7: Princesses Don't Cry

Annabeth POV (in Percy's body)

Percy and I gave each other a quick rundown of our lives. However, it was obvious that neither of us wanted to share about our lives.

Regardless, living Percy's life probably wasn't that hard.

He was the star swimmer who was loved by everyone. He literally had no worries in his perfect teen life. Of course, that didn't mean that I wanted to stay in Percy's body.

As I watched my body walk away, I felt a sense of dread. I didn't know how long we'd be stuck in each other's bodies. I wanted my life back as soon as possible.

I let out a sigh from Percy's mouth before heading towards his first period.

Because of this issue, I was going to be late for class. I was never late to class, but I realized that Percy was always late. I realized that I could make Percy's body leisurely walk into class, and it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

"Mr. Jackson," Ms. Dodds screeched as I walked in.

I winced as I turned towards her. I wanted to casually slip into the classroom and take a seat in the back. I already took this class last year. After all, I was in advanced math.

"I see that you're late yet again, Percy Jackson," she said angrily.

It was weird how Ms. Dodds referred to students by their full names.

"Ms. Dodds, swimming ran late today," I said cautiously. The whole class was staring at my and Ms. Dodds's interaction.

"Oh, I don't need your excuses, Mr. Jackson," she snapped. "Detention."

My (ie Percy's) jaw dropped as I stared at her in shock. I had never gotten detention before in my entire life, yet one day living in Percy's body, and I was going to detention.

I quickly recovered before taking a seat at an empty desk. Since Percy was heavier than me, the old chair made a squeak. This was common when even slightly larger students took a seat. Our school wasn't exactly the newest or shiniest.

I wondered if Percy was used to detentions. Considering he was always late to Ms. Dodds's class, it wouldn't be a surprise.

Of course, a little heads-up would've been nice from that idiot.

Surprisingly, I managed to avoid interacting with people throughout my morning classes. Percy (who was me) and Annabeth (ie Percy) didn't share any classes together.

This made sense considering I mostly took AP and advanced credits.

People tried talking to me, but I made Percy pretend to be occupied. Even Percy's actual friends, Jason and Grover, tried talking, but I ignored them.

I was too nervous to interact with anyone as Percy.

Finally, it was time for lunch.

Walking into the cafeteria in Percy's body was daunting. It was like the first day of school, but in reality, it was my first day as Percy.

Regardless, I walked confidently towards the lunch line. One step at a time.

"Hey bro," a voice called from behind me. Suddenly, I felt a hand hit my back, which immediately caused me to pull away.

I turned around quickly to find Jason, Thalia's brother, behind me.

"Woah, you okay, bro?" he asked in surprise.

I must've looked panicked because of the sudden assault. Of course, close friends would greet each other casually. I just wasn't expecting it.

"Sorry, you startled me," I said cautiously.

Jason laughed as he grabbed his pizza from the lunch lady. I took my own plate and also grabbed some salad and a drink.

I followed Jason towards what I was sure was my table. To be honest, I wasn't sure where Percy sat in the cafeteria because my Thalia, Leo, Hazel, Nico, and I always sat outside.

Jason and I went to where the jocks and populars sat.

I internally groaned as I maneuvered Percy's body towards a table that was filled with guys and girls.

"Percy, we didn't see you all day," Piper exclaimed.

"You weren't even at swimming, and Coach is pissed," Connor Stoll continued.

I totally forgot about Percy's morning training. Hell, I was too freaked out today to even think about Percy's needs. Besides, it was only one missed practice.

"I only missed one practice. It's not that big of a deal," I replied as I took a seat.

The conversation in my immediate vicinity died as everyone gaped at me. Pretty soon, I realized that I must've said something wrong or something not Percy-like.

"Percy, are you sure that you're feeling okay?" Frank asked kindly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded too quickly.

Lunch started quietly, but everyone resumed their conversations. Considering I wasn't really friends with them, I didn't know what they were talking about.

Apparently, there was a party on Friday at Rachel's.

I didn't know about the party. But again, I never really got invited to parties. I stayed in my own lane even though Thalia tries to get me to go sometimes. Since Thalia's brother was Jason, she gets a free pass at the parties.

Honestly, Thalia could be popular.

However, my best friend didn't care about that stuff.

"Babe, I'm still mad at you," a voice said from behind me. At first, I didn't even pay attention because I wasn't in a relationship.

But, after Jason nudged me, I realized that this was about Percy.

I turned around to see Rachel standing behind me. She huffed after making sure that I was watching her. Then, she joined the cheerleader table a few feet away.

I sighed before continuing with my lunch.

"What drama are you in now, Percy?" Piper asked softly. She seemed genuinely concerned despite knowing that this was all drama.

I looked up at Piper. She seemed like a very good person and friend.

"I don't even know."

"Bro, no offense, but I never understood why you date her. I mean, it doesn't seem like you're that happy with her anyway," Jason commented slowly.

"Jason, you can't just say something like that," Piper scolded.

Jason's face paled as he apologized. While technically Jason shouldn't be that direct about his friend's girlfriend, he did have a point. I never really liked Rachel in the same way that I didn't like Percy.

As such, I didn't understand their relationship.

However, I always figured that they were very similar, so they fit well. I simply sighed as I brushed off Jason's comments.

Even though I was Percy at the moment, they didn't actually apply to me.

Suddenly, I received a buzz in my pocket. I quickly brought out my phone because Percy and I made arrangements to text each other about our next steps.

The text message was from Annabeth since it was coming from my phone.

My eyes widened as I read the text message. I definitely didn't want to do what Percy was suggesting.

'YOU NEED TO ATTEND SWIMMING PRACTICE TODAY.'

'I am not doing that,' I typed back.

'You have to', he responded just as quickly. 'Coach and Mr. D will kill me otherwise.'

I rolled my eyes at the text. I doubted that the coach and our principal would actually say anything over Percy missing some swimming. Before I could reject again, another text buzzed the iPhone in my fingers.

'Besides if I have to pick your brother up from school, then you have to (at least) go to practice.'

'Wait, what?'

'Your mom asked me to pick up the boys. GO SWIMMING OR I WON'T GET THEM.'

Ugh, Percy was so infuriating. He was actually trying to bargain with me right now, and it was working.

'FINE. Also, she's NOT my mom,' I typed back angrily.

"Bro, Percy, who are you texting so intently?" Frank asked. I didn't realize that they were calling my name until just now.

But again, I wasn't used to responding to Percy's name.

"Sorry, guys, what were we talking about?" I asked cooly. They all returned to the conversation after adding me into it.

Apparently, we were all making plans to hang out at Jason's house next week. I was only half-present in that conversation.

Percy's right leg shook with the nerves that I was feeling.

How was I supposed to survive swimming practice?

I barely swam normally, but Percy swam all the time. While I was physically prepared (since I was in Percy's body), in no way was I mentally or psychologically prepared for this.

After all, I've been told that any sport is a huge mind game.

***

Since it was February and the upper-level competitions were coming up, only the experienced swimmers were at practice.

Even so, based on school news, Percy was better than everyone in the room.

I waited till all of the guys left before I changed into the locker rooms. It didn't seem right to take advantage of the situation. After all, I was already looking at Percy's naked body despite not having any right to it.

To be honest, Percy was very good-looking.

He had tan skin that complimented his toned physique. As I put on Percy's tight swim shorts, I took in the feel of his body.

In my opinion, it was strong and muscular in the right proportions.

I sighed before quickly making my way out of the locker rooms. Most of the swimmers were already in the pool doing laps.

I attempted to bypass the Coach and enter the pool, but that was a fail.

I winced as the Coach barked Percy's (I mean, my) name. His voice loudly reverberated throughout the pool room. Even the athletes currently swimming stopped at the loud noise.

I immediately felt the nerves and pressure rise up as I turned towards Coach Hedge. He had a reputation for being too tough.

Everyone's eyes were on me as Coach got closer.

I had to look down at him since he was 8 inches shorter than me. Regardless, the man had power and confidence.

"JACKSON, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU. YOU ARE GOING TO BE A DISGRACE TO THIS SCHOOL. WHAT KIND OF SWIMMER ARE YOU?"

Even though he was yelling at Percy, I felt tears spring to my (ie Percy's) eyes. Percy was probably better able to handle his emotions around the Coach, but I've never gotten yelled at by anyone other than people in my family.

And, technically, my family had a right to yell at me.

What the coach said was so disrespectful and rude, and I wasn't sure how to handle the emotions.

Percy was a phenomenal swimmer, who had already broken several records at our school. He had put Goode High on the state map for his swimming.

Yet, here we were getting yelled at.

Coach Hedge was fuming as he continued to scream at me. I could feel everyone's gazes digging into my exposed skin (since I was only in shorts). They were shameful and solemn.

No one other than my mom, dad, and step-mom had ever yelled at me like this. And, I never received such pitiful looks from my peers. It was depressing for me.

I truly didn't know how Percy deals with this.

After about five minutes, Coach let me go swimming. However, I ran towards the locker rooms instead. My fingers wiped a few stray tears off Percy's face as I changed and ran home.