Solomon toed the rubber and looked for the sign. He nodded when he saw a pitch he liked and checked second base where Charles was leading off. He looked back at Conor Stoll and delivered the pitch for strike three. Solomon got off the mound and headed for the dugout with the others. " Well done well done all of you. These scrimmages are giving us a feel for your skill level. That's it for today. Bear in mind final cuts are a few days away" Chiron said. " What coach here is trying to say is get better if you want to make the time. Now beat it!" Dionysus said.
A couple of hours later it was time for dinner. Solomon got his food and looked around. He noticed where Vala was sitting and decided to sit as far away from her as possible. He was soon joined by Charles" good pitching today. Seven strikeouts is nothing to sneeze at." " You weren't so bad yourself" Solomon replied. " I guess. I just wish I could hit a damn fastball!" Others that were trying out soon joined them and the conversation turned to how they ended up getting arrested. " I stole a car. Mercedes." Odium said. " I was gonna give it to a guy who would chop shop it but we both ended up getting caught." " That's child's play!" Percy said with a big grin. " I stole from a cash register at a gas station but of course my dumbass forgot to conceal my identity." " That's weak sauce Jackson" Luke said. " I got busted for Arson. What about you Myers." " They wanted to get me for attempted murder. Thing is that they didn't even enough evidence to convict me so they got me on gang affiliation and tacked on an accessory to attempted murder even though I was guilty of that as well."
Everyone was quiet at first" damn, I just got picked up for breaking and entering" Annabeth muttered. " I tried to sell a stolen car" Thalia said. " I beat the shit out of my mom's abusive boyfriend." Charles said. Tyson spoke up"... assault." " Really?" Solomon asked. " you don't seem like the type." " It was an accident, really! My mom was hitting me and I couldn't take it anymore so I lost control" Tyson said softly. " I shot someone" Nico said. Everyone turned to look at him" what?" " Yeah, me and him got into an altercation, he pulled a knife so I had to defend myself." " I got busted with drug possession" Vala said. " What are you doing over here Scrap?" Solomon asked narrowing his eyes. " I can go where I fucking want Bluff" she snapped.
Everyone exchanged uneasy looks as Solomon leaned forward" you better be glad we're in here cause if I saw you on the streets, you'd be done." " Name the time and place and I'll happily take your ass out" Vala responded. Just then Dionysus hurried over " is there a problem here?" He asked eyes narrowed. " Not at all" Vala responded. " Just sizing up the Food." " Same" Solomon answered. Vala snorted and marched away. " Stuck up bitch" Solomon grumbled. " Why do you have a problem with her?" Odium asked. " She's UFM, United Front Mafia. Arch Rivals of my set, The Forsaken Disciples" Solomon answered before standing up" I'm outta here, see you all in the morning."
Solomon led from second as Nico was up to bat. He swing on the pitch and belted one to deep left field. Solomon hurried towards third where Vala was waiting. As he touched the bag, he caught her heel with his spikes intentionally and headed for home. " Son of a bitch!" Vala yelled before chasing after him and tackling him from behind. The two engaged in a fight while the others struggled to separate them. " You want a piece of me Bluff? Let's go then! Come on!" Vala yelled struggling. " Try it Scrap! I'm dying to kick your ass!" Chiron and Dionysus get between them" Enough already!" Dionysus yelled.
Chiron looked at both of them once the combatants had calmed down " how long have your sets been at war?" " Ancient times, over twenty years ago" Solomon replied. " Okay, who started it? What's this feud even over?" " Blood feud. They started this shit, killed one of ours for no good reason!" Vala yelled. " That's a goddamn lie!" " Solomon, you lose anyone in this war?" " Yes sir I have" Solomon answered. " Who?" "My brother. Those damn Scraps killed him when he had nothing to do with it!" " Bullshit!" Vala retorted. " How about you Vala? Have you lost anyone?" Vala nodded" my boyfriend was caught in a drive by." " Okay, why don't you two just call a truce for now?" Chiron asked. Neither one said anything but gave each other looks of pure hatred. " Goddamn it why not?! Chiron snapped. " Wouldn't accomplish anything " Solomon responded. Chiron looked at both of them " it'd accomplish something. It'd save two young lives from a path going nowhere"
He sighed " alright everyone, that's all for today. Don't forget final cut downs are tomorrow." As everyone headed off the field, Chiron called him and Vala back. The two rival gang members eyed each other warily as Chiron looked at them" I can tell it's going to take much more than words to get through to you. So I want to both of you at four to get the field ready. That means repainting the lines, smooth the infield out, all that. And you'll do it without fighting with each other understood?" Neither one said anything. " Understand" Chiron asked once again with an edge to his voice " Yes sir" they both muttered.
Solomon yawned through bleary eyes. They had just finished up the final day of camp and we're heading towards the locker room. " So if there's a red tag in our lockers, that means we got cut right?" He asked Charles. " Yep." Solomon stopped alongside Tyson. " I don't want to go in there" he said. " Relax. And don't forget to take whatever the news well, regardless of what it is." " Easy for you to say" Tyson muttered as they walked in. Everyone milled around the lockers, nervous about opening them before Charles opened his and let out a huge sigh of relief. Soon everyone was checking their lockers and either celebrated or cursed bitterly. Solomon slowly opened his to see a red tag in his locker. He slammed the door and end into the coach's office.
" You two are gonna regret this you hear me?!" Solomon snapped. " You may think I'm shit now but mark my words, one of these days I'm gonna be a bigger star than you can fathom, and you'll be left holding your dicks!" Chiron and Dionysus looked at each other " that's some fire you got there. Good you're gonna need it. Cause we didn't cut you" Chiron answered. " What?! Than why... motherfucker!" Solomon snapped leaving the office. He waited until Vala excited the woman's locker room before walking up and punching her in the face. Vala retaliated by tackling him and soon they were rolling around punching each other before being pulled apart.
" What's the problem Bluff?! Can't take a joke?!" Vala yelled. " Oh yeah real fucking funny bitch!" Solomon yelled back. " That's enough!" Chiron yelled getting in between them. " I've had enough of this shit. You two either calling a truce right here and now or I'll cut the both of you. I don't care if you two like each other, but you will respect each other. Now shake hands." Neither gang member made a move." You have three seconds. 1...2.." Just before Chiron said three the two limply shook hands while giving each other looks of loathing.
" Good. You two best get used to this. Gonna be a long season" Chiron said darkly.