Note: Early update this week 'cause I've got no school this Friday :D

SO WE MEET A FEW PEOPLE

"Percy?"

"Ngghhh..."

"Perrrrcy, wake up!"

"Alas...," the raven haired teen mumbled groggily, face down on the table. "...I'm a lady friendless."

Grover Underwood frowned openly at the sleeping youth in front of him as he scratched absentmindedly at the coarse stubble on his chin. He just couldn't figure out why Percy always decided to study in the library when all he did was fall asleep. Taking a deep breath, Grover gripped the wooden broom he was holding and took a swing.

WHACK!

"AHH!" Percy screamed, in a very manly fashion, as he was whacked out of his seat. Multicoloured pens and sticky notes clattered to the ground while Percy groaned dejectedly. Not bothering to get up, he stayed half on the floor and half on his chair as stared up his friend's slightly bearded face. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Grover apologized, scooping up fallen school supplies as Percy slid into an Indian sit. "But the library's closing and you're the last to leave again."

"Already? But it's still so early," he commented, leaning his head against a table leg. "I haven't finished my extra credit work yet..."

"Extra credit?" the older man asked as he squinted at Percy's haphazard annotations. "So I guess your quiz didn't go so well."

"Nope," the teen answered as he got to his feet and packed up. "I bombed. It was especially sad this time because Ms. Nia just spent the entire time breathing down my neck and 'expecting improvement'"

"Oh...well at least you got can make up for it!"

"Let's not talk about it," Percy said miserably, sweeping his things into the gaping maw of his sea-green backpack. He'd spent the better part of his weekend staring at the abysmally few notes and annotations he had scrounged off the internet but like always, Shakespeare just refused to make any sense to him. Betrayal, love, murder, politics, yaddi yaddi yadda; you'd wonder whether old William had ever heard of clichés. Then again, he'd probably invented most of those clichés... "Maybe I'd have done better if my tutor were here."

"Don't be too hard on Annabeth," Grover chided as he led Percy out through the solid oak doors of the library. "She hasn't seen Luke in forever!"

"Three months to be exact," the teen grumbled, remembering the blonde's uncharacteristically giddy smile. They walked together to the campus gates in silence as Percy's mind buzzed with the same question that had been bugging him since Annabeth had mentioned her phantom boyfriend. He didn't know why he was so curious; she was just someone he had a few classes with...well, now she was his tutor so maybe that's why he cared to know so much. Yeah, that made sense. He had to plan study dates (or rather, study SESSIONS) with her, therefore they'd be spending a lot of time together. So, swallowing his guilt and letting his hidden inner gossip emerge, he asked: "So, why's Luke away in the first place?"

Grover raised an eyebrow at the question before answering. "He's away on an exchange program."

"And Annabeth doesn't mind?" Percy blurted out before the question even registered in his mind.

"No, she doesn't," Grover responded warily, turning to face a red faced Percy. He was glad the teen was trying to get to know Annabeth, but that was kind of personal...

"Oh, that's good then," Percy breathed out, walking past his friend, the decorative white latticework that adorned the school gates coming into view. He walked onto the sidewalk and waved a hasty goodbye to Grover. "See you G-man!"

"Bye Percy!" Grover replied cheerily, deciding not to ponder too much on the confusing thoughts of his teenager friends. He turned on his heel and trotted back into the school, happy that two of his best buddies were going to be spending time together.

Percy ambled along the uphill street to his bus stop, worrying about tomorrow's classes and wondering yet again why he even attended this school.

CHB was an exclusive academy that hosted an eclectic mix of students, most of whom didn't even know what they were doing in private school. The kids weren't from any particular social group; there were the standard geeks, class clowns, and jocks that every other school had. But there was one strange thing about the cliques in this school, something that took Percy a while to realize.

It started with the rowdy track and field team who'd first invited him to eat lunch with them at their humongous table in the cafeteria. At first he thought that maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, but Percy noticed that all the track kids all had the same kind of upturned eyes. It was like looking at an extended family reunion.

Then Percy started seeing it in his classes.

The bookworms had different shades of blonde hair but exactly the same color of grey eyes.

All the wood shop students had the same burly build and intense fiery gaze.

And every person on the archery team had sandy hair, sky blue eyes and a smile so bright that it looked like the sun had just risen.

Heck, even the popular kids (you know the ones that always spend half an hour in front of a mirror) looked like they were all siblings.

Everyone had somewhere to fit into in CHB. Everyone of course but Percy.

He sighed deeply into the nifty autumn air, watching the fog from his breath fade out. He'd never been Mr. Popular at any school but it was different in CHB. It was like everyone knew who to be friends with. Well there was Grover, the quirky custodian/groundskeeper/postman that had delivered Percy's acceptance letter in the first place. A letter that had come at a perfect time, seeing as he'd just been kicked out of his old school for...an incident.

Lost in his thoughts, Percy unconsciously made his way to the stop, his feet having memorized the familiar daily path. Restless and frustrated, he swung on back and forth on his heels as he waited for the bus to pull up. He needed someone to talk to, someone who wasn't involved with all the stress and drama that happened in CHB.

Speak of the devil, Percy thought to himself seeing a familiar mess of reddish brown hair drive in with the bus. He digging into his bag, he stepped on. Now where'd I put my bus pass...

"Anytime today would be good," the driver muttered as Percy sorted through loose papers, books and miscellaneous stuff.

"Here, I've got a ticket for him," a sing song voice called, its owner sauntering towards the front. The ticket slipped into the validating machine with a beep as the driver waved them back with a disinterested grunt. Percy smiled at his ticket saviour and followed her to the back of the bus. They plopped down on the back most seats, her bright green, oversized t-shirt sagging over her knees and his navy blue uniformed sweater hanging unbuttoned at his sides. "I haven't seen you for a weeks and that's the face you show me? What's up?"

"It's nice to see you too Rach," Percy responded, rolling his eyes as she stuck her tongue out at him. She frowned when he didn't elaborate on his apparently obvious bad mood. Taking out a purple sharpie from one of her many hidden pockets, Rachel proceeded to doodle on her jeans, adding another layer of colour onto the collage of scribbles that had accumulated on the fabric. Seeing as she had her stubborn face on, Percy decided to try and move the conversation to her direction. "How's life been on your end of the world? Has Hoover High been same as always?"

"Meh, nothing interesting is happening nowadays," she replied idly. She recapped her sharpie and started picking at a hole in her jeans as Percy waited for any elaborations. "Just some ruckus going on in my Dad's business."

"So no one's still talking about last year's incident?" Percy asked.

Rachel craned her neck to look up at Percy and their eyes met, emerald staring deep into sea. "I hate how much you grew over the summer."

"Stop skirting the question Rach," Percy huffed, running a hand through his raven locks. "And it's only a few inches."

"Try half a foot," she grumbled. "And no, they're not all still talking about your little incident. The scandal wasn't that big. Don't be so egotistical, Percy Jackson."

"That's great," he grinned. Leaning back into his seat he continued. "And you seem to be your regular sarcastic self, which means there aren't any rumours about you either. Thank god they've let it go."

The truth was, Rachel Elizabeth Dare did have rumours about her circulating around Hoover High, and she knew it. But Percy didn't need to know that, he'd just feel guilty about it. She wished that all the hushed whispers, fretful glances, and awkward silences at school would go away, but...that had nothing to do with Percy now. Not now that he'd moved away, and Rachel wanted it to stay that way.

So she slapped a strained smirk onto her face and gave her friend a playful shove. "Yeah, and thank god the most annoying boy in Hoover High's gone and gotten himself enrolled in some prissy private school. Do tell, Perseus how has CHB been? And again, I have to say what a GREAT name to give a school."

"And again, I have to tell you, it's got to be an abbreviation for something," Percy countered, frowning at her use of his real name.

"Hmm? So it's short for what?"

"Well no one really knows," he muttered.

Rachel quirked an eyebrow at the statement and snorted, "You're serious?"

"Well yeah..."

"Sooo, how's life at good ol'," another snicker. "CHB?"

"Nothing special," he said as he diligently ignored the poorly concealed sniggers. "I've got a tutor now though."

"Your mom got you a tutor?"

"No, my English teacher gave me a tutor. I've sucked enough to earn one."

"So who is he? Some bumbling old coot with big glasses and a long beard?"

Percy stared questioningly at her and wondered why she looked so excited at the prospect of meeting what sounded like a real life Albus Dumbledore. "Noooo, she is someone in my English class."

"Oh," Rachel mouthed, looking...oddly disappointed. "I was hoping he'd be one of those Dumbledore types. I could've taken a picture."

"What're you going to do with a picture of Dubledore?"

"Well duh, post it in my scrapbook!"

"You are SO weird, you know that?" Percy muttered.

Ping!

Percy stood at the sound and shouldered his bag. "Bye Rach, this is my stop. See you soon!"

"Bye Perce, show me a picture of your tutor some time."

His face scrunched up into a grimace at the thought while his cheeks tinged themselves pink. "Ugh what? That's so embarrassing. 'Hey Annabeth, pose for a while would you? My stalker friend wants to see what you look like'."

"Geez Percy it's not that much of a big deal," Rachel snapped as the bus came to a stop. "Stop being such a boy!"

"Whatever," he mouthed silently as he stepped away and plopped onto the pavement.

She opened a window and called after him just as he was walking away. "Try not to fall in love with her you dunce!"

A metal trash bin toppled over as Percy tripped unflatteringly into it. Oh, teasing him was always fun.

NEXT CHAPTER: We get to see Annabeth's tutoring methods, the Stoll brother's relationship advice and a whole lot of foreshadowing. Reviews are loved!