𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗘! 𝙥. 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 ¹

The Cheerleaders Make Some Music!

CHAPTER ONE: LYDIA

Put a finger down if your almost (hopefully) boyfriend got you kicked out of your old school not even a full week before the last day!

Lydia put her finger down.

Despite all of that, she was having an amazing day.

They were both transferring to another school because wherever Percy went, Lydia had to follow. Sally's boyfriend, Paul Blowfish—Sorry, Blofis, got them into a super fancy school for rich, preppy kids.

Lydia wasn't sure how well they'd fit in in a place like that, especially since Percy exuded delinquent bad boy air. She was afraid they'd get ripped to shreds.

Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the East River. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, Lydia wondered how long it would take Percy to get them kicked out of here.

"Just relax." Sally said, not sounding relaxed. "It's only an orientation tour. And remember, dear, this is Paul's school. So, try not to . . . you know."

"Destroy it?" Percy grumbled.

Lydia scooted her butt to the edge of her seat so that she could stick her head in between the two front seats.

"Yes." Sally said. "Lydia, you'll keep him out of trouble, won't you, sweetheart?"

Lydia beamed. "Always."

Paul was standing out front, greeting people as they came up the steps. With his salt-and-pepper hair, denim clothes, and leather jacket, he reminded Lydia of a TV actor, but he was just an English teacher.

"You haven't told him the truth about us, have you?" Percy asked, looking back at Lydia in the backseat.

Sally tapped her fingers nervously on the wheel. She was dressed up for a job interview—her prettiest blue dress and high-heeled shoes.

"I thought we should wait," she admitted. "So we don't scare him away."

"I'm sure orientation will be fine." Lydia assured. "It's only an hour."

"Great," he mumbled. "I can get expelled before I even start the school year."

"Think positive. Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you guys got your date—"

Lydia's heart raced. This was what she'd really been looking forward to. After orientation, they'd planned an entire day to themselves...and Annabeth. Lydia loved having her friends together but deep down, she wished Annabeth would just scoot over and let it be a date.

Lydia wondered if Percy wanted it to be a date like she did.

She'd dressed all cute—Lydia tried to always look cute but this time she went all out. She was wearing a denim miniskirt with a top that was new new—like she bought it the day before new.

She'd tied her hair in a half up half down hairstyle, letting the rest of her curls tumble down her back. Somehow her hair had been behaving recently, she had a feeling it had to do with the makeover Aphrodite gave her last winter.

She freed a few strands of blue to frame her face and topped it off with a coat of lip gloss Silena got her for her birthday. If the daughter of Aphrodite could see her now, she'd be proud.

"It's not a date." Lydia said, trying to calm her hammering heart. "Annabeth is going to be there, too."

Sally gave her a look through the rearview mirror. She could hear the whine in Lydia's voice, like she knew that Annabeth crashing their not date didn't make her happy.