when we lost all our money in a business deal that went bad. Now all the Chase's are is a family with background but not a penny to their name. Compared to most we're still wealthy, I need not want for anything, but that doesn't matter to my mother. She's not even a Chase by blood, she married my father and when they got divorced she kept the name. It was to be closer associated with me, she said. It wasn't though, Athena is a class climber who pretends she isn't. She's so obsessed with what other people think of her, of her family and it sickens me. Athena tries to control every aspect of everyone's life to ensure her image of perfection isn't tainted. She chooses my school, my activities, and even tries to pick my friends. That's where I draw the line, much to my mother's disappointment.
My car, a white mini cooper, is parked facing the football field. I slide into the driver's seat and start the engine, looking out the windshield for the a familiar mess of black hair. I push down my disappointment when I don't see him.
"Snap out of it Annabeth," I say aloud to myself. Percy Jackson distracts me, and with this being my last and most important year in high school I cannot be distracted. Whatever I feel for Percy, whether it be hate or infatuation needs to be pushed aside, for now at least. I'll sort out my feelings when I have more time to think about them. Great, I'm compartmentalising my emotions, how proud Athena would be of me.
I fidget with the dials changing the song multiple times during my ride. Traffic is light, and I make it home within twenty minutes. I pull onto my street, it's so quiet and serene here. Very unlike the rest of New York. Luckily there's a parking spot right near my house, so I parallel park, thankful for the time I spent practicing trying to fit in New York's tight parking spaces.
Despite all the awkwardness that awaits me when I step through the front door, I can't help but love my house. The walk up three story brownstone has been in the Chase family for three generations. If it hadn't been given to my mother and father as a wedding present we never would have been able to afford it. Then my parents divorced, mom taking the house and the kids, dad taking his 27 year old assistant and the house in Malibu.
When my dad left and moved to California with his new much younger wife Helen, my mom went into a state of anger and renovated the entire house. By the time she was finished the rich wood panelling on the walls was replaced with cloud white tones. The worn leather chairs in the living room were replaced with more 'artistic pieces'. Luckily she left my room untouched in the process, and for that I'm thankful. While everything around me changed my room stayed the same.
I walk up the steps and carefully turn the handle of the door. The knob is very expensive according to my mother therefore making it important to her. I can't help but wonder how many starving children could have been fed with the money from the handle.
"Athena, I'm home!" I call, immediately cringing as I remember how she feels about yelling in the house.
"I'm in the kitchen Annabeth," I hear her reply, and I make my way into the kitchen. When I get in I see my mother standing by the stove, watching a pot of water boil. I drop my backpack onto the island, and Athena turns around. Her brown hair is pulled back stylishly in a bun, her white button up tucked into her grey pencil skirt, wrinkle free. She looks at me, not happy or sad. Her grey eyes bore into me as if she's analyzing me like a blueprint, trying to find any errors. When she looks at me like this I can't help but feel like I've done something very wrong.
Athena knows she's beautiful and uses it to her advantage, flirting with businessmen so they will buy her building designs. People sometimes tell me that I look like her, but if it weren't for our signature grey eyes and nose no one would even know we were related. Athena's features are sharp and defined, feminine yet structured. My features are softer, the only noticeable structure are my cheekbones. They look out of place though contrasting with the soft curve of my jaw line, and the refined slope of my nose. I look like a plain person with a few semi attractive features, making me just nice enough to look at, but not pretty enough to be cast a second glance.
None of this matters though, I remind myself. I'm smart, and like Athena says, a sharp mind is the only quality that really matters.
I snap out of my thoughts, realising that Athena shouldn't be home for at least another hour.
"You're home early," I remark. I peer into the fridge, looking for anything appealing to eat.
"Yes. I went in early this morning and I finished everything that I needed to get done. I thought I'd make dinner tonight."
I nod, closing the fridge as I remember the popcorn that's in the pantry.
"Okay, sounds good," I respond to Athena absentmindedly. She's poured the pasta into the water and is stirring it. I reach into the bag not bothering to pour any popcorn into a bowl. Athena sees me do this and I slowly retract my hand.
"Don't eat that, we're having pasta for dinner and if you have popcorn too that's too many carbs. Have an apple instead," she says, gesturing over to the bowl of green apples on the island. I put the popcorn back in the pantry regretfully and take the fruit.
"Thanks… Athena," I say as I bite into the apple. I almost called her mom, but quickly corrected myself. I hope she didn't notice. When my dad left Athena went into a sort of mode. She renovated the entire house, getting rid of everything that reminded her of my father. She threw herself into her work and completely shut down her emotions. That included whatever small part of motherly love she had. She asked me to refer to her as Athena, not mom. Afterall that's her name.
Athena's not a bad mom, she's just not a good one. She still makes sure I eat, helps me with my homework and asks about my grades. The only problem is she takes interest in the wrong things. She's more focused on my grades and achievements rather than the state of my happiness. If she noticed for once that maybe I wasn't okay and actually showed she cared about me as a person then perhaps I wouldn't feel like I'm constantly drowning, trying to grab onto anything that could keep me afloat.
"How was school today?" she says changing the subject.
"It was okay," I respond, "I'm in Brunner's English class."
Athena nods, knowing what a good teacher he is. He's received numerous teachers awards and graduated from Columbia. She obviously thinks that a recommendation from him would improve my chances in applying there.
"That's nice," Athena says chopping up some onions. "Did you get assigned your English partners yet?"
I cringe at this, debating whether or not I should tell her Percy is my partner. She'll find out eventually, after all we are going to spend time working on projects outside of school.
"It's umm… Percy Jackson," I say quietly. Athena stops chopping the onions, her mouth pressed into a thin line. The Jackson's and the Chase's have had a long history. The Jackson family is one of the most wealthy and powerful in New York, perhaps in the entire country. My father and Percy's were friends, but the relationship went sour when my father was caught in some less than legitimate business deals with Percy's grandfather. Now our father's hate each other, but my mother doesn't know how she feels about them. I hope she'll be calm about this.
"Percy's a nice boy I suppose. His family is very influential." I roll my eyes as Athena looks off into the distance.
She's probably thinking about some way to set me up with Jackson so that she can become higher in the class system. The thought of me being anything more than enemies with Jackson makes my stomach turn, though I'm not sure if it's from disgust or longing. Disgust, it has to be disgust.
"Yeah mom, he's nice I guess." Compared to Stalin… "I'm going to do some homework," I say wanting to get away from whatever stuffy conversation I know she's going to attempt to make in the next few minutes. Athena hates awkwardness, trying to start a conversation between us. This unintentionally makes it worse.
"Okay, I'll call you down when dinner is ready."
I nod at Athena, and pick my bag up from the island. I head up the stairs, sighing in relief as I enter my room. The walls are a soft grey, accenting perfectly with my white furniture. Parallel to the door and my closet the window on my wall looks out onto a small backyard, a luxury in New York. Two bookcases stand on opposite sides of my window, filled to the brim with books. Under my window lies a white desk with a couple pictures of my friends and family. My bed sits on the wall perpendicular to my window, a fluffy duvet inviting me in for a long nap. I flop down in a small armchair near my bookshelf, and reach over to grab the laptop on my desk.
I may have told a small lie to Athena. I didn't have any homework, but she doesn't need to know that. I sit on my computer for a while, relishing in the tranquility. The world is so hectic, the four grey walls of my bedroom shielding me from the chaos that surrounds me. I can never escape, but it's nice even if it's for a little while to pretend that I'm the only one in the world. I don't mind being alone, I quite like it actually. I never feel very lonely when I'm in my room. I've got plenty of books, the characters within and the authors who wrote them to keep me company. The time I feel the most alone is when I'm in a big group with nothing to say. These days the group gets bigger and my voice gets smaller. Maybe one day, I'll have nothing to say at all. But I don't need to worry about that now.
Now I can sit in my armchair, on my computer or reading a book. For the first time today I'm almost happy, and it feels nice.
A/N: So that was the third chapter, and holy it was long! Each of the chapters will be about 4000 -7000 words, give or take. Thanks again for reading and I will probably post within two weeks. Make sure to review, follow favourite exc. And feel free to comment where you want the story to go next. I love hearing what you think. Love you all and have a great day/night!
Xoxo RedHeadReader22