p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal; text-align: center;"strongChapter 10/strong/p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal; text-align: center;"strongBailey/strong/p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"For the first week after the "incident" (which is the only way that I will refer to it) I ignored Percy and his posse of secretive cooks. If they wouldn't explain what the hell was going on, then I wouldn't speak to them, either. But Simon decided that he and Percy were meant to be friends. Ugh. Stupid Simon. He followed him everywhere, even to the point where Simon joined the swim team. I know what you're thinking. Simon in a speedo? Yeah. That was my main concern, not the fact that Simon had never stepped into water without arm floaties. So I just left him alone, too. I had so much to think about that it didn't even faze me./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"First off, the girl. Annabeth. All year I'd been trying to forget, and here she was, standing in my face. The little girl I'd seen, shaking and alone, went to my high school and was dating Percy. Her stunning grey eyes were terrifying, something I remembered from her as a little girl. I didn't even know how I knew that it was her, but I just couldn't seem to forget her face no matter how hard I tried. I used to believe that they were all perfectly normal high schoolers, unlike me. Until they whipped out their frickin' weapons and head off to do God knows what./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I'm sorry, I truly am. I'm usually not so shaken. But because Annabeth emknows /emall these people confirms it. There was emdefinitely /emsomething odd about them...all of them. Maybe even Leo, though it was impossible to imagine him as anything but my cute lab partner./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Okay, okay. I suppose I should spill on the Leo deal, though you've probably already figured it out. He kind of cute in a scrawny sort of way, and has a unique sense of humor. He's just an underdog, like me, and I found that kind of attractive. But to be honest, I didn't know how I felt. I'd never liked someone like that before. Ever. I was usually so independent and fearless. How could all that be trampled by something so small as a boy? A cute boy. A cute emand /emfunny boy. Ergh! See what I mean?/p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Anyway, it was gym class, the one class I had with Simon, Percy, Leo, Annabeth, and Jason together. It was weird, though, because the four new kids seemed to have every class together, like the teachers decided that they were all one person./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Simon drifted over to me, longing for a conversation. He paused for a few moments, and then looked me in the eye. I looked off into the distance, though he kept staring at me./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hi," he said quietly./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey," I replied blandly, my throat dry. I didn't think I was ignoring him on purpose, but the truth was that I was kind of angry. My best friend was deciding it was time for a change, so he was leaving me in the dust. But when he tried to talk to me? I ignored him. It wasn't exactly the best system, I observed. But I couldn't force myself to continue the conversation, which was odd because I was usually so straight-forward with my best friend. It didn't matter if the news was harsh or otherwise, it was said in his face indifferent./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""So...I joined the swim team," he offered, grinning. I nodded./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""I know." He looked at his shoes, contemplating what to say next. Thinking back on it, he should've thought about it longer./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""So, with what happened a week ago, with the weapons and the guys…" he began cautiously, but that was enough to flip a switch. I walked away to the other corner of the room and began to tie my shoes. I needed to escape that conversation, and any distraction seemed to be a better option./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I occasionally looked up from my shoe (which never seemed to tie, not to Simon's surprise) to see Simon glancing in my direction sympathetically. Puh. I didn't need his pity. I just needed him to stop talking about those four kids who brought nothing but trouble into my life. Harsh? Yeah, but also true./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I thought back to when I proposed the idea of finding out who they were to Simon. I almost smiled until I realized that this was all my fault, and I was being a wimp. Why couldn't I just face my problems like I had in the past? Maybe because I knew it would turn my world upside down. emSideways or upside down? What's the difference? Just sort things out! /emMy gut screamed./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I started to nervously conjure up a conversation with Annabeth. I didn't explain how I got there, because I didn't choose to: my legs suddenly had a mind of their own. But I knew that wherever Annabeth was, Percy couldn't be too far off, and wherever Percy was, Simon must be glued to his side./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey," I said, smiling politely. She turned her full attention to me, which was both refreshing and terrifying./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey. Bailey, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Nice to formally meet you." I smiled, shaking her hand cautiously. I crossed my fingers that my palms weren't sweaty, because that would be a major turn off./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""How are you liking Goode so far?" I asked, trying to mirror her casual posture. She nodded eagerly./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""It's really nice to finally be in school again," she confessed./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Oh, were you homeschooled?" I inquired. As scary as she was, conversation flowed fairly easily, as if she had already forgotten the "incident". Her words weren't pleasantries, but pure, real words that came from her heart and mind. Not just common phrases that rolled off of her tongue./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Something like that," she shrugged. All of me wanted to leave the conversation at that. We were getting along! Why wasn't that enough? But I needed to know./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Annabeth, this might sound weird. In fact, it is most emdefinitely /emgoing to sound weird. But have you ever ran away from home? When you were little?" I questioned, not even giving a second thought about the oddity of my sentences./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Her expression darkened. I couldn't tell if she were about to kill me or let out a hearty chuckle. She did neither./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"She hesitated. "When I was younger, yes, but my mother was there to guide me," she decided. I furrowed my brow./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Who is your mother?" I asked, an awful knot tied in my gut. Her eyes bored through me, sizing me up. Forget about a breezy talk, this was hella creepy./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""That doesn't matter," she replied briskly, turning away from me, but I grabbed her shoulder. That got her attention./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"The look on her face wasn't anger, exactly, but more of shock. I took it she wasn't used to being called to halt./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Please. Please, Annabeth. I need answers. I emdeserve/em an answer. My whole life I've been an outcast, seeing things that nobody else could see. My nightmares haunt me in the day. Help me," I rambled weakly. A look of pity flashed across her eyes, a quick something that said emI know where you're coming from/em./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""I saw you. Fighting these creatures that only I saw. When you were little, and all alone. Until a few weeks ago, I was convinced that you were made up, an aspect of my imagination. But I know better. I know that something is going on, and whatever it is, I have to be a part of it," I supply breathlessly. I wasn't expecting this to turn out as a sob story, but tears were streaming down my face as she looked down at me pitifully (I was 5'0, get over it). Simon and I locked eyes. He seemed concerned. I never cried. But there I was, spilling my life story to a girl I had just met./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay," she assured, though I thought she may have been convincing herself more than me./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""What's going on?" I asked, wiping the relentless tears off of my cheeks. She looked at me solemnly. We didn't speak for a few moments, and the silence lagged on./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""We're going to have to talk to Percy," she finally decided./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"strongOMG! I am SO SORRY! I have been writing and revising my book for the past two months, and haven't updated. I seriously hope you guys are still reading this despite that giant break. /strongstrongSo thank you guys so much for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed that chapter! If you have any comments or suggestions, make sure to review! Make sure to like and follow this story, because I promise I will be way better about updating. See ya!/strong/p
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p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal; text-align: center;"strongBailey/strong/p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"For the first week after the "incident" (which is the only way that I will refer to it) I ignored Percy and his posse of secretive cooks. If they wouldn't explain what the hell was going on, then I wouldn't speak to them, either. But Simon decided that he and Percy were meant to be friends. Ugh. Stupid Simon. He followed him everywhere, even to the point where Simon joined the swim team. I know what you're thinking. Simon in a speedo? Yeah. That was my main concern, not the fact that Simon had never stepped into water without arm floaties. So I just left him alone, too. I had so much to think about that it didn't even faze me./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"First off, the girl. Annabeth. All year I'd been trying to forget, and here she was, standing in my face. The little girl I'd seen, shaking and alone, went to my high school and was dating Percy. Her stunning grey eyes were terrifying, something I remembered from her as a little girl. I didn't even know how I knew that it was her, but I just couldn't seem to forget her face no matter how hard I tried. I used to believe that they were all perfectly normal high schoolers, unlike me. Until they whipped out their frickin' weapons and head off to do God knows what./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I'm sorry, I truly am. I'm usually not so shaken. But because Annabeth emknows /emall these people confirms it. There was emdefinitely /emsomething odd about them...all of them. Maybe even Leo, though it was impossible to imagine him as anything but my cute lab partner./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Okay, okay. I suppose I should spill on the Leo deal, though you've probably already figured it out. He kind of cute in a scrawny sort of way, and has a unique sense of humor. He's just an underdog, like me, and I found that kind of attractive. But to be honest, I didn't know how I felt. I'd never liked someone like that before. Ever. I was usually so independent and fearless. How could all that be trampled by something so small as a boy? A cute boy. A cute emand /emfunny boy. Ergh! See what I mean?/p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Anyway, it was gym class, the one class I had with Simon, Percy, Leo, Annabeth, and Jason together. It was weird, though, because the four new kids seemed to have every class together, like the teachers decided that they were all one person./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Simon drifted over to me, longing for a conversation. He paused for a few moments, and then looked me in the eye. I looked off into the distance, though he kept staring at me./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hi," he said quietly./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey," I replied blandly, my throat dry. I didn't think I was ignoring him on purpose, but the truth was that I was kind of angry. My best friend was deciding it was time for a change, so he was leaving me in the dust. But when he tried to talk to me? I ignored him. It wasn't exactly the best system, I observed. But I couldn't force myself to continue the conversation, which was odd because I was usually so straight-forward with my best friend. It didn't matter if the news was harsh or otherwise, it was said in his face indifferent./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""So...I joined the swim team," he offered, grinning. I nodded./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""I know." He looked at his shoes, contemplating what to say next. Thinking back on it, he should've thought about it longer./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""So, with what happened a week ago, with the weapons and the guys…" he began cautiously, but that was enough to flip a switch. I walked away to the other corner of the room and began to tie my shoes. I needed to escape that conversation, and any distraction seemed to be a better option./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I occasionally looked up from my shoe (which never seemed to tie, not to Simon's surprise) to see Simon glancing in my direction sympathetically. Puh. I didn't need his pity. I just needed him to stop talking about those four kids who brought nothing but trouble into my life. Harsh? Yeah, but also true./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I thought back to when I proposed the idea of finding out who they were to Simon. I almost smiled until I realized that this was all my fault, and I was being a wimp. Why couldn't I just face my problems like I had in the past? Maybe because I knew it would turn my world upside down. emSideways or upside down? What's the difference? Just sort things out! /emMy gut screamed./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"I started to nervously conjure up a conversation with Annabeth. I didn't explain how I got there, because I didn't choose to: my legs suddenly had a mind of their own. But I knew that wherever Annabeth was, Percy couldn't be too far off, and wherever Percy was, Simon must be glued to his side./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey," I said, smiling politely. She turned her full attention to me, which was both refreshing and terrifying./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey. Bailey, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Nice to formally meet you." I smiled, shaking her hand cautiously. I crossed my fingers that my palms weren't sweaty, because that would be a major turn off./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""How are you liking Goode so far?" I asked, trying to mirror her casual posture. She nodded eagerly./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""It's really nice to finally be in school again," she confessed./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Oh, were you homeschooled?" I inquired. As scary as she was, conversation flowed fairly easily, as if she had already forgotten the "incident". Her words weren't pleasantries, but pure, real words that came from her heart and mind. Not just common phrases that rolled off of her tongue./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Something like that," she shrugged. All of me wanted to leave the conversation at that. We were getting along! Why wasn't that enough? But I needed to know./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Annabeth, this might sound weird. In fact, it is most emdefinitely /emgoing to sound weird. But have you ever ran away from home? When you were little?" I questioned, not even giving a second thought about the oddity of my sentences./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"Her expression darkened. I couldn't tell if she were about to kill me or let out a hearty chuckle. She did neither./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"She hesitated. "When I was younger, yes, but my mother was there to guide me," she decided. I furrowed my brow./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Who is your mother?" I asked, an awful knot tied in my gut. Her eyes bored through me, sizing me up. Forget about a breezy talk, this was hella creepy./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""That doesn't matter," she replied briskly, turning away from me, but I grabbed her shoulder. That got her attention./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"The look on her face wasn't anger, exactly, but more of shock. I took it she wasn't used to being called to halt./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Please. Please, Annabeth. I need answers. I emdeserve/em an answer. My whole life I've been an outcast, seeing things that nobody else could see. My nightmares haunt me in the day. Help me," I rambled weakly. A look of pity flashed across her eyes, a quick something that said emI know where you're coming from/em./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""I saw you. Fighting these creatures that only I saw. When you were little, and all alone. Until a few weeks ago, I was convinced that you were made up, an aspect of my imagination. But I know better. I know that something is going on, and whatever it is, I have to be a part of it," I supply breathlessly. I wasn't expecting this to turn out as a sob story, but tears were streaming down my face as she looked down at me pitifully (I was 5'0, get over it). Simon and I locked eyes. He seemed concerned. I never cried. But there I was, spilling my life story to a girl I had just met./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""Hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay," she assured, though I thought she may have been convincing herself more than me./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""What's going on?" I asked, wiping the relentless tears off of my cheeks. She looked at me solemnly. We didn't speak for a few moments, and the silence lagged on./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;""We're going to have to talk to Percy," she finally decided./p
p style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"strongOMG! I am SO SORRY! I have been writing and revising my book for the past two months, and haven't updated. I seriously hope you guys are still reading this despite that giant break. /strongstrongSo thank you guys so much for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed that chapter! If you have any comments or suggestions, make sure to review! Make sure to like and follow this story, because I promise I will be way better about updating. See ya!/strong/p
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