Usual Fanfiction Disclaimer.

A/N: I just looked over this chapter today. And it looked ok to put out. After this chapter, we are going to get into the main story arc so I definitely won't be updating again until I make sure everything is in order. I'm writing the last 5-6 chapters. After that I'm going to look over re - read the whole story and edit where needed. Then I'll start regular updates.

Btw. I'm in such a good mood! The Son of Neptune came out today! I'm only 30 pages and it's so good! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy ... and review?

Chapter 3

Chyna Parks was late. Again. Or was about to be late if she didn't continue her record pace as she walked the 12 blocks to school. She couldn't believe that she overslept! Again! She made sure that she had her alarm on and everything. She even told her father and Cameron to wake her up if that didn't work.

Apparently though - she was a very, very deep sleeper nowadays. According to her dad, it took him and her brother practically jumping up and down on her bed with the alarm wailing for five minutes for her to even open an eye.

When she thought about it, she shouldn't have been surprised. She'd been stretching herself thin these days – from constant flights between LA and San Francisco, to catching up on homework, to studying for tests and projects, to performing at school concerts and plays, and of course, making time for her friends - she hardly had time to sleep.

Because of everything she had on her plate - the only time she'd ever get to bed early were on Sunday nights. The only time, ever.

And so it became pretty much a weekly ritual for her to run late for school on Monday mornings – her body would shut down so completely on Sunday nights that she was still dead to the world by morning.

She huffed and puffed as she sped walk to school. The walk felt like it was taking forever, with no end in sight.

It wasn't for another five more minutes until she caught the familiar sign to Webster High just overlooking the first hill, heard the familiar chatter that marked the school backdrop, and heard the sound of the first bell – signaling that it was time to start getting to class.

She'd made it.

Chyna stumbled onto the hallway, and almost slipped and fell her first ten seconds in as throngs of high schoolers jetted up, around and through her to make their way to class. She had to arch her back, rock on her heels, and then bend over unnaturally just to avoid her fellow high schoolers –

She just barely missed that last student, a heavyset girl in pink glasses, who barreled straight down the main hallway with no regard for human life. After Chyna cleared that missile, she allowed herself to smile in relief. She figured that she'd survived the brunt of the hallway traffic and could allow herself to relax - when suddenly a burly upperclassman in a football Letterman jacket bounded into her as he sprinted the hallway. He crashed right smack into her shoulder – he absorbed her impact perfectly and didn't even break stride – while she was left to wave her arms frantically, automatically trying to get some sense of balance, maybe grab blindly for something to hold onto - with no success.

She fell straight on her back. The books in her book bag dug into her hips. It hurt. Really hurt. The six light fixtures up directly above her wouldn't stop spinning -

Once they indeed stopped, she began to get back on her feet – when a tiny kid, probably another Ant – barreled into her and sent her toppling over again.

It was then, that she just knew. Today was going to be a bad day. A very, very bad day.

As if the high school gods wanted to confirm it – she heard Skidmore's voice.

"Chyna Parks. What are you doing down there? I know Webster High is known for their absolutely pristine, first class floors but there's no need to lie down in it."

Chyna got up – very, very slowly – to the sight of spinning images of Principal Skidmore smiling her wrinkled grin, flashing unnaturally white, sharp teeth.

"It's nothing, Principal Skidmore. I just slipped and fell, that's all."

Skidmore's sharp grin fell away to a surprising look of concern. She stepped over to inspect her student up and down. "You were down there an awfully long time. Nothing's – broken – is it?"

"Nope. I'm perfectly fine."

"Good! Because I'd already cut the health insurance budget. So please, for the love of god, try not to slip and fall on school premises. If you must do that, do it outside! Money doesn't grow on trees you know!"

"Um – thanks for the concern – "

"Not a problem. So if you don't mind, I have a class to substitute for. I'm teaching gym class first period – and just for kicks, I'm making everybody run on the school track until they drop! Every single last one of them!" Skidmore looked absolutely ecstatic at the idea of it.

Chyna groaned. "I have gym class right now."

Skidmore's smile only got wider, "Oh – doesn't that suck for you!"

It was too early in the morning for this.

Everybody had gotten ready, and was now filling the football field from the stadium entranceway. Chyna lumbered behind everybody else as they ran ahead onto the field.

Chyna looked on her classmates with envy – they were all so full of vigor, jumping up and down on limber legs waiting to stretch and take action on the school tracks. She remembered when she had that kind of energy once - but then senior year happened.

"Chyna? Are you ok?" She was snapped from her reverie by the sound of Fletcher's voice.

She turned to face her friend. She figured she must've really looked like a mess today, by the look of concern on his face.

She averted her gaze; she couldn't quite meet Fletcher's blue eyes. In the back of her mind, she kept replaying Friday night – when Chad kept saying, "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to get your boyfriend's name wrong!"

"I'm all right," she tried to reassure him. She flashed him a very quick smile – she couldn't quite put any real energy behind it though.

She could see from her peripheral vision that Fletcher was trying to meet her gaze. She felt he was about to say something when -

"Well, well. It looks like somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed," a cold voice noted.

Now Janice, Chyna had no problem staring straight in the face: "Is there something you want, Janice?" Chyna said very bluntly.

Janice shrugged, a cold smirk on her lips. "No, not particularly." Janice's smug face lingered on Chyna's before she moved on to join the rest of the students on the field.

Fletcher made to follow, but then turned his head to Chyna, "Are you coming?"

Chyna just smiled tightly and managed: "I'll be right along."

With supreme control, Chyna managed to get ahold of herself as she watched Fletcher join Janice onto the field.

The swimmer hadn't said much, but already Chyna felt ready to snap at her -

Just calm down, Chyna, she told herself. You're just tired and easily annoyed today, that's all. Janice was just being herself. She can't help but get under people's skins. Just breathe. You can get through this morning. And then in the afternoon, it's just one class – after that, you're home free!

That was what Chyna kept telling herself over and over again as she joined everybody else on the field.

Skidmore was dressed in a baseball cap, a teacher's whistle, and shorts that looked too short to belong on a middle aged woman. She skipped onto the field with a wrinkled, merry smile on her face, all the while parading a clipboard in front of her.

Skidmore blew her whistle. The gym class, who were stretching out on the grass, looked up.

"Principal Skidmore? You're teaching the class?" A pudgy student asked, surprised.

"Yep!" Skidmore answered brightly.

Everybody groaned, which completely unfazed Skidmore.

"Aw. Why so glum, chums?" Skidmore asked with a smile. "It's not everyday that your favorite Principal gets to teach Phys Ed. Of course – it's not everyday I lose a game of Texas Hold 'Em. A reminder to anyone who plays cards – do not bluff a hand against Mr. Bellamy. He's way better at gambling than teaching English. Anyway, have I got a treat for you guys! You all should be excited!"

"What are we going to do?" A girl asked.

"Soccer?" Someone suggested.

"Nope."

"Volleyball?" Another spoke up.

"Negative."

"Tennis?"

"Lacrosse?"

"Nope and nope," Skidmore answered. "Today we're all going to play – "

"Here it comes," Chyna deadpanned.

" – a game I like to call, run until you drop dead, or when I blow the whistle – whichever comes first. So everybody, get to the starting line - when I blow the whistle, just start running – if you feel the need to faint, just do it beyond the grass. That doesn't count as school property and I won't get sued!" Skidmore announced brightly.

Sarcastic hoots, yays and hollers scattered across the class as they made their way to the starting line. Chyna dragged along, lagging behind everybody else, but stopped when she saw Skidmore pull Janice to the side.

"Not you, Janice. You're excused from today's activities. You don't have to run."

"What?" Chyna marched straight to Skidmore and Janice.

"Janice needs her rest," Skidmore explained to Chyna. "She has this big swim meet coming up next week against Willow Andry, and we can't have her too exhausted to practice!"

"That's not fair, you don't have any problems with exhausting any of us!" Chyna complained.

"Well it's different with you guys. For one thing – I don't care about whether you're exhausted or not – " Skidmore took a second to study Chyna, and then seemed to have realized something. "On second thought, maybe you should sit this one out too, Chyna. It's to my understanding that you've been flying out to LA to cut records, and don't you have your first big concert coming up?"

"Yea. I have been flying out to LA to do music stuff. But I'm not doing concerts yet. We're pushing that all the way to after graduation."

Skidmore hardly gave it a moment's thought –

"I see. Well, you're excused too. Why not?" Skidmore put her arm around Chyna. "Just remember to write school donations out to my name when you cut your first paycheck," Skidmore said, with a wink.

And then Skidmore was off.

It was then, Chyna heard Fletcher's voice, loud and clear: "Hey guys! What are you two doing over there?" She turned to see Fletcher waving his arms like a maniac from the tracks.

Janice spoke up, "Well – that's my cue. I don't care what Skidmore says. I'm not in such pitiful shape that I'd leave Fletcher alone running on the tracks for 45 minutes." She shot Chyna a wink, then jogged to join Fletcher at the tracks.

As she watched Janice run down the hill, a picture formed in Chyna's head – of Fletcher laughing while he jogged laps with Janice by his side for 45 minutes, all the while wondering why Chyna couldn't be bothered to run the same laps everybody was supposed to do. A surge of energy shot through her, and now she felt like she was ready to run a marathon –

Oh no, you don't, Janice! I see what you're doing!

And Chyna bolted for the tracks.

By the time she made it onto the tracks though, right behind Fletcher and Janice – Chyna's surge of energy suddenly ran out, and already she was feeling the squeeze in her chest from the running, plus she was feeling light headed –

Fletcher and Janice on the other hand, were laughing and running step by step in easy conversation –

"Hey, Fletcher! Hey – wait up!" Chyna managed to gasp.

It took about a couple more seconds to catch up – thankfully Fletcher and Janice had slowed down.

"Oh, hey, Chyna!" Fletcher exclaimed, looking not at all out of breath. "Janice was just telling me how you were excused from gym! What are you doing here?"

"Skidmore- changed – 'er - mind!" Was all Chyna could communicate between intakes of breath.

Fletcher smiled warmly at Chyna. "Oh, ok," he said, then proceeded to speed up again, with Janice beside him –

Oh, no you don't! Chyna thought. She had one more burst of speed left - She ran as hard and fast as her legs could take her – suddenly, she was right there, step by step with Fletcher and Janice –

"I must say, I'm pretty impressed, Chyna," Janice said slyly. "You managed to make it 2 laps around the track, that's a quarter of a mile."

"Yea, Chyna. Where'd you been doing your running? Janice and I run all the time in her gym at home," Fletcher added.

"I – all the – " Chyna couldn't quite gather enough oxygen to make full words, so she settled for smiling. Her lungs, they felt like they were going to explode any second now –

"Well, anyway, you're doing great. We've been running for 6 minutes - I think we're about warmed up now - You ready, Chyna?" Fletcher and Janice put on a burst of speed –

Chyna saw them rush ahead. "W-wait!" A couple things happened at the same time just then – suddenly, her legs felt like jelly – all the blood came rushing to her head – Fletcher and Janice's retreating forms started looking all hazy –

She felt a smack on the back of her head.

Then it was all dark.

Chyna came to, on a hard, small bed, facing white walls.

"Chyna, Chyna, Chyna. What did I say? If you're going to faint, do it off school property!" A familiar voice scolded.

It took a second for Chyna's vision to right itself and focus on the admonishing face of Principal Skidmore. Stern eyes faced her down behind small rimmed glasses.

"You were excused anyway!" Skidmore continued. "I should give you detention for disobeying administrative orders!"

"Uhh – sorry?" Was all Chyna managed.

"It's ok!" Skidmore said brightly. She quickly produced a clipboard with a single sheet of paper. "Now if you would please, sign your name on the dotted line – " Skidmore pointed to the bottom of the clipboard.

Chyna couldn't quite make out the fine print on the sheet of paper. She tried to read the paper, but her head felt a little doozy still –

"Never you mind! Just sign it. Just mandatory paperwork that all students who make it to the nurse's office have to file."

Chyna shrugged, then scribbled her name lazily on the sheet of paper. It was all she could do before the back of her head started roaring from the exertion of signing the paper.

Skidmore let out such a big sigh of relief that Chyna could smell the mint on her breath. "Good! Now that that's over with, I'll turn you over to your friend," Skidmore said with a bored air.

The principal got up from her seat, completely leaving Chyna's field of vision, to reveal a concerned looking Fletcher, who apparently had been sitting behind her the whole time.

"Chyna!" Fletcher looked so relieved, he looked adorable. He moved closer to Chyna's bed. "You had me worried for a second."

Chyna felt his hand on hers. Suddenly the cool air in the air conditioned room didn't feel cool enough –

"S'ok," Chyna managed with a giggle. "I probably – shouldn't have pushed too hard."

Fletcher laughed. His sparkling blue eyes met hers –

Chyna automatically turned away –

Somewhere else, she could hear Chad taunting, "Why can't you look at your boyfriend's eyes?"

He's not my boyfriend! Imaginary her yelled back at Chad's taunts.

He's so your boyfriend! Nya nyah nyah nyah nyah!

No. HE's. Not!

So forceful and thunderous imaginary her was that imaginary Chad could do nothing but cower in the corner. Chyna felt a brief thrill of triumph, but it only lasted a second -

The problem was, she realized, as she slowly turned to meet Fletcher's blue, smiling eyes –

It may be true that Fletcher wasn't her boyfriend, but she wanted him to be.

Fletcher's smiling eyes grew concerned. "Chyna. Are you all right? You look like you're in pain."

"I'm all right, Fletcher." She put on a brave smile. Unfortunately, it wasn't the kind of pain a nurse could treat.