CHAPTER FOUR – And Again, I Am the New Girl. Great.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Oh my God, shut up stupid alarm! Shut the God-damn fuck UP!

I flung my arm out, hitting around the place where I thought the alarm clock should have been sitting. Finally I hit it. The beeping stopped but when I retracted my hand it accidently knocked the alarm clock to the floor.

"Dammit," I muttered.

First day of school today. Grrreeeaaat. That's sarcasm by the way.

The first day is always the worst. This is the time to make an impression. You show them that you aren't to be messed with, and you show them that you won't stand by and take their shit. It's also the time to take note and see beneath the surface of people; to analyse them.

Luckily I'm good at that last part. Like I said, I am actually pretty intelligent, I just choose not to show it or do anything about it.

How intelligent am I? Well, I can get A+ 's on everything if I actually tried. Heck, make that A++ 's for everything.

Too lazy to choose and match something from my clothes that would make an absolute impression, I grabbed a dark pair of jeans and whatever shirt my hand landed on. It turned out to be a tight-fitting, emerald green V-neck with sleeves that went to my elbows. Meh, it'll do.

Now my hair… ah, screw it. I tied the blonde curly locks back in a ponytail, leaving out my almost-grown-out side-fringe.

I'd done that fringe myself, actually. When I'd changed into the "me" of today, I'd cut that fringe for myself. Every now and then I'd trim it so it didn't grow out or get too long. Actually, it could probably do for a trim. But not now.

Shoving my feet into the only pair of Converse I've ever owned (they were black and getting shabbier every day. I really needed a new pair…) I then began to pack a book and a few pens into my bag.

Hmm, should I take more than one book? Nah. It's not like I'm actually gonna use it anyway. And the school should have textbooks to do with the subjects. At the end of the day they'll probably all be thrown into my locker but whatever.

Opening my bedroom door, I trudged down the stairs, careful not to make too much noise even though it was carpet. It wasn't because I was being polite or anything (I honestly don't care if I wake them up or something) but I liked to see the surprised actions that people make when I "sneak" up on them.

Sure enough, no one seemed to hear me as I entered the kitchen. Jason and Leo both had their backs to me and seemed to be making something. Probably sandwiches for their lunch or something…

I went to the cupboard that looked the most likely to have food. The hinges screeched as I pulled it open. Hmm, what can I eat for breakfast…

"Woah! Annabeth!" yelped Leo.

Glancing over at him I saw him clutching his chest. Jason jumped a little.

"Way ta' give a guy a heart attack," Leo said. "How long have you been there for?"

I shrugged. Only seconds really, but it makes them more paranoid if you don't answer. From past experiences, people usually think that you've been standing there a lot longer then you actually have, which freaks them out even more.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked the pair instead.

"Ahhh," Jason started. "Cereal. Susan's all up with dietary requirements and nutrition so don't expect to find Fruit Loops or Coco Pops. There's muesli which isn't half bad, but my advice is to go for the Special K with the fruit in."

"What about toast?" my eye caught sight of the peanut paste. Yum.

"She actually doesn't allow that," he replied. "Leo found out the hard way."

I raised my eyebrow at Leo. He seemed to notice that he was in the spotlight now and stood up a little straighter.

"Yeah, she had me make up these nutrition charts and memorize them. And she also watched over my shoulder at everything I did, so I couldn't copy and paste them directly from the internet. I mean, how else does she expect me to make them? I don't know anything about nutrition!"

The corners of my mouth tugged up slightly. So Leo likes to plagiarize his work. Maybe I can get him to find me some good sites that he knows the teachers use. Then I could just print off pages and hand that in as my assignments. Few days later, principal's office, then suspension, or the best case being expulsion.

One way to get kicked out or cause trouble.

"So, ah, can you pass me the bread?" I nodded to the loaf that the boys had been using to make sandwiches. "And where is the toaster kept?"

Leo grinned at me while Jason gave me a worried glance before getting the toaster out for me. Ha, he ain't seen nothing yet. Wait, that was a double negative… Which kind of just defeats my point. Told you I'm smart.

Turns out the school was only a few blocks away. Which meant that we had to walk there. No calling a taxi or racing for the bus. Walking is fine; I actually like walking. But walking with other people, on the other hand, in not fine. If it wasn't for the fact that I didn't know where the school was, I'd make up some excuse to drop back and walk be myself behind everyone.

The two boys were walking in front, while Juniper chose to walk beside me. Maybe she felt obliged to talk to me, because she kept up a steady one-sided conversation pretty well. To make her feel not so awkward I asked a few questions here and there.

But if someone quizzed me on what she'd said, or what we'd talked about, or what I'd found out about her, I'd fail. Everything was going in one ear and just floating out the other.

The boys were wearing the usual attire you'd imagine a guy to wear; jeans and a T-shirt. Juniper was in a light blue dress that came to her knees. It actually looked really pretty on her. Her long hair was out and fell to her lower back.

I started to trail behind them as we made our way into the school grounds.

There wasn't anything overly amazing about the school itself. It was just a normal school. Like all the other ones. Walls, doors, windows, parking lot filled with all types of cars, flag pole sporting an American flag; you get the picture.

"I'll take you to the office," Juniper offered.

In response, I shrugged. Sure, whatever. I'd find it anyway but Juniper just seemed so… fragile, I guess. Like yesterday. Dammit, I can't keep up my act of the 'bad girl' if she keeps being so nice and acting like a friend.

Following the boys through the gates and into the hall, the first thing that caught my eye was the dark blue lockers. Must be the school colour or something.

"Jason! Leo!" cried a girl's voice. I peered around Leo to see who it was. The girl walking towards us had her brown hair in a braid that came over her left shoulder. As she came closer, her eyes seemed to shift colours. Like a kaleidoscope. Her skinned looked naturally tanned and her outfit was just denim shorts and a T-shirt but she looked amazing in it. Whoever this girl was, she had a lot of natural beauty.

"Heya, Pipes!" Leo grinned.

"Hey, boys and Juniper," she returned the grin to everyone, but then she noticed me. "Oh, I'm Piper. I haven't seen you around so you must be new or something."

"Probably," was my reply as I slowly nodded my head.

"Piper, this is Annabeth," Juniper said. "Annabeth is our new foster sibling."

Again, I flinched, although no one seemed to notice.

"So I better get her to the office now, before the bell," she continued. "See you guys at lunch! Come on, Annabeth. Let's get you your timetable."

I gave the others a small wave and grim smile before following Juniper as she pranced down the hallway to the office. Why did I just wave? Ugh, I'm starting to act like the old me! Why are these people making me revert back to the way it was? The way I was when I got hurt and used and abused and wanted to die.

Inside, a plump looking lady with pink-framed glasses was frowning at her computer screen behind the desk. She looked up and smiled welcomingly at us as we walked in.

"Hello, how can I help you two?"

I stepped forward. From here on, I could handle things. After all, I've had plenty of practice.

"I'm new here," I replied.

"Okay then, sweetie. What's your name?" she asked as she began to click around on her screen.

"Annabeth Chase."

Some typing from the office lady then a final click. The printer began to turn over, warming itself up for the incoming print job.

Suddenly the bell shrilled through the school. Looking back through the door I saw the groups of students start to break up, heading to their different home rooms.

"Here we are, sweetie," I spun back to the office lady. She held out my timetable to me. "Have a nice day, and if you ever need anything, feel free to come find me."

"Sure, but I doubt it," I muttered, taking the paper and walking out.

Behind me I heard Juniper talking more with the lady. She sounded quieter and slightly rushed, like she was trying to hurriedly finish their conversation so she could catch up to me. My feet started to walk away faster.

Hmm, let's see where I should be heading. So I can get there. Fast. Without Juniper.

R. 581: Home room – Mr Brunner

R. 301: Architecture – Mrs Joyce

R. 634: English – Mr Marks

R. 225: Math – Mrs Dodds

Lunch

R. 467: Greek – Mr Brunner

R. _: Free Period

R. Gymnasium: P.E – Mr Arnold

Okay then. First stop: room 581.

Looking both sides at passing doors, I casually (well, faster than a stroll) made my way down hall ways until I found the one I was looking for.

Here goes absolutely nothing. My feet carried me inside the classroom as I straightened my back, stuck my chin out, and made my face emotionless.

Oh hey everybody! SOrry it took longer for me to update than the last ones. Turns out that they were right and I was wrong when they said that grade eleven was - IS - the hardest year.

I'm madly trying to complete all my assignments and write a heap more chapters for this story. It is cray-cray. I just want to sleep all the time.

Anyway, thank you all for following or liking this story! It really means alot to me! I'll be the first to admit that I lack confidence, so I truly do mean "Thank you" when I say it.

*Clears throat* Thank you to everyone who has recently liked of started to follow me: artsywriter9, Shandia99, Chloejones9327, PureJoy-SweetDreams, and AthenaGrayEyes98 !

! ***** !

And AwkwardGems, you are amazing and you write amazingly! So if anyone reads this authors note, I'm recommending that if you love Percabeth and have them as your OTP, then you should totally check out Silent by AwkwardGems. It's soooooooo good!

! ^^^^^^ !

And, ah, sorry for the swearing throughout this story. Just htought I should say that. My intention is not to offend or upset anyone by it. I'm justing saying now, I will still swear throughout this story, so, ah, thats just a heads-up.

So, thank you all again. Hope y'all had a good day!

- Cassie.