"Do I have to go?" I ask for the umpteenth time as my mother pulls out of the driveway.
"Yes, Percy," she cranes her neck to check for other cars. I sigh.
"You used to love summer camp," mom says softly.
"I haven't been to summer camp since I was nine, mom! All my friends are laughing at me. They're all going to the Rock Fest and I have to go to stupid summer camp! It's not fair!"
"Honey, you know I don't like you hanging out with those kids, and I definitely do not want you to go to this rock concert. You're too young."
"I'm fifteen!"
"You're going to summer camp, Percy. I'm not changing my mind about it."
I cross my arms and stare out of the window. The trees whizzing past make me feel sick, so I close my eyes.
"Percy, honey! We're here."
I slowly open my eyes and jump when I see a girl waving at me through the window. I unbuckle the seatbelt, open the door and get out. Gravel crunches under my boots.
"Hi!" The girl chirps, holding out her hand. "I'm Annabeth."
I nod at her and feel my eyebrows pull into a frown. She quickly pulls her hand to her side when she realizes I'm not going to shake it. Her smile wavers a bit. I look around as she introduces herself to my mother. We are parked in a small gravel area which has a sand path that leads into a small clump of trees.
"Percy!" mom calls. "Annabeth is one of the camp leaders. She says you'll be in her group. Cabin No. 7, did you say? Well, I'll leave you in her hands," she smiles at us. I get my bag out of the car and let my mother kiss my cheek. Once she is gone Annabeth turns to me.
"Your attitude stinks," she says. I just shrug. I'm used to people saying stuff like that about me.
She sniffs and marches down the sand path. I reluctantly follow her. The path isn't very long, with two twists. It leads through the trees and into the camp where I will be spending the summer. The camp is huge. The path splits into three which each lead to groups of cabins. The cabins are brightly painted in different colours. To my left is a stretch of grass and a big lake. To my right are tennis courts and an olympic-sized swimming pool. Kids are splashing around in it. I think about joining them but Annabeth walks up to the middle group of cabins. She stops on the front porch of a blue cabin with a big 7 painted on the door.
"This is our cabin. Most of the kids here are friendly. Our cabin instructor, Chiron, isn't very strict but he doesn't take any nonsense."
She pushes the door open and I follow her in. The cabin is chaos. Teenagers are running around and throwing things at each other. Clothes spill out of half unpacked bags. Everybody is chatting and laughing. Music is playing. Annabeth leads the way over to a man sitting in the far corner. He is hunched over a computer and typing furiously. I duck as a tennis ball flies across the cabin. Annabeth taps the man's shoulder.
"Chiron, the new guy's here," she says when he nods. He keeps typing.
"Uh huh," is his response.
Annabeth rolls her eyes. She starts tapping her foot. I clear my throat.
Chiron looks up, "Oh, sorry, Annabeth. I had a really good idea and just had to get it down before I lost it again. Yes, you must be Perseus?" he holds out his hand. Annabeth elbows my side. I shoot her a look but shake Chiron's hand firmly.
"Yes, sir," I smile.
"Good, good. I'm Chiron. I'm your cabin instructor. Go find a bunk and make yourself feel at home. We'll be your family for the summer," he smiles warmly at me then turns back to his computer.
Annabeth leads me to an empty bunk in the far corner of the cabin.
"Hey, Luke," she said to the boy lounging on the top bunk.
"Annabeth!" he swings his legs over the side of the bunk. "And who's this?"
"I'm Percy."
He nods at me, "Welcome to Summer Camp. You here voluntarily or because your parents forced you?"
"Forced, I guess."
"Ah, well, I was glad to get away from home. This place is kind of like my safe haven."
I nod, unsure of what to say. I don't want to open up to a stranger. Luke seems like a nice guy. He appears to be a year or two older than me with blonde hair and bright blue eyes that twinkle when he smiles.
I dump my bag on my bunk and turn to Annabeth, who is still standing there. Her cheeks are bright pink.
"Oh, um, we'll be having lunch soon and then we'll play 'Capture The Flag'," she says when she notices me staring at her.
"Okay, cool."
"Come on, I'll show you around," Luke laughs, jumping off the bunk. "So you don't get lost and end up half a mile away from camp when we play 'Capture The Flag' like I did the first time I played."
"Or end up with a broken arm like me," Annabeth adds.
The three of us leave the cabin. Luke tells jokes as they show me around and Annabeth seems to be less uptight around him. Maybe the summer won't be so bad if I can make friends with these two.