Before I knew it, sword fighting practice was over. I had a couple of cuts and bruises, from you know who, but that didn't stop me from getting him back.

"Not bad, Wise Girl." Xavier has been calling me that since we met.

"Same to you, Emo Pain." I smirked, brushing his long bangs that covered his right eye to the side to see a shine in his eyes. Well, my cuts and bruises were gone, and Xavier took me to the front porch to get some nectar.

"I'll be right back with some nectar, 'Kay?" Xavier said. I nodded, and he kissed me on the cheek for a second time. "Love you." He left, and other kids started to make fun of us.

"Oh. My. Gods. Annabeth has a boyfriend!" The girls giggled in delight. I have them a deep growl, and a stare that'll knock down the Great Wall of China. They got the message.

"He's not my boyfriend. We're like brother and sister." I replied, keeping my tone as low as possible.

"Pfft..." Someone scoffed. "Yeah, right. I've seen you two look into each other's eyes once or twice, andthat's sibling love? Don't think so." I leaned back on the bench, sighing. Then, I spotted the guy and Grover coming towards the front porch.

They talked for a while, showing around, and they finally looked at me. Unfortunately, I still had that glare so I looked like a maniac.

Chiron and Mr. D were on the side of the porch and Chiron called me over. "Annabeth?" I came forward, by his side, and glanced at the boy and Grover.

"This young girl nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

"Sure, Chiron," I replied.

This Percy guy was probably my age, maybe a couple inches shorter, and a whole lot more awkward looking. (Which was a little cute) With his mild tan and messy black hair, he sort of looked like a surfer from back home. Especially with his sea green eyes. They looked playful and childish, like they were going to chase you across a field forever.

I looked down at... What? A minotaur horn? And looked back at him. That reminded me of the infirmary, because it was there right next to him the whole time. For a guy who just got here and killed his first monster, not bad, but I've been through much worse.

He must of thought that I was going to say something like I was impressed by the look in his eyes, but no. Instead I said without any expression, "You drool in your sleep." I was cracking up so hard inside, and tried to keep it in so badly. It just came out of my mouth like a bullet.

To avoid any more trouble, I turned around, and spotted Xavier, trying to find me. So I ran off and sprinted down the lawn and into the fields, my curly blonde hair flying behind me.

Xavier spotted me and we came to each other. He handed me a vial of nectar, and he held his up. "Finally, to a quest!" We clinked our vials, and drank up. It tasted like my favorite pizza, with extra olives. He made them disappear, most likely back where they came from.

I wiped my mouth with my wrist. "Thanks," I said, the taste still tingling in my tastebuds.

Xavier gave a little smile, and gave a bow. "You're very welcome, m'lady."

I managed to give a little giggle. "I have to go check on Percy's bunk. Do you mind going with me?"

He nodded, and we both headed towards Cabin Eleven, Hermes. Out of all the cabins, Eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was a caduceus, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it, a modern doctor symbol.

Xavier stood by the doorway, and knocked politely. A guy with salt-and-pepper hair turned around, and gave a crazy grin. He was none other than Luke. I blushed a little bit, and tried to keep it in. Unfortunately, it stayed.

"Hey, guys!" Luke said, giving a brofist to Xavier and a hug to me. "Checking on the new guy's bunk?"

"Yeah," Xavier replied, looking around. "You got any room left?"

Luke pointed to a tiny corner of the room. "That's pretty much our only part left. How old are they?"

"Eleven, about," I answered. Luke faced me, showing a smile that I always see on his face.

"Then they're good."

"We're coming back to introduce him to the campers and his part of the cabin, so, when will they be back?" I asked.

Luke thought for a moment, then answered, "Probably in a few minutes. Take your time." We started heading out the door. He waved, and we waved back.

We stopped by my cabin, Cabin Six, Athena, to get my favorite book that Xavier got for my birthday.Architectural Studies Throughout the Centuries: Ancient Greek Edition. Completely obvious. I went to my part of the cabin, got my keys, and unlocked the drawer that kept the book. It was for architectural experts, for building inspiration, so it costs thousands of dollars. I don't even know how Xavier got it for me. It comes easy for the gods, I guess.

We got back to Cabin Eleven, and leaned on the outside wall. Together, Xavier and I talked about how this would be improved even more in the future if we built it ourselves.

"Annabeth, I'm going to in and check on everybody, okay?" I nodded and he kissed me on the cheek, then going inside the cabin.

I stopped reading when Percy came along, right beside Chiron. When they reached me, I looked at Percy critically, still thinking about how much he drooled.

"Annabeth, I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?" Chiron asked.

"Yes, sir," I responded.

"Cabin Eleven," Chiron told Percy, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."

Now, inside was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over the floor. Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him, they stood up and bowed respectfully. And I took notice of Xavier and Luke, bowing as well.

"Well then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you all at dinner." He nodded to all of us, and galloped away to the archery range.

Percy stood at the doorway, looking at the campers. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at him, sizing him up. "Well?" I prompted. "Go on." He naturally tripped going into the door, making a total fool of himself. There were some snickers, but no one said anything. "Percy Jackson," I announced. "Meet Cabin Eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" Someone asked.

Xavier got up and answered for me. "Undetermined." The campers looked at him and groaned. "Come on, guys! Give this guy a break, he lost his mother by fighting a Minotaur getting here." I looked at Xavier, his face serious, then at Percy, as if he was wincing like a puppy.

"Okay, guys, that's what we're here for." Luke came forward with a smile spread across his face. I blushed, looking at both of them. They looked pretty hot when serious. "Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there." He pointed to the corner where he showed me and Xavier before.

Xavier came up next to Luke and put his hands in his pockets. they were exactly the same height, and both were slim but muscular. Gods… Please stop looking so cute...

"This is Luke," I said, my voice changed a little. I held a hand towards Luke, then Xavier. "And this is Xavier." Percy glanced at me and I could have sworn he saw me blushing. My face was pretty red. When I noticed him, my expression hardened again. "Luke's your counselor for now."

"For now?" Percy asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what Cabin to put you in, so you're here."

"Cabin Eleven takes in all newcomers, all visitors," Xavier chimed in, this time grinning. "Naturally, they would. Hermes is their patron, the god of travelers."

Percy looked at his spot in the cabin, and he had no supplies it mark his area down. He looked at the campers, which were doing their Hermes thing, where they all wanted to pick someone's pockets. "How long will I be here?"

"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?" Percy asked. The campers all laughed. Ugh! How stupid can he be?!

"Come on," I told him. "I'll show you the volleyball court. Xavier? Come with me, please." Xavier nodded, and came forward to follow me.

"I've already seen it."

"Come on," I clenched my teeth and grabbed his wrist, dragging him outside. I could hear the campers laugh behind us. Xavier closed the doors. When we were a few feet away, I said, "Jackson, you've have to do better than that."

"What?" Oh my gods, he's hopeless!

I rolled my eyes and mumbled under my breath, "I can't believe you were the one..."

"Annabeth!" Xavier snapped, looking at me fiercely.

"What's your problem?!" Percy said, getting angry. "All I know is, I killed some bull guy-"

"Don't talk like that!" I told him. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"

"To get killed?"

"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?!" I shouted back.

Xavier stormed in between us. "Both of you, stop it! You're both acting like toddlers, here!"

With an attitude, Percy smirked and turned around. "I don't take orders." Oh, no. No, no, no, no. He's doomed.

I tried to hold Xavier back. "How dare you!" He roared. I let go of him, which was the worst thing to do at a time like this. His eyes raged with real fire. Then his hair burned, sticking straight up to form a mohawk. Finally, his whole body caught fire, spreading from his hair to his toes. You could say that he looked like a Super Saiyan or something, I don't know. Percy turned back around and squeal like a little guinea pig. (cough, cough. We'll get to that later) "Oh, look, here comes little Persassy sassing up the guy who made the universe in the first place!" (And that, fangirls/fanboys, is how Persassy was born! slow clap)

Knowing that the fire was only a warning and could not hurt me, I ran up to Xavier and hugged him tight. He suddenly stopped burning, his hair in his normal place, and he fell to the floor. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and disappeared into nothingness.

Panting, Percy stammered, "W-wh-what… W-what was that?" I rolled my eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. He was still shaking. "S-so… L-look, if that thing really was the Minotaur, the same one from the stories-"

"Yes," I interrupted.

"Then there's only one."

"Yes," I said once more.

"But he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the Labyrinth, so..."

"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed, but they don't die."

"Okay, that pretty much clears it up," He said sarcastically.

I sighed. "They don't have souls, like you and me. They can dispel for a while, maybe even a whole lifetime if you're lucky. They are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they reform."

"You mean if I killed them, accidentally, with a sword-" he began.

"The Fur… Yes, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad." I finished.

He raised his eyebrows. "How'd you know about Ms. Dodds?"

"You talk in your sleep."

"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"

I glanced nervously at the ground, cautious if there was any monsters coming out. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we ever have to speak of them at all."

"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" Percy whined. "Why do I have to stay in Cabin Eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of other bunks over there." He pointed to some cabins, and I turned pale.

"You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends who your parents are. Or… Parent..." I stared at him, waiting for him to get it.

"My mom is Sally Jackson. She works at a candy store at Grand Central Station. Or at least, she used to."

I sighed, feeling bad for the guy. "I'm sorry about your mom, Percy, but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."

"He's dead. I never knew him." I sighed once more. Having to explain this to a bunch of other kids was really bumming me out.

"Your father's not dead, Percy," I told him.

"How can you say that? You know him?"

"No, of course not."

"Then how could you say-"

"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't know anything about me."

"No?" I raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."

"How-"

"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."

Percy tried to swallow his embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And your ADHD- you're impulsive, you can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive," I told him, exactly how I said it to other kids as curious as him. "As for the attention problems, you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing what they are."

Astonished, he asked, "You sound like… you went through the same thing?"

"Most of the kids here have," I answered. "If you weren't like us, you would have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar?" Percy asked.

"The food and drink we were giving you to help you get better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood into fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."

He thought about it. "So, uh, who was that guy who caught on fire earlier? Your boyfriend?" And that broke me.

"Why do people keep on saying that?! He's like a brother to me!" I screamed, my face turning as red as the fire on Xavier's body was earlier. Percy flinched, backing away, his arms raised in surrender.

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just that every time you look into each other's eyes you guys start blushing and stuff. And besides, how did that guy catch on fire?"

I sighed, and said, "He's the Supreme Lord of Everything."

Percy laughed. "Good one."

I gave him a deadly glare. "I'm not kidding."

He stared at me for the longest time. "Your boyfriend can do anything in the world?"

"Ugh!" I slapped myself in the face. Will this get any worse?

A husky voice shouted, "Well! A newbie!"

Oh, schist, I jinxed it… It was none other than Clarisse LaRue.