The Runaway Princess

7. Phone Calls

The next morning I wake up, yawn, and reach to pull my blanket back up over my shoulder but find nothing. I bolt into an upright position and realize that I'm no longer in my bed. I'm now on the floor. I must've rolled out of bed in the middle of the night, either that or Susan got sick of trying wake me so she just decided to push me out of bed. I struggle to get to my feet, and almost scream when I read the time on my alarm clock. It's currently 8:45. School starts at 9:05. I almost certainly going to be late.
Of course as I'm walking towards my dresser I trip over my backpack and my face meets the floor. "Ow," I mutter as I pull myself to my feet. I then quickly grab some clothes before running towards the bathroom to take the worlds fastest shower.
~
Within the next 15 minutes I'm in my car and on my way to school. "Dam!" I curse when I realize that I'll still be late as it takes about 8 minutes to get to the school if I hit a red light. Hey! Guess what?! Every single light I came to was RED! Curse you whoever invented the traffic light!

By the time I pull in the parking lot it's almost ten minutes past the bell.
I curse under my breath as I enter the school. The secretary is on the phone and gestures for me to wait until she done before she can deal with me. Frustrated, I take a seat in one of the ugly fabric chairs that sit outside the office.

"Rough morning?" A familiar voice asks. I look to my left and notice none other than Percy Jackson sitting only two chairs away from me. I just nod silently, then look away. "Yeah, I was late too," he admits with a small smile. I just nod again. Making conversation will probably not sit well with Stephanie. But apparently Percy  doesn't get the message because he continues to talk. "See, I was up late doing homework and ended up sleeping in late," he says. Then he looks at me expectantly. "What's your reason?" Asks Percy curiously. It takes me a moment to understand what he means as I wasn't really listening to what he'd been saying before. Should I tell him the truth? No. He doesn't need to know that my stepmom pulled me out bed and I slept in on the floor. "Traffic," I reply bluntly. It's still the truth, it's just not the whole truth. Percy nods politely and then we sit in silence. To my surprise, I'm the one to break the silence. "Are you going to the dance tomorrow night?" I ask, trying to keep my expression emotionless. Percy nods with the same small crooked smile as before. "Are you?" He questions, nodding in my direction. "I'm not quite sure yet, but maybe" I say with a shrug.
We continue to make small talk, until finally the secretary, Mrs. Deen, comes out and hands us both late slips.

"What class do you have?" Percy asks, as I sling my bag over one shoulder. "Chemistry" I reply without even glancing at my schedule as I've already memorized it. "How bout' you?" I ask, and he looks down at his schedule. "History" he says with a frown. "Oh, do you not like history?" I ask, commenting on his frown. "Oh! No I like history! It's just....." He trials off not completely the sentence. "Just what?" I ask my left eyebrow raised in question. "Never mind, besides we'd better get to class," he says, his cheeks slightly red. I nod and wave goodbye as I walk towards my Chemistry classroom.

All throughout Chemistry I wonder about Percy's comment. What made him frown when he read that he had  History? Why did he cut off his reason short? Did I do something to embarrass him? I'm snapped out of my thoughts when the lunch bell rings.

"Where on earth have you been?!" Piper practically screams at me the minute I enter the cafeteria. I blush and quickly run to join them in the long line of hungry teenagers waiting for food that contains who-knows what!
"I was just a little late" I admit when I reach them.
Piper lets out a fake surprised gasp. "No! Annabeth Chase was late?!" Hazel asks with mock surprise. I scowl and punch her in the arm. "Ow!" She yelps, and rubs the spot where I punched her. Piper just rolls her eyes.

"So anyway, we've come up with a plan to get you to that dance, Annie!" Piper exclaims as we all sit at one of the many tables in the cafeteria. "Oh really?" I ask, raising an eyebrow skeptically. Piper nods and explains the plan. By the time the bell rings, we've got a decent plan set up.

I'd just popped open my locker when someone slams it shut. Stephanie. I don't even need to look to know its her. I can tell by the strong scent of expensive French perfume that hangs in the air wherever she goes. "Hello Annie," she whispers slyly. "What do you want now?" I ask through gritted teeth. "Oh nothing, it's just a little birdie told me that you're thinking about attending the dance" Stephanie says twirling a piece of her fake looking bleach blonde hair. "What I do or don't do is none of your business so back off" I growl. Anger flows through me and I feel a strong urge to punch Stephanie. "So it's true?" She questions with a sly smirk plastered on her makeup filled face. I swear she's wearing more makeup than skin. I just stare at the floor, not bothering to answer her question. "Well I'm just letting you know now that if I do catch you at that dance, you'll regret it. I promise," Stephanie threatens with a smirk. And with that final threat she sashays down the hall. Any hope I had in the plan the girls and I had made, had just been crushed. Or at least that's what Stephanie thought. But in reality, I wasn't ready to go down without a fight. I'm going to that dance. And nor Susan or Stephanie or anybody else can stop me. I hold my head high as I hurry off to class.
                         ~
After school I pick up Bobby and Matthew, then go home and worry about what on earth I'm going to wear to this dance. I'm flipping through everything in my closet when my phone starts to ring.
Phone Call:
"Hello?"
"Hey Annie, it's Pipes. I don't have a dress for the dance yet and I assume you don't either so I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join Hazel and I at the mall for a little bit of dress shopping?"
"Sure. What time???"
"5:20"
"K, I'll meet you at the mall"
"K, cool"
"Bye!"
"Bye"

I smile as I hang up. Susan gets home at 4:30, so I don't have to worry about the twins. And since it's only like 4:00, I have time to change quickly and grab a bite to eat before I meet Piper at the mall.
I'm just running downstairs when my phone starts to ring again. I look at the number but don't recognize it. "Hello?" I ask, curiously to who it could be. "Hi," a familiar voice says on the other end and I nearly drop my phone. It's Percy.