A/N Sorry I didn't update too soon. I was just a little stumped. Just so you know I will be gone for the next five weeks starting Sunday. I'll mostly be out of the country. I really hope that I can update on the computer as soon as I get back. I love you all and I apologize that I won't be updating very soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or M&Ms.
I grabbed a seat in one of the lounge chairs. Piper came up to me, "Do you want anything?"
Piper was a sophomore and had an obvious crush on Jason. Her eyes changed color everyday and she had chocolate brown hair that she put into braids. She seemed tomboyish in a way, but even so, she had a beauty that every guy could easily fall for. She worked at the coffee shop, probably to get closer to Jason.
I thought for a minute. "Hot chocolate," I finally decided. I wasn't in the mood for coffee after all.
Piper nodded and walked over to the kitchen counter. I relaxed in the chair, and looked around to see what was going on around me. I saw two seniors, Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner, arguing about something at a table near the window. At another table, I saw some freshmen drinking coffee and playing cards. Then, Piper came back towards me.
"Here it is," she gave me my hot chocolate and a bag of blue M&Ms.
I was about to tell her I didn't order M&Ms, when she said, "The M&Ms are Thalia's treat." I nodded. Blue M&Ms were one of my favorite foods. I wonder if she'd spoken with my mom…
As I was drinking my hot chocolate, I heard someone call out my name. I turned around and saw two junior girls giggling. I recognized them as friends of Nancy Bobofit.
"Did you see the new girl, Annabeth?" one girl with blonde hair asked a brunette.
The brunette giggled, "Who hasn't? She's like, so out of everything. I hear she's like, dyslexic or something, she must be like, stupid!"
I grit my teeth. I hated how she emphasized the word stupid. Just because someone was dyslexic didn't make them stupid.
"Y'know," the blonde looked around to make sure no one was watching, apparently not noticing me, "I heard she had like, some history with Percy. Nancy told me that Dylan told her that Drew told him she overheard Lacy talking to Nico about Percy's neighbor who recorded the two when they kissed!"
My face flushed. It took me a while to process what she said and when I did I tried to reassure myself it was probably just a rumor.
"No! When?" the brunette replied in shock and mischief.
"I'm pretty sure it was over the summer."
I sighed. It was definitely just a rumor, since I just re-met Annabeth today. Something in the back of my head told me that the rumor was probably related to the summer I turned ten. I ignored it for the time being.
The blonde shook her head, "That doesn't matter, because we have to support Nancy. We have to do whatever it takes so she can have him by homecoming!" The brunette nodded in agreement. The blonde closed in so I could barely hear, "Even if it means getting that dyslexic gray-eyes expelled."
I shuddered. I didn't know what I should've been more worried about, the thought of me taking Nancy to homecoming or the thought of a really cute girl getting expelled because of me.
I felt my face turn hot, was Annabeth really cute? I turned to the register behind the counter. There she was, with her blonde hair tied back and her stormy gray eyes. She wore owl earrings and a black apron for the coffee shop. As she was working, she looked as though she went through this every day, as though she lived here all her life. The way she smiled seemed very familiar, and the way she pushed hair out of her eyes…
"What are you looking at?"
The voice shook me up so bad I fell out my chair. I looked up. It was Nico and Rachel.
"Sorry," Nico said, "I didn't mean to scare you."
Rachel laughed, "Are you having fun staring at girls?"
I stared at her, "I wasn't looking at girls."
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Ha, sure. We'll just pretend I didn't see you drooling."
I tried to keep my embarrassment to a minimum level as Rachel and Nico ordered drinks.
"So," Rachel said after taking a sip of her coffee, "Did you meet Annabeth?"
I nodded, "We had an awkward moment."
Nico sighed. I wasn't sure if it was an insult or not.
Rachel laughed, "Well, where is she now?" Rachel hasn't met Annabeth. She always hears stories about her and sees her in pictures.
I pointed towards the cash register. Rachel grinned, "She's hot. Do you think you're in love?"
My eyes widened, "What?"
Rachel rolled her eyes, "It was a joke."
I nodded slowly. I couldn't what was a joke with Rachel. I pretended to make a sort-of laugh, but it wasn't believable.
Rachel squinted her eyes, as though she wanted to say something, but she didn't. I shifted in my chair. At that point the two of them sat in their chairs and quietly drank their coffee, while I ate blue M&Ms.
Usually, during the school year, friends who knew the Graces really well would stay after closing. Today it was just seven people hanging around: Piper, Leo, Miranda, Connor, Rachel, Nico, and me. Last year, closing hours were like parties, but today was just the first day of school so I should've been doing my homework, but I had to stay, since I was a born procrastinator.
We all sat in a circle on the giant rug in the library of the store down in the basement. The library was obviously designed by Thalia. There was paint splattered on the white walls and shelves of old books and stacks of newer ones on the floor.
Miranda sighed, "It's so good to see you guys again! It's just not the same in Oklahoma!" Her parents were divorced, so her mother took her back in the summer. She waved a small box in her hand, "I brought cards…" she said in a sing-song voice.
"What are we playing then?" Piper asked.
"Poker," Nico said.
We all nodded in agreement, even if we didn't have any chips or cash to bet on.
After three rounds with Connor Stoll winning every time, Jason and Annabeth came down.
"What's up?" Jason greeted.
"Poker," Leo and Piper said in unison.
"May I join?" Annabeth asked.
Rachel nodded and scooted over. Annabeth sat next to her.
"And you are…" Annabeth looked at her, trying to see if she knew Rachel before.
"Rachel. I moved here in middle school, so you probably don't know me. Annabeth, right? I've heard a lot about you."
Annabeth smiled, "Thalia's mentioned you. You're Percy's neighbor, right?"
Rachel nodded. I was glad that they got along almost instantly, even though that wasn't the case with me and Annabeth.
We continued with another round. I was pretty bad at poker, so it was no surprise I practically gave up after seeing my cards.
When the round was over, Connor didn't win like he always did. Annabeth won, which shocked Piper, Leo, Rachel and me. No one else was that surprised, and acted as though she won poker all the time.
"Remember when we used to call you Athena's child?" Connor asked.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Don't call me that."
"We were all children of the Greek gods. Like me and Travis were Hermes' sons and Percy was the like, special son of Poseidon and—"
"That was twelve years ago, Connor. Why would you bring it up?" Annabeth glared at him.
"Because you're still freakin' smart. How'd you know I was bluffing?"
Annabeth sighed, and shook her head. I wasn't sure what she meant.
As we were playing poker, Rachel got up to go to the bathroom, so now I was sitting next to Annabeth. While Leo was dealing cards, I kept staring at Annabeth's hair. Why was it so curly and springy? It was like the ribbons on balloons that were always swirled round and round. I wondered if it would recoil when I tried to straighten it out. I reached out my hand, when her stormy gray eyes turned to me in a flash, "What are you doing?"
A/N Sorry to leave it there, but it'll get you kinda excited when the next chapter comes out. I'm sorry for anyone who thinks it's a little too slow, but I'm working on it. Thank you for everyone who is following the story and reviewing. I love you all. So I'll be gone for five weeks (I really wish it wasn't for so long), and I'll work on writing whenever I can but I'll have to type them up too. When school starts my updating will be a little inconsistent as well. Feedback and criticism are welcome.