Archery was not Rebecca's strong point. Standing with her left shoulder towards the target, she pulled back the cord and aimed for the red circle marking the heart of a Minotaur printed on the poster board. She let go and heard and an "ouch" from a wood nymph about 3 yards to the left of the target.
"Great." She grumbled as she pushed a lock of black hair off of her sweaty forehead. The hot summer sun beat down on not only her, but the other campers surrounding her at archery practice. Chiron, the head counselor and centaur, had now also realized the hot weather and dismissed the group. A sigh of relief rippled through the crowd as they began to scatter away from the area. Rebecca did the same and headed for her cabin to get ready for dinner.
As she walked back to the Poseidon cabin, she surveyed what land lay before her. "Camp half-blood truly is beautiful," she thought. And she was right. There were the mountains surrounding the camp, the sweet smell from the strawberry fields, the woods, the lake, and the big white house. You would think that this is your typical summer camp. "Typical summer camp, psh. Definitely not," Rebecca thought. Camp half-blood was a home for demigods, or children who are half mortal and half Greek god, and are hunted by monsters in the world. This was a safe haven for people like Rebecah and her twin sister, Rachael. Here at camp, they would train both physically and mentally to be able to live in the world. But, sadly, Rachael and Rebecah would not be allowed to leave the premises of camp because of who their father was- Poseidon- one of the "Big Three".
Rebecah was the adventurous type and always longed to leave the premises and as she walked she wondered to herself, "why did I have to be a Poseidon kid, AND a twin?" She didn't have time to wonder anymore, because she was swept up into strong arms and swung around playfully. She happily shrieked and was kissed before she was set down again. "Sam!" she laughed and gave him a hug.
"Hey, Beautiful. Heard you shot a nymph today." His large gray eyes were filled with laughter as he looked at Rebecah. She nodded and laughed, also. Sam was tall, muscular, and had sandy blonde that hung down, but not into his eyes. He was always playing some sort of sport, which would explain the muscles and athletic build. He and Rebecah had been dating for the past year.
"Gosh, I didn't mean to!" Rebecca answered in her defense, "It was an accident!"
Sam laughed again and grabbed Rebecca's hand and they started to walk toward the circle of cabins, each named after a Greek God or Goddess. As they neared the Poseidon cabin's door, Sam pulled her in and kissed her forehead. "See you after dinner," she said as she pulled away.
Rebecah walked into the cabin to find her sister, Rachel sitting in the bottom bunk of her bed, looking a little starry-eyed. Rebecah changed from her sweaty camp t-shirt and jeans into a form-fitting t-shirt and khaki shorts. She brushed out her short layered black hair and re-applied some mascara. When she was finished, Rachael was still laying there on the bed. "What's up?" she asked her sister.
She got a simple reply, "nothing". Becca shrugged it off and skipped out of the cabin towards the dining pavilion.
Dinner at camp half-blood was like no other. Nymphs and dryads served you anything you liked at the tables surrounding the huge center fire ring, where campers sacrificed part of their food to their parents. Tonight, Rebecah wanted lasagna and bread sticks, and that was what she got. As she was starting to eat, she made an attempt to start a conversation with her sister.
"So, you never did tell me why you are so non-responsive?" Rebecah asked Rachel who was poking at a salad in front of her.
"What? Uh, no. This salad is really good, isn't it?" she replied as if she had just come into the real world.
"Why are you not eating your salad?"
"No reason but love; I'll be ok; in fact, I like the feel of it!"
"Wait a second, this has nothing to do with what's his face, is it? You've liked him since we first came to camp. It can't just hit you now!" Rebecah answered, taking another bite of her lasagna.
"Oh no, trust me, I realized how much of a jerk he is. You'll see who it is at campfire. "
"Are you sure? Please tell me! It's not affecting you health, is it? I mean, you're not eating any of your so-called "delicious salad. Seriously."
"Gosh, Rebecah! I told you that I'll be fine!" and she left it at that.
The campfire was hot and the air smelled of a mixture of burnt marshmallows, melted chocolate, and burning wood. Becca and Sam sat next to each other and softly chatted with Sam's half sister and Becca's best friend, Luella Osmond. Like Sam, Lou was from the Athena cabin and had cropped curly blond hair and gray eyes. She was witty and smart and could outrun and outsmart most of the other campers. She had somewhat of a prideful spirit about her, but Becca loved the crazy 14 year old anyway.
As the Apollo cabin led the sing-a-long, Sam nudged Becca in the shoulder and whispered into her ear, "Look to your right." When she did, a light bulb went of inside her head. Her sister was sitting next to Alex Peterson, the biggest guy in camp and a son of Dionysius. Something about his mysterious personality and emotionless had definitely charmed Rachel.
Becca looked at Sam surprisingly and whisper-yelled back, "WHAT? ALEX? WHAT IN THE HECK IS WRONG WITH MY SISTER?"
Sam looked in Rachel's direction again and calmly answered Becca, "I heard he has had a pretty tough life, and you know your sister. Maybe she is just doing this out of the kindness of her heart.
gI still don't believe you. I mean she was acting a little weird today. I thought it was because of that jerk-face Jake! He already broke her heart once." Becca returned with a frown. She continued, "but I can understand your thinking. Ill try to talk to her about it tonight. I still think though, that she likes him! The look on her face totally gives it away."
Sam smiled and pulled Becca closer to him. "You might be right, but don't let it bother you." And she answered with, "Ill try not to, thanks. "
Later, around 10:30, Becca and Rachel were alone in their small cabin built of sea stones. Becca had just come out of the bathroom after her shower and was dressed in a cami that clung to her petite figure and pajama shorts. Her dark hair was wrapped in a towel on top of her head. Rachel was brushing out her long strait hair and still had the same dreamy look on her face.
Do I ask her now, or do I wait? Becca wondered, but she went with her first choice and sub-consciously asked her sister, "Do you like Alex Peterson?"
Rachel jerked her head around to face Becca. Her sea green eyes somewhat showed some anger. Oh crap, Becca thought, I ticked her off. Maybe Sam and I were wrong…
Her sister answered, "You heard me at dinner. I said I was in love and you would see at the campfire."
Becca looked a little offended and went to her bunk and grabbed a book on Greek mythology. Rachel picked up the hairbrush and again started to brush her hair. Becca looked up from her book when she heard Rachel start to speak again, "Yes in fact, I do like him. No, wait, I don't like him, I love him! And he loves me back!"
Becca said, "So you DO love him!"
"Do you have a problem?"
"No, of course not! I think its great that you found someone besides Jake," Becca replied with a shudder, "But Alex?"
Rachel again turned around, stood up, and slowly walked toward Becca's bunk. She stood leaning against the bunk bed. "He's had a tough life Becca. His mother died in his arms, his sister soon after. His dad doesn't even care that he even exists! All he needs is someone to love him and I just happen to be that person!"
Becca was dumbfounded. "Whoa."
"Yah. And he trains physically to numb the pain."
Becca just stared. She whispered, "I never knew…. I so sorry." She then looked Rachel in the face and said, "He seems like he needs someone like you. So, if you don't love him, I am going to be very upset with you!" she then smiled and did her impression of Mr. D, the moody camp director who was really Dionysius, the God of wine, sent to act as the camp leader as punishment by Zeus for flirting with a nymph that was considered "off limits". "Do you hear me, young lady?"
The sister's laughter filled the cabin at Becca's impersonation.
The next day passed quickly and as usual, Sam lit up Becca's day, just by smiling. Becca had gone out of her way to be nice to Alex, and Rachel had introduced him to both Sam and Lou too. So far, everyone was getting along and Alex seemed to be coming out of his shell. That night at dinner, Becca and Rachel were discussing the camp summer dance.
"Has Sam asked you do the dance yet?" Rachel asked.
"Nope, you know him. He always finds the right time to ask. Why?" Becca replied.
"Well…"
"Tell me!"
"Alex…"
"OH RACHEL!!" Becca excitedly interrupted her sister. "When did he ask you?"
"Today after I changed my clothes for the third time," Rachel added with some annoyance in her voice. She continued, "A girl only has so many pairs of blue plaid shorts."
Becca laughed because she knew what a klutz her sister was. Not only that, but Alex Peterson would "accidentally" knock her down just to watch her reaction, which she had to admit was pretty funny. Alex would run into her, she would fall and get mad, Alex would laugh and Rachel could not help but laughing too. Then she would be up on her feet again thanks to Alex's strong arms. They had some sort of cycle going on.
"Where are we going to get our dresses?" Becca wondered aloud. "I don't think Chiron would let us out of camp."
"I think that there is some sort of shuttle bus that will take a group of shoppers into New York later this week," Rachel answered. "What color are you wearing?"
Of course, Becca didn't know and before she could answer, Alex appeared at Rachel's side with a big plate of steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans with garlic sauce.
"Do you know what meat is, Rachel?"
"No Alex. I don't know what meat is, " Rachel replied sarcastically as she took another bite of yet another salad in front of her.
Becca was drooling at Alex, who was holding her favorite meal, and said, "I like meat, Alex. Especially steak. With mashed potatoes. And green beans."
"Gosh, Becca!" Rachel answered, "You like every kind of food! Leave Alex alone!" It was true; Becca had a much higher metabolism than most campers or even human beings. She could (and would) eat any food set in front of her. Besides riding Rimfaxe and hanging out with her friends, eating was definitely one of her favorite pastimes. Rachel on the other hand, claimed that she was vegetarian and ate only salads. Somehow, they both managed to stay under one hundred pounds.
Alex set the plate down in front of Rachel and said, "Do me a favor and eat this. You should eat more than just salad."
Rachel reluctantly picked up a fork and knife and started to cut the steak. Becca still stared at Alex, now looking a little hurt. "But..but…I like steak too!" she then smiled a smile that covered her entire face and clasped her hands and held then up in front of her. "Please, Alex can I have a steak, PLEASEEE?" Alex smiled and walked away toward the table where the Athena campers ate. Becca shouted, "I WAS SERIOUS!" toward Alex, who then whispered into Sam's ear, "your bottomless pit of a girlfriend wants a steak. I suggest you take her one before she strangles me." Sam nodded and called a nymph over to ask for the steak.
When a perfect steak appeared in front of Becca, she squealed with joy. Sam plopped himself down beside her and said, "would you like a date with that, miss?"
Becca squealed again and wrapped her arms around Sam's neck and answered, "I thought you would never ask!"