Good Morning/Afternoon/Night, my darlings! Didn't the month of November go by fast? It was like two days, really. Happy belated Thanksgiving? I don't know, belated it is! Like, seriously, how are you guys?
And thank you to the amazing people who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story last chapter, it means a lot to me!
Sorry for the long update, I have to study for midterms because they don't want us to study over winter break. It sucks, and the teachers are giving me a lot of homework around this time of the school year.
Are you guys excited for the holidays? They're right around the corner!
You already know I don't own PJO!
Chapter Three: "I'm Watching."
ANNABETH CHASE
I sat uncomfortably next to Percy and fidgeted my fingers nervously. "Guys, I have to go to the restroom really quick, stay here," Rachel told Percy and me, which Drew and Bianca probably could have overheard.
"So, Annabeth, right?" Percy asked me.
Awkward, a voice in my head sang.
"Yes," I mumbled, awkwardly. I met Drew's gaze, she was glaring at me, and her eyes were probably saying something like this: what are you doing? Go and steal your BFF's boyfriend already!
Uh, yeah, it's not just that simple.
"It's nice to meet you," I told him.
"Do you talk?" Percy questioned.
What kind of question is that?
"Yes," I answered.
"Do you always respond with one-word answers?" Percy asked me, his eyebrows raised.
"No, not usually," I replied.
"So only three worded answers?" Percy asked.
"Has Rachel ever told you that you're bad at small talk?" I questioned, rolling my eyes.
I looked over at Drew, and she was glaring at me, it was like she was trying to burn holes into my head. I smirked at her and I don't ever smirk. If this was how Drew was going to treat me, I would mess up her plan. I would make Percy hate me by the end of this conversation. If Percy hated me, then the dare would not go into effect.
But what if she tells everyone about the secret? No, I was not going to let my thoughts get the best of me. What about Piper?
"A few times actually," Percy confessed, looking embarrassed that he was bad at it.
"Well, I agree with her, you suck at it," I said, rolling my eyes again. Percy's face looked flustered, like he hadn't expected me to be so straightforward in the first few minutes of talking to him.
"I suck at small talk? If it's anything, you suck at small talk. You were the one who was only answering with one worded answers," Percy said, his voice sounded like he was trying to prove that he was better at something than me.
"Oh really?" I chuckled sarcastically.
"I'm pretty sure you suck at small talk," Percy replied.
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
I really should not be enjoying the childish conversation we were having right then, but it was fun for me, at least. Percy probably wanted to rip my insides out.
"If I tell you that you're awesome at small talk, it'll boost your big ego, and I'm sure all of your other friends have big egos, too," I told him.
"Look, if we really want to get along, could you please stop insulting my social skills? Last time I checked, I'm at the top of the social ladder."
Good. He hates me already, this conversation is getting really cutthroat. And to be honest, the Percy that I had heard about most of the time would never say such a thing, but I guess he hated me.
Before I have time to reply with a snarky comeback, I heard the pounding of footsteps behind me, so I turned around to meet the kind face of Rachel. I avoided Rachel's stare by looking at Drew, a smirk plastered on her face. I clenched my fists in frustration. Drew smiled at me, and I caught the eye of Bianca behind her, Bianca snarled at me. And, I suddenly wasn't so comfortable being with Rachel's new friends anymore, and I don't think I ever was.
"Can I please have your attention?" the principal, Mr. Dionysus said. I was kind of surprised that he didn't slur over his words like he was drunk, or burp in front of the microphone. The years before that, he had the absolute worst mannerisms.
Maybe it was because there were a lot of new students this year and he wanted to make a good impression? I certainly wasn't sure of it. Last year, there was a rumor going around that he had not so privately burped in front of all the eleventh and twelfth graders. I was in tenth grade last year, so I couldn't have known the truth.
"Is it just me, or is Mr. D acting strange?" Percy questioned, whispering to no one in particular.
No one answered Percy's bizarre question.
"Students, I know that it's the first day of school, and new students, you will have an absolutely great time this school year at Goode High. The staff and I have worked hard to prepare you for twelfth and eleventh grade this year, so we wish you all the best."
I resisted the urge to scoff. Prepare us? I wasn't the only one who thought that, a round of snickers and snorts went through the large crowd.
"Okay, okay, now we have another announcement. Due to the constant misbehavior from the seniors and juniors last year, and cyberbullying, we have decided to ban using phones throughout the school day, the school cannot afford to be sued, again, for cyber bullying from other students. We have many new rules this year because we feel that you students have become irresponsible and have been slacking off in your classes." Mr. D announced.
I was shocked at Mr. D's speech. It was surprising to actually see Mr. D actually establish some rules around here, but I was shocked when I heard about the cyber bullying. It was probably most of the students here, and Drew was the person who had immediately popped up in my head. Most of the damage done by girls are very silent, and something that you can't prove that they did. One thing I noticed was that Drew was not the only person just doing the damage. Bianca, one of the most introverted people I have ever met in my life has cyberbullied. I remember that Bianca was at the bonfire yesterday, too. I didn't take notice that she had been recording the entire quarrel.
I feel so guilty about the fight with Thalia, and keeping the secret from Rachel, but I have all year to tell Rachel, right?
My eyes swept the large auditorium looking for Thalia. I looked behind me to meet several eyes, but turned back around because she wasn't there. It wasn't that hard to find Thalia though, her black spiky hair and blue highlights gave it all away that it was her. Thalia's back was pressed against the seat, and her head kept falling, like she was trying not to fall asleep. Thalia wouldn't ever talk to me again, it was all my fault. All of my fault. It was all of my fault!
Calm down, I remembered.
I slowed down my breathing when I realized that I was gripping the armrests tightly. Percy gave me a worried look from the corner of my eye, and I resisted the urge to scream. It was my fault, It's my fault, my life's over, I'm useless, nothing is alright! I couldn't hear what Mr. D was saying, and my vision was blurry.
"Get out," Thalia snapped.
"What?" I asked in surprise. Thalia had to be kidding, she'd never do that. Thalia pulled her blue truck to the side of the road and she stopped abruptly. It was then I realized, I was at my house. She was looking at me with disgust, like how she looked at Drew.
Thalia snapped at me again, "Didn't you hear me? I said, get the hell out!"
I didn't even notice when the speech was over. A hand gripped my shoulder, shaking me out of my reverie. If I had kept my mouth shut, the guilt was killing me.
"Annabeth?" A worried Rachel asked.
Percy was close behind her, watching me with obvious concern. I saw the pile of students rushing out through the auditorium's doors as fast as they could, their voices just one giant cluster of words I couldn't comprehend.
"Annabeth?" Rachel asked, talking louder this time.
"I-I," I stuttered.
"Annabeth, are you okay?" Rachel questioned me, her green eyes filled with worry.
"Yes, I'm fine," I answered, my voice coming out colder than before. Rachel stared at me questioningly, she knew something was wrong, she always knew when something was wrong.
Rachel was one of my best friends, how could she not know if something was wrong?
Rachel stared me down for a little bit longer, narrowing her eyes, like she trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Rachel looked at me for a few more seconds before turning her bright green eyes away and started walking away. Rachel's hand had left my shoulder, and while she was walking away with Percy, hand in hand, he glanced back at me, concerned like Rachel.
I felt guilty instantly.
"Drew, Bianca! You coming?" Rachel called.
"Yeah! We'll be one second!" Drew called back to Rachel.
"So, how's it going, Annie?" Drew hissed from behind me.
I turned around to look at her sly face. Drew's eyes glinted with mischief, Drew thought this was a game, Drew thought my life was a game she could play around with.
I figured out what her plan was, but it was sickening to me. Drew looked at me and her plump lips parted, and she sighed. "I always thought of you as a heartbreaker," Drew told me.
"What do you want, Drew?" I asked her, the cold creeping back into my voice in seconds. Drew stared me down, raising her chin defiantly. Almost as if challenging me to a silent duel. "And don't call me Annie."
"Why can't I?" Drew asked me.
"Just please don't call me that, I hate it," I told her, my voice sounding fragile and rigid, the coldness seeping out of it.
"What do you want from me?" I asked Drew.
"I need your phone number, obviously."
"What if I don't want to give it to you?" I snapped.
"You have to, or else everyone will know that―"
"Okay! Fine! Give me your phone, and I'll type in the number," I replied.
Drew raised one of her eyebrows questioningly. Bianca was behind Drew, watching the scene carefully. Bianca wore a sly smile and tapped Drew's shoulder lightly. Drew's face looked smug as she watched me and she said, "I'm watching."
I watched the pair of girls saunter away to the auditorium's doors and walk away like nothing had happened. I felt like screaming at Drew, who did she think she was? I started to walk away from the seats and started to head to my next class. It was hard to get myself through the crowd, it was bigger than I expected.
I pushed open the cafeteria's door, and spotted Thalia's black hair with blue highlights, it wasn't that hard to find her, she stood out wherever she went. Thalia was waiting in line for lunch, and I waited, standing there, until she had her lunch.
"Thalia!" I yelled.
My feet betrayed me when I started running towards her. Thalia seemed to ignore me when I got closer. I grabbed her shoulder, turning her around, tired that she wouldn't answer me. Thalia was already sitting down, sitting next to Piper.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Thalia asked me, her voice harsh.
"Look, Thalia, I'm sorry about," I started.
"Don't talk to me, Annie," Thalia interjected, snapping at me.
I sucked in a breath, that comment was harsh. She couldn't say that, she wouldn't say that, ever. Thalia knew better than to call me Annie, Thalia knew well enough that name would cause problems.
"Thalia, Piper, please listen to me, I," I started again.
"Annabeth, go away, we don't want you here. Didn't you get the hint?" Piper snapped at me.
I felt my face heat up, humiliated, and I looked at the people they were sitting with. I didn't let any emotion cross my face and just stood there with my arms crossed at their table.
"Annabeth, why don't you come sit with us?" A calm voice questioned behind me. I stifled a groan. I turned around and met the eyes of Drew. Her eyes read sit-with-me-we-have-things-to-discuss. I looked at Drew and Bianca was beside her, watching me with guarded eyes.
"Sure," I replied, my voice an eerie calm.
I walked back to her table and it didn't help with the stares I was getting. It wasn't that everybody was watching me or something like that, a few people were giving me dirty looks because I was talking to Drew, nevertheless acknowledging her. I continued to walk at the same pace and didn't dare look down at my feet.
I saw her table in the corner of the room, a few other girls were there, conversing. There were three empty seats, I suspected that one was reserved for me. As I got closer to the table, the others on Drew's table started to notice me. I sat down as fast as I could, avoiding all of the stares from the people at the table.
"So, we have things to discuss," Drew said, a sly smirk tugging at the corners to her lips.
"What do I have to do?" I asked her, my eyebrows raised.
"It starts now, and I'm not messing with you," Drew snapped.
"What? You made a book of all of the possible ways Percy could fall in love with someone," I said sarcastically.
"Well, I've already befriended Rachel, so the plan seems to be in action," Drew stated.
"The plan seems to be falling into place," Bianca said. It was surprising when I heard Bianca speak, she was always so quiet around people, and always wore a guarded expression, like I did, unlike people who wore their heart on their sleeve.
"You what?" I hissed.
"What? A dare is a dare, right? I've been waiting to play truth or dare with you for a long time, sweetheart."
"Are you serious? It's not a game when you're meddling with someone's love life. Especially Percy's, and you're not just messing with Percy's, you're messing with Rachel's, too," I told the two.
"Oh, I know, this isn't a game," Drew declared.
"Then why are you doing all of this? It's stupid, and I really don't want to do this anymore, I'll just do the other option, and everything will be back to normal," I spoke.
"Really? You think this is stupid? Chase, I've known you for a long time to know that you're already in too deep. Do you actually believe you can back out of this now? I have a lot of things planned, and I brought you here for a reason, and I'm going to make you talk," Drew declared, leveling her eyes to mine.
"Okay, I get what you mean, but first I need to ask you something. Did you pay Thalia and Piper?"
"Of course, I did. There were a lot more people there than you thought."
I let that sentence hang in the air, and I took a deep breath, feeling more betrayed that I ever had.
At the end of the school day, I was surprised that Drew didn't talk to me again. I knew Drew had a few tricks up her sleeve, and she always used it to the best of her ability. I was considering on pinching myself to confirm that whatever was happening was real. I tried to keep my composure as I headed out to the bicycle rack. I rounded a corner and was outside, where students were driving away in their cars, and walking away from the large school.
It was raining.
I looked at the bicycle rack where my bike was. It wasn't there. There were no other bicycles on the bicycle rack, and people were piling into others' cars because of the pouring rain. I muttered a curse under my breath and clenched my fists. Did panic pulse through my veins, and on the first day? I didn't have a jacket, or an umbrella, or any form of transportation.
Worst first day, ever.
I walked outside in the pouring rain, my clothes feeling heavy. I sighed, suddenly grateful that my house wasn't an hour away from school. It was better than taking the bus, it smelled like wet dog and an overpowering scent of perfume. The bus was just disgusting, I don't know how the people in there can tolerate it.
I started to walk from the school and probably hated every second of it because this was humiliating. The rain hit my face, hard. When did it ever rain on the first day of school? I started to walk faster, I wanted to be home, now. No doubt that my father would be yelling at me for losing a bike, nevertheless not being responsible.
I wasn't looking forward to it. Why am I worried about losing that bike anyway?
He wouldn't even know, why would he pay attention to a girl, his daughter, drenched in rain from head to toe? He came late at nights, and usually only had time for Bobby and Matthew. Heck, he was probably picking them up right now. Not even bothering to pay attention to his only daughter. They were his perfect family, Bobby, Matthew, and Susan.
Excluding me, of course. I couldn't care less about that bike now, since he wouldn't care about it. No one would care about it. The rain didn't cease when I was walking back to my house. I was pretty sure I had started running at one point, it seemed to take hours. When I got to my house, I shuddered. Two cars were parked in the driveway, Susan's, my step mother, and my father's.
Why was he here so early?
I walked slowly towards the house and knocked on the door. The pounding of footsteps was heard from inside the house and the door slammed open, missing my face by an inch. I flinched because standing there was a very angry looking Susan.
"Where in the world have you been?" Susan shrieked angrily.
I flinched, not such of a warm welcome before I could excuse myself for my absence, Susan grabbed my arm, pulling me into the house. My shoes made the front mat wet and me just standing there made Susan wrinkle her nose in disgust. I looked at the stairs which were to my right, longing to go up there, but I wasn't going to be. I saw Bobby and Matthew at the kitchen table reading.
It was surprising that someone in the house had noticed I wasn't here. "Boys, could you go and finish your homework in your room?" Susan asked them, a warm smile lighting up her face.
It was a fake smile.
Bobby and Matthew both oohed at me before gathering their stuff and heading upstairs to their bedroom. I glared at them and fear flashed on their faces before they ran up the stairs faster.
"You are in so much trouble, wait until your father here's about this!" Susan snapped.
Susan gripped my arms tighter as she pulled me to my father's study. My father's study was near the basement, which was filled with shelves of books, and had pictures of him, Susan, Bobby and Matthew on vacations, myself excluded.
The house was now filled with the wet footprints of a teenage girl.
Susan knocked on my father's study and gave me a look when she took her hand off of my arm. My arm looked like it had been suffocated, or much worse punched. Susan gave me a look that said you-better-hide-your-arm-or-else.
"Come in," Frederick said, his voice muffled from the outside of the door.
"Frederick," Susan said.
My father looked at me, and his eyes widened. I couldn't tell whether he was angry or disappointed. Either way worked for him, he always seemed to wear on of those expressions when he looked at me.
"Annabeth, why are you home so late?" Frederick asked me.
"I walked home," I told them honestly.
My father stood up, and he looked angry, nevertheless disappointed in me.
"You walked to school?" Frederick shouted, disbelief in the tone his voice.
"I rode my bike to school, actually," I added.
Susan had her hands on her hips, and I didn't even notice that Susan had moved over to where my father was standing. Susan looked livid like she was about to slap me. My father shook his head and met my eyes.
"Then why are you drenched in rain, and why are you home so late? It's four-twenty! You should have been here, at least, an hour ago!" Susan yelled. I flinched in fear at her words. Susan's hands were twitching, she was itching to slap my face.
"Something came up," I explained.
"What to do you mean by 'something came up' that doesn't make sense! It's been pouring rain for a good two hours at least!" Frederick shouted at me.
"I couldn't find my bike," I replied.
"Are you kidding me? Stop spewing lies, your father and I both know you don't own a bike! We would know if you did!" Susan snapped.
"Are you serious? I've had that bike since I was twelve, it was probably stolen! I do ride a bike!" I exclaimed, my voice eager so they'd believe me.
"What are you talking about? Only your brothers own a bike!" Frederick yelled.
I sighed, knowing they'd never believe me. There was no point in trying to convince them, they barely paid any attention to me.
"I knew we should have signed you up to go on the bus instead, you can barely even keep a bike if that's what you're implying. I'm emailing the school so that the bus can come and pick you up tomorrow," Frederick snapped.
"You know what? Forget it, I've already had a bad enough day, I'm going upstairs," I told them.
I turned around and walked away faster than I thought I would normally. I shivered because the air conditioning was low and I was drenched in rain.
I don't turn around to look at the faces of my father and Susan but instead held my head up higher. My anger did not subside once, not even when I met the eyes of my brothers, Matthew, and Bobby. I went to my room and slammed the door shut, the sound seeming to echo in the quiet house.
And when I went into my room, I heard my phone make a ding sound. I took out my phone from my jeans, and I saw a message from the person I did not want to hear from.
Anonymous: Apologize to Percy, it's his birthday tomorrow. Your plan is not working, Percy doesn't hate you. You are his girlfriend's best friend, he can't. He'll end up falling in love with you, anyway.
Drew was out to get me.
PERCY JACKSON
My phone rang. I jumped up, startled, and then realized it was the end of the school day, so of course I could use my phone. My mom was calling me, and it had been ringing pretty loudly. I answered the call, and I didn't like using phones that much. My mom convinced me to get one, I don't want one, but apparently I need one. So one day, mom comes home with this really expensive phone, and I felt so bad that she'd used her money like that.
I tried not to use it that much, especially when it came to doing math homework.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Percy? I thought you weren't going to answer the phone. How was your first day?" Sally asked.
"Oh, it was fine," I answered.
"Nothing else? Nothing new? Nothing you're excited that's coming up?" Sally questioned. The constant questions made me furrow my eyebrows together in confusion. And I couldn't believe I had forgotten. My birthday was tomorrow, on a Tuesday. On a school day. I really don't want to do my homework on my birthday.
"Well, I just remembered tomorrow's my birthday, so, yeah."
"Okay, you have to come home on the bus today, alright? I have to go, right now, Percy. Bye."
She hung up so quickly I stared at the phone weirdly. That wasn't like her at all. Was something wrong?
I walked out of the school's doors and started to walk towards the bus's doors and maybe I shouldn't have taken the bus.
The bus smelled like the rotten eggs that my old neighbor, Tommy, used to throw on my apartment door when I was little. It wasn't that long, until a few months later, I found out that he was arrested for covering a house in toilet paper on Halloween. Yeah, he never egged my apartment door again.
I was sitting next to Nico again, and he didn't utter a single word. There were a lot more people on the bus at the end of the day, I noticed, and Nico happened to be on it. I was sitting next to Nico again, and he got the window seat. He didn't have any headphones in his ears this time, but he was awfully quiet. The loud chatter on the bus didn't even seem to make him wince or cringe.
I was thinking about asking him if Bianca was his sister, but then I realized that Rachel had gone with Bianca and Drew to the movie theater. So, one thing I knew for sure was that Bianca had a younger brother, and never talked to him during school hours. Was she embarrassed that she had a younger brother? Who went to her school?
If I had a sibling who went to the same school as me, I'd try to say hello to them every chance I got. Apparently, Bianca did not. I know that some people just didn't talk to their siblings during school hours because it was awkward, but I wanted a sibling so badly, who was around the same age as me. I know that siblings can be a pain, but it wouldn't kill me if I at least had someone to hang out with when I was home alone.
I really wished that I had cousins, or someone related to me by blood besides my father or mother. Heck, I didn't even know who my father was. My mother didn't have any siblings growing up, and she was raised by her uncle when her parents died in a plane crash. No wonder why she's never let me go on a plane. If I were to ever set foot on a plane, she'd freak out and think I was going to die.
I don't blame her.
So, I have never been anywhere else besides New York, unless you count that one time I went on a field trip to go see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. How did I get on the topic of traveling from thinking about siblings?
I really didn't know anyone on the bus besides Nico, and I felt bad because I did not know anyone else on this bus. Well, it wasn't like I had actually had a conversation with him, besides today in the morning.
"Are you Bianca's brother?" I asked Nico, out loud. When I realized what I had said I slapped my hands over my mouth. Curse my impulsiveness. Nico looked so startled that I winced. His face looked surprised and I could not tell if his face was an angry shade or surprised shade of red.
"What?" Nico questioned as he doubled over coughing in shock.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked—" I rushed.
Nico interrupted me as fast as a bullet, "its fine."
His words sounded like a silent hiss telling me to 'shut up'. So I'm going to take a guess now and believe that they don't want anyone to know that they are siblings. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," I apologized to him.
"Gods, do you ever shut up for once?" Nico snapped.
"Actually, I do. Wait, never mind, I talk in my sleep," I said sarcastically to Nico.
"Nico," I said, trying to capture his attention.
He didn't even acknowledge me, he just continued to stare out of the window, and it like he couldn't even comprehend a single word I was saying. I gave up after that because I have been trying to get his attention for the past ten minutes which seemed like hours to me.
Maybe I was going crazy because it was almost like he wasn't even there. He wore all black and his silent demeanor made him hard to approach. The dark clothes he wore almost made him not even noticeable. I gave up, sighing in frustration, running my hands through my hair.
"Why are you so eager to talk to me?" Nico asked.
I jumped up in surprise.
I heard the bus's tires screech to a stop. The bus doors opened near the stop sign outside. Nico stood up. I stood up, too, realizing that he was supposed to get off now. I let Nico pass me and I sat back down in the bus's blue seat, and watched Nico walk away. The bus doors closed and before I knew it, the bus was leaving. The bus had dropped me off a few minutes later, and before I knew it almost everyone was staring at me. It was quite uncomfortable.
I was inside my apartment a few minutes later, too.
"Mom! I'm home!" I yelled.
I shut the apartment door closed and I could hear the washing machine in the small space near the front door. I looked around seeing the photos from when I was growing up, hung on the walls. The walls were colored blue and the floor was tile, until you reached the small, narrow hallway. The walls were clean, almost too clean. It looked so unnatural to me, I don't think I've ever seen my house look this clean before.
I didn't hear my mother call back, and I realized that she sounded like she was in a rush to get home before she hung up. I was usually the one who hung up on the phone, not my mother, it was never my mother. The apartment sounded completely silent, besides the washing machine.
I took my sneakers off and put them by the front door, left with my socks on, I started to walk towards my bedroom. There were only two bedrooms in this apartment, and because the walls were so thin, you could hear muffled sounds of what was happening next door.
"Mom?" I called out.
Okay, I was going to admit it sooner or later, I was scared. Sally was always here before me, she would always come home earlier than I did. I'm going to take a guess and assume that she is getting my birthday present. I mean, I love birthday presents, but I don't want my mom to waste money on them.
I heard the door slide open, and I ran to see who was there. I heard the click of a lock of the door and unfortunately, I slipped and landed on my back. Why did I never take my socks off?
"Percy?" Sally questioned.
I heard my mother's footsteps become louder and louder until I heard her gasp.
"Percy!"
My mother started to walk faster this time and bended down to offer me a hand. I gladly accepted and stood up with the help of her hand. I let go of her hand and asked, "Where were you?"
Sally looked shocked that I had asked her that question.
"I was coming back from a friend's house, someone I met before the teacher interview," Sally rushed out. Percy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. It was highly unlikely that his mom would suddenly hang out with a person for a day, at their house, unless it was someone who she liked. I was actually really hoping she went shopping for a birthday present for me.
"Oh," I said.
"I have cookies if you want them. Didn't you smell them?" Sally said.
I tried not to frown at my mother's unusual behavior, and smiled at her, trying to get her to know that I was fine. I walked to the small kitchen, and the blue cookies almost immediately caught my attention. I grinned and licked my lips, walking over towards them. I heard the light footsteps of my mother walking behind me and she said, "It's an early birthday present."
"I thought you were getting me a birthday present before you came, actually," I admitted to my mom.
"Are you excited? My baby boy's going to be seventeen!" My mom squealed.
Okay, she's back. My mother is acting normal again. I reached my hand out to grab a cookie, but it was snatched out of my hand. My mother put the cookie back on the pan that she had baked them with.
"No, you already had some yesterday, in celebration of the last day of summer," Sally scolded.
"But can't I eat them in celebration of the first day of school?" I pleaded.
"Fine, I will give you one, but only one, and that's it," my mother said to me.
I didn't even say thank you, but instead grabbed the same cookie that I was reaching to grab before. I took a bite out of the blue cookie, and the chocolate was too much. The cookie tasted like literal heaven. My mother chuckled beside me, and I grinned. I think I ate all of the cookie in one bite.
"Did you meet anyone today?" Sally asked.
"Actually, I did, Rachel's best friend. One of them, though," I told her.
My mother's shoulders tensed at the mention of Rachel. Of course my mother loved Rachel, but she still had some doubt. My mother was a little hesitant about me dating Rachel. Apparently, my mother didn't trust Rachel.
"Her name is Annabeth, by the way," I said.
I thought about Annabeth, and her honey-blond princess curls, I also thought about her striking gray eyes. A shiver went down my spine just thinking about her eyes. I knew it wasn't right to make enemies with her the second I met her, but she was being harsh, and I hated people who were like that.
"Oh, really?" Sally asked, her voice hinting for me to go on.
"Yeah, she's nothing like Rachel. They're kind of like polar opposites. I can't even believe they're friends," I told Sally.
"So, did you think she was nice?" My mother questioned. I cringed when I heard that, she was alright, I guess.
I voiced my thoughts, "she was alright, I guess," I lied.
"Percy, you sound like you hate her," my mother stated to me.
"Okay, fine! I do hate her, she's just a little harsh, alright? Please don't make me fight you before my birthday," I pleaded.
"I never said that I wanted to argue. I have to go anyway, so bye, Percy. I have to go, now," my mother rushed out. She hadn't even taken her shoes off yet, so she already knew she was going to have to leave anyway. My mother looked like she was ready to go, already. My mother, Sally, kissed me on the cheek, wishing me goodbye.
And I stared at the retreating lady leaving, where in the world was she going? Especially on the night before my birthday.
"Bye, Percy."
She closed the door, and I locked the door. When I had looked at my phone a few minutes later after my mother had left, there was a message.
Anonymous: Accept her apologies.
Oh my gods! I am so, so, sorry! I'm glad that it's winter break now, though! I am starting to write the next chapter, so no worries! Because I have a two week break, I have a lot more free time, and I can update more often.
And what did you guys find the most surprising?
