Stacie's POV:

Hey everyone! My name is Stacie. Just Stacie. You might be wondering, what's Stacie's last name? I agree with you. You see, I don't know my last name. My dad died when I was really young and my mom doesn't like to talk about him. All I can remember are two voices whispering in my head. For some random reason, I named them George and Martha. Anyway, I am 13 years old and live in San Fransisco. I am 5 foot 2 1/2 inches and have brown hair that comes down to my shoulders. I have mostly blue eyes but, they fade into brown near the center. Today is Monday. I hate Mondays. I don't think anyone likes Mondays.

"STACIE!" My mom calls up the stairs. "You're going to be late for school!" I sigh, grab my bag and run down the stairs.

"Coming! Bye Mom!" My hand is only on the doorknob before she stops me.

"Stacie, remember the rules." I sigh and internally roll my eyes.

"I know Mom!" I say with as much respect as I could manage. "But we go over them every day! I'm going to be late!" Mom continues as if she hadn't heard me.

"Stick close to the buildings. Keep your phone in your pocket, don't talk to strangers. Got it, Stace?" I nod, eager to get out of the house. She kisses me on the top of my head.

"Love you," she says as I turn around.

"Love you too!" I call already out on the porch.

________________________________________________________________________________

At school...

I make it to school without being attacked, getting kidnapped or being robbed. Yes, all of the above are things my mom worries about on a daily basis. I scan the crowd of people in the hallway looking for my best friend. I spot a curly blonde head bobbing around by the door.

"Annabeth!" I call through the crowd. "Over here!" Annabeth looks up at the mention of her name and spots me. Her grey eyes light up. She waves, her hand fluttering gracefully.

"Stacie!" She says gleefully while picking her way through the crowd to me. Annabeth is 17, but she is my best friend. She tutors me after school every day. I have ADHD and dyslexia which makes it really hard for me to concentrate. Annabeth has both too, but for some reason, it doesn't seem to affect her at all. The bell rings, signaling first period was about to start. Annabeth hugs me.

"Sorry, Stace. Gotta run! Chemistry is first period! We're starting a new unit!" Annabeth runs off.

"Bye!" I call as I sigh. Only Annabeth would be excited about that.

________________________________________________________________________________

In the middle of first period...

I reach for my water bottle, only to find nothing. Right! I forgot to pack it! I raise my hand.

"Mrs. Johnson?" I ask. Mrs. Johnson looks over at me. "May I go get some water? I left my water bottle at home."

Mrs. Johnson looks over her glasses frames. "Hurry back Stacie." I get out of my seat and into the hallway. The water fountain is right next to Annabeth's chemistry class. I peer in the window to see Annabeth standing at her desk talking to the entire class. Figures. As I lean down to take a sip of water, I hear a voice behind me. It sounds like my... mom? I turn around, not to find my mom, but to see a horrible one-eyed thing leering down on me.

"Hello Stacie," it said in the perfect imitation of my mom. "You're just in time for lunch." I back up against the water fountain which sends a gush of water up to soak the back of my shirt. It gets closer and I scream. I close my eyes, feeling its hot stinking breath of my face before the chemistry lab door opens. I open my eyes to see Annabeth standing in the doorway. She runs at me, dive tackling me sideways before whipping out a knife and plunging it into the monster, which explodes into yellow dust.Then she turns back to me.

"Are you okay?" She asks, concerned. I just stare at her in awe.

"Hello?" Annabeth waves her hand in front of my face. "Stacie? You okay?" I snap out of my daze, now realizing what hurts. I wince and Annabeth kneels down, her face full of worry.

"Yeah," I say, biting my lip to avoid tears. "My ankle just hurts a lot." Annabeth lightly touches it, but it makes a sharp stab of pain go through my ankle. A tear slips out before I can stop it. Annabeth hands me a bottle of what looks like apple juice.

"Drink," she commands. "but only a couple sips, okay?" I nod, confused. I take one sip, of what seems to be my mom's liquid brownies, and a warm feeling seeps throughout me. I lift the bottle for another sip, but Annabeth's hand prevents me.

"Stacie," her eyes are full of worry. "I know you have a lot of questions, but save them." I nod. Annabeth whips out a cell phone.

"Percy? We've got another one."