Those Strange People (A Mortals Meet Demigods Collection)

Haley Nataila

"Who is that?" I asked my friend Katie.

She followed my gaze to the newbie who was sitting all alone in the corner of the cafeteria.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, P--the newbie? No idea." She took another bite out of her chicken sandwich.

I frowned. Something about her answer bothered me, but then I brushed it off and flipped my dyed black hair off my shoulders, heading over to the newbie's table.

"Hey handsome." I said in my most girly-ish voice.

The newbie glanced up from his food with an annoyed look in his sea-green eyes. "Can I help you?"

I slid next to him, snuggling into his shoulder. "Yes, by coming over to my house to study Physics. See you at seven?"

He shoved me off. "I'm eating, thank you very much. And I already have a study date for tonight, so I'll see you never."

"But I'm an excellent study partner. Physics is also my strongest subject." I smiled sweetly, placing a hand on the newbie's bicep. Gosh, this guy works out!

He blew a strand of black hair out of his face. "I said I was eating. Thanks for making me want to barf too."

"So, handsome, see you at seven?"

I heard a low mumble come from him.

"It's a date!" I exclaimed, sashaying back to my table. Katie gave me a strange look. "What'd you say?"

I shrugged. "Just made plans with him for a study date tonight."

Katie burst out laughing.

I suddenly was annoyed, and slightly mad. "Why are you laughing? I just scored a cute guy and you're laughing?" I said loudly.

She kept laughing, and sputtered out a couple nonsense words, such as "sticks" and "Annabeth" and "send you some tartar sauce".

"Well, you should be jealous, because I just got a date with a hottie."

..==..

The new hottie didn't come to my house at seven.

And anytime during the week I tried to ask him to be my "study buddy", he started talking to Katie instead.

Katie would smile, nod, and then lead me away from achieving my goal.

After being led away for the eleventh time this week, the third time that day, I whirled on Katie.

"Why do you keep doing that? You know full well I'm trying to make him mine."

"Do you even know his name?" She retorted, hands on her hips.

"His name is Perry Johnson, and HE. IS. MINE."

Katie smirked. "First, it's Percy Jackson, not Perry Johnson. Second, he already has a girlfriend."

I huffed. "If Percy, then, has a girlfriend, then what's her name?"

"Her name is Annabeth, and I would stop trying to flirt with her boyfriend now if I were you."

"What an ugly name, probably belonging to an even uglier person." I wrinkled my nose, trying to picture the hag poor Perry must be dating.

Katie was getting mad. "Never insult Annabeth. If you think our Pre-Calc teacher is scary, Annabeth is ten times as much." She turned on her heal and marched away. I sighed. Who needs those kind of stubborn, mean friends anyway? 

I headed off to English, contemplating ways that I could manage to get Percy wrapped around my finger.

..==..

"So, Percy......" I sidled up to my soon-to-be-boyfriend's side, where he was waiting for someone to pick him up. "Want to come to my house? We can work on History together."

He sighed. "I'm being picked up by my mom. She doesn't like it when I go over to a girl's house, so shoo, Haley."

I put on my best puppy face that no can resist. "Please, Percy? I really need your help on History." I whined.

Percy glanced at me with annoyance. "Well, go ask someone else. I suck at History."

"But my parents aren't going to be home."

He was silent. I gave him a sideways look, then followed his gaze to the tan Prius that was waiting on the curb. Standing by it was a girl who looked like she could be a model. Her hair was in perfect, blonde princess curls, and she made an orange T-shirt and jean shorts look good. Her eyes were locked onto Percy's, and before I knew it, the two were kissing.

I stomped up to them. "What do you think you're doing to my boyfriend?" I screeched.

The blonde looked at me with disgust. "He's my boyfriend, not yours."

"Well, are you the imaginary girlfriend I keep hearing about?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"I'm certainly not imaginary. Why don't you leave before this gets to be a crowded situation?"

"I won't leave until you get your hands off my boyfriend."

She stepped towards me with anger swirling in her strange, stormy gray eyes. "Leave."

"No."

Suddenly, I found myself flat on my back, groaning in pain.

Percy and his girlfriend smirked.

"I told you to leave." The blonde said.

I stumbled away from the couple, hot tears stinging on my cheeks. That was humiliating!

And I somehow knew, deep down, that if I tried to humiliate her, it wouldn't be pretty.

So I, sadly, called my attempts to woo Percy Jackson quits.

..==..

And that was how I met those strange people, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.