Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, please read the author's note at the end of this, it has some important information about updates for next week. It's nothing too big, but in case you're concerned (idk if anyone actually is), regularly scheduled updates will resume after that time period is over. I just wanted to say that real quick, but of course, on with the important stuff:
Disclaimer: This is called fanfiction, which means I'm a fan. If I was Rick Riordan, it would be called plain Fiction, which is basically just canon fiction. So yeah. I'm not RR.
~headline: la is pretentious and school makes it worse~
…
There is nothing Annabeth dreads more than going to school. Especially, starting in the middle of January. There's basically a guarantee she won't make friends, and her step-brothers aren't helpfully introducing her to any of their friends. Whatever. They're sophomores anyway, so she doesn't care.
Senior year is hard enough, combating college, friendships, and saying final goodbyes, but adding on the weight of moving to a new place, as it should, makes everything worse. Tonight, she's stressing over what to wear, something she's never really thought about before. Los Angeles is one of those places where people judge how you look over your personality, and because Annabeth's insecure, she wants to look at least a little bit put together. Most days, she usually wears a sweatshirt and jeans, but for her first day, she's deciding on something a bit more classy. Ripped jeans that her father bought her the other day, and a form-fitting t-shirt, because somehow, even though it's winter, California manages to be only sixty degrees.
Annabeth lays it on her desk, carefully tapping her chin as she sorts through her backpack. Her backpack is gray and worn out from all the years of use. Frederick got her a new one, which is yellow and very chic. She pushes it to the side, trying to hold onto another thing from her past. The old backpack is frayed at the sides, and has a hole in one of the pockets, but all that says is that it's dearly loved. She allows herself to use the other school supplies Frederick got her, which include pens, pencils, and a new notebook. He told her she'd need to bring her computer, so she also stuffed that in her bag, before zipping it up, and putting it next to her clothing.
And then, she falls against her bed, closing her eyes, and rubbing them with her forefingers. She's so tired, it's eleven o'clock at night, and she should be really good to bed. It's even worse, because she's still slightly jet lagged, and the time difference between California is three hours, so her brain tells her that it's later than eleven.
But she isn't ready to go to sleep just yet. It's been a long day of enthusiastically ignoring Frederick and Helen, trying to avoid her step-brothers, and stealing food from the cabinet down stairs. She knows she hasn't accomplished anything at all, and she feels like she wants to talk about it.
And who better to talk about it, then her very own friend Pylos? Although she's sure he won't see it until the next day, he has no business being awake at eleven, she would feel more reassured if she sent him a message at least.
So she boots up her email, and types a fast message to send. "I'll be headed to school in eight and a half hours." She says, "I'm actually really nervous. I know you probably won't respond, but I wanted to message you just in case, before I went to bed."
She waits, knowing for sure that he won't respond. She's not expecting anything, which is why she's surprised when a response pops up. "I'm up. Eight and a half hours, that's crazy. Good luck, be sure to message me updates."
"Wait, why are you up this late?"
His response is coy. "Why are you?"
"School. Anxieties. I'm about one hundred percent sure I won't have any friends. What's your excuse?"
"You'll have friends A, don't worry about that. Who wouldn't want to be friends with someone as amazing as you?"
She blushes at this. He's too kind to her. She doesn't understand how any person can be this nice. He's perfect, a mix of sweet, funny, witty, and amazing. Annabeth wonders if he's like that in real life, or if this is just how he is here. Sometimes, there are moments when she wonders if he's flirting with her, if by chance, he has the same feelings with her. Annabeth doesn't fully understand them yet, she hasn't even met him before, obviously, but there's this fluttery feeling she gets inside whenever she receives a message from him. The familiar ding to her phone, the pep in her step as she reads whatever random things he's sent her. Sometimes, she wonders how she got so lucky, with all the bad people on the internet, how did this kind, sweet, genuine gentleman come about?
She smiles, her grin wide, as she types her response. "I'm flattered by your compliments, but you still haven't answered my question. Why are you awake?"
"You know that feeling," he writes, "when you want to sleep so bad, you can't? I'm so fed up with the world, I'm having insomnia. I've been in this motivation block. I can't take all the pressure I'm dealing with, it's like nothing is in my control. I'm mad at myself. I don't know, it's like I can't take all my responsibilities anymore. I know that's an immature thing to say, but it's what I'm feeling. The weight of the world is on my pinky finger, and I don't know how to deal with it all."
Annabeth thinks about it. "Yeah. The night my mom died, I kept telling myself it was my fault. And then I wasn't able to sleep for days. I just felt drained of everything. I felt like everything was by my design, I even convinced myself for a while that my subconscious planned the whole thing. Now I understand what it is— my brain chemistry. Sometimes I wish my thoughts would turn off, that there was a switch, and I could turn out the lights forever. What scares me, is if that was possible, I don't know if I'd ever turn it back on."
"Yeah, I feel that way too. You managed to say exactly what I was thinking, even though I didn't even know how to say it." Pylos writes back. "You really do have a way with words Acropolis."
"So do you Pylos, with music, I assume." She hasn't heard him sing, because of the whole, "anaonminity" thing, but she knows he has to be talented. Annabeth sometimes wonders if she'll ever hear him sing, one day. She'd like to meet up, but she knows that's not alway entirely safe. If they were to do that, Annabeth knows it would have to be in a crowded area, with lots of people. "How's that song coming along?" She asks, remembering when she gave him those lyrics. They had just popped into her head, she wasn't sure where they came from, but when she gave them to Pylos, he seemed to like them.
It takes a while for him to respond. "Your words really helped me. For the first time in weeks, I finished a song. It's nothing big or anything, and it's not my best, but what you said gave me this sudden burst of motivation."
"Maybe I should be the aspiring musician," Annabeth jokes.
Pylos sends a rolling eye emoji. "Right."
Annabeth can't sing to save her life. Pylos hasn't heard her voice before, but she's told him multiple times how bad it is. Her friends, bless them, can occasionally put up with it, and Thalia even joins her sometimes. Luke, not so much. He just covers his ears and sings the alphabet, until they get bored and stop. Well, he used to. Obviously, not so much anymore.
"Well, I should probably be getting to bed," Annabeth tells him, "and so should you. Get some sleep you loser!"
"Fine, as you wish." Pylos replies. "I'm going to bed right now."
"Good." Annabeth says, and then plugs her phone into the charger. She falls against her bed, just thinking about what might happen tomorrow. She's worried, and rightfully so. Helen, who Annabeth really doesn't like for some reason, has told her multiple times that the school— Goode— is very good (that's literally the motto, "Goode is good") and that it has a ninety eight percent college-bound rate, which is definitely exceptional. But that doesn't tell Annabeth much about the school. It doesn't tell her about the people, or how they might react to her.
There are two ways this could go. They ignore her, maybe poke fun of her a little bit, and then leave her alone for the rest of the year. Maybe she'll pick up a friend or two along the way, but in the end, she won't have anyone real to lean on. That has perks to it— one, she won't get distracted by stupid people, and two, she'll have more itme for her blog. But then again, the lonely route isn't always the best route, no matter how introverted Annabeth is.
High School, at least the beginning of it, is where you find friends, and although Annabeth met her friends— Thalia and Luke— at the beginning of time, she's met a lot of other amazing people in high school too. Plus, so many people find their best friends in high school, and never lose them, but by moving across the country, Annabeth doesn't really have that opportunity.
The other way this could go, is that people are nice, and instantly like her. Maybe that element of mystery would intrigue them and bring them in. Annabeth knows she's no model, and that Los Angeles is admittedly incredibly superficial, but who knows, maybe Goode could be different. She always flourished at the Brooklyn Academy, and so maybe, she could flourish and Goode too. Not everyone could be that bad, and Annabeth was a nice person, or so she thought.
There's only one way to find out, right? And that's to actually go there.
…
Annabeth feels her hands shaking in the back of the car, as Frederick drives her, and the twins to school. Bobby and Matthew look totally chill, scrolling through the phones, answering various text-messages, but Annabeth is the exact opposite of chill. She's terrified. As the car rolls down the road, and they get closer and closer to the high school, she gets more and more intimidated at the huge houses, expensive cars, and carefully trimmed lawns. (She's not sure why those are what she's scared of, but here we are). She closes her eyes for the second half of the ride, hoping, once more, this is all a dream.
And then the car stops, and she looks up to see the biggest school in the world. It's this huge building, with white walls that aren't vandalized at all. Annabeth almost wants to double check with Fredrick to make sure this is the right place, and an Airplane hanger. She looks up at him, her face surprised, and he nods encouragingly, and opens the doors so Annabeth and the twins can get out.
She steps out of the car, and takes in a breath of the crisp winter air. Although it's not that cold, she can definitely feel a chill. She turns to her step-brothers, who are still scrolling on their phones, and adjusts her backpack, beginning to walk towards the school. Frederick doesn't follow them, staying in the car, and waving.
Annabeth feels her phone buzz on the side of her leg, and she takes it out of a pocket, opening the newest message. It's from… Matthew. Matthew's the quieter of the two, and they all exchanged contacts two days ago, just in case of emergency. Annabeth reads the message, quaking her eyebrows up.
"Dad told us to tell you that you should go to the guidance office, and ask for your schedule and a student guide. Guidance room is the third door to your right when you walk in."
Annabeth looks up at Matthew, who gives her a small smile, and then resumes his texting. She puts her phone back into her pocket, adjusts her backpack once more, and then follows the two of them into the school. They have the courtesy to open the door for her, and she rushes in, following Matthew's expression. The third door on her right is labeled "Dr. Brunner, school Psychologist." They have a school psychologist? Annabeth thinks to herself, in New York, we barely had normal counselors.
She looks up at the sign, and then knocks. A disconnected voice rings out from behind, "come on in!"
Annabeth turns the door handle slowly, opening the office to see a brunette man in a wheelchair. "How can I help you?" Dr. Brunner asks politely, his hands folded into each other.
"I'm Annabeth Chase," she says, "I just moved her. Uh— my father told me to come here for my schedule and a student guide, or something like that?"
Dr. Brunner's smile somehow widens. "Of course, Annabeth Chase." He takes out a file on the side of his desk, and she looks at it, weirded out. They already have a huge file on her? That's weird. He rummages through the papers, until he reaches the right one, pulling it out, and handing it to her. Annabeth takes it, looking at it in the same way she would look at a dead cat.
"Thanks." Annabeth says, scanning the class list. First period Chemistry, second period English, third period Trigonometry, fourth period History, fifth period Lunch, and sixth period Greek (her father must have known her infatuation with the country because of her blog, but come on, what school offers Greek?) Then,seventh period, Media and Communications, and finally eighth period Gym. It seems like an okay schedule to her, especially since she doesn't even know how the school works yet.
After browsing the piece of paper for what seems like forever, she looks back up at Mr. Brunner, "My brothers also said something about a student guide?"
Mr. Brunner nods. "Piper should be here any minute." He says, and as if on clue, there was a knock on the door. "Go get that, would you?"
Annabeth nods, and then walks over to the door, opening it slowly, to reveal someone familiar. Someone she's seen before, but never in person. "Piper Mclean?" She says, an eyebrow raising.
"No, I'm just a look alike." The girl says, her choppy hair braided together behind her head. Her eyes are like a kaleidoscope, and she has dark, tan skin.
Annabeth shakes her head. "You're obviously being sarcastic."
"Come on in Piper," Dr. Brunner says from behind her, "it seems you two already know each other.
Annabeth bits her lip, confused. "Who wouldn't?" She questions, "it's Tristan Mclean's daughter."
"Yeah," Piper echoes, "who wouldn't?" She turns to Annabeth, and then sticks her hand out. "I'll be your student guide. Um, my schedule has been changed slightly so we can have the same classes, which honestly, isn't much of a change, because no one cares about me anyway."
Dr. Brunner speaks, "Piper, don't talk about yourself that way."
Piper shrugs, and Annabeth looks her up and down, unable to read the girl. She's heard about Piper before, even mentioned her in a blog post, when she was writing a review for Tristan Mclean's movie, King of Sparta. She looks different than her photos show her. More down to earth. She's wearing a green flannel, jeans, and doc martens, obviously trying to play down her appearance. Her gaze is magnetic, and yes, she's very pretty. Gorgeous. If Annabeth wasn't straight, Piper would definitely be her type.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Annabeth Chase" Annabeth says, taking her hand, and shaking it. She doesn't know how well they'll get along, but so far, it seems like smooth sailing. Hell, even being tolerated by another person is good in her book. As long as she has a person to sit with at lunch, it's fine.
Piper nods, and then puts her hand back down to her side. "Dr. Brunner, should I give her a tour of the school before classes?"
Dr. Brunner rolls his eyes, as if he's heard this before. "I'm not letting you skip class Piper, not after last time. You can show Annabeth around the school as you go to your classes."
Piper groans, and then turns to Annabeth. "Okay Chase," she says, "I guess it's time to show off this amazing school." Her voice is tinted with sarcasm, which Annabeth appreciates.
"Yeah, I've been looking forward to this," she tells Piper in the same tone. The other girl nods at her, approving.
They exit the guidance office, and Piper starts to talk immediately. "I'm going to warn you, most of the people at this school are fake. There's Drew Tanaka, my half sister—"
Annabeth interjects, "I didn't know Tristian Mclean had an affair. Is that why he and Aphrodite got divorced?"
"No, it was Aphrodite who cheated," Piper says, and Annabeth notes the fact that she doesn't call her "mom." It's the same way with Annabeth and Frederick. She isn't comfortable calling her "dad" yet, or really, anytime.
Annabeth nods. "Sorry about. I just assumed. What were you saying about Drew?" She adds uncomfortably, picking her nails. It's a nervous quirk.
"Nothing." Piper replies, playing with the ends of her flannel shirt. "What class do you have first?" She mumbles, almost subconsciously.
Annabeth holds her schedule up. "Chemistry." She says. Doesn't Piper have the same classes as her? If she doesn't, and she's a student guide, that would be a bit weird, but Annabeth doesn't dwell on it too long. She has more important things to deal with than pondering over one simple sentence. In fact, she's not even sure why she's continuing to think about it, it's stupid.
Piper clasps her hands together. "And obviously, so do I." She rolls her eyes. "You're going to love Ms. Byers."
"So from your tone, I'm going to assume that she's not great." Annabeth concludes.
Piper looks at her thoughtfully, assessing her. "You'll see. She's a bit upside down." She pauses, "there are very few decent people in this school, and you'll have to make your decision about who's what eventually. But I'm not going to force my opinions on you now, because I think you seem alright."
"I'm glad I've gotten to that tier. 'Alright' is pretty good for a first day."
"Yeah," she looks serious, "it is."
Annabeth walks along with Piper to her first class, still unsure if she's ready for what's ahead. Even so, is anyone?
…
~seven crappy hours of our lives~
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also: like in the last chapter, there are a couple scattered references here, so feel free to point them out. And a big FYI: Next week, I'm not sure how consistent updates will be. I'm going to be somewhere where the internet connection is unreliable, so you may or may not see an update. You may or may not see an update Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and then the Saturday after that. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.
Thanks so much for reading! Leave a review, let me know what you think! You guys are honestly so awesome, I'm so glad for the support. Stay safe and healthy!
TheLil'Lion