"Wake up!" I heard someone shout. "Time for breakfast!"
Their words meant nothing to me. I had stayed up so late practicing archery yesterday that I needed the sleep. My arms were killing me from pulling that string back. I tried to tune the voices out, but they just got louder and louder.
"Yugana Soyokaze!" Another voice yelled; it was high pitched and quite frankly, annoying. I felt hands shaking my whole body, and a moan of displeasure escaped my lips. "I'm tired…go eat without me." I muttered, rolling over and burying my face in the pillow. I didn't want to get up. But, people in the Persephone cabin are persistent. Well, either I would die sleeping or wake up and eat whatever they served for breakfast today.
My eyes fluttered open, and I saw three girls' faces hovering above mine. One of them had strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes and was almost five foot seven. Her name was Sarai Megunai. And the other girl, the one with the high pitched squealing voice, jet black hair, and green eyes. Her name was Debra Jenks. She was probably the most innocent out of us here, as she was the youngest as well, at age twelve. The rest of us were thirteen or older. The last one hovering over me was probably the most evil of all. Helvetica Bronsyn, age fourteen, five foot five, with orange-brown eyes and caramel brown hair. She was pretty, yes, but terribly devious at heart. It was sad all the boys thought she was pretty.
"I heard a new guy just arrived yesterday," Sarai squealed, a grin on her face. She was jumping around like she'd just kissed a famous guy or something. Sarai was always so calm…this guy must've been a big deal.
"He's a son of Poseidon! Isn't that cool?" Debra swooned, and glanced over at me. "I bet he's really cute…"
I rolled my eyes and pulled the covers off of me. "Well, we might see him at breakfast," I yawned, stretching my arms up and sliding out of bed to go freshen up. "I'll be down there in five, just go eat." I waved them off and smiled, then began rummaging through my drawers. I managed to find a clean camp T-shirt and a pair of capris, as it was late June and was starting to get hot. I quickly slid off my pajama pants and put the capris in their place, and did the same with my shirt. After, I headed to the bathroom to do my other morning duties, in example brushing my teeth, fixing my hair, et cetera.
By the time I was finished, it had only taken me three and a half minutes. "New record," I muttered, pinning my honey brown bangs out of my 'color of the clearest sea' eyes. My feet made their way out the cabin door, and a blast of morning air greeted me when I opened it. I shook my head, trying to wonder what this new Poseidon kid looked like.
Not that I cared. Just curious.
The sounds of everybody talking and getting food was music to my ears, as it always was when I was at camp. It made me feel safer, being around people. But, I also had my magic bracelet on my wrist, so I'm fine either way. I started walking towards the lunch area, and when I got halfway there, someone or something bumped into me.
I turned around, ready to say something rash, but then I stopped. I was looking at probably one of the cutest guys I've ever seen in my entire life. Shaggy black hair, beautiful sea green eyes, fairly muscular, and a few inches above my height, I was looking at the most perfect guy ever. And what gave it away were the green eyes. This was the new kid from the Poseidon cabin.
He stared back at me as I stared at him, a look of surprise on my face, and a look of pure amusement on his. "Hey," he said softly, "you okay?"
That knocked me out of the trance I was in. "Fine, thanks," I replied, the look of surprise disappearing.
"Just making sure. The names Castor," the boy said, smiling and holding out his hand. I gladly took it, and managed to recite my name as well, "Yugana Soyokaze. Nice to meet you." Finally. Sarai now had a reason to be swooning and jealous, because I just met the kid from the Poseidon cabin.
"You from Japan or something? 'Coz your name sounds…strange," Castor asked, a smirk tugging at his lips.
My cheeks heated up, and I nodded quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice my blush. "Yeah. You're probably from New York or something, right?" I always assumed things, and three quarters of the time I was correct.
Castor nodded and smiled at me. "Correct. You're probably the first to guess it right," he remarked, ruffling my hair. "And I saw you blush." With that said, he strode away, hands in his pockets, and his hair flowing in the slight breeze.
I stood there, astonished. "Wow," I whispered, hurrying off to breakfast as well. I didn't want to be the last one served. I let out a sigh of relief when I finally made it to the serving area, as the line was still fairly short. Not everyone had woken up yet. I picked up a tray, a plate, and a bowl for cereal if I wanted some. I sniffed the air.
"Smells like French toast and bacon," I heard someone say. I turned around and saw one of my rivals from the Ares cabin. His name was Temphys, which was sort of a weird name. I'd never even heard it before until I met him here about two years ago. We'd sparked an instant rivalry after we beat their team in Capture the Flag when we were twelve. Since then, we bicker like crazy. "Seems so," I muttered, hoping Temphys would go away.
I picked up two pieces of French toast, two strips of bacon, and piled some eggs on my plate. I wanted syrup on my French toast, so I picked up a packet of syrup as well. Lastly, I picked up a fork and knife and a spoon, and then a box of cereal. I heard Temphys mutter something about me, and I spun around on my heel and slapped him, hard. That got him to shut up. I got a few surprised looks from other campers, but they turned around after I glanced at all of them. Temphys was cursing and rubbing his cheek as I left to go sit down with my friends at the Persephone table.
"I saw you slap Temphys. That took guts." Helvetica smiled and brandished a pocketknife, the blade covered in some rust color. I gagged on my food as soon as I realized what it was. "Next time," Helvetica whispered, "slap him with this." She slid me the pocketknife and a devilish grin appeared on her face. I pushed it back, as I didn't really want to hurt anyone with the knife.
"I'm not slapping him with the knife, Hel," I muttered, resting my head on one of my hands and plopping a piece of French toast in my mouth. A few people walked by holding their food, and I saw one person that looked quite familiar. The familiar boy glanced at me and flashed me a smile that showed off his perfect white teeth. I smiled back at him, and gave a little wave. He smirked at me and winked, the walked over to his table. A goofy smile was on my face, as the familiar boy was Castor.
Sarai and Debra saw this whole exchange, and they looked at me with pleading looks that said 'Tell us who it was!' I rolled my eyes and leaned closer to them, not wanting Helvetica to hear. She'd stalk him immediately and give us an unlikely chance of ever being friends with him.
"That was the kid from the Poseidon cabin, the new kid. I met him earlier as I was walking to breakfast, and he bumped into me," I whispered, my smile growing bigger and making me look like I was love-struck. Sarai and Debra's smiles faded into a look of sheer surprise and amazement.
"No way!" They chided, covering their mouths with their hands.
"Lucky, is he really cute? Is he nice?" Debra began to pester me with questions I honestly couldn't answer yet. I just met the guy after all.
"He is cute, yeah. Look back at the Poseidon table. You'll be able to see him, he's right there." I pointed straight ahead, right at Castor, and Sarai and Debra looked back. I almost laughed at loud at the looks of shock that appeared on their faces as they saw what Castor looked like.
"Oh my gods, he's like, godly perfect," Sarai said, using hand motions to emphasize her point.
Debra nodded, her mouth falling open slightly. She turned around, "Yugana! You're so lucky to have had him bump into you!" Debra started squealing quietly, making sure not to disturb anyone.
Castor glanced up from his food and saw Sarai, Debra and I staring at him. He raised his eyebrows and a piece of food fell from his mouth, triggering laughter from me. I had to drop my head so he wouldn't see me laughing, because I thought it was sort or rude laughing at someone. Sarai and Debra kept staring at him though, and he gave them a wary stare. I was guessing he didn't want to be friends with them because of the way they were acting…
Stalker status.
I eventually looked up and continued enjoying my breakfast, sending glances at Castor every few minutes. A few times our eyes met, and he smiled at me. Why does his smile have to be so cute? I asked myself, sighing happily and scooping up my cereal.
I heard a loud clack of heels as someone, or something, big raced into the lunch area. I turned around to see what it was, and surprisingly enough it was Chiron. He had a worried look on his face. My mouth fell open, as I realized it was probably another quest for someone. He looked over us, and I swore his eyes met with mine.
"Is everyone here?" He asked in a booming voice, crossing his arms over his chest and trotting in a circle to calm his nerves. Everybody said a 'yes', including me. Chiron got out a list, most likely of the questers, and opened it.
"Is…Temphys O'Brian present?" I heard and saw Temphys stand up, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
"I'm here," he said in his deep, husky voice. Chiron grunted in approval and moved down next onto the list.
"Castor…Castor Martin?" Chiron looked up and scanned the area. My eyes made their way back to Castor, who stood up as well, looking uncomfortable. Chiron grunted in approval again and went down to the last person on the list.
"And last of all…Yugana Soyokaze."
I froze. "He said my name, right?" I whispered to Sarai. She nodded and gestured for me to stand up, which I did. I heard Temphys make a sound of disgust, and I turned around to glare at him.
Chiron smirked, though I barely saw, and he announced, "You three, please come see me after breakfast." He turned around and left, and all of the campers looked at the three who were standing up. I felt embarrassed, having all of these eyes on me, so I sat down quickly, hiding my face with my hair.
Sarai looked at me, a pained look on her face. "I'm sorry you got put with Temphys." The look went away and was replaced with happiness. "But at least you're with Calder!"
Debra shook her head at Temphys and then faced me. "You're lucky to be with Castor, unlucky to be with Temphys. Maybe you'll fall in love with Castor," Debra suggested, trying to make the situation better. It was most unlikely that anyone would fall in love with me over the process of a few weeks or days.
I decided I wasn't hungry, and got up to push my food into the fire to give it to the gods. "I hope you like it, Persephone." I smiled and brushed it all into the fire, saving myself a piece of bacon. I put my plate down on the returning table and headed over to the Big House.
As I began walking, Castor randomly appeared beside me and I guess decided to walk with me. "Hey," he said a serious look on his face.
"Sup?" I asked, looking up at him and still walking towards the Big House.
Castor's serious face changed to a nervous one. "I don't feel so good about going on this quest," he said softly, putting a finger to his lips and tapping them. He looked a little pale.
"It's okay, dude. I'll be here to protect you," I joked, nudging him in the arm and smiling. We were at the entrance to the Big House, and I stepped inside, Castor behind me.
It seemed Temphys was already sitting at the table, looking as pale as a ghost. I guess he didn't want to be on this quest either. He looked at me, and didn't do a thing, which surprised me. Chiron came in, or rolled in, as he was in wheelchair form so he wouldn't knock down furniture with his horse form.
"Sit, sit," Chiron said, gesturing to the chairs. There was three, all next to each other. Castor raced over and took the one on the edge, so I guess that left me in the center. Right next to my nemesis. Great.
I sat down anyways, and Temphys gave me a look of disgust. Good, he wasn't totally messed up. I gave him one back, and the three of us turned to face Chiron. The centaur cleared his throat, "It seems Pandora's Box has been stolen from Olympus."
I saw Temphys's eyes widen. Apparently he actually knew about the box. I was clueless to what it was. "What is Pandora's Box?" I asked, curious, and hopefully being not being the only one who didn't know what it was.
"Pandora's Box is the box that holds all evil. If anyone opened it, they would basically create a living hell, and it could never be undone," Chiron replied, his eyebrows furrowing. That was good enough for me.
"Then let's go get the thing!" I said loudly, standing up and putting my fists on the table. I didn't want to be in a living hell. I wanted it so stay just how it was.
Chiron gestured for me to sit down. "You need to speak to the Oracle, first, for the prophecy," he said, looking at all three of us. "So go head up to the guest room."
Temphys looked at Chiron like he was crazy. "I am not going up into the guest room…I heard bad things about up there."
What was funny was how Temphys was acting. Being a son of Ares, I'd have expected more from him. "C'mon, guys," I said, "let's go up to the room."
Castor was the first one upstairs. I was the second. And Temphys was the third. I heard Castor clear his throat, and then look around the halls for something.
"Castor," I asked, standing up after I got up from the stairs. "What're you looking for?"
He turned back towards me, "Where the Oracle's room is."
We passed by a shelf full of things, and Castor decided to be stupid and pick up a bow and arrow on the shelf. "What is this?"
Temphys gasped. "Put that thing down! You'll kill someone!" He raced over to grab the bow out of Castor's hands, but Castor had already put the bow back on the shelf. Temphys crashed into the shelf, knocking things over, and toppling backwards. A few things fell off the shelf, nothing big, just a golden key, a box with stuff in it, a shield (ouch!), and the bow. Temphys let out a groan of pain when everything fell onto him. I thought he'd be used to this to, being a kid of Ares.
I stereotype a lot.
"Temphys, are you okay?" I asked, beginning to pick stuff up off of him. He sent me a glare, which wasn't exactly the right thing to do because I wasn't the one who picked up the bow. I continued picking up stuff anyways. I picked up the key and held it up because it looked cool. It was golden, with little blue wavy stripes running down the side. The key ward and the bit were shaped like the tines on a fork.
"Strange," I muttered, turning the key around again. "I want to ask Chiron what it is." I showed the key to Castor as Temphys was beginning to stand up again, albeit because he threw all the rest of the stuff off that I didn't pick up. I began to make my way down the hall again, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. My eyes darted behind me as I turned around slowly, just to see Castor's face.
"Let me see that key," he said a cold tone in his voice.
"Don't have to be so harsh about it," I muttered, handing the key over to him and making my way around the attic.
"We have to get our prophecy, idiots," Temphys muttered, pushing past me and tripping over my foot, which I had intentionally stuck out. I smiled and continued walking, passing by a few rooms.
We eventually made it to the guest room the Oracle was staying in, as Chiron had put her in there a year or two ago. She attended school and stuff though, but I'm guessing she was older now. Temphys and I knocked on the door, and a girl with long red hair answered. She looked at us for a while, and we looked back at her.
"You three came here because of a prophecy, huh," she asked, smiling now.
I decided to take charge. "Y-yes. I'm Yugana, that's Castor, and over there is Temphys."
The girl smiled and stepped to the side so we could walk in. "Take a seat," she offered, showing us to three chairs.
We each sat down, me sitting in the middle again and looked up at the redhead girl. She pulled up a chair and sat in front of us as well.
"I'm Rachel, just in case you didn't know," she said, sitting back and shutting her eyes.
"That's a nice name," Castor said, smiling at her.
Rachel just smiled with her eyes closed. I started to wonder if she had to wait to think of the prophecy, or if it was already custom made, or something…
All I hoped was that none of us died.