The Daughter of Apollo

Chapter Eleven: A Useless Chapter

Pretty much exactly as I've titled this: useless and pointless. I've no idea what thirteen-year-old me was thinking when she wrote this. At all. No fucking clue. But have it anyway, cause I wasn't about to just toss it.

Chapter Eleven

TOWARDS THE END OF LUNCH

Hallie was covered in pizza sauce, water that was making the make-up department run down her face, an apple was stuck in her mouth like a pig, and some fries were sticking out here and there.

I laughed right there, and felt bad for the poor girl who tripped. She had spiky black hair and dark forest green eyes. When she talked I noticed her green and blue braces. Her diamond stud earrings catching the light and glinting a white color.

“Who’s that?” I whispered to Airel. She looked at me with a sad smile. Haylee laughed a little.

“That’s Hallie Ross, I thought you knew her!” She joked. I rolled my eyes and sent her a half-hearted glare.

“I meant the girl who’s trying to say sorry,” I clarified.

“That’s Kota Hailey. She’s sort of Gothic, but she also likes really bright colors that stand out.” I nodded and looked back at Kota. Hallie was yelling her head off as Audrey was yelling at Raven to hurry up and dry Hallie, while all three sent glares every other second at Kota. I started to get up.

“Where are you going?” Bailee hissed. I looked at her.

“I’m going to help Kota,” I said as if it were obvious. It really should’ve been. “Anyone else?” No one made a move to get up with me. I sighed. “Fine. I’ll go myself,” I mumbled disappointed. Half-way on my way to Kota, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“We’ve got your back,” Haylee stated confidently.  

“Yeah,” Airel continued. “Once you’re one of us, there is no getting rid of us. You’re stuck with us for life.” I gave a short laugh as we approached our destination.

“Why I ought to report you for purposely dumping your food on me! What did I do to you?!” Hallie glared at Kota, who was trying to say she didn’t mean to.

“Please, it wasn-” Kota pleaded.

“Save it! You did this on purpose!” Hallie stomped her foot.

“Hey!” I raised my voice at her. “She obviously didn’t mean to! She tripped or something, so just leave her alone!” Kota looked at me with pleading eyes. Eyes that said Shut up! I don’t want to make her anymore mad then she already is! I sighed and shook my head at her, silently telling her that this wasn’t over.

“And how do you know Carter?! Were you there?!” Audrey demanded.

“No, but I know enough to know that you can’t report her! It was obviously an accident! Just leave her alone.” I said dangerously calm. Raven shivered slightly, and the sunlight that was coming in through the windows seemed to glow ever brighter, almost blinding.

“Girls, I don’t think Kota did it on purpose. She probably tripped or something, you know?” Raven tried to reason. Hallie turned her glare to Raven.

“Whose side are you on?” She demanded.

“Whatever side that doesn’t get me in trouble!” Raven retorted.

“Well, then maybe you should just go die in a hole!” Hallie screeched.

Haylee, Airel, and I took this opportunity to sneak Kota out of the line of fire by taking her back into the lunch line and getting her another lunch. As we were waiting to pay, Kota looked at us. “Thanks for your help, but I didn’t need it. You probably just made them even madder. They’ll be out to get you now.” She warned.

“They were out to get me as soon as I stepped on school grounds,” I waved off her warning.

Haylee and Airel laughed and confirmed my statement. “Jay obviously has a vendetta against popular people. It’s why she’s hanging with us.”

It was Kota’s turn to laugh. “Popular? Them? Yeah right! They’re the ‘Wanna-be’s’!”

“Well then. They’re much worse than the real Preps,” I groaned. At least I only had five months of this before I could go back to Camp Half-Blood and maybe make a few friends. That’s what my mom would have me do. Then again, my mother was the woman who would toss me out of the house the moment it was nice enough outside. She only cared enough that I wouldn’t freeze and wouldn’t be isolated from civilization.

}{}{}{}{

After school, Paul gave us a ride home, and Nico insisted on walking. I found it odd that Paul offered Nico a ride, until Paul explained how Nico sleeps and eats at their house most of the time. When the three of us stepped into our apartment, Lana ran to my room and riffled through my closet. I ran after, Meg hot on my tail.

“What are you doing?!” I yelled. Lana laughed then looked back at my clothes and then scowled.

“Okay, only black clothes? Seriously?” She asked, disgusted. “A little black is alright every now and then, but all the time? You’re a child of Apollo, aren’t you supposed to stand out with color or something?”

A memory flashed through my mind of when I was five. I was only a small child, and then my best friends were two guys who lived on my street. I was wearing a dirty orange t-shirt and jean shorts covered in mud. My mom screamed when she walked out and saw me all dirty and a soccer ball at my feet. She had immediately pulled me inside and made me change. I didn’t wear any black then, just bright blue’s and green’s and orange’s and pink’s and purple’s. I ended up in a bright hot pink t-shirt and khaki shorts. My friends said I looked like a pink flower with a khaki stem and a head.

A sad smile played on my face as I snapped out of my small memory. Now-a-days, my old friends and I don’t talk to each other. We don’t know why, we just gradually stopped talking. They still lived in the same house and we’d see each other at the bus stop every day. Now I live in New York and don’t see them at all.

“Jay?” Meg waved her hand in front of my face.

“What?”

“About lunch today—” Meg started but I cut her off.

“Listen, M, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize all the seats were filling up so fast. And I’m not even sure you’d really like them, I mean, they’re not exactly…”

“Cool?” Lana suggested. “Popular?” I just nodded. Lana sighed. “I’ve already heard things about them, Jay. You probably shouldn’t hang with them.”

“Hey, I don’t go around criticizing your friends! Besides, I said you wouldn’t like them. But I do. You don’t have to hang out with them, Lana, but I am.”

Lana looked shocked for a second, then hurt, then angry before putting on a mask void of any emotion other than cheery. She quickly changed the subject. “I know exactly how to get rid of this negative energy. We are taking you shopping!” Lana said, glaring at the pile of black on the floor. I imagine she was imaging them as the personification of me.

My eyes widened in horror. “Oh gods, no! That won’t help at all!” Meg sighed and shook her head as Lana flashed a credit card between her fingers.

“Too frickin’ bad,” Lana smiled deviously.