CHAPTER I
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome on board British Airways flight 247 service from London to Massachusetts! Our flight time will be six hours and 15 minutes. We ask you to please take your seats and have your seat belts securely fastened so we will be on time for departure. Thank-you!" the flight attendant said into the radio.
Annabeth wasn't listening to her though, instead she was leaned back into her first class chair with her eyes closed. She was playing back the train of events that had happened within the last few
days. Her mother, Athena Chase, was a famous actress who was very well know across the world. She had been in the spotlight ever since she was a little girl. Now she was one of the most celebrated British women in the 21st century - an icon of style, beauty, and wealth. Every women wanted to be her and every actress wanted to know her, she was a good person to have on your side. In other words, you didn't want to have her on your bad side like Sally Jackson another famous actress did. The two had been friends growing up, when they were teenagers every directer wanted them to star in their movies. That friendship changed when Athena began to date actor Poseidon Jackson. Poseidon was always very close with Sally and eventually left Athena for her. Ever since then they never spoke to each other. They no longer acknowledged each others presence.
Everything between them was a competition, how they dressed, what movies they were in, the houses they lived in, everything! Eventually Sally and Poseidon divorced which took away Athena's spotlight during one of her big movie premieres, but still nothing ever changed between Athena and Sally.
Where ever Athena was cameras followed, and Annabeth was used to the attention. She was a favorite target of the paparazzi, everyone was curious to see if Annabeth would follow in her mothers footsteps. She was London's little mystery girl and the people loved it. Her older brother Malcolm was an even bigger target. For, not many teenage boys had stared in top hit movies and had there own chauffeur to drive them all around town in a Rolls Royce. Malcolm was no average seventeen year old, he was a global heartthrob and growing into a very handsome and successful man like his father, Frederick Chase. Frederick was a very successful hotel entrepreneur. He owned five-star hotels all around the world. He worked with many high-profile people which made him very popular among celebrities. If you were a well known person and needed to get away from the press and go to some exotic place for a while, you called Frederick and he made it happen. Not only was he a high-ranking entrepreneur, but he was also one of the sexiest men alive according to TIME magazine. Frederick and Athena were the perfect couple, and when Malcolm and Annabeth were born they became the picture perfect family. Everyone desired to be as successful and perfect as the Chase family, but that was before everything came crashing down. There would be a scandal involving sex, power, and money. No one saw it coming. Only Annabeth and Malcolm knew what was really going on. Their parents marriage was beginning to fall apart. They began to grow distant and bored of each other. Daddy had a mistress who he was secretly giving money to. His mistress was blackmailing him. Mother wasn't innocent either, she was sleeping with a young actor. They had a very stressful marriage and each of them was a hot mess. A few nights back, Frederick's scandal was made public by his mistress and Annabeth's world came crashing down. Annabeth and Malcolm would listen secretly to the arguments there parents would have. They soon knew about everything that had been going on for so long. They began to grow closer and would lean on each other for support. They tried not to read the headlines and the gossip circling around them but it was extremely hard because everyone was talking about it. Annabeth and Malcolm never showed any emotion when cameras were around but when no one was watching, Annabeth would break down and Malcolm would be there right next to her trying to calm her. He was playing the role a big brother very well and Annabeth looked up to him for it.
Two days ago, their parents called them down into their office. They told them they were getting a divorce. It was no surprise to the children and for a moment everyone was quiet. Athena broke the silence.
"Annabeth, we..." she glanced at Frederick, "your father and I, have decided it would be best for you to go to the States and live with your Uncle Jack and Aunt Addie for a little while until things here in London blow over and -" she was interrupted by Annabeth.
"What? I can't just leave my life here in London! And I can't just leave Malcolm..."her voice cracked. Her face got red and she was starting to cry. Her father looked heartbroken.
"Annabeth" he said, "I don't want you to be here while all this is going on, its not good for you. You must understand, its not safe for you to be in the public eye, they will be all over you. If you go to the States it wont be as bad, and you can actually live a life there and be happy. Its not for forever sweet heart, just for the time being." he said sadly. Annabeth wiped her tears and nodded. She was daddys little girl after all.
"I love you Annabeth, you'll always be my little girl, that will never change."
This is too much, Annabeth thought, I cant do this. She turned and stormed out of the office and bolted to her room upstairs. She yanked out her Louis Vuitton luggage from her closet and began furiously putting all kinds of clothes and items into them. She heard a knock on her door and straightened herself up. This was not like her.
"Come in" she said coldly. It was Malcolm, he came in and wrapped his arms around her.
"You know I have to stay here and finish filming my movie, if I could go with you I would Annabeth"
"I know Im just going to miss you" she started crying.
"We'll keep in touch, and I promise to visit you the first chance I get"
Someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped and opened her eyes. It was the flight attendant.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you but could you please put on your seat belt? Were about to take off" she said smiling. It ticked Annabeth off that the flight attendant was so happy.
"Yes ma'm" she mumbled. After a few hours on the plane she got out her laptop. She wanted to do some research on Yancy Academy, the school she would be attending in Massachusetts. She was curious to see what the students looked liked and how the atmosphere was. Her web page popped up and the first thing she read was "Annabeth Chase fleeing London". She was tempted to slam her laptop down right then and there but she stopped herself. That would not be an appropriate way to act. She took a deep breath and pulled up the Yancy Academy website. There was a blown up picture of a couple boys laughing and having a good time. They were wearing grey pants with white polos and button downs. Some had navy and red ties on, Yancy's school colors, and others had on blazers. They looked very sharp and Annabeth liked what she saw. She looked at pictures of the school and was in awe. The school was built in the 1800's and the architecture was to die for. She loved the mature and aged look the school portrayed. She looked at some more pictures of the students. The girls wore grey skirts with white button downs polos like the boys. Some girls wore blazers and sweaters, some even wore sweater vests. Annabeth liked the prep image of the students and for a moment she was happy to be leaving London. Then she began to think of her family and the gossip surrounding them all and more depressing thoughts creeped into her head. She closed her eyes and slowly fell to sleep.
She woke up to the flight attendant telling them the procedures for landing. She looked out the window and saw the familiar scene of Barnstable, Massachusetts, or better known as, Cape Cod. She could make out Martha's Vineyard and a few other places. The memories of the place made her feel happy and she was eager to get off the plane and see her aunt and uncle. Eventually she made her way off the plane and gathered up all her luggage. She had so much luggage she had to stack them in a big pile. She smoothed her skirt and hair and looked around for her aunt and uncle.
"Annabeth!" yelled Uncle Jack excitingly. Annabeth smiled and took in the sight of her uncle. His graying hair and blue eyes shining behind horn-rimmed reading glasses. He reminded her of her father. They were brothers after all.
"Hi Uncle Jack!" she said throwing her arms around him. Over his shoulder she could see Aunt Addie hurrying over. Annabeth said hey to her giving her a hug also. Her aunt had blonde hair and her face had a few slight wrinkles around her eyes showing that she smiled a lot.
"Its so good to see you! Look how tall you've gotten! A spitting image of her mother." said Aunt Addie. "Now lets hurry and get to the car before people start to realize who you are."She helped her Aunt and Uncle load her luggage into their Bentley. Annabeth smiled as she got in. She looked out at the scenery as the drove off. This isnt so bad she thought smiling. This...this is my new beginning.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome on board British Airways flight 247 service from London to Massachusetts! Our flight time will be six hours and 15 minutes. We ask you to please take your seats and have your seat belts securely fastened so we will be on time for departure. Thank-you!" the flight attendant said into the radio.
Annabeth wasn't listening to her though, instead she was leaned back into her first class chair with her eyes closed. She was playing back the train of events that had happened within the last few
days. Her mother, Athena Chase, was a famous actress who was very well know across the world. She had been in the spotlight ever since she was a little girl. Now she was one of the most celebrated British women in the 21st century - an icon of style, beauty, and wealth. Every women wanted to be her and every actress wanted to know her, she was a good person to have on your side. In other words, you didn't want to have her on your bad side like Sally Jackson another famous actress did. The two had been friends growing up, when they were teenagers every directer wanted them to star in their movies. That friendship changed when Athena began to date actor Poseidon Jackson. Poseidon was always very close with Sally and eventually left Athena for her. Ever since then they never spoke to each other. They no longer acknowledged each others presence.
Everything between them was a competition, how they dressed, what movies they were in, the houses they lived in, everything! Eventually Sally and Poseidon divorced which took away Athena's spotlight during one of her big movie premieres, but still nothing ever changed between Athena and Sally.
Where ever Athena was cameras followed, and Annabeth was used to the attention. She was a favorite target of the paparazzi, everyone was curious to see if Annabeth would follow in her mothers footsteps. She was London's little mystery girl and the people loved it. Her older brother Malcolm was an even bigger target. For, not many teenage boys had stared in top hit movies and had there own chauffeur to drive them all around town in a Rolls Royce. Malcolm was no average seventeen year old, he was a global heartthrob and growing into a very handsome and successful man like his father, Frederick Chase. Frederick was a very successful hotel entrepreneur. He owned five-star hotels all around the world. He worked with many high-profile people which made him very popular among celebrities. If you were a well known person and needed to get away from the press and go to some exotic place for a while, you called Frederick and he made it happen. Not only was he a high-ranking entrepreneur, but he was also one of the sexiest men alive according to TIME magazine. Frederick and Athena were the perfect couple, and when Malcolm and Annabeth were born they became the picture perfect family. Everyone desired to be as successful and perfect as the Chase family, but that was before everything came crashing down. There would be a scandal involving sex, power, and money. No one saw it coming. Only Annabeth and Malcolm knew what was really going on. Their parents marriage was beginning to fall apart. They began to grow distant and bored of each other. Daddy had a mistress who he was secretly giving money to. His mistress was blackmailing him. Mother wasn't innocent either, she was sleeping with a young actor. They had a very stressful marriage and each of them was a hot mess. A few nights back, Frederick's scandal was made public by his mistress and Annabeth's world came crashing down. Annabeth and Malcolm would listen secretly to the arguments there parents would have. They soon knew about everything that had been going on for so long. They began to grow closer and would lean on each other for support. They tried not to read the headlines and the gossip circling around them but it was extremely hard because everyone was talking about it. Annabeth and Malcolm never showed any emotion when cameras were around but when no one was watching, Annabeth would break down and Malcolm would be there right next to her trying to calm her. He was playing the role a big brother very well and Annabeth looked up to him for it.
Two days ago, their parents called them down into their office. They told them they were getting a divorce. It was no surprise to the children and for a moment everyone was quiet. Athena broke the silence.
"Annabeth, we..." she glanced at Frederick, "your father and I, have decided it would be best for you to go to the States and live with your Uncle Jack and Aunt Addie for a little while until things here in London blow over and -" she was interrupted by Annabeth.
"What? I can't just leave my life here in London! And I can't just leave Malcolm..."her voice cracked. Her face got red and she was starting to cry. Her father looked heartbroken.
"Annabeth" he said, "I don't want you to be here while all this is going on, its not good for you. You must understand, its not safe for you to be in the public eye, they will be all over you. If you go to the States it wont be as bad, and you can actually live a life there and be happy. Its not for forever sweet heart, just for the time being." he said sadly. Annabeth wiped her tears and nodded. She was daddys little girl after all.
"I love you Annabeth, you'll always be my little girl, that will never change."
This is too much, Annabeth thought, I cant do this. She turned and stormed out of the office and bolted to her room upstairs. She yanked out her Louis Vuitton luggage from her closet and began furiously putting all kinds of clothes and items into them. She heard a knock on her door and straightened herself up. This was not like her.
"Come in" she said coldly. It was Malcolm, he came in and wrapped his arms around her.
"You know I have to stay here and finish filming my movie, if I could go with you I would Annabeth"
"I know Im just going to miss you" she started crying.
"We'll keep in touch, and I promise to visit you the first chance I get"
Someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped and opened her eyes. It was the flight attendant.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you but could you please put on your seat belt? Were about to take off" she said smiling. It ticked Annabeth off that the flight attendant was so happy.
"Yes ma'm" she mumbled. After a few hours on the plane she got out her laptop. She wanted to do some research on Yancy Academy, the school she would be attending in Massachusetts. She was curious to see what the students looked liked and how the atmosphere was. Her web page popped up and the first thing she read was "Annabeth Chase fleeing London". She was tempted to slam her laptop down right then and there but she stopped herself. That would not be an appropriate way to act. She took a deep breath and pulled up the Yancy Academy website. There was a blown up picture of a couple boys laughing and having a good time. They were wearing grey pants with white polos and button downs. Some had navy and red ties on, Yancy's school colors, and others had on blazers. They looked very sharp and Annabeth liked what she saw. She looked at pictures of the school and was in awe. The school was built in the 1800's and the architecture was to die for. She loved the mature and aged look the school portrayed. She looked at some more pictures of the students. The girls wore grey skirts with white button downs polos like the boys. Some girls wore blazers and sweaters, some even wore sweater vests. Annabeth liked the prep image of the students and for a moment she was happy to be leaving London. Then she began to think of her family and the gossip surrounding them all and more depressing thoughts creeped into her head. She closed her eyes and slowly fell to sleep.
She woke up to the flight attendant telling them the procedures for landing. She looked out the window and saw the familiar scene of Barnstable, Massachusetts, or better known as, Cape Cod. She could make out Martha's Vineyard and a few other places. The memories of the place made her feel happy and she was eager to get off the plane and see her aunt and uncle. Eventually she made her way off the plane and gathered up all her luggage. She had so much luggage she had to stack them in a big pile. She smoothed her skirt and hair and looked around for her aunt and uncle.
"Annabeth!" yelled Uncle Jack excitingly. Annabeth smiled and took in the sight of her uncle. His graying hair and blue eyes shining behind horn-rimmed reading glasses. He reminded her of her father. They were brothers after all.
"Hi Uncle Jack!" she said throwing her arms around him. Over his shoulder she could see Aunt Addie hurrying over. Annabeth said hey to her giving her a hug also. Her aunt had blonde hair and her face had a few slight wrinkles around her eyes showing that she smiled a lot.
"Its so good to see you! Look how tall you've gotten! A spitting image of her mother." said Aunt Addie. "Now lets hurry and get to the car before people start to realize who you are."She helped her Aunt and Uncle load her luggage into their Bentley. Annabeth smiled as she got in. She looked out at the scenery as the drove off. This isnt so bad she thought smiling. This...this is my new beginning.