Just High School

Chapter 2 - - Annabeth

Annabeth yawned and rolled over. Her eyes opened, and suddenly she jumped out of bed. It was the first day of school! She had mixed feelings about it: on one hand, she loved the freedom of summer, but on the other, learning and seeing her friends at school was fun. And maybe this year, with it being high school . . . she shook the thought off.

She dragged open several drawers of her dresser. Usually she didn't care too much what she wore, as long as she looked decent, but it was the first day of school, so she had to look better than decent.

Annabeth pulled on a pair of tight skinny jeans and a loose, bright blue shirt that she'd gotten many complements about before. She hurried to the bathroom, where she braided her curly blonde hair into a French braid. She dabbed on a touch of mascara, just enough to accent her bright grey eyes, and ran downstairs.

Her stepbrothers and stepmom sat at the table. "Your dad's already gone to work, Annabeth," her stepmom told her. "He told me to tell you goodbye. He says for you to have a good day! Grab some breakfast and come on over."

Annabeth hastily grabbed a bowl of cereal and a banana and sat down at the table. Usually she read the newspaper during breakfast, but today her stepmother wanted to talk. She listened to the boys chattering about what their school day would look like.

"And I'm in the same class with my best friend Billy, can I have him over? Please? He asked if he could come over today and I said yes so will you call his mom and tell her that he's gonna come to my house after school?"

"Mom, you gotta come to the parent thing tonight, all of my friends are going so you gotta come too. You're coming, right?"

Annabeth's stepmother shook her head at Annabeth. "Boys."

Annabeth laughed. "I know."

"What will your day look like, honey?" she asked.

"Umm, probably just listening to teacher tell us what the classes will be about. At least I'll see my friends again."

"You'll just walk home after school, is that okay? Have you found somebody to walk with?"

"Yeah, that's fine. There's a boy who lives nearby. I think I'll walk with him this year," Annabeth replied, shrugging.

Her stepmother winked at her before turning to the boys, who were seconds away from having an oatmeal fight. "All right, all right. Go get your backpacks and we'll get in the car."

Annabeth rinsed off her dishes and grabbed her backpack, which she'd packed the night before. She swung into the passenger seat and her stepmom drove off to the boys' school. Her stepbrothers left with a chorus of goodbyes and promises not to get sent to the principal's office on the first day. The car was much quieter once they started driving to Annabeth's school.

"So, who's this boy you want to walk with?" asked her stepmother.

"Percy Jackson," replied Annabeth, seeing no reason to lie.

Her stepmother laughed. "Well, good luck with this Percy. Have a good day!"

Annabeth jumped out of the car and immediately spotted one of her best friends, Thalia Grace. She hurried over and hugged her.

"Oh, hi Annabeth!" the other girl exclaimed. "It's great to see you!"

"You too!" Annabeth studied her friend. Thalia wore a leather jacket and a skull T-shirt. She'd always been a punk. Her short, choppy black hair had a new blue streak. "Have you seen any of our other friends?"

Thalia shook her head. "I've only seen Silena Beauregard." She grimaced. "She's boasting about how she's dating Charles Beckendorf."

"Oh, look, there they are!" exclaimed Annabeth, noticing a clump of their friends near the front doors. She and Thalia hurried over.