Day One, Year Three

       Date: August 14 

    Hazel stood outside her first period classroom, waiting for her boyfriend to show up. When he finally came, Hazel gave him a smile. Jacob was a senior and the school spirit commissioner. He wasn't the cutest boy, but he had an infectious laughter and he made Hazel laugh.

     "So, this is your year to rule the school," Hazel told him with a smile.  

     "I have so many plans for student council this year," Jacob said, his eyes gleaming. "I want to actually have good turnouts at all the sport tournaments — even at the table tennis tournaments."

    Table tennis was a joke at their school. Hazel doubted that would change anytime soon. The warning bell rang. 

   "See you at lunch?" Hazel asked.

   Jacob nodded and ran off to his first class. Hazel walked into her first class of the day, College Algebra. Her teacher was Mrs. Dodds. Hazel didn't find the class particularly interesting, but Leo and Annabeth watched Mrs. Dodds review factoring with rapt wonder.

   When the bell rang, Hazel headed towards English with Mr. Blofis. Mr. Blofis told them that they would be reading The Iliad and half the class groaned. Hazel's next class was History with Mr. Chiron. By the the bell rung, indicating that it was time for lunch, Hazel felt exhausted. It was the first day of school and she already had loads of homework.

    Hazel sat down with her brother Nico and was surprised when their table ended becoming crowded. Not only was their table crowded, but everyone was from different cliques. Hazel had never really put herself in a box, but people called her the "horse girl" because she was on the horse racing team. 

    Nico hated that people wrote him off as an overdramatic emo. He always told Hazel that liking black clothes and dark songs didn't make him any less of a person. Hazel understood what he meant. Most people didn't know about Bianca, but Nico missed her everyday.  

    Will Solace sat on the other side of Nico. He was a total HOSA nerd. During spirit week, he always wore scrubs on career day. Beside Will, Rachel was sketching tater tots. She was the most creative person Hazel knew and painted everything from campaign posters for school elections to sets for school plays. 

    Percy sat beside Rachel. He was wearing his blue swim team shirt. Percy had been the champion at the state swimming tournament two years in a row. His girlfriend, Annabeth was eating while doing homework beside him. Annabeth was like a stereotypical nerd and jock thrown together: she was strong and smart and she intimidated most of the junior boys. 

    Jason sat next to Annabeth and his girlfriend, Reyna. Both of them were on the fencing team. Piper was working on her debate case next to Reyna. Beside Piper, Leo was staring at a girl across the cafeteria. He had the words "Hot Stuff" written in a black sharpie on his left bicep.

     Grover was cleaning his panpipes out next to Leo. He and his girlfriend, Juniper, were both part of the gardening club. Silena and Beckendorf sat together next to them. Beckendorf was on the football team and Silena was a cheerleader. People had been telling them to get together since middle school. 

   Next to Hazel, there was an empty spot where her boyfriend should have been.

   "Can I sit here?" someone asked.

    Hazel looked up. It was Frank. Hazel didn't know Frank well, but she knew people teased him badly. They had mocked him when he came from Canda last year for his babyface, but over the summer, he had lost it and he was taller than ever. Hazel wondered how Frank's former tormentors felt now.

   "Sorry, that's my seat," Jacob said, sitting down at the one empty seat beside Hazel.

     Frank's shoulders slumped. He turned away and Hazel felt a pang of pity for him, but the table was already crowded. As she joined in her friends' conversation, her guilt eased.