Thanks for reading the ORIGINAL version of The List! This is where it all started. But with that comes horrible grammar, some plot holes, and just not good writing.
Everything in this is the original story except the FIRST CHAPTER, which has been completely revised...
I hope you enjoy!
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Annabeth
Piper was seriously starting to get on my nerves. Throughout the whole day, we couldn't last five minutes without her bringing it up.
"Annabeth," Piper complained as she waved her hands sporadically. "Please."
She gave me a horrific try at puppy dog eyes as I opened my locker.
"That look might work on your dad, but not on me," I said as I grabbed the towering stack of books I would need for a long night of studying. I had four finals to cram over, and I wasn't about to sacrifice that last chance of salvaging my grades for a small favor for Piper. As much as I loved the girl, having my GPA crash and burn wasn't worth the boring party she was begging me to go to with her.
Piper flushed red. "I guess it was worth a shot," she hesitated before finding her next words. "But, Annabeth, you have to come with me!"
I sighed as I slammed my locker a bit too loud for the quiet hallway, as a few bystanders gave us curious looks. "I'm sorry," I said, actually finding myself mean it, "but I can't afford less than perfect grades on all my finals tomorrow. Besides, it's Jason's fault for having a party on the night before our last day."
She followed me down the long, brightly lit corridors of the school as we made our way out to the senior parking lot.
"It's not Jason's fault that his parents decided to come back tomorrow. Tonight is the last chance," she countered, defending his honor.
I didn't say anything but smirk. Piper has had a crush on Jason Grace for ages, the school's typical golden boy. He was tall, athletic, wealthy and smart. Piper raved about how handsome he was to her, but I never understood the hype for that type of guy. I guess I was looking for someone to balance out my extreme ways. But I was still excited for Piper, as Jason's been finally showing signs of interest back to her.
"Bye, Mr. Brunner!" I piped up as we passed the teacher, who was waving at other students as they left the building.
Mr. Brunner was sitting in his black wheelchair, his thick brown beard lifting and ruffling in the wind as the metal doors opened and closed. He gave me a kind smile, which always had the strange capability of making me feel better. He was definitely my favorite teacher at Goode Highschool, along with most of the students here.
"Bye, Annabeth," He nodded at Piper and me as we passed.
Piper coughed as she pressed the door open with her outstretched arms. "Suck up," she coughed again to conceal what she said in front of the teacher.
When we were out of earshot, I said, "Wow, you're funny."
She shrugged. "I try."
It was chilly out, and a few flakes made their way down to coat the lot with a thin light layer, but it was nothing compared to the mountains of snow New York tended to be gifted with every winter.
We reached our cars that were parked right next to each other. Most of the parking lot was vacant already, as most students were eager to get out of the place as soon as possible, especially since it was finals week.
Piper drove an expensive class Lexus, which wasn't really her choice. According to her mother, there was no point in showing up if you didn't look good. So, it was either be dropped off in a limousine every morning, or drive one of her father's "junk" cars. Junk was obviously a joke. She had the nicest car in the school and hated it, but I didn't really understand that. I drove a 10-year-old Camry and envied her nice ride almost every time I saw it pull into the lot.
"Wanna trade?" She asked as she unloaded her single textbook into her passenger seat.
I laughed. "Obviously." I patted my red car a few times before I unlocked the trunk. I would need the whole space for the load of books to fit.
"On one condition," she said, pausing to think. "You have to come to the party tonight."
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'll go tonight. I don't want your car, but you have to help me study when we get back."
Piper gave me a look of achievement and surprise, but something told me she knew I was going to give in eventually. Because everyone does...to Piper at least. She had a funny way of convincing people to do her bidding. She wasn't evil or manipulative, but people just gravitated toward her in that way.
Me? I had no such powers. Just the ability to acquire extreme anxiety...and some useful study tips.
"Piper," I said with a hint of warning in my tone, "I need to be home by eleven. Also, I don't know how to get to Jason's, so you'll have to take me. And-"
"Done, done, and done." She interrupted. "Also, it's pretty much the tallest building in the whole city. You can't miss it."
I frowned. "That's...cool, I guess?"
I wasn't sure Piper heard me though. She was already onto the next topic by the time she ended her last sentence. "I have to drop this very boring textbook off at home, but I'll be right over!"
I rolled my eyes and took my seat in the low riding vehicle. Before Piper could say anything else, I made sure to turn my music up too loud as an excuse as to why I didn't answer her. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to her, but I was sure we would be talking long past nightfall.
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As soon as I pulled into my parking spot, I sprinted up the two staircases to my third-floor apartment that I shared with my mother, Athena. I wasn't sure if she'd be home for the day, as her business work was highly unpredictable.
I opened the door to be pleasantly surprised. As soon as I stepped in, the familiar scent of lavender essential oils wafted into my nose. I took a deep breath and grinned; it was my favorite smell in the world, well that and my lemon fragranced shampoo I refused to stop using.
"Hey, mom," I said as I set my books down on the counter after passing through the spotless living room.
She was already changed out of her work clothes and had put on some sweatpants and a crewneck shirt. It made me yearn for my snug clothes and shift uncomfortably in my jeans.
"Hey, Annabeth," she said, turning away from the steel oven and giving me a warm smile. "I got home early today and decided to tidy up the place. It was driving me mad."
I nodded, checking out how spotless the place looked. The white marble shined even more than the day we redesigned the kitchen, and every speck had been either vacuumed or mopped away.
I admired how sleek and modern our apartment was. It appeared so new because we remodeled every square inch a few years ago. It was something my mom and I could do together, and I found myself closer to her than I ever had been before. Before that year, I couldn't relate to her much. We had a rocky relationship, and I always saw her as someone who thought I was a liability, someone who wasn't worth her time. But I guess we bonded over the fact that we both have a passion for architecture and designing, and we've been close ever since.
"It looks great, mom," I said, strolling over to the pantry to get something to snack on quickly.
"Do you have a lot of homework?" she asked, returning to the large pot of soup she was cooking.
"Not really," I lied. "I just have to look over a few things. I'm probably going over to Piper's a little later to help her study."
She put down her ladle and faced me. Her stormy grey eyes narrowed, and I was once again reminded of how intimidating she could be. Then I recalled that my eyes mirrored hers exactly, and I have had a history of using my resting bitch face to get my way in quite a few situations.
"What classes do you have with Piper?" she asked with a perplexed expression written on her face.
I sat down on a wooden stool and said, "My Mythology class."
She smirked. "Mythology class."
When I told her I was thinking about taking Mythology with Mr. Brunner, she had laughed and insisted that I take up a challenging class. That was just her mentality as a mother. She was always pushing for me to stride farther than anyone else even though I was already enrolled in 5 AP classes for one year. But I guess that's what you have to do to get a spot at Stanford, which is the college I committed to earlier this fall to run track at and pursue a career in architecture.
So you could understand why I could never tell her about the party.
"It's more challenging than you'd think," I said testily.
"Try me."
I racked my brain for a question I hoped she didn't know, though I found it unlikely because she knew pretty much any inquiry I could give her, so I just picked a question that was asked on our Kahoot review.
"What was the Titanomachy?" I asked, hoping I fazed her just a little bit.
She grinned. "It's the battle between the Titans and the Gods of course. You'll have to try harder than that."
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Why don't you take my final for me then? I've got to go shower and change. I'll probably go to Piper's soon."
"Ah- not so fast. First, you'll have to answer a question for me," she said quickly, resting her elbow on the spotless island countertop.
"Mom, seriously?" I asked, starting to get irritated. It reminded me of the quizzes she used to give me back in 3rd grade to be granted permission to leave the dinner table. Yes, she really did that. Normal parents make their kids clean their plates to the last crumb, but mine made me take homemade quizzes.
Her grey eyes flashed with amusement. "Hmm...From what part of Zeus' body was Athena born?"
"His forehead," I said then added, "I sure hope you weren't born out of your dad's forehead."
My mom laughed. "Just go get ready for Piper's. I'm sure she'll be here soon."
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Question: How do you guys like the new version of the chapter?
I, personally, think it's so much better as a start!
I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, and I'm so excited to revisit this story! The first chapter is always rough, but I hope you guys will read the story through 💙
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