Paradise, Ohio
John entered the main office at Paradise Senior High School and handed the information the secretary needed for a schedule. She nodded in recognition. "John Smith. Just sit down over there and I'll get this printed out for you."
John nodded his thanks, turning to sit down. As he did, someone else entered the office behind him. He turned, raising an eyebrow at her. The girl was about two years younger than him, so probably fourteen to his sixteen, so she must have skipped a grade. Her hair, long and black with interesting turquoise highlights, was twisted into a French braid down her back, and she was wearing simple jeans with a pretty green blouse, her jeans tucked into black boots. She barely gave him a glance as she brushed by him, her backpack nearly hitting him. She looked at her papers, handing them to the secretary as well. "Annalise Ramaya," she introduced herself.
The secretary nodded. "I'll get your schedule printed out."
"Thanks." Annalise turned, then raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you new here, too?" she asked.
John nodded, shuffling on his feet awkwardly. Henri had told him to blend in, so he might as well talk to her. "Just moved here from Santa Fe."
Annalise raised an eyebrow. "New Mexico." She smirked. "Explains the tan."
John rolled his eyes. "You don't seem like a beach girl."
She shook her head. "No, I'm not." She sat down on one of the benches, and John sat down next to her. "I came from Washington D.C. I'm here while my adopted father's out in Iraq."
John blinked. "Your father's in the military?"
Annalise shook her head. "No. My real father died while he was in the army. My mom died when a drunk driver hit her car. My adopted father's a scout sniper for the Marines."
"I'm sorry."
Annalise shrugged. "I'm used to it. Moving from town to town isn't new for me." Her phone went off, and she frowned, taking it out and texting something back to someone.
The secretary cleared her throat. "John? Annalise?" she asked.
They stood up and took their schedules, then peered at each other's. Annalise noticed it first. "We've got lockers right next to each other," she noted.
John smiled as he opened the door for her, and they walked out. "Same lunch periods, too."
Annalise grinned. "Sweeeet."
John laughed as she said that, and as they passed through the hall, they both caught the eye of girls and boys alike. John mainly noticed boys who were obviously the football team were following Annalise with their eyes. "You know you've got a few admirers," he whispered to her.
Annalise turned her head and stuck her tongue out at the football players, who instantly looked away. She smirked. "Not anymore."
John's own phone went off, and he looked down at the caller ID. Henri. "I'm fine," he said into it before turning to his locker. Annalise set to work at the combination, and then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, raising an eyebrow, and came face to face with those football players.
"What's up?" the obvious ringleader asked.
John shrugged. "Not much."
The guy grinned. "You and your friend new here?"
"Gee," Annalise drawled. "What gave you that idea?"
John laughed as the guy blinked in obvious surprise. "Yeah, we're new. Why do you ask?"
"You play any sports?"
Other than jet ski like a boss? John wondered. He shrugged. "I've done jet skiing before in Florida when I lived there. Other than that, no."
The guy raised an eyebrow at Annalise. "And you?"
Annalise shrugged. "A bit of volleyball here and there. I can shoot, too. My dad's a scout sniper for the Marines."
The three guys behind the boy suddenly muttered something unintelligible before heading off. Annalise frowned. "What did I say?"
The ringleader cleared his throat. "Their fathers just died the other day. They got the news this morning. They were in the navy."
John noticed Annalise's eyes brightened with recognition before fading into sympathy. "Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine," the guy replied. He held out a hand. "Mark James. I'm a quarterback."
Annalise shook it. "Annalise Ramaya."
John shook next. "John Smith."
"Listen, if either of you need help or anything, give me or my buddies a call," Mark told them. "We'll look out for you."
"We'll keep it in mind," was all John replied with.
Mark nodded, heading off down the hall. Soon, there was a huge crash, and a skateboard slid across the floor. Annalise stomped on it, stopping it in its path. John grabbed her arm so she wouldn't fall, looking up. A boy his age had been slammed into the lockers by none other than Mark James. And he was laughing.
***
Marina scowled after Mark before picking the skateboard up and handing it over to the boy who had lost it. "Here you go."
The boy merely took it from her, nodding a short thank you. "Classic," he muttered. "Homecoming king against the science nerd."
Marina raised an eyebrow. "Is that really what it was?"
The boy scoffed. "Sooner or later I'll bet you'll find out."
He turned to go. "Hey!" Marina called, grabbing his arm. "What's your name?"
He turned to look at her incredulously. "Sam. Sam Goode. Not that you'd want to know." He yanked his arm away and took off down the hall.
Marina watched him go, then felt John's hand on her shoulder. "We should get to class," he told her.
Marina nodded numbly. "I'll see you at lunch."
John smiled at her. He took off down one hall, and Marina went down the other. As she went, she pulled open a janitor's closet, going inside and locking it. She pulled out her phone and dialed one of the four numbers programmed in there. Gibbs answered immediately. "Something wrong?" he asked.
"I found the boys," she replied.
There were muffled voices, then she heard Tony clearly. Gibbs must have put it on speaker phone. "Football team?"
"Yeah, and they're jerks."
"Really?"
"They're bullying one of the kids here, a Sam Goode."
"We'll look into it." That was Kate. "Anything else?"
"I made a friend?"
"Nice job," Tony commented sarcastically. "Want a cookie to go with?"
There was a smacking sound, then Tony's startled yelp. She smirked. Gibbs-style headslap. "He's not part of the football team?" Gibbs asked.
Yep, she could hear the smirk in his voice. "No, he just started here, too. He's a good kid, I can tell."
"How old?" Kate asked.
"Sophomore, sixteen."
The bell rang overhead. "Crap," Marina muttered. "I've got to get to class."
"Good luck, Marina."
"Gibbs? It's Annalise." With that, Marina ended the call and headed out towards her class.
***
John exited school, yawning into his hand, his lunch bag in his hand. Last few hours = boring, he thought.
"John!"
He turned, watching as Annalise ran out of one of the other doors, her backpack dangling over her shoulder. He smiled, waiting for her to catch up, then gave her a hug. She looked surprised, then hugged him back to the best of her abilities. "Did you die of boredom, too?" he asked.
Annalise put a finger in her mouth and pretended to gag. John snorted, and both of them were laughing as they walked across the lawn, plopping down under a shady tree. "So where are you staying?" he asked.
Annalise looked up from her ham and cheese sandwich, raising an eyebrow. "Who wants to know?"
"Your friend," John retorted.
Annalise looked down at the ground and muttered something unintelligible. He raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
"An apartment by myself."
John's jaw dropped. "What?"
"You heard me," Annalise snapped. "It's not easy, trust me."
"Come over to mine sometime," John offered. "Maybe my dad will let you stay with us."
Annalise blinked, then began to smile. "He'd let me?'
"I bet if I give him a solid argument," John replied. "You'd have to earn it."
"Hey, Spock!" they heard someone yell, then heard a thud. Sam was sprawled on the lawn, groaning when he saw his school supplies and lunch scattered everywhere. A football lay a few feet away.
"Bastard," John hissed, getting to his feet and running over to Sam to help him. He heard the catcalls from the football players from behind him, but they lessened as Annalise picked up the football, her face priceless. "Don't do anything stupid," he hissed to her.
Annalise shook her head, stomping away. "When hell freezes over is when I'll do something stupid," she spat.
***
Marina was in front of Mark and his friends in no time. She held up the football casually. "This yours?" she asked.
Mark nodded, smirking. "Like the throw?"
"No," Marina replied. "I don't do bullies." She held up the ball. "So I'm not giving this back."
"And if we do something to get it back?"
Marina smirked. "Try me, big boy."
Mark did, all right. He ran straight for her at a speed Tony could be impressed by. "Annalise!" John shouted in worry, but she was ready. One . . . two . . .
When she hit three, she sprang. She did a flip over Mark's head, planting her feet on his shoulders and pushing down on them with all of her might. He crumbled, looking at her in shock as she lightly hit the ground again. Whistles and applause came from all around as she smirked, backing away, waving the football. "Still keeping it!" she told him, heading back towards John and Sam.
As she did, another sophomore drifted away from the crowd surrounding Mark. Her long blond hair fell past her shoulders, blue eyes locked on her. Marina slowed, eying her warily. The sophomore stopped, too. She smiled kindly. "Sorry about Mark being such an ass," she told her. "He's been that way since we broke up."
"Sucks to be him," Marina joked.
The sophomore laughed, holding out a hand. "I'm Sarah, by the way. Sarah Hart."
Marina smiled back. "Annalise Ramaya."
There was a sudden thud from the trees, then a groan. Marina blinked in surprise as she watched a girl she never expected to see in Ohio look up from the ground. "Savvy?" she gasped.
Savannah Starlight smiled back weakly. "Hey there, Katniss," she joked. "Thought I'd drop in. You don't mind, do you?"
***
Yeah, Savvy! My cousin's OC, used with her permission. And I just realized three Percy Jackson characters are in here . . . Marina/Leven/Clarisse, Savannah/Alexandra/Annabeth and Mark/Jake/Luke. Did not mean to do that!
So basically, Savannah was the subject of an experiment and got heightened reflexes and strength, and she escaped one day. She and Marina met in the Hollywood Hills in that cave, and they've been friends ever since! She's also the only person Marina has ever told about her being Number Seven. :)
So there's a background in our dear Savvy SL. Any questions, just let me know and I'll answer them! Thanks for reading!