scales and arpeggios

chapter five: annabeth

I walk through the huge front doors of Goode High School next Monday with Piper next to me. Hazel slides next to me, a huge smile on her face.

"What's up?" Piper asks her.

"What? Oh, nothing, I'm just happy today," she says.

"Hazel, when are you not happy?" I ask as I open my locker, throwing my volleyball bag in first. She laughs and I continue to put my books away.

"I'm going to be a minute, you guys should head to class so you're not late." They nod and walk in the direction of the band room. I grab my clarinet and shut my locker, weaving through the few students still in the hallway.

"Ah, there she is," Mr. Fletcher says as I walk in.

"What, me?" I ask, making my way to my seat, but Mr. Fletcher calls me up to his stand.

"I'm going to hand out some music today, but I also have to leave early. Can you run the class for the day? Just sight-read the piece, nothing too difficult."

"Of course," I say, and he smiles before I sit down and open my case, even though we probably aren't going to play much today.

"Okay class, I have a doctor's appointment today, so, unfortunately, I have to leave in about 15 minutes, but I wanted to give you your music before I go. Now, I know it's only September, but I always give out sheet music very early, especially for major concerts. This is the main piece for our Winter Concert, and I think y'all will enjoy it." He picks up a stack of music and hands small piles to each section.

"A Frozen Medley! Yes!" I hear Leo yell from the trumpet section. I glance at the sheet music. It doesn't seem too difficult, but who knows.

"Now, I'm leaving Annabeth in charge, and I want you to sight-read this piece and work on Star Wars while I'm gone." He grabs his briefcase and exits the band room.

"Okay, guys, let's start with Star Wars," I say, grabbing my clarinet and walking to the conductor's stand.

;;;;

"I'm starting to think Mr. Fletcher is going to be a little disappointed in us," Leo says from the floor of the band room 15 minutes later.

"At least we got through the pieces," I say.

"Barely," someone says.

"Hey, I tried." I throw my hands up in defeat and walk over to Reyna and Katie, who are putting their clarinets away. I sit down with an exaggerated sigh and pull my case out from underneath my chair.

"Do you think he's going to be mad?" I ask them.

"Who? Mr. Fletcher? Nah, I think he was expecting this. You really think he thought we would play two pieces of music for the whole hour we're in here?" Reyna asks.

"Good point." I pull my phone out of my back pocket and realize we still have 30 minutes left of class.

"You guys!" Leo yells. "Let's go out into the field and play some... manly... sports."

"Oh, shut up Leo, we all know you want to play volleyball," Percy says as we walk into the hallway. Piper grabs the volleyball from her locker and brings up the rear.

"RACE YOU!" Frank says to Leo.

"NO FAIR!" he answers, but chases after Frank anyway. I hang back with Piper, and when we get outside, we pass the volleyball back and forth with a few other classmates for a while before Piper hands me the ball abruptly and drops her backpack before taking off towards a group of people on the other side of the field. I see a football flying through the air before Piper intercepts it, cutting off Jason. Dropping the volleyball, I run up to them, catching my breath quickly.

"Piper," Jason and Percy whine at the same time. "Give us the football back."

She looks at me before yelling, "KEEP AWAY FROM JASON, PERCY, AND FRANK!" She tosses the ball to Reyna, who sprints towards Leo. He grabs it, but I can see Jason gaining on him.

"LEO, OVER HERE!" He throws it up in the air, and I run underneath it, catching it easily. I turn around and run towards Piper. "Where are your keys?" She points to her backpack and I race over to it, the football still in my arms. I scoop up the bag and run in the direction of Piper's car, the sounds of footsteps behind me. Hazel appears beside me, and I shove the bag in her arms.

"Unlock the car," I say, before taking off again. I hear the click just as I reach the door and throw the football in the backseat before pressing the lock button and closing the door again. I pull my phone out of my back pocket as the boys reach me and show them the time.

"Oh, look, class is over," I say, walking back over to Piper and Hazel.

"Really?" Percy says, following me.

"No, we still have like 15 minutes. I just wanted to annoy you." I plop down in the grass and look up at the sky.

"Annabeth, what are you doing?" Piper asks sarcastically.

"Living," I answer.

"Sounds good to me." She plops down next to me, followed by Hazel.

"That cloud looks like a griffin," Hazel states.

"And that one looks like a horse," Piper says. We watch the clouds until I see a small shadow over us.

"What?" I whine.

"We have to go inside," Leo says. I stand up with a sigh and help Piper and Hazel to their feet.

"I don't want to go to chemistry," I say as Piper grabs her bag and the volleyball.

"But you have to," she says.

"Yeah, your dad would kill you if you skipped class," Hazel chimes in. I groan.

"Fine, I'll go to class. See you guys later." I slip into the band room and grab my clarinet before walking to my locker, grabbing my books, and walking to class. I sit down next to Percy and put my head down on the desk.

"Geez, what's up with you?" Percy asks.

"I'm tired."

"Don't fall asleep," he tells me, poking my arm.

"Don't worry, I'm not like you." I sit up and pat his arm before paying attention to class.

;;;;

I wait outside of the locker rooms for Piper after volleyball. She walks out with her volleyball bag in one hand and her backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Today was so busy," she says as we walk to her car. "We didn't even get to talk in English."

"I know, right? I just want to go home and sleep." She nods and unlocks the car.

"Oh, we never gave Jason his football back."

"Eh, he has too many anyway. What's one gone?" She drives me home, and I give her a quick hug before grabbing my bags and heading up to my room. I lock the door and head to my desk, clearing off the sketches and opening up my backpack. I pull out my planner and start on my giant pile of homework, pausing only to eat a quick meal of spaghetti. By the time I'm finished, it's 8:30 P.M. I hop in the shower and get ready for bed, throwing on some leggings and an oversized t-shirt. I plop on my bed and grab my phone, scrolling through Instagram for a few minutes before turning Friends on my TV and falling asleep to "The One with the Blackout."