Author's note: Hey guys! So this is my first Percy Jackson fanfiction, and I have to say, this is one of my favorite stories that I have ever written. Please read and review if you like it! Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Thanks, and enjoy! :)
Sana Ashford awoke to the sound of chattering girls, shrieks of laughter, and giggling. She sighed and rolled over in bed, opening her dark, chocolate brown eyes. She was greeted with the same scene every morning. A bunch of girls, ages ranging from four years old to seventeen, were getting ready for the day. Sunlight was streaming through the large, paned windows and into the orphanage's sleeping area. It was a massive room filled with rows of squeaky, twin sized beds with little nightstands next to each one. The high ceilings and wood floors caused almost every little sound to echo throughout the entire room. Sana squinted against the sunlight and groaned as a shadow was cast over her face.
"Last one up again, Ashford?" A particularly heavy girl around the age of fifteen with stringy blond hair and acne stood in front of Sana with her hands on her chunky hips. Her blue eyes were filled with a mixture of glee and distaste.
"Clearly," Sana muttered, sitting up. She wore a thin, oversized navy blue t-shirt with a large and fading Detroit logo on it. Her already skinny frame looked even smaller under the shirt. Sana Ashford was a thin girl who still managed to be curvy, with tan skin, long, dark brown hair, and dark eyes. She was about 5'5 and seventeen years old. She lived in Little Silver Island orphanage for almost as long as she could remember, and hated every second of it. The worst part, in her opinion, was that she was not even truly an orphan. Her parents abandoned her when she was just barely three years old.
"Well, Ms. Streeter says that you have to get up, now!" the girl said in an obnoxious tone. Sana rolled her eyes.
"Listen, Marge-"
"-it's Maggie!"
"Maggie," Sana corrected herself. "I am already up, so you can run along now." Sana swung her legs over her bed and planted her bare feet lightly on the cold floor. She adjusted her grey shorts, grabbed her toiletries bag from her nightstand, and padded off towards the bathroom. Maggie followed at her heels.
"You know, you only have a year left in here before you get dumped on the streets. What are you going to do when you're on your own? Drugs?" Maggie said with a smug grin plastered upon her pale, pasty face.
"Nope. I'm going to get as far away from you as I damn well can," Sana snapped. "In fact, I cannot wait for the day I get outta here."
"Does it bother you that nobody ever bothered adopting you?" Maggie followed Sana into the foggy, warm bathroom. It had separate stalls for showers and toilets and the front wall was a fogged up mirror, lined with five sinks. A few girls were in the showers and one was singing terribly off key.
"No. You weren't adopted, either," Sana said, using her hand to clear up a portion of the mirror. She made a face at her reflection and tugged her messy ponytail out, allowing her wavy/curly tresses to fall over her shoulders and down her back.
"You really should get a haircut," Maggie remarked, wrinkling her nose at Sana's hair. A little ginger girl at the sink next to them giggled at Maggie's comment. Sana shot her an irritated look. The girl gulped and scurried out of the bathroom.
"D'you think that you could possibly go and pester somebody else?" Sana said, pulling her toothbrush and toothpaste out from her bag. Maggie ignored her and began chattering about how brushing your teeth twice a day weakened the natural cavity fighting powers of teeth. Sana glanced at Maggie in confusion and began brushing her already perfect teeth.
"Maggie, shoo. I have to talk to Sana," a girl with wet, golden blonde hair and big blue eyes walked up to them, wrapped in a towel. She shoved past Maggie and grinned at Sana. Sana smirked and spit the toothpaste foam into the sink.
"Ava! Thank you! She was driving me mental," Sana shook her head as Maggie sulked off. Ava Danforth laughed.
"Anything for my best friend. Hey, can I borrow some of that?" Ava motioned to Sana's toothpaste. Sana handed it over.
"Don't use too much, or else you'll weaken your teeth's natural cavity fighting abilities," Sana joked. Ava rolled her eyes.
"Maggie is nuts. I can't wait until we can finally get out of here on out eighteenth birthday!" Ava said with a mouth full of foam. Sana nodded.
"Thank God we have the same birthday! We'll be let out at the same exact time," Sana's lip curled into a grin. Ava widened her eyes and nodded, relief apparent on her face.
"Dude, we can do anything once we get out. It'll be great!" Ava spit into the sink and wiped her mouth. Sana nodded and finger combed her hair.
"Is the water still warm?" Sana motioned towards the showers. Ava shook her head.
"Fucking freezing," Ava shivered.
"Guess I'll just take a night shower, again," Sana sighed and shrugged. "I'm so not a morning person."
"Yeah, I've gathered that after the, what, thirteen years I've known you. Anywho, let's get down to breakfast. Ms. Streeter will already be pissed enough as it is that we're late."
Sana and Ava walked into the dining hall, about thirty minutes late. Sana had changed into a pair of black leggings, grey slouchy boots, and a longish grey sweater. She layered on a few gold necklaces and left her hair free and down. Ava put on a pair of leggings, a midnight blue dress, and a little pull over. She wore a pair of worn, red converse sneakers and her straight blonde hair was also down.
"Uh-oh. Streeter looks mad. Called it," Ava whispered to Sana. Sana's eyes flickered over to the scrawny, crow-like woman who was glaring at them from across the scattered circular tables and the heads of the girls seated at them.
"Oh. Great," Sana muttered. Ms. Streeter was the firm and strict owner of the orphanage. She managed to keep the thirty girls there in line with very little help. The only other adult at Little Silver Island was a short, plump woman named Mrs. Hotchkiss. She was a kind and gentle woman who typically took care of the younger girls and she also held the position of nurse. Whenever Mrs. Hotchkiss was on dining hall duty, Sana and Ava could get away with anything. Unfortunately, Mrs. Hotchkiss was nowhere to be found and a crow-like woman was making a rapid beeline towards them. Ava gulped and Sana shifted nervously on her feet.
"Late! Again!" Ms. Streeter squawked breathlessly once she finally got close enough to them. The two girls winced at the shrill voice.
"We're sorry-" Ava began to explain.
"-Enough with your subpar excuses!" Ms. Streeter said firmly. Ava snapped her mouth shut. Sana began chewing on her lip. "Get your breakfast and after, report to my office. We have some important things to discuss and I'm afraid that I can't put it off any longer." She turned on her heels and strode out of the dining hall. Sana and Ava exchanged puzzled glances.
"Why does she want to see us in her office? We can't be in that much trouble!" Sana began playing with a strand of her hair. Ava shrugged.
"She hates us. Everyone here does. Let's just get our food and eat before we get beat or whatever she plans to do to us," Ava began walking towards the kitchen. Sana sighed and followed, avoiding the interested stares of the other girls who had just witnessed that embarrassing scene. They got their food; a bowl of oatmeal and fruits, and sat down at an empty table. They were the only ones who weren't surrounded by a group of five or more friends. Ava cocked her head to the side.
"They think we're freaks. Like, that something is wrong with us," Ava said, swirling her oatmeal with her spoon.
"Yeah, I know. Don't remind me," Sana groaned and popped a grape in her mouth. Ava pushed her food away.
"Why, though? I mean, I get that weird stuff happens to us sometimes, but weird stuff happens to everybody, right?" She pressed. Sana shrugged, looking down at her lumpy, colorless oatmeal.
"When's the last time you saw another girl here revive a dead plant?" Sana said quietly. Ava turned red.
"That was one time. Besides, that's not as weird as how every time you get a cut or a scrap, it heals in like five minutes flat," Ava shot back. "We're like mutants!"
"Are you suggesting that I'm Wolverine?" Sana burst out laughing. Ava rolled her eyes, but chuckled nonetheless.
"You know what I mean. We're special.." Ava began.
"Yeah, special ed!" a passing girl with a pug nose and wiry brown hair who overheard cracked to her friends. They laughed scornfully. Sana and Ava rolled their eyes and ignored them.
"Lovely," Sana commented once they left. Ava exhaled in a wary manner. Mutually deciding that they weren't hungry anymore, they tossed their food away in the garbage and slowly made their way to Ms. Streeter's office.
"Maybe she's kicking us out," Ava said hopefully.
"Yeah, right. She's probably going to force us to do extra chores or something," Sana wrinkled her nose. Ava grumbled in response. They reached the large oak door that led to Ms. Streeter's office.
"You knock," Ava pushed Sana forward. Sana shot Ava an annoyed look and raised her hand to knock. Suddenly, the door swung open. Ms. Streeter stood clutching the brass door knob and motioned for them to come inside. Her office was very clean with beige walls, starch white curtains, and an oak wood desk with a leather office chair behind it. She also positioned two wicker chairs on the opposite side of the desk. Taking their seats, Sana and Ava looked nervously up at Ms. Streeter. Ms. Streeter lowered her frail body slowly down into the chair and sat stiffly in front of them. She cleared her throat.
"You're probably wondering why you're here," she began with the cliché. "Now, you're not in trouble, or at least, your definitions of trouble." Sana and Ava exchanged a mutual what the hell? glance. "You know that you girls are rapidly approaching the age where you are no longer allowed to stay at the orphanage," she droned on. Ava sighed quietly and Sana sank slightly down in her seat. They prepared for what they both assumed would be a long lecture on tardiness or whatever the hell Ms. Streeter disapproved of. "And once you leave here, you are on your own, in the adult world. You will have to start acting like adults."
"Of course, ma'am," Ava muttered. Sana also muttered something that sounded a lot like "unbelievable".
"Well, the reason I called you down here is because a camp for, well, troubled teenagers has contacted us and they think that you two would be excellent additions to their camp. They would like for you to leave here tomorrow and join them at their camp," She grinned at them, her taunt, ancient skin stretching as she did so. She clearly did not smile often, seeing as it put such a significant strain on her face.
"Wait, what?!" Sana sat up. "A camp for troubled teenagers? We are not troubled!"
"Yeah! Why would we go from this prison to a new one? We can be free and on our own when we're eighteen! Why would we give that up to join another facility?" Ava chimed in. Ms. Streeter glared disapprovingly at them.
"Little Silver Island is certainly not a prison, nor is this camp. Honestly, I am deathly afraid of what will become of you girls once you enter the real world. You don't have family or jobs. This camp will give you the opportunity to avoid ending up in some gutter," Ms. Streeter pursed her thin lips.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Sana mumbled.
"Now, a representative from this camp, a nice man named...Cameron? Chirley?... Never mind. This representative is going to be coming here around dinner time to talk to you girls about this camp. Hopefully then, you'll reconsider," Ms. Streeter finished. She stared at the girls briefly, as they stared back, and finally waved them away. They pushed back out of their wicker chairs and hurried out of the office.
"How bizarre!" Ava exclaimed once they were finally out of earshot.
"Yeah... if she thinks that we're going to this camp..." Sana shook her head.
"They just want to get rid of us. Which we would gladly go, if it wasn't to some troubled camp!" Ava pouted.
"Yeah... I just can't wait to hear how that guy is going to try and convince us to go," Sana scoffed.
"If he offers to deport Maggie, I'll go," Ava cracked. Sana laughed.
"It would take a lot to convince us," She agreed.