Chapter 2: Annabeth
Me, being young and stuff, didn’t understand, so I went to the bathroom only to find out her dad was having health problems, and she was in a tough spot. Of course though, that was only the beginning for us. Neither of us told the other about our gift for a while. But the closer we got, the easier it became to talk about it. The more we understood that we were different.
I nudged Lex as our mutual friend passed us in the hall, and she immediately pulled an earphone out so we could talk to them for a moment. She made it look so natural; you would never have guessed she even had headphones in to begin with.
“How did the presentation go, Lexy?” Marianne asked.
“You already know.” Lexy answered, making it sound like a joke.
Marianne laughed at the joke.
“Are you guys eating in the café today?”
“Nah, we gotta hit the books.” I answered. “Grabbing drinks and going to the library.”
“You guys are no fun!” She called back at us as she walked away.
Lexy smiled as we turned back toward the café, but her headphones were already back in.
The cafeteria was louder than usual when we walked in. I turned toward Lexy to make a comment about it, but she had her game face on, and her music so loud I could hear the steady beat. Sometimes, I forgot she wore the headphones. We had signals that if I needed her, I could get her attention. But most of the time we could be together in a comfortable silence.
We then separated like we normally did, where she would go buy her meal, and I’d go buy the drinks. But as soon as I got out of line and started walking to our meeting spot, some idiot was not paying attention and ran right into me, dumping his spaghetti all over me.
I let out a sharp gasp and looked up to see who the perpetrator was. A guy with jet black hair and the greenest eyes I had ever seen was looking down at me. In other words, Jake Green spilled his lunch all over me.
“You have a noodle in your hair.” He laughed.
“Yea thanks to you!” I exclaimed in frustration.
“Annie,” Lexy gasped, coming out of the meal line herself. “What happened?”
“Can we go?” I mumbled.
She looked at me confused but nodded. “Come on, let’s go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up.”
I could feel the stares of everyone as we walked away. But I didn’t turn around. Knowing it was happening was enough.
I heard Lexy sigh as she picked the noodles out of my hair. Only a real best friend would spend time picking noodles out of my hair rather than eating the ones on her tray, which had disappeared into the trash before I could even stop her.
“How bad is the damage?” I asked.
She gave me a smile that made me almost instantly feel better.
“I think you’ll recover.” She answered, taking a wet paper towel to wipe the sauce off my face. “Your shirt on the other hand, I’m not so sure about. But luckily for you, your best friend has a fear of not being prepared enough and has one right here for you. I know it’s not your style, but it will have to do.”
I smiled too, as she reached into her backpack, pulling out a t-shirt with some sports logo on it that I had no knowledge of.
“Thank you, you’re the best.” I responded, taking the shirt gratefully.
“I know,” She replied, laughing, adding a hair toss in there.
She wasn’t a cocky person, but she liked to pretend she was sometimes. Like she was out of this world or something. And maybe, in a way, she really was. I mean, I didn’t know, even back then, many other people who had her patience or kindness. It was sometimes a dreary world out there, and if you didn’t think your best friend wasn’t something else, they weren’t your best friend at all.









































































