Nico POV
I don't deserve to live. I bring death everywhere I go, and I'm certainly not lucky. I feel bad for the people around me, but I can't help but envy them. At least they can escape it. Escape me.
Today started out a a sort-of normal day, as far as my days ever go. I took a shower, got dressed in my usual black skinny jeans, black band T-shirt, black hoodie, and black Vans. I went out to the dining pavilion and pretended to eat my breakfast, also as usual. But then, of course, something has to happen to ruin my day, right? Today, that thing happened to go by the name Ash.
That's right. A new camper, whoop-dee-freaking-doo. This particular one happened to be dressed in black skinny jeans, like me, and a those purple strappy-thingy shirts that girls insist on wearing, and, also like me, a black hoodie. Lovely. Another annoying emo wannabe. Let's add her to the list of, what is it now? Twenty? Around there. But the really strange thing about this girl was her eyes. They were a piercing green, almost like a cats, with a hint of raccoon. Add pale skin and straight black hair and you have a strange-looking girl named Ash. I shook my dark hair out of my eyes and went over to the sword fighting arena, where I found Percy and Annabeth having a hot n' heavy make out session.
"Get a room!" I yelled, before walking out and making my way back to the Hades cabin. Jeez, couples are so annoying. They're all like, 'Look at me! I'm stupid because I'm in a relationship, and everyone should envy me now.' I mean, seriously. It's pointless. Anyway, I have some new siblings now. There's Sierra, who has dark hair and electric blue eyes. There's Jasmin, who has brown hair and brown eyes, and then there's Marco, with black hair and green eyes. Sierra's thirteen, Jasmin's 16, and Marco's fifteen, like me. Don't ask me why I got to camp before Jasmin, because I don't know. But I have a theory that her perfume repulses the monsters, so they never come near her.
Anyway, the cabin was empty when I got there, so I did what I usually do when no one was around. What is it, you ask? I blast the music and throw things around. If you ever want to get your anger out, the Nico method is very effective. After that, I had to go and polish the armor, like I did every Tuesday. If you think polishing armor is easy, you're dead wrong. Emphasis on the dead part. There are about 200 helmets at Camp Half Blood alone. Not to mention shin and elbow guards, knee guards, chest guards, and then, of course, I also have to polish every single camper's favorite weapon. Doing all that took me about three hours, but maybe even longer.
Then I had to go and teach Monster Assault Techniques to the new twelve year olds. If you've ever tried to teach a group of about 15 twelve year olds, then you know how hard it is. It takes a shorter amount of time than polishing armor, but it's hell of a lot more painful. Then, of course, I had to bump into the new girl on my way back to the cabin.
"Sorry," she mumbled as she continued walking.
"Watch where you're going!" I yelled after her. But her and her skinny legs just kept going.
You just couldn't piss people off like you used to.
THIS IS A TIME LAPSE SO GET OVER IT
At dinner, the royal Ash already had some admirers. Surprise, surprise. The only problem I had with that was that Marco was one of them.
"Dude, snap out of it." I nudged him with my elbow.
He spazzed, then quickly regained his composure and calmly said, "What?"
"Drooling is kind of disgusting, you know," I said to him while handing him a napkin.
As he self-consciously wiped at his chin, I couldn't help but snicker. "Sorry, but she's kind of hot," he said sheepishly.
"Whatever," I said as the whole dining pavilion grew quiet. Why, you ask? Because there was a crescent moon floating over Ash's head, that's why.
"Ash, Daughter of Nyx!" Chiron announced proudly. As the pavilion erupted in cheers, I scowled at the girl, who caught my stare and glared back. Huh. They usually don't notice. I left the dining pavilion and began walking back to my cabin when Rachel came in, all glassy-eyed.
The pavilion quieted down really quickly again, and Rachel recited:
Daughter of the Goddess of Night,
And the first son of the God of Hell
Will make a right
And find the Stone of Bell
There will be no monsters, no obstacle
Trust your good friend, the Oracle
Just a scavenger hunt around
The camp you call home and profound
And that is where the Stone will be found
We all looked at Chiron, asking him with out eyes what this 'Stone of Bell' was.
"The Stone of Bell was lost many years ago. It is not needed, but it is a great accessory to have. It restores prosperity to anything, helps to push out depression, and helps with most diseases. Rumor has it that it is hidden around camp somehwere, and that two special people will later on be chosen to find it. Which, I'm assuming you know, is where Nico and Ash come in," Chiron told us calmly. As if this were the most normal thing in the world.