Chapter 1

Annabeth POV

I roll down the limousine window and am immediately hit with a burst of salty California air. It's hot out today, but nice at the same time. Not like the hot and mucky air that I'm used to back in San Fran. I guess LA really is as temperate as they say it is.

We drive by a couple of stores and boutiques, all selling dresses and jewelry and brightly colored T-shirts for tourists. I spare quick glances at the people on the streets, all of them going about their window shopping and grabbing their overly expensive morning coffees before heading off to work. To them it's probably just a normal day. But for me, today is the day that my summer will take a drastic turn. For better or for worse.

I'm startled out of my gaze when I hear the limousine's divider roll down.

"Approximately two more minutes before we arrive at Olympus Resort, Ms. Chase," my mom's driver says to me from the front seat.

"Thanks Argus," I say with a quick smile, turning back to the window.

We are almost at LA's world renowned Olympus Resort. I can already see the resort's grand structure peeking out from the edge of the coastline, it's gorgeous pillars and balconies standing out against the morning sun. I catch my breath. It's absolutely beautiful.

We drive downhill for a while until we reach these incredible Roman style arches (sorry, I'm sort of a geek when it comes to architecture) and pull into a beautifully landscaped garden with red and white roses covering the property. The limo then comes to a stop near a colosseum-styled building that absolutely takes my breath away and I snap my seatbelt off, grabbing my purse from the seat beside me. Argus quickly gets out and opens the door for me before heading to the trunk to grab my bags.

I barely get in two steps toward the entrance before I notice my mom strutting down the steps, making her way towards me. She looks powerful and important as she walks, demanding the attention of everyone in her presence with nothing more than her strict posture and bold stance. She gives a quick wave to Argus and comes to a stop at the foot of the steps.

"Annabeth, my beautiful girl, how was your flight?"

I lean in to hug her, taking in the scent of her lavender shampoo as I do. "It was great mom, but you really didn't have to seat me in first class, coach would've been just fine." I spare a quick glance behind me. "And the limo was a little much."

"Oh don't be ridiculous Annabeth." My mom pulls out of the hug and begins to walk back towards the building. "You're lucky to have such resources at your disposal."

I roll my eyes and rush to keep up with my mom as she marches up the stairs, her heels clicking with every step.

My mom, Athena Chase is a famous architect who is known for her ancient Greek and Roman inspired architecture and of course, her long, wavy blond hair that is almost exactly like mine. Today she wears it up in a businesslike bun with an elegant white dress and black heels. I suddenly feel a little out of place with my messy blond curls pulled up in a high ponytail along with tattered jean shorts, black converse, and a light blue t-shirt. I am definitely underdressed for a fancy resort like this, but no way was I about to wear uncomfortable clothes for the plane ride.

When we reach the front of the building, Argus pulls open the door for us.

"Thank you Argus," my mom says as we step into the reception area.

The main building of the resort is a beautifully designed building that the resort likes to refer to as The Colosseum because of its striking resemblance to the real Colosseum in Rome. The whole Colosseum is a gentle white and the inside is incredibly open with wide windows and marble counters. Willowy curtains blow through the air as the gorgeous arched windows let in the ocean breeze.

Because my mother is one of the most famous architects in the world, she travels all the time for work which is why I only live with her in the summer. During the school year, I'm stuck living with my father Frederick, his stupid wife Helen, and my step brothers Bobby and Matthew in San Francisco. My mom lives in New York, which is where I usually spend my summers, however, this year is the grand opening of Olympus Resort, and since my mom is the architect, she decided that we would be spending our summer here in LA at the resort while it gets up and running so that I can enjoy the resort's facilities while she begins working on the resort's expansion plans.

"Okay hon," my mom says curling a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I have to get back to a board meeting. Will you be okay finding everything without me?"

There's a part of me that wants to reply to her by saying something like, I've never had trouble finding my way without you before, what makes you think it would be a problem now? But I resist the temptation and simply nod my head as she slips me my room key.

"Love you hon," my mom says to me with one last squeeze on my shoulder.

"Love you too mom," I reply, but she has already turned around and is walking away down a long hall of conference rooms and locked doors.

Story of my life.

I decide to take a look around the resort before I head off to my room, and I've got to say, it really is impressive. The beautifully arched windows let in sunlight every way you look, and multiple people in fancy looking suits and name tags have offered me drinks and appetizers. I walk down a couple of hallways and spot some cool restaurants and lounges. And I've only walked for a couple minutes before having seen an arcade, a bar, and a teen hang out area. Turn a corner, I tighten my ponytail, and quicken my pace, only to find myself in the most beautiful library I have ever seen. My mom has definitely been busy. Maybe this summer won't be so bad afterall.

I begin running my hands across the spines of some of my absolute favorites in the classics section. To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby. Oh my gods I am in literal heaven. I pull a couple of books that I've been waiting to read off of the shelves and take my stack over to a small sitting area over in the corner before losing myself in the pages of one of the novels.

It feels good to have a book in my hand again. This past school year absolutely kicked my ass in terms of how heavy my workload was, and I didn't have as much time for reading as I would have liked. So, I am hoping that being here at the resort, away from my dad's family and the stress of school, I will finally be able to take some time to get back to doing the things I like.

I must be sitting there, reading in the corner of the Colosseum Library for a half an hour or so before I am snapped back to reality by a harsh tap on my shoulder and an annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"Hello, are you deaf or something?"

The voice comes from a ridiculously gorgeous asian girl with perfect ringlets of black hair and beautiful brown eyes. She looks about my age and wears jean shorts and a bathing suit cover up over her bikini top.

I immediately begin searching around for something to use as a bookmark. "Shoot, I'm so sorry," I reply to her. "I was just reading, I must've not heard you."

I find loose piece of paper that'll work to mark my page for now, and stick it between the pages I had just been reading, before closing my book. The girl takes a seat across from me before sticking out her perfectly manicured hand for me to shake. A little weirded out, I hesitantly take it, and she introduces herself.

"I'm Drew. Drew Tanaka. I was just walking by and realized that I've never seen you before and wanted to come introduce myself." She leans in closer. "It can be hard making friends here when you don't come from money," she says, gesturing to my clothes.

I clench my fists. I should have been expecting this. Of course the teens here were going to be entitled snobs. This was the Olympus Resort after all.

"Well, I'm Annabeth," I say to Drew, leaning forward with a stern glare. "And as much as I appreciate the gesture, I'd die lonely and friendless before I ever hung out with a spoiled bitch like you."

And with that, I stand up, grab my books, and head over to the front desk to check them out. I stick my head up and try to look as bold as my mother would as I walk away from Drew. I just hope that whatever old lady they have working here doesn't get mad at me for swearing in the library.

Once I arrive at the counter however, I am surprised to find a girl with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes working there. She looks about my age as well and wears leather from head to toe. It feels good to see another person in the resort who isn't dressed as if they are about to go to a dinner party on the beach.

"Damn girl!" she says looking at my stack of books. "What do you not understand about the concept of summer?"

I laugh as she begins scanning my books.

"Contrary to prior belief some people actually enjoy reading," I tell her.

"Nuh-uh. Not true," the girl says. "That's just a lie made up by the adults of the world to corrupt us into becoming brainwashed and easily controllable." She snorts. "The next thing you'll tell me is that some people actually enjoy school as well."

I laugh. "Well, if you're so against reading, how'd you end up working in a library?"

"Oh this isn't by choice. I may have gotten in a slight bit of trouble last week, and this is how my dumbass prick of a father is making me pay the price."

She slides the books back over to me. "I'm Thalia by the way."

"Annabeth," I say and shake her hand.

Thalia smiles and puts the book scanner back under the counter. "Oh, and don't worry about Drew. She's just another one of the entitled brats whose rich ass parents decided to purchase a timeshare here at the resort so that they can spend their summers here and make life miserable for the rest of us." Thalia quickly glances over to Drew who is viciously typing away on her phone and makes a sour face. "But, on the bright side, while Drew is incredibly annoying and will not be easy to ignore, she is really fun to mess around with."

I laugh. "Sounds like a blast."

"And not all of us are like that by the way. I've met some really cool people here over the past week. I can introduce you down by the pool later if you want? My shift ends in about two hours."

I grin at her. "Thank you, that would be really great. It's nice to know that some decent people exist here."

Thalia smiles. "No problem."

I give her one last wave before picking up my books and heading towards the door. This was going to be an interesting summer.