Annabeths POV
BEEP BEEP BEEP* My eyes instantly shot open and slammed my hand against the alarm clock, today was the first day of junior year. I was not that excited to begin school, which might be surprising to some people;based on my "book worm" status. I rubbed my eyes of morning funk as I pushed myself out from under the warm covers of my queen size bed. My morning routine from last year was zooming through my head as I went to the bathroom to shower, quickly glancing in the mirror as I jumped in. Shower, get dressed, eat, pick up Thals and Jason, school, it was practically hardwired in my head. After thoroughly cleaning my body I got out of the shower, cursing at myself for forgetting my towel, maybe the first day has me flustered. I quickly ran to my room and dried myself off there, looking in the mirror before dressing and putting my hair in a bun, not a messy bun, a bun! I would later take it out after breakfast, I just didn't like the hair in my way of the food, that's all. I ran downstairs and prepared myself two eggs, a slice of plain toast, and a glass of OJ to drown it down. Mid breakfast I felt my phone vibrate,
Thals: Are you almost here?
Me: Leaving in 2!
Since when was she so excited for school? I thought to myself as I finished the rest of my toast , running up the stairs to brush my teeth. After brushing my teeth and grabbing my backpacks and keys I let out a half shouting "bye", knowing my dad and step mom wouldn't care if I was here or not. As I started my car I had an apprehensive feeling about starting this year, just two more years and it's over. It felt weird, but exciting. As I drove to Thalia and Jason's house I thought back to my summer, it wasn't too bad, nothing out of the ordinary really happened. All I really did was read and spend time with my close friends, nothing really out of the ordinary, it's kind of what I do during the school year too. Thalia's house wasn't too far from mine, and with my anxiety of being late(even though we had plenty of time), I got to her house in record time. The Grace siblings must have been excited as well, seeing as though they were waiting for me in the driving, running to my car as soon as I pulled in. I let out a laugh as they fought for the front seat, after a minute of struggling Jason went to the back, but he wasn't too thrilled about it. "Hey" Thalia said in a breathless smile as she hopped into the car, "Ready for your guys junior year?" I let out another small laugh before giving her a small smile, "I should be asking you if your ready, senior years a big year and all", she scowled at me as Jason chuckled in the back, leaning forward as he spoke, "Oh please, Thals here tells me everyday how excited she is to leave our preppy school". I let out another laugh as I looked at Thalia, "True, South Central is kinda preppy, but you'll miss us right?" I was expecting another scowl, but to my surprise I got a shy smile. "Yeah, yeah I will".
As we pulled into the schools parking lot, I could just feel the energy in the air, another year closer to graduation. I pulled my silver Mercedes into my designated parking spot, giving a small sigh as I turned the car off. "Ready?" I asked giving a glance at both Thalia and Jason. "Yeah", Jason replied, while Thalia just gave me a nod. "Alright kiddos, let's go!" I exclaimed, crawling quickly out of the car. "Hey! Seniority miss Chase!" Thalia yelled as she excited the car. I let out yet another laugh, even though I spent time with the Graces a lot I would never get enough of their antics. "So Jason, ready for football this year?", Jason was the starting quarterback for the team, and we were pretty decent. "Yeah I am!" He beamed at me, "Me and the rest of the guys worked real hard this summer!" I smiled at him, " That's good, I know you'll do great, hopefully you'll finally win states, or nationals, or whatever", Thalia rolled her eyes, "You come to every game you should know more of their lingo, oh smart one." I glared at her, "Hey! I know it's a championship, just not the official name." I continued to rant as we walked up the front stairs of the prestigious school, "besides you know I'm usually studying for classes at these football games anyway." Jason let out a laugh as he held the door open for us, we gave him a quick nod of thanks before continuing. "Yeah I don't know why, your smart enough as it is." He said as he followed us into the school. Once inside we briefly paused to take in the school again, even though we were going here since freshman year it was still a beautiful school. The floors were made out of marble, your eyes could reflect off of the shiny surface. The lockers were bigger than most schools, giving each student plenty of room to store their supplies, and the high ceilings made it seem like a museum instead of a school. "Well, let's just go find the others." I said, looking at the two siblings. Thalia pushed ahead of us and me and Jason followed; I began to study the two siblings, something I do a lot. Jason had bleach blonde hair, with electric blue eyes. He seemed like a typical sports jock, but in truth he was much more caring. Thalia on the other hand had dark black ,spiky hair, with the same electric blue eyes. She was rather short, only standing at 5'4", but she had the attitude of someone much bigger. As I was examining the two siblings we abruptly stopped infront of a locker. "Hey guys!" The group shouted, I turned away from Jason to see Grover, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Beckondorf. Jasón was the first to speak, "Hey guys! I'm surprised you made it here before us, you know how Annabeth usually is." Typical, I thought as I shoved Jason, "I'm not that predictable, who knows maybe I'll skip a class this year." That got a laugh from the group. "No way! ", Piper exclaimed happily, "That'd be the day Thalia wears pink!" That got another laugh from the group as Thalia scowled. After the laughter calmed down Beckendorf reached out to nudge Jason, "You hear about that new kid transferring here for football?" Jason looked confused, "New kid? What schools he from?" Before Beckendorf could respond Thalia spoke up. "I thought it was weird you didn't mention that earlier, he's some big shot New Yorker" Jason's nose scrunched up as he looked at Thalia, " A New Yorker? They aren't even that good at football. And how do you know about this before I do!?" Thalia rolled her eyes, "It was on the local news dummy." I glanced between the two. Normally I would speak up, but I was not too knowledgeable when it comes to football, although I do know California is a better football state in terms of recruiting then New York. "Yeah the kids highlights were playing non stop, he's a 4 star apparently" Piper spoke up this time, "Really?" Jason asked still looking a little confused, "I wonder why coach never told me about him." Beckendorf nodded, "Yeah and I wonder where this star was all summer workouts." Grover was grabbing at his crutches nervously, "Actually it was rather last minute. He's actually an old friend of mine" Everyone stopped and looked at him, "Well why didn't you say so!" Me and Thalia shouted at the same time. He looked away quickly, before looking back at us again. "I'm sorry guys, I recently found out too." He scratched his beanie, "And I was kinda just talking to him about it, he's kind of my best friend." We all gaped at Grover, he didn't really talk about his life in New York. He moved here in the 8th grade for gods sake, why are we just hearing about his best friend now. "You stayed in touch with him their whole time?" Piper asked, bewildered as the rest of us. I was looking at our crippled friend expectingly, but he was not even looking at us any more. I turned to follow his eyes and my jaw almost hit the floor. Coming down the hallway was an intimidating figure to say the least, he had pitch black hair that flowed uncontrollably on his head, he even had some small curls to it. As my eyes traveled dow I sucked in a breathe when I noticed his eyes. His eyes were bright green, almost an emerald color. Upon further examination he seemed very tense, his tan face was set in a small scold, and his eyes kept flickering around his surroundings. Almost as if he was expecting something to happen, or maybe he was just put off from the school and students. He was at least 6'2" with a deep tan that stuck to powerful frame. He wasn't overly big per-say, but he had broad shoulders that extended down to his long powerful arms. His chest and torso seemed just as impressive, although I couldn't really tell, even with his tight black shirt. My eyes continued down to his legs, instead of the classic South Central look of khakis, he was wearing snug light blue ripped jeans. I could tell his legs were powerful as well, just the shape and size they held, you could tell he was a top notch athlete. I did another run down of him, he was wearing black Jordan shoes, their number or type of generation I did not know. His whole demeanor, as well as the shoes, ripped jeans, and black shirt looked out of place. His eyes seemed cold and guarded, reflecting the scowl on his face, clearly he was not used to the preppy type culture that South Central offered. His eyes and face changed, almost immediately, as he looked toward our group. His eyes turned from a freezing ocean water to a bright emerald, shinning with happiness. His once murderously looking face shifted to a happy/ troublesome looking grin, his bright white teeth showing through his plump lips. Plump? I thought to myself, where did that come from? Before I could think any further I heard a "Yerrrrr , G man! What's up big guy!?" Our group went silent as Grover crutched closer to the mysterious transfer. "Perce! I missed you!" He exclaimed happily before throwing his arms around the new kid. "Ayy I missed you too Grover," he was still smiling putting his arm around Grovers shoulder. "It's been way too long, I see you grew some facial hair! I know the females are all over you now!" His accent was that of an urban New Yorker, it matched his clothes very well. And no, I was not being stereotypical, he just dressed and sounded differently than us! Gods. Grover was blushing, "I mean I guess. I-" the transfer student known as "Perce" let out a booming laugh, "I'm just playing Grover, haven't seen you in a minute. You know I gotta comment on the improvements!" Grover laughed/ bleated as he hit the new kid with a crutch. "I could say the same about you!" I looked around and noticed I wasn't the only one who was looking at their exchange, in fact the whole hallway was quiet, not that these two noticed. In fact the transfer student never even looked at our little group that Grover was standing a foot outside of, his bright green eyes were locked on Grover still shinning in happiness. "Yeah, yeah." The new kid said as he readjusted his black backpack, "but hey, I gotta go to the office and get all my info, locker number and schedule and whatnot." He grabbed Grovers shoulder and leaned in closer. Unbeknownst to them I also leaned in, "Gotta get off on the right foot, settle in a little bit. Might take a couple days to get into a routine but I'll find you eventually". I scrounged my eyebrows at this, what was the big deal he was just a transfer. But as he pulled away from Grover I saw him nodding rapidly, "I was thinking the same thing Perce, no worries". Perce beamed at him, his breathtaking eyes still sparkling. "Ight G man, I'll catch you later." He gave Grovers shoulder one more pat before he continued down the hallway. We all looked at him as he made his way down the hall, before Turing our heads toward Grover. I was the first to speak, "So you just forgot to introduce us or?". Grover let out a nervous laugh/bleat noise, "Sorry guys, I was just distracted I guess." The rest of the group exchanged a look before Piper let out a heavy sigh, "Its okay, just introduce us sometime?" Grover nodded his head excitedly. "Yeah no doubt".
The rest of the day dragged on, all the teachers were just going through introductions, as well as asking the students about their summer. That new kid, who's name I learned was actually Percy, not "Perce", was in most of my classes. In homeroom he gave a brief introduction, meaning he just said, "Hey" to the class, and that's it. The new kid kind of interested me, not just because he was attractive, okay. Like why would he transfer to this school across the country junior year? I also noticed his backpack that read, Goode football , so I quickly searched it up. Apparently it was a private school in a tough area that excelled in Football and other sports. As I read more I found numerous articles and videos that had his name in it, as well as some articles about his, arrest records? I looked up from my laptop to study him some more, he didn't have a laptop of his own and it appeared that he was doodling in a notebook. I glanced back down to my screen, burglary, arson, assault? All of these arrests and charges was when he was a minor, but the paper written by the school was basically defending him, against other news outlets. "Percy Jackson is a competitive spirit. A true champion, which can only be shown through the handling of his past actions. The school of Goode has known about his past struggles, but noticed his commitment to his education and extracurricular activities. While the other news stations that have recently found out about Percy Jackson's past are trying to discredit his character. We at Goode know of our students struggles, and stand besides them in their fight for a second chance. Perseus Jackson is not only a role mode for fellow students on the field, but his character development has inspired others to be like him OFF the field as well..." . I looked back from my computer to study this, Percy character again, he was looking around at other students, and back at the board. He seemed lost, school wise and society wise. His foot was bouncing up and down, a clear trait of anxiety, he clearly wasn't accustomed to the preppy setting of South Central. Maybe I should talk to him after class, tell him I'm Grovers friend, common ground might calm his nerves. As I was deep in thought the bell rang, dismissing the class, I quickly backed up just in time to see Percys desk vacant.
I didn't see him again until after lunch, which confused me, because according to process of elimination he should have the same lunch as me and the rest of the group. "So Grover, " I said as I was picking at my brought lunch, "Where's your friend?" The rest of the group stopped talking as we all turned toward Grover, waiting for an answer. "Well,", he said as he picked at his salad, "he just needs a little more time to adjust to the school and curriculum, so he might not be here for awhile." We all exchanged a confused look, "Why wouldn't him coming to lunch help him in his transition, you know, get some friends?" Connor Stoll asked. He still hasn't even seen the kid, but it was still a good question. Grover let out a heavy sigh, "It's just a different experience, I had to go through it too. I wasn't that open when I first came to SanFran, you all know that." I nodded toward him, respecting that answer. If I remembered correctly Grover was wayyy more quiet then he was now, which was honestly saying a lot. "Just let him know we are here for him, hell maybe I'll tell him at practice!" Beckendorf said toward Grover. Grover just looked at him, and gave him a slight nod, showing him he understood and appreciated the effort, or so I assumed. As the bell rang I quickly said goodbye to my friends and heading toward the library, I had study hall and gym for my last two classes, and then I would drive home. As I made my way toward said library my thoughts were swirling through my head, how did Goode even let Percy in here with that record, why Junior year, why was Grover saying that he had to adjust more? I shook my head as I opened the doors, walking quickly toward my normal table. I waved at the librarian, Ms. Hestia, who gave me a nervous looking smile in return. That's weird, I thought to myself as I walked deeper into the library, she's usually very happy to see me. I shook my head again as I turned past a book shelf, I abruptly stoped however, seeing someone already took my place. Percy Jackson. He had notes and papers sprawled out on the desk in front of him, but he wasn't even looking at them. He was on the fucking phone. I became irate, how dare he take my spot, just for him to not to even use it. My plan was to curse him out, until I got at least 5 feet in front of the table, "Yeah Mom, I know" he ran his hands through his black hair. "It's just weird, these kids talk different, and they're so preppy, I thought my nice jeans would be a good impression. These kids look like they're on a golf course or CEO meeting or something!" I stopped abruptly, I know it sounds like I'm creeping on his personal life, but I was just curious on his opinion of us. After a couple seconds of silence(his mom was talking back), he sighed, "I know I'll be good, miss you, love you bye". After he hung up he put his hands in his head muttering something to himself. I turned away to walk to a different table before I heard him speak, "Ayyo blondie", I quickly turned around to glare at him for the nick name, but he wasn't even looking at me, he was looking at his papers. I glared harder, who the fuck does this kid think he is, over confident piece of-. My thoughts cut short as he glanced back up from his papers. His troublemaker grin shining through my dark thoughts. "Sorry I didn't catch your name, I just needed your attention. I saw you in class earlier." He glanced away, rubbing the back of his head as if he were nervous, "You mind helping me out?" Annabeths eyes grew large, she's pretty sure this is the first words he spoke toward another student, besides Grover. She opened her mouth to respond but she quickly closed it when he made eye contact with her. "Sorry I know this is annoying I'm just." He blew out a breathe, shaking his head. "Really, really culture shocked." I stared at him a couple of more seconds before slowly nodding. "Of course I'll help, hi I'm Annabeth. Nice to meet you."