Connor Stoll is the devil.
The troubled teen was not angry. She was livid. More outraged then she was when she found out her boyfriend had been cheating on her for an entire month and more resentful than she was when her father ditched her at her Aunt's.
Malia Thompson was floating in the middle of the lake on a mattress.
A sticky note clung to her shirt: HOPE YOU CAN SWIM. - CONNOR STOLL. She crumbles up the note and throws it into the water.
Campers in orange t-shirts gather around the lake, laughing and pointing at the stranded girl. In the front of the group stands the tall boy with wild brown hair, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
Nothing could be more humiliating than this.
She balls her fist, cursing the boy. Malia would not give him what he wants. He expects her to sit there like some pathetic loser waiting to be rescued. She was not that girl. So, the audacious girl does something no one expects (that is, besides Grover).
She strips.
Connor Stoll watches wide-eyed as the brunette dives into the lake with nothing on besides a bra and underwear. In flaming red underwear, he may add.
Grover runs to the dock blushing crimson all down his neck. He helps the almost-naked girl up as she grips the dock, her arms shaking in anger. Grover removes his jacket and tries to cover Malia, willing her to stop. She pushes past him.
"Who do you think you are!?" She yells at Connor Stoll.
Connor tries to stare into her eyes. "I'm Connor, your bunk partner," He smiles and holds out his hand. "And you are?"
A crowd has formed around the two pranksters. Most kids are silently anticipating Connors next move, excited that he has finally pulled yet another trick. He hasn't done much since his brother Travis moved on to college.
Malia narrows her eyes. "Look here, Partner, I don't like to be messed with. If you think you can push me around and pull idiotic tricks on me, then oh man, you're in for a big surprise."
Connor's arm goes limp at his sides. "It was an initiation. No need to be so dramatic. Partner."
Grover throws his jacket over the wet girl. "Lets go, Malia. We can get you a spare change of clothes."
Malia Thompson is not phased. She stares at Connor Stoll, knowing she will have to prove to this boy she means her threat. She takes the boy by the shoulders.
Connor cocks an eyebrow. "Wow, if I knew-"
Malia pushes him into the lake. The shocker on his palm - which he had planned using on the newbie - jolts his hand, sending electricity up his arm. Connor quickly swats the contraption off.
The crowd laughs, amused at the banter of the two. If they keep this up, this should be a very interesting year.
The troubled teen clutches the jacket tighter around her body, smirking. "Have a nice swim."
"See, I told you that you'd fit right."
"Fit in?" Malia grumbles, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "I'm nothing like him."
Grover scoffs. "You're both pranksters, thieves, compulsive liars... If I didn't know your godly parent had to be your mom, I'd say your a daughter of Hermes."
The two sit in the Big House waiting for Chiron to get back with a tour guide. Malia had just watched the orientation video. She really didn't want to, and put up much protest before she saw the boy on the screen: "Hi, I'm Percy Jackson."
Dang, he's hot. Malia had thought sitting down, her complaints instantly dying.
"I shouldn't have to stay in the cabin if Hermes isn't my godly parent." Malia complains. She wasn't looking forward to the boy's snores tonight.
"There isn't anywhere else to put you. Hermes is the god of travelers so he loves to have visitors in his cabin. Most gods are... well, not as welcoming."
"The empty cabins," Malia starts. "at the end. There is three. Why can't I stay there?"
Grover gulps. "Trust me, you do not want to stay in the Zeus cabin. And Hera? Don't get me started on her." He shakes his head. "The Poseidon cabin is occupied. Percy stays there when he visits."
"You guys really need to invest in a 'stand by' cabin."
The door to the Big House opens revealing Chiron, followed by a shaggy blonde with blue eyes.
"Malia," The centaur speaks. "This is Will Solace, son of Apollo. He has volunteered to give you a tour."
"Nice necklace," Malia comments, pointing to the skull necklace around Will's neck. "Where can I get one?"
Will fumbles with the necklace hanging on his chest, a grin spreading widely across his face. "It was a gift from my boyfriend.
Malia can't help but feel sorry for the boy. Stuck in a relation that will inevitably end in misery. She wants to tell the boy the truth, that there is no such thing as love, but she only bites her tongue. The kid looks as if no one could burst his happiness.
She steps forward. "So the tour? Ready when you are, Golden Boy."
Will playfully rolls his eyes as if he's never heard that one before. "Yeah, lets go. I can't wait to show you around! You're going to love it!"
He walks out the door, jumping in excitement with each step.
Chiron catches her attention as she follows the boy. "It was nice meeting you. See you at the campfire tonight, Malia."
One thing Malia notices as Will rambles on about the history and wars and activities of the camp, is that most people were younger than her. The kids on the volleyball court look barely old enough to be in high school, and the Hypnos kids who are drooling on the ground in random places seem as if they couldn't even pass for eighth grade.
The seventeen-year-old girl looks at the fifteen-year-old boy. "Why am I surrounded my munchkins?"
He laughs. "The older campers are in school. These younger guys can't protect themselves as well. Plus, most kids arrive here at 13 or younger. You're one of the few older teens we've brought in."
The last stop of the tour was the strawberry fields. Malia watches curiously as children of Demeter use their power to revive fallen crops and grow new ones.
A chubby man with black hair is walking down the aisle of crops looking slightly annoyed. Malia remembers the Hawaiian shirt god from this morning when he was complaining on how he had to help out the Demeter kids for harvest.
A teen with dark skin and brilliant amber eyes trials behind Mr. D, and the two combined cause the strawberries to grow wildly.
As the father and son pass the two, the teenage boy stops, eyeing Malia. An ecstatic grin flashes on his face. "Hey, you're the new girl. The one who beat Stoll at his own game."
Malia huffs, flattered. "Yeah. And you are?"
"Phillip Donovan, son of Dionysus, aka the funnest guy at this camp." He winks.
Dionysus has stopped his rounds a few feet away. He angrily leans to one side. "Phillip!" He echoes. "Finish first, then you may talk to the Matthew girl."
Malia's forehead creases. "It's Malia."
"Whatever."
Phillip turns to his father. "One second," He looks back at the girl, staring at her as if she was an object to be won, a shiny new gift underneath the Christmas tree or a pill that promises a vigorous night. His alluring grin screams madness. "There's a party in my cabin tonight after the bonfire. You gotta come, it's like an initiation. Your friend can come, too."
Malia is done with initiations. She shrugs, "I'll think about it."
"Phillip!"
"Hope that means a yes." The teen quickly waves goodbye, dashing off towards his father and leaving vines of juicy grapes in his path.
"Don't encourage him," Will warns. "he's delirious."
"Those are the best people."
"Don't get any ideas," He groans. "Grover's gonna be so mad at me. He warned me not to introduce you two."
"You didn't introduce us," Malia clarifies, following Will out of the fields and to the Dining Pavilion. "He introduced himself."
"While I stood by and said nothing."
"Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm going to that party anyway." Though, she had to admit, going to the party of a son of the god of parties and wine sounded tempting.
As the two walk towards the dinning hall discussing how the borders of the camp work and elaborating on each of the gods, Will suddenly stops.
"This is where I leave you." He says. "I eat at the Apollo table. You have to go to the Hermes."
Malia looks towards the table of rowdy campers who are flinging their food at each other with fork slingshots. "You've got to be kidding me."
Will shrugs. "Sorry. It's the rules."
The irritated girl points at the goth-looking-boy sitting at the Apollo cabin surrounded by golden haired children. "He doesn't look apart of your family. Yet, he sits at your table."
Will blushes. "Oh, that's Nico. He's got a doctors note."
"A doctors note? What doctor?"
"Me." He says before walking towards his boyfriend and siblings. The black haired boy smiles as his eyes meet Will, and Malia can't help but roll her eyes. She hates relationships. Honestly, she believes they are a waste of time.
"Hey, Malia! Over here!"
Malia looks at the kids at the Hermes table, their arms waving wildly in the air. For a second, she thinks about turning around and walking out of the Pavilion, but her stomach has different ideas. It growls hungrily, reminding her she hasn't eaten all day.
She slowly brings herself to sit down at the table, sitting as far away from the kids as she can get. "What's for lunch?" She asks the girl across from her, avoiding the comical eyes of Connor Stoll.
"There's some salad, cheese sandwiches, strawbe-"
Connor Stoll leans across the table, a big piece of plump pork on his fork. "Barbecue?" He asks.
Malia wrinkles her nose in disgust. "I'm a vegetarian."
His mouth falls open in horror. "WHY?"
"Maybe because I have a heart? That pig died screaming."
The girl next to Malia suddenly puts her fork down, her appetite for meat suddenly gone.
"Oh god," Connor sighs. "Amelia, it's fine. The pig wanted to die."
"Maybe that isn't even pig," The vegetarian of four years counters. "It could be human meat and you would never know."
Connor burst into laughter. "Then this is the most goddamn delicious human I've ever had!"
Just as she was about to take a big bite of the salad in front of her, Amelia jabs her in the ribs with her elbow. "Don't forget to give some of your food as an offering." She points towards the fire burning in the middle of the pavilion. Kids were pushing half their plates into the flames.
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"It's respect." Connor clarifies.
"I don't remember asking your opinion."
Amelia shrugs. "He's right. They like the smell. You're suppose to do it every time before you eat." Malia, who is starving and just wanting to eat, and who may also be slightly done with demigod rules, stands up and approaches the flames.
"Hecate." The girl in front of her says bowing, dropping her ripest strawberries into the flames.
What a stupid idea. She thinks as she picks the tomatoes from her plate. What was she suppose to say? Finally, she decides on: Please don't leave me with those Hermes kids. Whoever my mother is, tell me so I can get out of that cabin. Thanks you.
Malia Thompson met Drew Tanaka that night before the bonfire. She was a girl of Asian beauty, the type you would see in modeling magazines or TV shows. Malia instantly hated her. It must have been mutual, because as the two locked eyes, Drew's face fell in disgust.
She had been walking around camp searching for Grover when she came face to face with the daughter of Aphrodite.
"What are you suppose to be? Some kind of fake edgy flaunt?"
Drew is sitting cross legged in front of her cabin, a mirror in hand as she reapplies her lipstick in the glorious lighting of the setting sun.
The pure sight of her sends boiling flames through the troubled teen's skin; for there isn't much other
emotion Malia Thompson can feel rather than anger.
"What are you suppose to be?" Malia shoots back. "Some kind of basic plastic bitch?"
Drew's mouth flops open like a fish. "At least I'm not the one who stripped in front of the entire camp!"
Malia clenches her fist, wanted to throw a punch more than ever. The bitches back at her school knew to avoid the quick-tempered girl at all cost. Drew new nothing of the girl besides this morning's incident. She most definitely didn't know how Malia chopped off a good chunk of a tramps hair before.
"Look, I don't have time for this. Have you seen Grover?"
"Why?" Drew questions, crossing her arms. "Want to invite him to Phillip's party?"
"Who do you think you are?" Malia asks angrily.
"Oh, I know how he asked you to go."
Malia frowns. "How in the world did you know that?"
"I have my sources."
"Then you would know: I'm not going."
Drew nods, as if she's proud of her answer. "Good. Then we shouldn't have a problem." She stands up and dusts off her tanned legs. She looks Malia up and down before saying, "I can't believe Lacy thought you were a daughter of Aphrodite."
Maybe I should just get it over with. Give her a good bruise on her pretty little check. Deciding on that's the only way to clear the annoying voice of the girl standing in front of her, Malia raises her fist.
"Malia!" Grover yells from atop the hill. "Come on. The campfire's starting."
The brunette pauses and Drew raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow, as if daring her to do it. Malia lowers her fist.
"That's what I thought!" Drew yells as Malia walks off towards her friend.
Oh hell with it, She thinks, knowing what she is considering will totally get on the Doll's nerves. I'm so going to that party tonight.
And because Malia Thompson loves displeasing other people, she does.
Eh so this was basically a filler for the next chapter. I added some Solangelo so it would make it better 3