The mid-Agust day was bright and sunny as an old man in a wheelchair wearing a gray wool suit was with another man wearing a blue, gold and white baseball uniform with the word Tigers written in big bold white cursive writing. " Nother season huh Chiron?" asked the man who was pudgy and had bloodshot eyes. " It would appear so Dionysus." " I wonder what kind of little shits we have coming to camp this year." " Hopefully the kids we invited to camp." " You mean who our school's fearless administration invited?" the pudgy man asked bitterly. " Probably." " Lovely" Dionysus said rolling his eyes. " They're due any second now."
As if on cue a massive African American male, around six foot five with brown hair and brown eyes walked up to them. " Name?" Dionysus asked in a bored tone. " Charles Beckendorf" the young man said. Chiron was scanning names on the clipboard " Ah here you are. Says you play Right Field and are entering your Junior year. Why don't you go wait at the dugout?" " Where should I put my stuff?" " Our team manager will take it to the bunk you'll be staying at for the duration of this camp" Chiron said. Charles nodded and walked off to the dugout, dropping his stuff down by the fence. " Big boy" Dionysus commented. " Let's just hope all that size isn't for show" Chiron said as a tall, slender young woman walked up to them, with brown eyes and black hair which was in a ponytail. " Name?" " Vala Collins" she said in a proper tone. " Okay..." Chiron muttered looking at the names " There you are. Play Third Base and entering Sophmore year huh?" " Sure do" Vala answered. " Alright, why don't you go ahead and join Charles over there until everyone gets here?" Vala nodded and walked off as Chiron and Dionysus looked at each other. " Vala Collins... if I remember she led some finishing school league in hitting last year. How the mighty have fallen" Dionysus commented.
Another young man with short-cropped sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, an athletic and muscular build walked up to them. " Name?" " Luke Castellan" the young man said with a smile. Chiron scanned the list of names " Luke huh? Says here you play Left Field and this is your senior year." " Yes sir" Luke responded. " Alright, head on over towards the others." Luke nodded and headed towards the others. " What do you know, an All-American" Chiron remarked. " We may not have a terrible team this year, just a bad one." A blonde girl with gray eyes walked towards them next. " Name?" " Annabeth Chase." Chiron flipped a page over and looked up " here you are. Catcher, Junior year?" " Yes." " Alright go join the others." As Annabeth walked away Dionysus smirked " I may be incorrect but she may be the daughter of Athena Chase, former Co-Ed World Series MVP." " Name does ring a bell" Chiron said thoughtfully as another girl walked up to them. This young woman had short spiky black hair and stormy blue eyes. " Name?" Thalia Grace." Dionysus raised an eyebrow " You the Warden's daughter?" " That I am" Thalia said. Chiron looked at his list " Says you're going into your Junior year. Play Left Field do you?" " Yep." " Alright put your stuff down there and join the others." As Thalia walked off Dionysus snickered " so the old man was able to pull some strings to get her over here did he?" " I'd avoid mentioning that" Chiron said.
A young Italian man with wild and shaggy black hair and tired looking eyes that made him look like he just got out of bed. " Name?" "Nico Di Angelo ." Chiron looked at his list names " here we go. Second Baseman, Sophmore year correct?" " Yeah" Nico said with a bored expression. " Alright, go join everyone else" As Nico walked away Chrion raised an eyebrow " I didn't think we'd have a foreign kid." " He looks like he does way too many drugs, don't expect him to be around here long" Dionysus commented. A young man with jet black hair and green eyes walked up to them. " Name?" " Percy Jackson." Chion checked his list " Center Field, Senior Year?" " Yes sir." " Alright, go join the others." As Percy walked away Dionysus frowned " kid looks like he's used to being in trouble with the law." A tall gangly kid with messy brown hair and blue eyes walked up to them. " Name?" " Tyson" the kid said slowly. " Tyson..." Dionysus asked impatiently. " Baker." Chiron looked as his notes " Ah I see. Junior year, Shortstop?" " Yes." " Alright, join the others." As Tyson walked away Dionysus snorted " kid seems to be a fucking idiot." " Dionysus control yourself!" Chiron scolded. A girl who wore a gray tank top, black jeans with black tights, tennis shoes and dark eyeliner with a metal choker walked up to them. " Name?" "Odium Brown." Chiron checked out the list " Freshman, also play Shortstop?" " I do." " Alright, go join everyone else." As Odium walked away Dionysus rolled his eyes " emo much?" A young man with a shaved head, earrings, and covered in gang-affiliated tattoos walked up to them " look at this fucking guy" Dionysus muttered. " Name?" " Solomon Myers." Chiron checked his list " Freshman, Pitcher?" " Yeah." " Alright, go join everyone else," As Solomon walked away Chiron and Dionysus continued to check everyone in. Once they were done, they walked to the group of teens.
" Alright listen up! I'm Coach Dionysus and this is Coach Chiron. You are here to try out for the Olympus Youth Correctional Facility Tigers. This fall you will attend Olympus Youth Correctional in the fall cause you all have gotten in trouble with the law but that's not what I'm concerned about. For the next couple of weeks we will test you out to see where you fit. If me and Chiron feel as though you'll be a good fit then you'll be playing ball with us once the school year starts. Now I shall explain the rules. Lights out at ten, you will be up by six. You don't get up and we will cut your ass on the spot. This is a Co-Ed team but there will be no hormone shit going on. No dating within season. You all have parole officers you answer to. You get in trouble with them and you're gone. Basically, don't do anything stupid. Now go find your bunks. Dinner's at seven and we'll be starting camp in the morning."
Solomon walked away with the rest of the teens and found where he would be staying. His roommate would be Charles. He walked into the room to see his stuff was already there. He was unpacking when Charles walked in. " You must be Solomon Myers" he said extending a hand " Charles Beckendorf." Solomon stared at the hand for a moment before lightly shaking it. " So what'd you do to get sent here?" Charles asked. " Gang affiliation and attempted murder." Charles raised an eyebrow " What gang?" " Forsaken Disciples. So what did you do?" Charles smirked " same as you. Attempted murder. My mom's abusive boyfriend was beating her when I walked in after school so I grabbed the heaviest object I could and beat the shit out of him. Who'd you try to kill?" " Some guy who wouldn't cooperate with what I wanted." " Ah" Charles said not sure what to say. " Well... good luck at camp then."
Dinner and lights out came all too soon and before Solomon knew it it was time to get up. After dragging himself to get ready and eating breakfast he got his gear and headed for the baseball field where Dionysus and Chiron were waiting for them. After running a few laps and doing early morning calisthenics, the teens were separated into separate groups for drills while the coaches walked around observing them. They first noticed Vala in batting box sending a baseball towards the fence with a big smile on her face. " She's got a lot of power" Chiron remarked before the coaches moved on. Dionysus's attention was drawn to Tyson who was failing to field groundballs. " Damn it Tyson scoop up the damn ball!" Dionysus snapped walking towards him. " I'm trying" he said. " Trying my ass, every time you miss a groundball, you owe me thirty sit-ups." Tyson nodded as another groundball was sent his way which he missed. " Darn" he said laying on his back and began his sit-ups. Chiron walked up to Annabeth who was in her catcher's position. " How's it going Annabeth?" " Good coach." " Everything going well, anything I should be made aware of?" " Not really, everything's all good." " Good because I need a catcher, someone to lead this time on the field. Can you do it?" " Yes coach." " You better be able to, if you want to make this team."
The coach's attention went to Solomon who was on the mound " alright Solomon, they tell us that you're a pitcher. But I'll tell you this. Next time lose the damn jewelry before you step on my field. And for god sakes, cover those damn tattoos!" Solomon just shrugged and the coaches looked at each other for a brief moment before looking back at Solomon " alright show us what you can do." Solomon entered his windup and pitched. Annabeth yelped as she caught the ball, took off her catcher's mitt and shook her hand " goddamn!" she swore. She looked at the coaches " boy's got an arm" she said tossing the ball back to Solomon, putt her mitt back on and crouched down. " Let's see how he does against batters" Chiron remarked waving Vala over. Solomon got set and looked at Vala who raised her bat. Squinting he could make out some sort of tattoo on Vala's forearm that read United Front Mafia. Solomon gritted his teeth and entered his windup. The pitch hit Vala in the leg who swore as she hopped around. " That's what you get!" Solomon called. " You son of a bitch!" Vala said walking towards him. However, the coaches jumped between them " Go fuck yourself!" Vala yelled. " Fuck you Scrap!" Solomon yelled flashing a series of gang signs. Vala gritted her teeth before flashing her own set of gang signs. " Enough of that gang shit!" Dionysus yelled before pointing at Vala " go cool off!" and glared at Solomon " go run laps until I tell you to stop." " Shit" Solomon muttered taking off.
Finally, the coaches called an end to the day and gathered everyone around. " Not bad for a first day. For the next couple of weeks, we'll be watching you." " For the next two weeks, you're all ours" Dionysus said with a smirk " and we're gonna work you like dogs."
