A/N: So I wanted to update last night, and it wouldn't let me. Now I'm going to quickly update then write an essay. Yay. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Walking into Annabeth's apartment, Jess looked shocked.
"This is really nice. I thought you said your brother was in college," Jess said in admiration.
"He is. Our mom pays for the place," Annabeth explained.
"Apartments in New York city cost a lot. My mom would never pay for me. She'd tell me that I have to work for it," Jess said.
"Trust me, we have worked for this," Annabeth said and led her to the kitchen table. "We can work in here. Malcolm will probably be getting home soon, but he'll just do his work in the living room."
"Okay, sounds good," Jess replied and then got out her English supplies. "Let's read Romeo and Juliet."
They worked for about a half an hour until Malcolm got home. It was mostly Jess just telling her what was going on while Annabeth stared at the book, drowning in letters.
"Oh, hello," she heard Malcolm say.
"Malcolm, this is my friend, Jess. She's helping me read Romeo and Juliet because my brain fails me," Annabeth explained.
"Hi, Jess. I'm Malcolm, Annabeth's brother, obviously. Annabeth, I thought you read that a few years ago at camp," Malcolm stated in confusion.
"I tried and failed," Annabeth said with a shrug. "Dyslexia is a pain."
"Don't forget the ADHD on top of that," Malcolm added jokingly.
"Hey, I can control my ADHD in school because I actually like it there."
"Do you bounce your leg?"
"...Maybe."
They both laughed, and Jess looked at them in confusion.
"Are you making fun of your sister's medical disorders?" she asked in disbelief.
Malcolm laughed again. "No, we both have ADHD and dyslexia, so really, I'm making fun of our medical disorders," he explained.
"Oh."
Annabeth noticed Jess' face go red, and stifled a giggle.
"Well, you two get back to work. I'll be in the living room," Malcolm said as he grabbed an apple and walked out of the room.
"Do you want to take a break? My brain hurts," Annabeth said after glancing at the page they were on.
"Sounds good," Jess replied.
Annabeth grabbed a bag of chips and led Jess to her room. Normally, she would choose a healthy snack, but after the day she had, she could care less.
"Time for an unhealthy after-school snack," Annabeth joked while jumping onto her bed.
Jess sat down next to her, and Annabeth noticed her examining the room.
"See anything interesting?" Annabeth questioned.
"Oh, sorry," Jess apologized
"Don't apologize; it was a legitimate question."
"Oh, well, you have a lot of books, which I expected. The stack of blueprints was something I didn't exactly expect, but you did say you wanted to be an architect. It makes sense, then. You have a lot of pictures of what looks to be in a summer camp, and is that one in Paris?" she asked.
Annabeth looked at the picture. It was on her bedside table, and it pictured her and Percy. The Eiffel Tower was in the background. One of Percy's arms was wrapped around her, the other was holding the camera, and he was kissing her head. He had caught her off guard, so she was smiling like an idiot. It was one of her favorite pictures of the two of them.
"Yeah, it is," Annabeth replied, smiling.
"Is your mom filthy rich or something?" Jess asked.
"Something like that. I don't exactly have access to her money though," Annabeth explained. "That trip was actually a treat from another relative."
"Oh. But seriously, is your mom famous or something? Would I know who she is?" Jess asked jokingly.
Annabeth just laughed. If only she knew...
"So you got Percy to try-out for the swim team," Jess stated, referencing what Daniela had said earlier.
"I was surprised she found out so quickly. News travels really fast here. That happened at lunch, and Daniela knew by the end of the day," Annabeth said.
"Yeah, the students at Goode like to talk to each other. Everyone's been keeping their eyes on you because you're dating Percy, the next 'up-and-coming' popular guy."
"Why's everyone so obsessed with that?" Annabeth questioned.
"Well, have you ever seen Gossip Girl?" Jess tried to explain.
"No."
"Oh, well, as humans, we all enjoy gossiping about other people's lives. Popular people are in the perfect spotlight for gossiping about, and Percy Jackson has always been a mystery. Putting him into the spotlight is what everyone wants to see."
Annabeth pondered that for a moment. It was a strange concept, but it also applied to Camp Half-Blood. Everyone wanted to know more about Percy Jackson, the child of the prophecy and savior of Olympus. That fame spread even further with the seven.
"Interesting," Annabeth said.
"Yeah, the both of you are quite the pair as well. It's almost as if you two know about something the rest of us don't," Jess replied
"We should probably get back to Romeo and Juliet," Annabeth interrupted, panicked of where Jess was going with her thought.
They went back to the kitchen table where they didn't get much done before Jess' mom called her, and she had to go home.
As Annabeth shut the door behind her friend, she sighed. How was she and Percy supposed to convince the school that they were normal when they clearly weren't?
"Something wrong, Annabeth? You've been leaning against the door for five minutes," Malcolm said.
"Apparently, Percy and I aren't very good at fitting in," Annabeth explained.
"How so?" Malcolm asked.
"Everyone can pretty much tell that we are different, except most people think that's just a sign that we are destined to be 'popular,'" Annabeth replied.
"You guys are pretty popular at camp though. What makes being popular at Goode any different?" Malcolm asked, confused.
"At Goode, popular isn't being well-liked; it's being a terrible person who does things that put them in the spotlight. I'm also pretty sure that you have to be feared by a majority of the school," Annabeth further explained.
"Wouldn't most schools be like that?"
"I guess, but it's worse here. That, or I perceive it as worse because I'm being dragged into it. Today someone even told me to break up with Percy or become friends with the 'popular girls,' so he would be dating an acceptable girl. I have no idea what I'm going to do about these people."
Malcolm led her to her living room where Annabeth promptly threw herself onto the couch.
"I recommend that you get your work done and then turn in early. A good night's sleep will do you good," Malcolm suggested.
"Okay," Annabeth mumbled then sat us. "We should probably eat at some point, though."
"Already covered," Malcolm said, "I called Percy earlier. He'll be over in about 10 minutes with pizza."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just order pizza to be delivered by someone being paid to do so?" Annabeth joked.
"Don't complain. You're boyfriend is coming over," Malcolm replied in the same tone.
"But you told me to do homework."
"It'll take you a half an hour to finish all of your homework. I think you'll be fine."
"Shut up, Malcolm."
Yay chapter 7 was fun. Chapter 8 might not be up for awhile. I'm going on a band trip next week then a science trip. Lot's of stuff happening.
QOTD: what's your favorite Disney song? I probably wouldn't be able to choose. I like a lot of Disney princess stuff because I'm such a typical girl haha
See you guys next chapter, whenever that may be. Au revoir mes amies!