Based on Community S1E6: "Football, Feminism, And You"

Annabeth POV

Annabeth doesn't belong at New Rome Community College. She was top of her class in high school. She's a genius. That's who she is.

She was going to go to Berkeley. They have an amazing architecture program. It's exclusive, prestigious, and just the kind of place where people like her belong.

She belongs at a place like Berkeley.

Well, she did belong at a place like Berkeley.

That is, until the incident.

No, not the incident where she was reprimanded for throwing those tiny king cake babies at the San Francisco County Republican Party in the name of women's rights, or the time she went to school in just a trash bag to protest the dress code—that was a great day, actually—or the time she painted the homophobic English teacher's door rainbow.

The principal just slapped Annabeth on the wrist and maybe gave her a Saturday detention for those things because she was a 'bright young woman' and had 'such a nice family.'

Yeah, a bright young woman whose family disowned her because she had no other option but to enroll in some random community college nobody's ever heard of.

Not that there's anything bad about community college. It's a great option. She could transfer to a state university someday.

But here's the thing: underage possession of marijuana is going to follow Annabeth's record for a while.

That was the final straw apparently, for her ex-boyfriend, her family, and worst of all, Berkeley.

Luke broke up with her, but not because of the marijuana. He was the one that gave it to her actually.

Her family pretty much disowned her. They never paid her any attention anyway.

She sobbed like a baby the day her admission was revoked. That was her future, her chance to shine and finally not feel so...

Invisible.

Annabeth gets to the study room early today; she has a calculus test in a couple of hours that she's barely studied for. If she can review her study guide now, go over the Latin notes from yesterday with the study group, and study some more calculus over her lunch break, she should have enough time before her test to take a quick vape break. That always calms her nerves.

It's the closest thing she has to Adderall for her ADHD anyway.

And she's addicted to nicotine.

When she's sure nobody can see her, Annabeth pats the spot between her breasts. Yep, her Juul is exactly where it should be. At least there's one constant in her life.

Usually, Jason's the first person at the table. This makes sense because he likes to pretend he's still the smartest person in the room, and he should be because they're studying Latin, and he's double-majoring in classics and education.

But he's not the first person in the room today, and evidently, neither is Annabeth.

Frank is red in the face, eyes darting back and forth between his Latin textbook and... Hazel?

Well, isn't this interesting?

Annabeth takes her usual seat across from Hazel and asks, "What's going on?"

Hazel pulls away from the textbook.

Annabeth knows that look that Hazel's giving. Her ex-boyfriend Luke used to do that anytime the waiter came to their table or when someone assumed Annabeth was his little sister.

"I'm just helping Frank with the lesson from Monday," Hazel says.

Monday's lesson? The one about different kinds of animals?

Frank knows his animals. Frank worked at a zoo over the summer; he should know the animals better than anyone.

But this isn't about animals.

Annabeth flashes an all-knowing look and pulls out her calculus textbook anyway. "Carry on," she says.

Jason's the next to arrive. He takes his usual seat at the head of the table and starts filling out some flashcards.

Percy, Piper, and Leo arrive all at once.

Much to Annabeth's disdain, Percy rushes to the seat between her and Jason. She scowls, making no effort to hide her feelings.

"Hey," he says. "What are you working on?"

"I was working on calculus since I have a big test today, but I guess that's not happening anymore."

Leo fidgets in his seat. He clearly doesn't like being in a different spot than usual. Annabeth can't imagine what he's going to be like next semester when all of their classes change.

Percy doesn't seem to notice any of this.

Annabeth's ready to propose a silent study session so she can do some calculus, but of course, she's interrupted again, this time, by the campus activities director.

"Well, hello there, everyone," says Mr. Brunner.

Annabeth buries her face in her textbook. She can avoid having to explain herself to the group if he doesn't notice her, right?

Of course, she owes Mr. Brunner big time. He's the one that convinced admissions to let her enroll even with the marijuana charges. They got close in the process, and yeah, she even slept on his couch one time. She's been avoiding him ever since he confessed that he sees her like a daughter.

Nobody can know about any of that.

"Mr. Zhang, you're a hard man to find," he says.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that," says Frank.

"We're recruiting for our hockey team, and we thought you might be interested in joining," Mr. Brunner continues.

There's a lot to take in here.

Annabeth knows Frank was on a hockey team in high school. He wears that sweatshirt all the time, but he's never talked about hockey before.

Then again, nobody's ever asked him about it.

"Oh, thanks for the offer, but I'm focusing on my classes for now. Maybe next season," Frank says.

Wrinkles form around Mr. Brunner's eyes, indicating a smile beneath his mask. "That's very admirable. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you change your mind. We're always in need of new talent. Well, I'm off to help redesign the school's new all-inclusive mascot."

And with that, he pushes his wheelchair out of their study room, but not before saying, "Nice to see you again, Annabeth."

Annabeth. Not Miss Chase or something similar to how he addressed Frank.

It doesn't seem like anybody notices that.

Good.

"Hey, guys, look what I can do!" says Leo. He pulls out a lighter.

"Oh, Christ, please don't do that!" says Piper.

Annabeth slams her textbook shut. So much for her plan. She's taking that vape break early.

"You good, Chase?" Piper asks.

She's too pissed off to answer.

✎✎✎

Technically, you're not supposed to smoke near the buildings.

Technically, Annabeth isn't smoking. She's JUULing, hitting, ripping, anything but smoking.

The lemon flavor is her favorite. She's been told that she smells like lemon. Depending on who's asking, she might tell the truth or she might say it's her shampoo that smells.

A couple more hits from her trusty steed, JUULius Caesar, and she'll be alright.

Yeah, she named it JUULius Caesar. Just some Ancient Rome humor. It's even got a skin that looks like a laurel leaf.

"Woah, you're real!"

And she's interrupted again! Fantastic!

"Uh, yeah, I'm real. What's your problem?" she asks, pressing JUULius Caesar to her lips.

The blond guy with the Texan accent continues to point her out to his friends. "Y'all, look, she's real. It wasn't just a fake from admissions!"

"What the hell are you talking about, bozo?" Annabeth asks.

His friend—the grown-ass adult woman with blond pigtails and braces—hands her a pamphlet. It's one of those trifold advertisements the admissions office gives to prospective students, with graphs claiming that a whopping thirty percent of New Rome Community College students identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The girl on the front cover is not one of those students. Well, not exactly.

But that's nobody's business!

"We thought you were a model or somethin' they paid for a diversity stunt!" the boy says. "But since you really do go to school here-"

"Do you want to join the GSA club?" asks the girl.

"What?" Annabeth asks. Her? The Gay-Straight-Alliance? How... forward of them.

"Lacy, I was gonna invite her!" says the guy.

Lacy shuffles her feet. "Sorry, Will. I got carried away..."

"No, you guys got the wrong idea," says Annabeth.

Will and Lacy both turn sheet white, and then leave without another word. Annabeth would be feeling pretty awkward too though if she just wrongly assumed someone's sexuality.

Then again, they have every right to assume. There she is, on the front of this stupid pamphlet, wearing a flannel and a beanie. Oh shit, she even cuffed her jeans that day. This is bad. This is really bad.

Not that there's anything wrong about being gay, and not that all gay people cuff their jeans and wear flannels, but Annabeth's not gay.

Well, she's not sure that she's straight either...

But that's not New Rome's business!

Annabeth pockets JUULius. Maybe calculus will help her let off some steam.

But what's that outside of the library?

More pictures of Annabeth.

Oh, no, these pamphlets are going to make it to her high school. People she knows are going to find out where she disappeared to.

This is a nightmare.

And everyone's going to think she's gay.

"I thought large corporations didn't care about this stuff until June," she mutters to herself.

Nobody's watching.

Annabeth grabs the stack of pamphlets and tucks them away in her backpack.

Screw calculus. Annabeth Chase has a quest.

✎✎✎

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Annabeth storms into the office when Dean D finally opens the door. She's a little surprised to see a woman she doesn't recognize sitting on top of his desk.

"Well, I suppose I'll introduce you to our new marketing director, Ms. Venus," says Dean D.

Ms. Venus rushes to greet Annabeth "Well if it isn't my favorite lesbian! Oh, do come by my office anytime you need anything!" She lowers her voice. "I support your lifestyle wholeheartedly."

"Lifestyle, my ass!" cries Annabeth. "You just told everyone that I'm gay!"

Ms. Venus looks Annabeth's outfit over, likely noting the converse sneakers, ripped jeans, baggy tucked-in shirt, and backward-turned baseball cap. Shit, she really does fit a stereotype. "Queen-"

"Don't call me that."

"Are you... not a lesbian?"

Dean D cuts in. "Wait, did you put this girl on the pamphlet because you think she's gay?"

Ms. Venus takes a step away from the dean, hopefully, a few steps closer to losing her new marketing and public relations job. "I, um-"

"That's genius!" shouts Dean D.

Annabeth butts in. "No, it is not! I'm not gay!"

Ms. Venus cocks an eyebrow. "You're at least bi, right? Or do you use she/they pronouns?"

"My identity is not something you can just make money off of!" Annabeth shouts. She's pissed now. "Get rid of the pamphlets!"

Dean D collects himself. "Actually, Ms. Pace-"

"Chase."

"Whatever. When you submitted your deposit, you permitted us to use your image in advertisements, social media posts-"

"No, I didn't!"

Dean D logs onto his computer and searches the New Rome Community College database. He remembers her name this time.

"There. See?"

Well. She stands corrected. Maybe she would have read the fine print if she wasn't ugly crying while filling out her enrollment forms.

She sighs. "Look, I'm not comfortable with this. Can you please take it down?"

Ms. Venus begins to speak again. "But are you-"

"No, shut up!"

"Well, your love life sure is going to be interesting..." Ms. Venus mumbles.

Dean D sits back in his seat. "Well, young lady, you and I? We're not so different. You see, I have something you want, and you have something I want."

Oh, gross. There's at least a witness, so Annabeth entertains the idea. "And what is that?"

"Influence."

Influence? Who the hell has ever listened to Annabeth?

Dean D folds his hands. "You see, our hockey team is, well, struggling, to say the least. I've happened to notice that you're in the same friend circle with a certain Frank Zang-"

"It's pronounced 'Zhang'."

"Whatever. As I was saying, I also happen to remember your ability to persuade him to join a certain psychology experiment."

"No-"

"Ms. Grace, you're a manipulative, conniving, clever little minx, and I suggest if you want to protect your sexuality—whatever that may be—you convince the boy to join the hockey team."

Before Annabeth can accept the deal as is, Ms. Venus adds her own stakes. "And since a picture of Frank Zhang playing hockey is worth a thousand times more than one of you listening to Girl in Red and drinking an iced latte, I'll have to make you the school mascot if you can't make this happen for us."

"Wait a second. Like, you're going to make me dress up as a gladiator and-"

"Woah! Woah!" says Ms. Venus. She takes her perch on the desk, looking devious as ever. "Gladiators are outdated. We need something more inclusive. I'm thinking... a rainbow cape?"

Dammit. Annabeth should just walk away now. Let the stupid pamphlets continue to roll and join those weird kids' GSA club.

But there's this thing about Annabeth, something that keeps her from backing down from a challenge.

Something that tempts her to over-elect during her first semester.

Something that convinced her to date a guy seven years older than her.

Something that made her try pot even though it smells really bad.

It's this stupid thing called pride.

"You're on."

✎✎✎

Deep breath. Annabeth can do this.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, ooh, vaping would be a fun thing to do right now-

"Ugh," Annabeth groans to herself. She should probably quit vaping; it's getting expensive and it's all she can think about. She thinks about it so much that she forgot to figure out if she's straight or not.

Okay. Frank's in their usual study room, eating Cheez-Its and studying... with Hazel. She's been practically glued to the guy for the past week; it's getting annoying.

Now, how to pry Frank away from Hazel's grasp?

She just barges in. "Hey, Frank," she says. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"We're sort of studying," says Hazel.

Annabeth does something she hasn't done in a long time.

Despite how hard it is, she plays dumb blonde. "Oh, gee, sorry to interrupt. It's just, my car has a flat and I don't know how to replace the tire..." It's a lie, obviously. Annabeth knows how to change a tire. She's not stupid.

"Oh, sure. Hang tight, Hazel." What a sweetheart. Frank is too kind for his own good, honestly.

"It's just out here." Annabeth leads Frank out of the library, into the parking lot, passed the gym, around the student union-

"Where did you even park?" Frank asks.

Annabeth leads him across the street and to the athletics center. "So here's the thing," she says, pushing open the door. "I don't have a car. I just needed to talk to you, or uh, show you something..." She's keeping up this dumb blonde act well. Too bad she's about to hit him with her lawyer act.

Frank holds the door open for Annabeth, and she leads him into the ice rink. Perfect! The team is practicing right now.

"Check it out," says Annabeth, gesturing towards the ice Vanna White style.

Oh.

Oh no.

There's literally a dude on crutches trying to get on the ice.

There's a shrill cry as two men pummel into each other—and not on purpose.

Frank chuckles. "Wow, these guys aren't very good."

But Annabeth came prepared. "Frank, just think about it. If you join this team, you'll be a hero. Everyone will love you!"

"Like, really like me or just like me because I'm good at hockey? I used to get bullied back in high school because I was, uh, pretty heavy, and then I lost a lot of weight and joined the hockey team, and everyone wanted to be my friend, except it wasn't real, and-"

"Woah, I get it, bestie, really!" Bestie? This is why people think she's gay! "Look at these people! They're so genuine. They don't care about all that stuff in your past. Just be yourself and trust that they'll like you for you, which they will."

"What if they don't?" Frank asks.

"Look at them," says Annabeth. "You can just kick their asses."

It's a well-timed statement. A dude crashes into the glass behind Annabeth. "My tooth! Oh my god, I think my tooth fell out!"

"You okay, man?" Frank shouts through the glass.

"Yeah... I'll be alright. I'll put it under my pillow tonight, huh?" The hockey player spits some blood onto the ice and throws up a peace sign before skating away.

"Well, he seems pretty cool," says Frank. "Where can I sign up?"

✎✎✎

You know what feels amazing?

Bragging rights.

Oh, yeah. Annabeth couldn't decide between 'bite me,' or 'how do you like me now?' when she sauntered into the dean's office this afternoon. She went with both.

She's feeling amazing. She's completely stoked.

Goodbye Lesbi-Annabeth! she thinks to herself as she watches Ms. Venus recycle a pile of pamphlets.

She's so happy, she even waves to those kids from the other day, Will and Lacy, right?

"Hey, Annabeth!"

"Oh, hey, Hazel, what's going on?"

She's fuming. It's like one of those old cartoons where smoke comes out of the characters' ears. "You made Frank join the hockey team, and now he doesn't have any time to study!"

"Listen, Hazel, I-"

"I thought you cared about grades. Don't you care about his? Or just your own? I thought you were cool." Hazel turns around, ready to storm off.

Annabeth's used to confrontation. She almost feels bad, but Hazel should know better than to lecture a genius. "Oh, I know what this is really about."

Hazel turns around.

"You're into him! You're into that doofus, and you're pretending to care about his Latin grade so you can get closer to him!"

"I-"

Annabeth continues. "You know, you're just as prideful and selfish as I am; you're just not any good at it yet. Keep at it though, and maybe someday, you can be just. Like. Me."

Hazel backs away slowly, like a mouse cornered by a bird of prey. "No, I'm not like you. You're... mean, and, uh..."

And then Annabeth lays the final punch: "You don't care about Frank. If you did, you wouldn't be keeping him from doing something that he loves."

Annabeth doesn't worry about hurt feelings. She's pretty sure she hears Jason swoop in to comfort Hazel. None of the people in her study group are the type to hold grudges anyway. They ruined Piper's relationship with Shel the other week and they're still friends, for crying out loud!

But still, Hazel was right even if she doesn't know the whole situation. It was sort of selfish of Annabeth to coerce Frank into doing something he didn't want to just so she doesn't have to be on a pamphlet that she apparently agreed to. Sure, her reasons are completely valid; how would you feel if people were telling half-truths about you? But Frank deserves the full truth.

✎✎✎

So maybe the pep rally is bad timing.

Yes, the pep rally is incredibly bad timing for this sort of thing. Annabeth hates pep rallies. They're so... loud... and cheerful.

That's the point, isn't it?

"Frank!" Annabeth calls when the hockey team emerges.

"Oh, hey Annabeth! I was actually looking for you!" says Frank.

"Frank, listen-"

Instead of listening, he shows Annabeth his new hockey sweatshirt. "Check it out; it even has my name on the back! Thanks so much for convincing me to join. These people are so nice. Some of them even play MythoMagic too!"

"That's great, Frank, but I have to tell you something."

He tugs on his sweatshirt strings. "Sure, what's up?"

"I, uh, sort of made a deal with Dean D. He and the marketing director were running this awful ad with me on it and people were thinking untrue things about me, and people from my high school could have found out that I go here... Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I did this for myself. You shouldn't play hockey if you don't want to." That was hard, and definitely not as smooth as her dumb blonde act or her lawyer act or her mean girl act.

But that's not what matters.

"You shouldn't care so much about what other people think, Annabeth. You taught me that. I don't know what you went through that sent you here instead of someplace like Harvard, but I'm your friend because of who you are now. We all are, even Percy if you don't like him very much, and Hazel if she's mad at you for some reason. New Rome is a place where everyone can be accepted, regardless of their pasts, and you can mess up... oh, Annabeth, are you good?"

Her eyes sting with tears.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't-

But Annabeth Chase is an ugly crier.

"Oh, shoot," says Frank. "Uh, can I hug you?"

Screw COVID-19 protocols. She nods and holds out her arms.

Damn, she missed hugs so much. One time she took a personality quiz that said her love language is 'physical touch,' and that's probably true. She doesn't want to ever let go of this teddy bear of a man.

A new voice interrupts. "Hey, man, are you ready to go? They're cheering for us! They're actually cheering for us out there!"

"Yeah, G-Man, just give me a second."

Frank looks down at Annabeth. "Thank you for being a friend."

"Did you just quote The Golden Girls?"

"I've gotta go! See you after the pep rally!" Frank catches up to the guy with the crutches and joins the hockey team in the gymnasium.

Annabeth wipes the tears from her eyes and leans back against the wall. She hasn't felt this fulfilled in a long time. There isn't even a looming temptation to hit her vape right now, and honestly, she doesn't even care if it's in its proper place in her bra.

She's content.

She takes a breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, not even caring that she has weird mask breath.

"Alright!" booms Dean D's voice over a loudspeaker. "It's time to unveil the New Rome Community College mascot!"

"Aw, man." A small kid emerges from the shadows, dressed in black but wearing a crown and a rainbow cape.

Annabeth snorts. "What are you supposed to be?"

"The new mascot."

"We're the New Rome gay emo kids?"

"We were going to be the New Rome grunge lesbians, but Dean D and Ms. Venus said the other mascot fell through. Either one is stupid in my opinion," says the guy.

"Then don't do it," says Annabeth.

"What?"

She shrugs. "Don't let admissions profit off of your sexuality. That's your business."

He takes his crown off and shakes some glitter from his shaggy hair. "Well, it's a good thing they already paid me."

Annabeth laughs. What a neat dude.

"I think I'll go to the GSA meeting instead. Want to come? Will Solace said they're getting subs."

Back inside the gymnasium, people are chanting Frank Zhang's name. It sounds like he's loved there. It's not Annabeth's scene, but she's really happy he found his place.

"Well? Are you coming? I don't want to miss out on the good subs."

Annabeth still doesn't know what her place is. Maybe she has to try a few things out and meet some new people.

"You know what? I'll check it out. Just don't expect me to confine myself to a label. I'm not ready for that. Not yet, anyway."