Author's Note: This is my first fanfiction for the world of Percy Jackson, tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: The world and characters from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and/or Heroes of Olympus belong to Rick Riordan.

"Name, cohort, status, and legacy," the praetorian prefect commanded. Another four years had passed and it once again time for Camp Jupiter to take a census of anyone who lived in New Rome.

"Emily Bianca Zhang, the Fifth Cohort, Veterinarius in training, daughter of Frank Zhang, first generation son of Mars, and Hazel Levesque, first generation daughter of Pluto," I responded but the prefect continued to stare at me. Had I done it in the wrong order? Had I messed up my own name? Maybe- oh. "Sir," I added, face burning. He nodded and I ducked out of line, face burning.

"Emily!" someone called, and I looked up to see Marion, her arms waving wildly as she attempted to get my attention. I hurried over to her. "Are you done?"

"Yeah. But it was SO embarrassing." I flopped onto the grass.

"Really? What'd you do? You didn't eat that green pasta stuff again did you? Remember last time, when you puked on the centurion, and he-"

I cut her off, not wanting to listen to the 'All the Times Emily has Epically Embarrassed Herself,' highlight reel. "No, I just forgot to call him sir."

"Oh." She settled herself next to me. "That's it? There's almost nothing they could cite you for, if that's all that happened. Except of course, if you did it purpose, which you obviously didn't. Anyone within sight of your red visage could tell that."

"I know, it's just that, since my dad was praetor and all, I just feel like I should be good at that stuff," I explained.

"C'mon, Em, you can't expect to be perfect all the time. Everyone messes up sometimes, and besides-" Unfortunately, Marion's pep talk was cut off by some random guy.

"Hey Marion!"

"Hey… Jake?" She shot me a look that clearly said 'What the Hades does this guy want?' I shrugged. In all honesty, though, it was kind of obvious. With her wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes, Marion attracted the attention of guys so effortlessly there was a joke that she was secretly a daughter of Venus. She personally found it annoying and delighted in kicking their butts in Camp Jupiter war games. It was actually pretty funny, though, watching the newbies who didn't know her all that well get veritably crushed by the 'pretty blonde girl.' I on the other hand didn't have those problems. I looked mostly like my mom, but my dad's side gave me slightly Asian features. Marion said I looked "exotically beautiful," but I'm just going to take that with a grain of salt. After all, this is the girl who told a mountain god he looked "ruggedly handsome" and he was literally just a pile of rocks with eyes.

A sharp elbow to my side brought me out of my musings. "Ow!" I hissed to Marion, rubbing my side.

"I was just telling, umm Jake, here that I couldn't go to the summer dance with him."

"Oh, yeah. We're going to be at CHB then. Sorry, John."

"Jake," he corrected me.

"Riiight. My bad." I waved goodbye and he despondently walked off. I felt a little guilty, but that feeling was soon wiped away as I watched him start hitting on a Legacy of Venus.

"Are we really going to Camp H in a few weeks?" Marion asked me excitedly, already having moved on from that little encounter.

I nodded, then laughed as her face grew even more animated. "You wouldn't be this delighted for a reason, would you? It's totally not because of a specific person, right?" I teased.

"Maybe," was her response, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks.

"And you know," I add. "We'll be there just in time for the fireworks. Maybe someone will ask you."

"Do you really believe Samuel would?"

"He'd be an idiot not to," I promised her.

"Who'd be an idiot?" someone asked, sitting next to me. It was George Stoll, another of my closest friends.

"Sam, if he didn't ask Marion to the fireworks," I explained.

He nodded. "A complete moron. You know, I've been thinking about asking someone myself."

"Anyone in particular?" Marion asked, immediately switching to matchmaker mode. She'd been on a mission to hook up George and I for a few months now (I'm seriously considering that Aphrodite/Venus blessed her on the sly) despite both of our protests.

"Silena," was his answer. We both stared at him. Silena Rodriguez had all of her mother's violence and not many of her namesake's social graces. There was an awkward silence until George burst out laughing. "You guys should have seen your faces! You both looked so shocked, you-" He broke into another fit of laughter.

I playfully punched him in the arm. "We just worried for you, 'cause she would have totally beat you to pulp."

"I think I could take her." Marion and I surveyed his beanpole frame doubtfully. "And who can resist the Stoll charm?" He attempted to flip his dark brown hair and failed miserably which caused us to snicker.

"Sorry, George old boy, but I think the Stoll charm might have skipped a generation," Marion joked. He smiled but it seemed forced. George had taken after his mother much more than his father which is why he was closer to the Ceres campers instead of those descended from Mercury. He didn't talk much about it, but it was obvious that he wished his dad would pay him more attention. It wasn't that Mr. Stoll, Travis to my parents, didn't love George, it was more that he could relate better to Wendy, their prank-loving daughter.

I changed the subject. "So, I hear there's going to be a game of Siege tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Marion exclaimed, pumping her fist. "Cohort Five going to rock this!" She and I high-fived. "Sorry that we didn't get on the same team, George. Maybe next time."

He shrugged. "It's fine. Besides this will give the Thorn a chance to shine!" He struck a dramatic superhero pose, which was a bit difficult considering he was on the ground.

"Thorn? Like Thor, Thorin, what?" I asked

"Both, both is good. Plus you know, the whole plants thing, which was more what I was thinking." Just then the horn went off, signaling dinner time. "Food!" George exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and helping me up

"Finally, I haven't eaten since lunch!" Marion added, standing on her own. Together we began walking toward Camp Jupiter's dining hall.