The Runaway Princess

23. Morning Sleepy Head

After school, I drove home as quickly as possible. After picking up my brothers of course. I had hoped that Susan wasn't home from work yet, but unfortunately he odds were NOT in my favour.....

I sigh and unlock the door, the keys jingling in my hand. Bobby and Matthew race inside, laughing and pushing each other around. I roll my eyes and close the door. I've barely got my shoes off when the bell rings. Well, you see, when I turned 12, Susan got me a gift. A bell. With the bell was a note that said that whenever she rang the bell I was to come to her immediately. Yeah, I know, great gift. "DING DING DING DING!" The bell rung shrilly, echoing through out the house. "Coming!" I yell, kicking off my shoes and running up stairs. Gods, I can't wait for University do I can get out of this hell hole. "What?" I ask harshly when I finally find Susan perched on a chair in her study. She glares at me. "You rang?" I correct myself, holding back an eye roll. Susan smirks. "Yes, I want a herbal green tea two sugar no milk, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, the windows need to be cleaned, dinner needs to be cooked, the house needs to be vacuumed, the boys lunches need to be made, oh and Petunia's litter box needs to be cleaned," she lists, examining her long nails. I scrunch up my nose at the thought of cleaning that wretched cats litter box. Don't get me wrong, I love cats. But not that cat. Petunia is the cat from hell. "What are you waiting for stupid girl?! Go!" Susan yells, shooing me away. I scramble out of the room and head down stairs to start my chores.
                          ~
I hum softly as I scrub the windows with a small sponge. When suddenly there's a crash upstairs. I sigh and run upstairs to find that Bobby knocked over a glass of fruit punch unto the carpet. "Sorry Annie," he apologizes quietly before running downstairs. I run a hand over my blonde curls before starting to clean up the mess.

"WHAT is that?!" Susan screams when she sees the red stain in the carpet. "Bobby accidentally spilt juice," I say. Susan raises her eyebrows at me. "Now now Annabeth, there's no need to blame Bobby for your clumsiness," Susan scolds. I stare at her dumbfounded. She can't possibly be blaming this on me! I wasn't even upstairs. "Clean it up! And that's coming out of your pay check!" She snaps. "I want to see that stain gone or else there'll be consequences!" She states and turns to walk away. "Oh and Annabeth dear, make me another tea, the one you made is a bit cold." And with that I'm left sitting on the hallway floor scrubbing a cherry red stain out of the carpet and wondering when will I ever be free of the hell hole that is my life.

About three hours later I finally finish my chores and head upstairs and collapse on my bed. I take a deep breath before getting ready for bed. I sigh as snuggle underneath my blankets. Thank god tomorrow's Saturday! I'm just drifting off to sleep when my phone beeps indicating I got a text message.

Seaweed Brain: Hey, want to work on our project tmrw???
Me: Ok.

I set down my phone, a small smile on my face as I slowly drift off to sleep.
                        ~
I wake up to muffled knocking. At first I think it's Susan waking me up early, but then I realize that it's coming from the front door. Who would come to my house this early in the morning on a Saturday???
Curious I run downstairs and open the door. There, dressed and wide awake is the one and only Percy Jackson. I feel the blood drain from my face as I stand there, my jaw hanging. "Morning sleepy-head," Percy greets, a small smile on his face. And that's when I remember that I'm still in my pyjamas which consist of an old tshirt and shorts that are too short for comfort. Not to mention my hair which is probably disaster. 'Annabeth you idiot,' I think and mentally face palm. "Um hi," I finally reply, crossing my arms over my chest. "You um-yesterday you said that we could work ok the project," he says, running a hand through his hair. "Not at 7 in the freaking morning!" I say loudly. "Um Annabeth,"
"Yeah?"
"It's 12:00 in the afternoon." I stare at him with a look of shock. "Seriously?" I ask. "No," he replies with a smirk. I scowl. "What time is it?" I ask and Percy pulls out his phone. "Um it's almost 10," He states and I sigh. "It's too early!" I whine childishly. Percy laughs and I stick my tongue out at him. He laughs again, causing me to crack a smile. "Well now that I'm up, we might as well get working on that project," I say and Percy nods. "After, I get dressed," I state and motion for Percy to wait outside as I run upstairs and get changed.

When I reach my bedroom, I pull open a few drawers and grab the first outfit I see, a gray and white striped t shirt and a pair of navy blue jean shorts. Quickly send Susan a text telling her that I went to a friends house for the day before I finish getting ready and run back downstairs.

"Ready?" Percy asks when I open the door. "Yup," I say with a nod. "Great. Let's go rebuild Greece!" He says with a smile and I roll my eyes at his dorkiness.