Chapter 1

kalopsia (Greek): a delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are

March – 3 months before graduation

Annabeth – San Francisco

Annabeth was working away on an AP chemistry report in her room when she heard the front door open. "Annabeth! Mail!" called Helen, her step-mom. She shot up and almost rammed into her door. Could it be, could it be finally here?

She leapt down the stairs skipping four steps at a time. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Hopefully, she wouldn't get her hopes up. Every time she did this routine, she always ended up disappointed. Her-step brothers Matthew and Bobby came out of their room and her dad came out of his study bounding after her.

Helen stood at the bottom of the steps clutching an envelope beaming at her. Oh my gods, this is really happening. Helen held out the letter to her and Annabeth held it as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. The large envelope displayed the words: Columbia University. Her fingers were shaking, and she had difficulty breathing. She looked up at her dad and Helen and they smiled at her encouragingly. Matthew and Bobby were eager to find out the results and they gave her thumbs up and wide grins.

She smiled back at them and was amazed at how far they come together as a family.

Originally Annabeth's relationship with stepmother started a little rocky as they were not really comfortable with each other and her dad was always busy with work. Then when Matthew and Bobby came along, Annabeth felt like even more of an outsider. She didn't feel welcome in her own home. After a few years, she ran away, but she didn't get very far. The police picked her up and ended up taking her back home despite her protests.

She walked up to the front porch and before she could ring the doorbell, the door opened widely, and her dad rushed out and embraced Annabeth tightly. "I was so scared," he sobbed in her ear. "Please don't do that again." Annabeth couldn't help the tears from forming in her eyes and was surprised he noticed she was done. She looked up and saw Helen and was shocked to see her holding back a sob as she walked towards them with her arms stretched out. Annabeth gasped as she felt another pair of arms around her. Helen had tears in her eyes, and she was shocked that Helen was crying.

After a while of just hugging on their front porch, they walked into the house. Her dad rushed into the kitchen to make her some hot chocolate leaving Helen and her alone in the foyer.

Annabeth was trying to process everything that just occurred. She wanted to say something, but she was at a loss for words. "I know I haven't been doing a good job as being a step-mother to you," Helen whispered. It was barely audible that Annabeth wasn't sure if it was her imagination. Helen turned to her and bent down to her height, looking at her right in the eyes. "I'm so sorry that you felt like the only solution was to run away," she started again as tears started streaming down her cheeks. "I want you to know that I do love you and I will try to do a better job and be able to be someone you can talk to Annabeth. I will always be here for you and so will your father. You should be able to voice any concern you have and not be afraid. I'm sorry for our rough start, but I hope we can grow closer. What do you say?" Helen asked looking at Annabeth with hope and warmth in her eyes.

Annabeth found herself crying at what Helen just said. She couldn't believe it. She nodded in agreement as she reached out for another hug.

After that moment their relationship slowly morphed into a sort of mother-daughter relationship. Helen could never replace her mother, but Helen was here while her mother wasn't. Slowly Helen became as much as her mother as she could be.

"What are you waiting for Annabeth!" cried Bobby. "Open it! Open it!" chanted Matthew. Her dad chuckled at them and smiled at her, telling her to take her time, but his eyes gave away his excitement. "Whatever it says Annabeth, just know we are in this together." Helen gently said from behind her.

Annabeth gazed at the envelope and began tearing the seam.

"Dear Miss Chase," Annabeth began reading out loud. "We are pleased to offer you admission for the upcoming school year!" She yelled. Immediately her family tacked her in excitement, and they began jumping and yelling not knowing what else to do with the adrenaline.

"I can't believe it! I'm going to Columbia!"

Percy – Manhattan

Percy blasted music through his headphones to try to drown out the screaming crowd. Today was the day of the swimming national finals. He tried to stay focused, but his nerves were overwhelming, and he was very distracted. He thought about his friends cheering for him on the bleachers, he thought of his mother who dedicated so much of her time in order for him to achieve his dreams, and the college scouts scattered amongst the crowd, but he mostly thought about the scout from Columbia. If he placed today, he had a good chance of getting a swimming scholarship.

Percy knew that his grades weren't the best and his dyslexia was not helping. He'd just been managing to make it through school. Percy was averaging C's with the occasional D and always getting an A in P.E. That was the only thing saving his GPA. In order to get the scholarship, he needed to end the year averaging a C+. As of right now, he was doing just fine, but barely.

One night he calculated his expected grades for all his classes to see how well he was doing. If he worked it out correctly, he would just be skimming by with a C+. However, the only unknown factor was calculus with Mr. Daniels or Mr. D, but Percy only knew him as one name, Mr. Dickwad.

Percy shook the thought out of his head. Don't think about that. He needed to focus. Percy looked to the bleachers and saw his entire support system. His friends were going crazy, holding up posters, encouraging him. His mom looked at him with gleaming eyes. She smiled at him and he couldn't help himself, so he found himself smiling back.

Percy loved his mom more than anything. She's the only one that believes he can do anything. He wanted to win this for her, he wanted to get this scholarship for her.

Light's flashed indicating the time to take marks. Percy took off his headphones and stepped onto the platform. I heard the beep and instinctively dove into the water.

It was over so fast. Percy quickly looked around for the time board. He spotted it and grinned, first place, he did it. He jumped out of the pool and bounded towards the people most important to him. He got tackled in a giant group hug, first his mom then his friends, Grover, Jason, Piper, Rachel, Leo, Thalia, Frank, and Reyna. He was so happy to have the support of everyone he loved.

They slowly began stepping away and Percy turned around to find himself face to face with the scout from Columbia. "Well son, that was some fine swimming son." He grinned. "The team at Columbia would be honoured to have you on the team and I can guarantee a scholarship as long as you maintain that C+." The scout exclaimed. "That's great to hear sir," Percy replied excitedly. "Nothing would make me happier than swimming for Columbia."

A week before graduation

Percy knocked on the door to the place he hated most at Goode. "Come in," replied the voice of pure evil. "Hey Mr. Dic –Daniels," Percy said trying to hide his grimace. "Ahh, isn't it the great and mighty Percy Jackson." He sneered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Percy cleared his throat and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of his irritation. "I wanted to talk to you about my final grade. I need you to bump it up by a measly two percent." Percy would've phrased it in a more polite way, but he couldn't stand Mr. D and didn't have the patience to deal with him.

"Just because you're the talk of the town now, you think you can waltz in here demanding a higher grade. Well, my answer for you is no. I will not do such a thing. You should know that Mr. Jackson. I've made it explicitly clear that the mark you earned in the class is the mark you get. No exceptions." Mr. D replied disparagingly.

"But sir, you don't understa–," Percy tried reasoning before he was interrupted. "No Mr. Jackson, you don't understand. I will not give out any special treatment especially for someone who didn't even try in my class. I'm sorry, but the mark is final."

Percy stormed out of the classroom seeing red. He was furious at Mr. D, but mostly at himself. He just lost his scholarship and now he had no idea what he was going to do.

Author's note: Hi everyone. If you made it to the end congrats and thanks. This is my first story ever. I will warn you, I do try my best to edit and proofread, but I am honestly terrible at it, so I'm sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes in advance. Also, I'm Canadian so be prepared for some British spelling (all those u's). I have a brief direction with where this story is going, but I'm always looking for feedback and suggestions. I'm kinda new to this platform so don't be afraid to reach out. I would love to hear you out. Cheers – K