chapter 2

disclaimer:

me : am i rick riordan ?

annabeth: no

me (sobbing) : i (sob) don't(sob) own it (uncontrollable sobbing)

Annabeth POV

When the bell rang , people ran out of their seats like wild animals escaping prison. I can't really blame them because miss Hawthorne could make huge wars sound boring . I mean how could she do it ? It would probably remain a mystery to me forever. However ,no matter how boring the class is , i never run out like a wild animal unlike many of my classmates . Miss Hawthorne is an elderly woman in her late fifties . Even though she is extremely boring , she is very nice and becomes immensly pleased if anyone thanks her or asks a question . It makes her feel that people understand her lessons. When half of the class was gone I gathered my stuff , thanked miss hawthorne and got out of the class . Suddenly I smelled a sickingly sweet perfume and saw slut no 1 with her gang coming toward me . In an overly sweet voice ( which was obviously fake ) she said-" oh , Annabeth ! just the person I was hoping to see. "

I replied - " oh , how much i wish i could say the same for you ."

That made her angry and she said -"what sort of clothes are those anyway? You know I have not seen someone out of style since , since..."

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and started tapping her finger on her cheek thoughtfully ( Or acting like it because till now, I have not confirmed if she has a brain or not )

and suddenly said-" Oh yeah ! I have never seen someone so out of style. Who's clothes are those , your mother's or your grandmum's ? "

At first I was thinking of walking away so that the matter stops then and there but decided against it .

Walking away would only make them continue doing this . So, i replied -"Oh , you know there are people who are not interested in walking around half naked to lure boys who haven't slept with them "

Her face became red due to anger and she sneered" Well , at least I am not so ugly that no guy agreed to go with me "

Slut no 2 added - " Yeah , I doubt that even steve would go out with you "

Steve is one of their main bullying target . They bully him almost everyday , at first some decent people tried to stop them but now it had become sort of a routine . Steve has orange hair and acne all over his face , smells of mouldy pizza and is extremely nervous around almost everyone . BUT that does not means I approve of them bullying him . I mean , ok that guy is disgusting but the sluts have no right to bully him . At first he asked out a couple of girls , but almost all of them either slapped him shouting NO or some who were decent polietly refused . One day he asked me if I would like to meet him for dinner . At first I was shocked but then I told him that I really was not into dating anyone yet .

Slut no 3 copied - " Yeah not even Steve "

Then slut no 4 and 5 did the same . by now i frustrated so i said in a fake sympathetic voice -" Oh ! are your walnut sized brains too small to think of anything else to say ? "

The result was something I had not expected , they just started laughing and let the leader (slut no 1) handle it .

Slut no 1 said with a sense of superiority -" at least I am not so hideous that my mother ran away , unlike some people"

Now , my anger was converted into sadness . See, when I was just five my mum and dad had a huge fight because of god knows what and she ran away . The only thing I have of my mother is her golden pendant which is something for me to hold on when life is unfair . If you open it , on one side there is a picture of my mother and on the other side , the words " Don't worry if people laugh at you . One day you'll succeed and the roles would be reversed " were engraved .

It really gives me hope during truly depressing times. it makes me believe that underneath those black clouds of sadness , there is a sun of happiness. Technically , I already have success , being a bestselling author but I also want to be an architect with very good marks . I want to accomplish more than an average person can. But right now , I am so depressed that even those thoughts could not cheer me up . Was the that slut right ? Did my mother leave me because I was ugly ? Am I ugly ? If not , Why did she leave me ? Even if she had a fight with dad and she had to go ,why did she not take me with her ? These were the questions which I could not answer and i don't think they will ever be answered by anyone ever. I wish I could meet my mother at least once to confront her with these questions.

As if sensing my discomfort , slut no 2 continued " Yeah , her mother would have been so embarassed to have such an ugly and useless daughter that she left"

slut no 3 started " maybe the fight with your dad was her excuse to get away from you . tell me ,if she really loved you , she would have taken you with her , right ?

slut no 4 (who did not wanted to be left behind) said-"you know, i really pity your stepmum who has to see your ugly face everyday "

slut no 5 concluded -" you know , i always wonder why her father took her in " i wanted to shout 'because he is my father idiot ' but decided against it because it would only make then say more . she continued -"if her mother herself couldn't deal with her ugly child , why should he ? he should have left her" now , slut no 1 started laughing and all others took it as a sign that there work was done here and they should and start laughing and take their leave . by now there were tears in my eyes and people have also stopped to watch . tears in my eyes that were threatining to fall but i vowed that i was not crying in front of them . at first i tried to say something but nothing comes out. it took all of the courage and hope in me to say something without my voice cracking and i said -" the last laugh will be mine " and walked away from there . tears were now streaming freely freely from my eyes and nothing i could do would stop them . so i rushed in the nearest bathroom , locked the door and let the tears fall freely .today my one lecture was free so i had plenty of time . i continued to shed tears till my eyes were dry and there wre no tears left . i quickly cleaned my face so that it would not be obviously that i had been crying but it's no use because my red , puffy eyes give it away. i got out of the bathroom to find the hallways almost empty because lectures were going on and most people were in class .

i quickly got out of the building and headed for my 'home' .You know how a fish reacts out of water ? how a child reacts around people who give him a bad feeling ? Yeah , they feel uncomfortable , TERRIBLY UNCOMFORTALE . That's exactly how I feel in my own home. you must be wondering how can one feel uncomfotable in her own home . well, my stepmum makes sure to nott make me feel welcome in any way . when i was little she used to hit me a lot . at first i used to cry but after some time i realised that crying is only a waste of time and learned to apply medicine on my wounds on my own and that way i survived my stepmum .sometimes when she is not in the mood of hitting me , she locked me in a cupboard which is full of spiders . it is so because i have serious fear of spiders and my longest record of staying in the cupboard without fainting is 15 minutes . sometimes , i faint almost instantly and other times i survive for about 10 to 15 minutes . on those days , i have nightmares at night and mostly i wake up at midnight drenched in sweat and shaking . a shiver ran through my spine as i remembered those times .i assure myself and go back to sleep hoping that there would be no nightmares .anyway , that was a long time ago . nowdays it's only one or two times in a week and i am too big to fit in a cupboard . so yeah , growing up was a great advantage for me against my stepmum . as for my father , he just doesn't care .he lives in his own world . i bet he doesn't even remembers my birthday.

suddenly someone bumped into me and i was jerked away from my thoughts . the boy looked aroundmy age 17 or at most 18 . he had a cap on but could see a few strands of black hair here and there and had mysterious sea green eyes . he looked vaguely familiar although i cannot remember exactly . he eyed me strangely as if he knows me , but i had never met him . i mumbled-" sorry , i was not watching where i was going " and i was about to walk away when he starts to say-" hey , i think i know you- "

but i ran away because the last thing i wanted to was to talk to a stranger .i heard a 'clank' the sound of something metallic hitting the ground but i did not stop walking away in full speed (as fast as i can without actual running ) . i heard him calling me "annabeth" but i did not stop. how does this guy knows my name ? that creeps me out and i started running . from my current location , thalia's apartment was much nearer so i decided to go there .

thalia is my best friend and my manager . her apartment is the place where i amm truly comfortable and welcome . we have sleepovers over 3 or 4 times a week and truly enjoy each other's company .thalia is sarcastic , funny and when i am depressed, knows exactly what will cheer me up .

once i got there i was out of breath . i pressed the doorbell and stood there for a few minutes while i catched my breath .