Not Your Average Love Story

Written By: Sasha Logan

Chapter One: Not Your Average Girl

She held a book in her lap, Romeo and Juliet. It was one of her favorites. Everyone always assumed she wanted the grand love story of it in her own life. That she was the innocent girl who read and dreamed and wished that a prince would come and sweep her off her feet. She didn't like being matched with that cliche, that stereotype. They couldn't seem to see that they'd read her quite wrong. She wasn't the innocent girl in the background dreaming about a life of princes and knights and palaces. She wasn't even the nerdy girl dreaming of the day the cliche high school jocks would finally notice her.

Sure, she wanted people to notice her. But notice didn't mean she wanted a boy to fall in love with her. Notice meant she wanted them to actually listen. To hear her and actually listen. She wished everyone would just see her for who she actually is. That they would realize who she truly was. And quite frankly, she didn't read Romeo and Juliet for the grand love story. She read it for the literature, and a reminder to herself of why love was dangerous. Love could kill you and take everything from you.

Love was not something you wanted to mess around with. Love wasn't something she wanted to have, not ever again.

"Annabeth?" Her friend, Piper, called. She was peeking over the side of her seat in the passenger seat, almost completely turning herself around, so that she could wave her hand repeatedly in front of Annabeth's face. "You in there?"

"Yeah," Annabeth answered, blinking away the image of the cover of the book sitting on her lap. "Just got a little lost in thought."

"A little?" Thalia said, in an interesting tone of voice that she couldn't quite place. "We've been trying to get your attention for almost five minutes." She said all this without even taking her piercing blue eyes off of the road in front of her.

"Well, I was only thinking about that college submission essay I was working on last night. I just can't seem to get the right idea of the right way to right it. Or even the right topic for that matter."

"Oh, relax." Annabeth could almost hear the eye roll in Thalia's voice. "You're only in junior year. You have plenty of time. I'm a senior and I haven't even applied to a single college. If you ask me, college is overrated anyway."

"Why wouldn't you want to go to college?" Annabeth asked, still slightly confused by that fact. "Why wouldn't you want to learn?"

"We've went over this before, Annabeth."

"I know, but-"

"We're almost to school, aren't we?" Piper questioned, playing with the end of one of her braids. "And we don't need to talk about this right now. The school year seriously started a week ago."

Annabeth sighed. "Fine."

"Good." Piper's eyes twinkled. "But you know, we really do have time for one of those lovely conversations about which guys are the hottest this year."

"No!" Thalia and Annabeth exclaimed at the same time, as Thalia pulled into a parking spot in the school parking lot.

"You guys are really no fun," Piper complained.

Annabeth walked into her English class, her last class before lunch. She sat in her usual seat in the middle of the second row, opening up her notebook. She looked up at the board, where the teacher had written out the plan for today, complete with what pages of notes they had to take. She squinted slightly, but she always squinted. She'd always assumed the world was just a little blurry, and you had to look closer to see it better.

Mr. Kristin soon came in, with his usual straight to the point attitude. He simply told them to look up at the board for what they had to do today – like Annabeth had obviously already done. Then, he told them to get working and sat behind his desk, most likely looking at the internet. He definitely wasn't the best teacher.

It didn't take long before Annabeth had completed that day's assignment – reading a fairy tale and outlining a possible modern day retelling – while everyone else had to take it home for homework to be done by next week. She, of course, didn't feel completely satisfied with her work. She always felt like she just had to be better and better. But, to Mr. Kristin her work was perfection. So – she assumed that that was why he held her back late from class that day, she didn't even care that it was eating into her lunch period. It always made her feel good about herself when someone told her she was doing good.

However, that did not seem to be the real reason for his asking for her to stay for a few minutes as the rest of the class filed out.

"Ms. Chase," Mr. Kristin said, systematically straightening out some of the papers on his desk. He may not have been the best at teaching a class, but he sure did seem like a perfectionist sometimes. "I noticed you squinting up at the board." He paused. "Which I usually wouldn't question, but seeing as you sit in the second row.. ."

"What are you getting at, Mr. Kristin, I kind of need to get to lunch..." Annabeth still said this with the respectful tone she usually used around her teachers.

"Have you ever had your eyes checked to see if you need glasses?" Mr. Kristin finished.

Annabeth shook her head, her shoulders relaxing slightly. This was about nothing. "No. I've always assumed I can see, so my eyes must be fine."

"Well, I think you should go to the office and get them checked," Mr. Kristin glanced at the clock. "You're lunch period is an hour and a half, right? You should have plenty of time to eat your lunch after."

"I was actually planning to work on my college admissions essay during lunch period..." She trailed off.

"I'm sure that can wait. I already told the office you'd be on your way down."

Annabeth sighed. "Okay, sir."

"Okay," the women who worked in the office, Ms. Hestia, said after Annabeth had failed miserably at reading the letters on the chart. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. But I'm pretty sure that means you'll need glasses." She started to scribble a note. "This is telling your parents they need to take you to the eye doctor for a prescription. But don't worry. I bet you can get you some very cute glasses." She winked.

Annabeth sighed. Just her luck. She thought as she examined Ms. Hestia. She was a small woman, not very old like some of the other women working at her school. She had a warmth and kindness about her. Annabeth could see why she would be a good teacher, as she handed her the note. Annabeth nodded. "I'll give it to them."

Ms. Hestia smiled, "Good. Now I think you can probably get going to lunch now. I think you can see well enough you won't run into any walls?"

Annabeth gave her a small smile. "I think I'll be fine. I made it here, didn't I?"

She chuckled, as she got up and opened the door to the hallway for her. "Have a nice rest of your day, Annabeth."

"You too, Ms. Hestia," she waved, smiling at her as she walked away. Annabeth made her way towards the lunch room. She meant to go and join Thalia and Piper at there usual table. They were probably wondering where she was. But Annabeth stopped in her tracks right before she crossed in front of the open door to the principal's office.

"I don't know what to say, Percy," she could hear the voice of the principal saying. "You've always had trouble with some of your classes, and never the best grades. But this is a new low, Mr. Jackson. A new low."

"I know," Annabeth heard another voice say quietly. Most likely that of the boy being told off. "I swear I'll try to get them up."

"I know you will. But you really need to try this time. It's serious this time." There was a pause, and she assumed the boy nodded. "And I'll have to inform your parents of this."

"I know," the boy said, in an 'I've already accepted my fate' type of voice.

"Good," Annabeth heard footsteps, and she ducked behind the open door, not wanting them to know she was sort of eavesdropping. The principal, Mr. Brunner's, shadow came to the edge of the door. "You really are a good kid, Percy. You just need to work harder, you hear me?"

The boy seemed to be nodding. "Okay good. I'll send you off then." Mr. Brunner shut the door and the boy's eyes found Annabeth. Only then did she realize she knew this boy.

The boy was fairly attractive – but Annabeth never really cared to notice that kind of thing. His name, she knew, was Percy Jackson. He was well, he was popular. And that meant, Annabeth had always despised him, without ever having talked to him.

The boy – Percy – forced a smile, "Hey. Uhhh… did you hear all of that?"

Annabeth nodded, not replying, but not because she was shy. She wasn't shy. But, because she didn't have any wish of engaging in a conversation with him.

She walked around him and towards the lunch room, with only two thoughts on her mind.

One, glasses. Now people would favor the assumption that she was the nerdy girl. Given she was smart, and glasses made you a nerd.

And two, it seems like brain cells weren't in the requirements of being popular. No wonder she wasn't popular and had never tried to be so. She wasn't your average girl after all.

She was Annabeth Chase and had no wish to be anything else. Only a wish that people would listen.