Chapter Text
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You'd think making honor roll is easy.
Well, it's easy if you don't deal with sky high homework, posh and irritating groups like Drew Tanaka's cliques, questionable mornings, and exploding electricity via Leo Valdez.
But with all that, Annabeth can stuff in her weekly planner and just move on.
Today is just like everyday she has attending Jupiter International High.
Meaning, it's all in the same schedule.
The school itself is pretty breathtaking.
A three-storey building with a fountain out front and a rather large cafeteria, with an amazing flora design.
Usually, she'd see Grover's girlfriend Juniper hanging out at the trees.
There was also the school swimming pool, which Percy had been banned to go to once after he had kept on diving in one too many times.
That ban is lifted now, though.
But it could be returned.
Annabeth brought out her planner, since she needed to assure herself she's thought it down to the last minute, and scanned her schedule.
First period of Physics, then check the ventilation system in case Leo decided to touch it.
Second period of Biology, then check on Percy in case he jumped in the fountain rather than the pool.
Let's not go there.
It involved the unholy wrath of Samirah al-Abbas.
Third period of History, then check on Percy again because he might accidentally flood something.
It happens. Don't ask.
Not that Annabeth personally cares about him, no.
It's just that whenever Percy does something stupid, it usually makes it's way to her and she has to sort it out.
Either her or Percy's cousin Jason.
Mostly her, because Jason, although much more disciplined, has a high potential to be like his cousin.
According to Hazel, it runs in the family.
Then there's that designer's club she signed up in.
It is a very amazing club, sketching out ideas and creating the slogans for the activities they'll have, and Annabeth uses that club as an excuse to draft out her architectural designs for buildings without any suspicion.
Then she'll have to attend the school theatre auditions as the school's vice president.
She had decided to run for the position last term, and had been surprised to have been elected for it against Samirah al-Abbas, who thankfully didn't harbor any grudges against her.
According to Piper, Percy may or may not have done something to boost people into voting.
Piper called it sweet.
Thalia called it obvious.
Annabeth called it unnecessary.
Then go and make sure Percy isn't overstaying at the school swimming pool otherwise he'd get banned again, and finally have lunch.
That is for the morning.
No stress. Totally no stress.
Looking up at the building, Annabeth took a deep breath.
Get through the day, and we're good.
In the corner of her eye, she saw some wisps of that jet black ruffly hair she looks forward to see everyday.
Not that she actually wants to see it! Obviously.
But simply because it's a way to tell Annabeth the school is still running and no aquatic problems.
Obviously.
________________________
"Annie. Psst, Annie."
Annabeth scrunched her eyebrows as she focused on her Physics lesson.
Or, well, trying to.
Leo is being extra annoying this morning.
"Annabeth. Psst, pssssst---"
"Mr. Valdez,"
Busted. Professor Thoth spoke over his shoulder.
"If you can wait after I've finished discussing the Law of Conservation before you whisper to Ms. Chase, I'd be grateful. And no, you cannot test run the flammable variables we have at the lab as your make-up assignment."
He then returned to illustrating on his chalkboard as though he said nothing.
Leo slumped in his seat in defeat, his hands fidgeting on a gear he must have found on the way to school.
"I wasn't gonna burn anything down..."
Annabeth spared him one short sympathetic glance, only because it was slightly amusing, and returned to listening.
Leo, besides Percy, has been banned to a lot of activities at school as well.
Including getting near the school electricity system.
Once, he got the school to have a mass blackout when he accidentally cut the wrong wire.
He got an F-minus on his Mathematics test.
He's not so bad most of the time, even if he tends to flirt with a dozen girls
Not even five minutes later, Annabeth felt something tap against her sneakers.
A crumpled piece of paper. Really?
If Leo really wanted to talk to her that badly, he could have at least been more subtle.
Sighing inwardly, she bent down, carefully picking it up, and Annabeth kept it out of view as she unfolded the piece and read it silently.
“you heard of Sadie's brother? -- Fierro”
Annabeth looked around at the back corner of the room, where the one and only Alex Fierro lounged on his seat, feet up on his desk and playing with a yo-yo.
Alex is the only person Annabeth knows to have heterochromia that has that mismatched effect on her.
His dark brown eye almost always seeming to be glinting mischievously while his light amber eye stayed untouched by any mirth.
Joking and warning simultaneously.
Annabeth only ever knew Fierro because of classes they have together.
Oh, and the fact that Alex is also her cousin Magnus's situationship.
Emphasis on situation.
Just two days ago, they had an explosive argument that ended with Alex slapping Magnus and walking out.
Then yesterday, Annabeth caught them fiercely making out behind the school bleachers.
Talk about on and off relationships, they switch faster than the light.
Annabeth had decided to leave the matter be and not get in the way.
Now that Alex had mentioned it, Annabeth remembered.
They were due to have a new classmate, and possibly a new friend to add to their big dysfunctional family, joining the school.
Sadie Kane's older brother Carter.
According to Sadie, he had only joined in last week, at the start of the autumn semester, but had to fix a few things around so he hadn't been able to attend, and therefore, Annabeth hadn't been able to catch a sight of him.
Sadie had assured all of them that her brother is a nice person and a considerate human being, just two years her senior, but, in Sadie's own words:
"He's a geek. More than Annabeth over here. And he's painfully awkward. You'd be shocked to know he shares my DNA, but he does. I mean it physically and personality."
Annabeth had brushed it off as an exaggeration.
Although, when she told this thought of hers to Percy, he merely scrunched his eyebrows in deep thought.
Annabeth had thought he looked better when he's deep in thought.
Only because it means he's actually thinking it through, not just jumping in like the diver he is.
"I'm pretty sure I've seen Carter Kane before," He had said over their biology homework that time. "I could be wrong, because Sadie was with a different guy. African American, like Walt. But a little lighter shade than Walt. And no blue eyes like Sadie."
And Annabeth had dropped that topic and returned to discussing parts of the human skeleton through all 206 bones.
Now though....
Annabeth wondered if Percy was correct in his memory, that Sadie's brother really doesn't look like her.
Maybe there's some physical similarity in them.
Eye shape, maybe?
Or same mannerisms? Like how Sadie would be like Leo and would fidget on something or chew gum all day.
Or maybe Percy had correct memory and Carter really doesn't look like Sadie.
Genetics are weird.
Like how Percy didn't look like his mother Sally, and instead took after his father with his jet black ruffly hair and pure sea green eyes that Annabeth gets lost into.
Or like Jason and Thalia.
Jason took after their mother, who was blonde.
Thalia rocks that punk style, with her choppy black hair.
But they share the same blue eyes.
Annabeth snapped out of her musings when she heard the bell ring, signalling the class to be over.
"Everyone, remember your assignments are due tomorrow!"
He gave a pointed look at Alex and Leo.
"I repeat. Tomorrow. As in, twenty four hours from now. The day after today."
Alex merely rolled his two-tone eyes.
"We know what tomorrow means, Professor Beak. We're not dumb."
"And don't get anywhere near those chemicals in the lab, Mr. Valdez!"
Either Professor Thoth ignored Alex's comment or he didn't hear.
Leo audibly sighed in disappointment as he shuffled out.
Annabeth slid her Physics notebook into her bag as she headed out the classroom, the scraping of chairs and the loud chattering of students beginning to fill the room and hallway.
She spotted Leo tinkering with something in his fingers.
Wires? A fidget switch? Screws?
Leo looked up to find Annabeth scrutinizing him.
"I'm not planning on wrecking the electricity again, honest!"
He lifted his hands in the air in surrender, and Annabeth can now see what is in his hands in better clarity.
She tutted noncommittally.
Just small nuts. The edible ones.
"Why do you have nuts with you?"
She plucked one out of his hands and rolled it around her fingers.
Leo slipped the others into his army jacket pocket and pushed himself off the lockers he had been leaning on.
His curly brown hair looked like he hadn't brushed it again.
"Frank told me he needed some," He tried to match Annabeth's pace.
"Something about baking Hazel a cake. I stole ---- er, I mean, I got them from someone for free."
Annabeth raised one eyebrow.
"Got?"
"With good intentions!"
"Leo. Who did you steal them from?"
His eyes focused on someone behind Annabeth, and she turned around to see who it is.
Juniper. Grover's girlfriend.
Juniper waved at Annabeth with a bright smile, then returned to talking to another girl with dark brown hair in loose ringlets who had small wildflowers in her hair, to which Juniper had been adding to.
Annabeth looked back to Leo, who whistled innocently.
"Be thankful Juniper's a nice girl. If you stole from someone else---"
"I'm not that dumb!" He protested.
"And I'm not that keen on being sent to the Principal's office. Even if the principal himself is kinda, you know..."
He made a circling gesture with his finger on the side of his head.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and brought out her binder from her bag.
One class done with zero disruptions.
What a miracle.
Now, next on her planner is Biology ---
"Wise Girl!"
And there it is.
Leo leaned forward and grinned.
"There's your Prince Charming!"
Percy skidded to a stop just right beside Annabeth.
His black hair still slightly damp, the ends curling near his neck and over his ear with water still dripping from them.
His perfectly tanned skin was flushed, like he spent the last few minutes running.
His school necktie had come undone and his jeans and jacket were wet.
But his sea-green eyes shined with excitement and his smile stretched to both of his ears.
Annabeth crossed her arms.
"Why are you wet?"
Percy's wide smile morphed into a sheepish one.
His index fingers bumped into each other repeatedly.
His eyes averted eye contact all of a sudden.
Leo peeked out from behind Annabeth, that sneaky smile that had gotten him into detention about five times in a row present on his face.
He gave Percy a once-over, then looked at Annabeth.
"Yeah, Perce. Why are you wet?"
He pointed his finger at Percy.
"Your girlfriend's asking."
"I'm not his girlfriend!"
Annabeth yelped at Leo, simultaneously speaking with Percy's protest of
"She's not my girlfriend!" with his arms raised.
His jacket had been wet as well, so some of it clung to his body, defining some of his muscles on his arms. His drenched t-shirt hugged his torso underneath said jacket.
Three other students around them stopped to stare, then returned walking to their classrooms.
Leo only grinned harder.
"Yeah, and Piper didn't get accused of stealing a whole convertible just last week."
Annabeth gave him an I'll-strangle-you-later glare as she returned to Percy.
"Back to my question. Why are you dripping wet like you dunked yourself in the fountain again?"
Percy ran one hand through his ruffly hair slowly, giving a small smile to one girl passing by.
That girl giggled and pushed her friend forward.
Annabeth eyed her.
She tapped her foot impatiently.
"I have Biology in ten minutes, Seaweed Brain. We aren't leaving this conversation until you tell me why."
Percy looked at Leo, who only gave him two thumbs up.
He took a deep breath.
"Well, you see ---"
A crash that sounded like it came from the nearby storage room interrupted his answer.
Followed by another crash.
Percy, Leo, and Annabeth exchanged glances, and Annabeth muttered,
"I'll get my answer later, Seaweed Brain. Remember that."
"Yeah, alright." Percy began to walk for the storage room, only for Annabeth to beat him to the door.
Leo came last.
Annabeth twisted the doorknob.
And wow.
What. A. Sight.
Apparently, her dearly beloved cousin Magnus and morally horizontal classmate Alex happened to be.... Occupied.
The two of them had decided minutes before second period was the best time for a make out session in a small storage room.
Magnus had one hand tangled in Alex's green hair and the other hand trying to shed his jacket without pulling away from Alex.
The said green-haired question mark had one hand clenching Magnus's shirt and the other in his blond hair.
Neither of them seemed to have noticed the door is no longer hiding them yet.
Percy slapped one hand over Leo's eyes, and exclaimed,
"Dude! We try to keep it PG-13 here!"
"Just because I'm shorter than you doesn't mean I'm a kid!"
Leo hissed, swatting at Percy's arm.
Magnus and Alex, from Percy's yelp, separated from each other as though an electrocution had taken place. Magnus hastily shoved his jacket back on properly, face red enough to make him look like the apple that poisoned Snow White. Maybe even redder than that.
Alex, meanwhile, looked perfectly calm.
Like he hadn't been depriving Magnus --- and himself, mind you --- of oxygen just seconds ago and as though he hadn't been trying to get himself swallowed by Magnus and get inside his ribcage.
"Yeah, okay," Alex started. "This doesn't look like what you think it looks like."