Periods In Fanfiction

Annabeth Chase(The Lightning Thief)

I was with Percy and Grover at the gas station when it went down. Sort of. They were outside, IM'ing camp. I was frozen in the girl's bathroom.

Long, shaky breaths fought to escape my lungs. I knew what was happening and what to do, but I didn't have any way to fix the problem. The blood in my underwear would leak through my shorts soon if I didn't find a solution. Think, Annabeth, think! You're a daughter of Athena, you can and you will figure something out.

"Oh my gods," I muttered to myself. An idea came to mind. I'm in a gas station. I thought. Surely they sell menstrual hygiene products here. But, I had no form of payment. None of us did.

I peeked over my stall door, looking for one of those dispensers. Bingo! One was located next to the sinks. Of course, I didn't have the necessary quarters. So I decided I would have to pick the lock.

Now, I don't know too much about picking locks. But, I figured that something would have to act as a key. Lucky for me, someone had left behind a stray bobby pin that I hoped would do the trick.

I wrapped a thick layer of toilet paper around my underwear, hoping that it would suffice for at least a couple of minutes, zipped up my shorts and slipped on my Yankees cap. Immediately, my body turned invisible. I opened the stall door a split second before a woman walked in with her daughter. They headed toward the stall I was in.

It was hard to refrain from cursing, but being silent was essential. Not to mention, there was a child present. The best thing I could think of on moment's notice was to duck into the next stall. Unfortunately, that can be tricky to do so quickly. My legs were still being pulled under when the girl tripped over my ankle and yelped in surprise. I winced, and once again, it was difficult not to curse.

"Oh my gosh, honey! Are you okay?" The mom asked, concerned.

"I tripped on something."

"There isn't anything there. Did your shoe catch on the tile?"

"Maybe. I don't think so."

I scooted under the last stall door and was about to pick the lock when I remembered that it would most certainly make some noise. I would have to wait until I was alone again. Being patient was nearly impossible in that short time span. Tracing the square tiles on the ground and nervously twirling my blond hair, I started to worry if this was a good idea. I wasn't really interested in shoplifting. But it might be my best bet.

The lady and her daughter left fairly quickly, leaving me alone. As I was fumbling with the bobby pin, there was a knock on the door.

"Annabeth! Are you in there?" called Percy.

"Yes."

"How long will you take? We should go really soon."

"I'm not sure."

"Are you okay?" I hesitated a second before answering.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Um...okay. See you in a minute I guess."

"Mhm."

It was now or never. I twisted the pin in the lock hoping the dispenser would bust open. Using my hand to wipe the nervous sweat from my forehead, my cap got knocked to the floor. I picked it up with my right hand before getting back to my little heist. It took time and effort to move the pin around just right, but the door finally opened toward my face.

The thing was empty except for a small stash of quarters at the bottom.

"Wha-N-No!" I clamped my right hand over my mouth, dropping the cap previously being held in it.