Chapter IV

Like any other incident at camp would, the news spread pretty quick. I finished the grand tour as fast as I could, showing Percy the metal shop, the arts-and-crafts room, and the climbing wall (which he stared at in awe for like five minutes). Once I dragged him away from the wall, I led him to the trail by the canoe lake.

"I've got training to do," I told him. He could tell I was upset, which I was, since I was still dripping wet. "Dinner's at seven thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall." His face was very sincere as he said, "Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."

I knew he was sorry, but it would still probably be my fault. "Whatever."

"It wasn't my fault," he insisted. I gave him a skeptic look, and he glanced down. I knew he realized that it was his fault. I sighed, letting my arms down.

"You need to talk to the Oracle."

"Who?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron." He was obviously still not understanding, but he let it drop, looking at the lake. Of course, the naiads were down there, smiling and waving at him. He waved back.

"Don't encourage them," I advised. "Naiads are terrible flirts." He nodded, looking incredulous. "That's it. I want to go home now." Okay, he was really not getting it. I frowned.

"Don't you get it Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"

"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?" he asked, but he was probably just waiting for me to confirm his fear.

"I think you know."

He looked away, and I knew he knew. "God," he said. "Half-god." I nodded.

"Your father isn't dead, Percy." PAUSE. "He's one of the Olympians." He shook his head a little.

"That's...crazy." Easy enough to explain.

"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"

"But those are just..." he stopped himself. Myths. He dropped the subject, and attacked from another point. "But if all the kids here are half-gods..."

I cut in. "Demigods. That's the official term. Or half-bloods." He nodded like he didn't really care. Jeez. Just helping.

"Then who's your dad?" he challenged. WRONG QUESTION. I played it safe, but he got the message: drop the subject after I answer.

"My dad is a professor at West Point. I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."

He looked confused. "He's...human," he said, with a tone like he was asking a question. I raised my eyebrows. What!?!?!

"You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"

"Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin six," I said, forgetting he didn't know what that meant.

"Meaning?"

I straightened, and, with as much dignity as possible, I said, "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle." He accepted that.

"And my dad?" he asked.

"Undetermined," I said simply. "Like I told you before. Nobody knows."

He shook his head. "Except my mother. She knew."

"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."

But he insisted. "My dad would have. He loved her."

I eyed him cautiously. I doubted it. It was true, most of the time gods never told people who they really were. But I decided to go along with him, I didn't want to make him feel worse.

"Maybe you're right." I said soothingly, "Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens." He looked at me sadly.

"You mean, sometimes it doesn't?"

I had to tell him. I ran my hand on the rail nervously. "The gods are busy," I said carefully. "They have a lot of kids and they don't always...well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us." He spaced out, in deep thought. Finally he snapped out of it and said, more to himself, "So I'm stuck here." He turned to me, and asked, "That's it? For the rest of my life?" Did he ever stop asking questions?

"It depends. Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. The monster might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."

He looked relieved about something. "So, monsters can't get in here?"

I shook my head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside." His smile dropped.

"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"

I shrugged. "Practice fights, practical jokes."

He paled. "Practical jokes?"

I rolled my eyes. "The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."

He changed the subject. "So, you're a year-rounder?"

I nodded. I pulled out my camp necklace, and he stared at it. "I've been here since I was seven. Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been her longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

He raised his eyebrows. "Why did you come so young?" Does he always ask the wrong questions?

I played my gold ring. "None of your business."

"Oh," he said, making things even more awkward. But then he changed the subject. "So…I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?" Really? What kind of a question is that?

"It would be suicide," I told him, "but you could. With Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless…" I trailed off.

"Unless?" he prompted.

"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time…" I stopped myself. No need to go into last time.

"Back in the sick room," he said quickly, "when you were feeding me that stuff…"

"Ambrosia."

He waved his hand. "Yeah. You asked me about the summer solstice." I tensed. Was he going to confess now? Would I finally know what was going on?

"So you do know something?" I inquired. His lips tightened.

"Well…no." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! "Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of a deadline. What did that mean?"

I clenched my fists. He didn't know anything I didn't. Dang. "I wish I knew," I told him desperately. "Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong on Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."

He looked shocked. "You've been to Olympus?" Duh.

"Some of us year-rounders, Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others, we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."

"But…how did you get there?" I made a face at him. Really?

"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." Shouldn't he know this already? "You are a New Yorker, right?"

"Oh, sure," he agreed. I continued.

"Right after we visited, the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen," I said. Why was I telling him this? But I didn't stop. "And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping—I mean, Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course, she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."

He shook his head sadly. Great. "I've got to get a quest," I said aloud, more to myself. "I'm not too young! If they would just tell me the problem…"

Percy's stomach growled. I laughed inwardly. "You go on, I'll catch you later." He left, and I was left alone on the pier, swallowed by all my thoughts and problems. When I couldn't see him anymore, I ran off to get ready for dinner. I walked into the cabin and only Malcolm and Andrew were there. "Almost dinner time," I told them. They both looked up from their books and nodded.

Just then the rest of my cabin walked in, talking and laughing. They went off to their bunks, and we waited for the horn. Sure enough, five minutes later it sounded. I stood up, saying, "Alright, Athena. Line up." We headed up to the mess hall, and only Ares and Dionysus was there. After we got settled, eleven came in and they all ran for a seat. I watched as Percy sat down on one of the far ends, with hardly any bench space.

Chiron pounded his hoof, raising his glass and saying, "To the gods." We all followed suit. The food was served, and everyone started to get up for offerings. I dropped a few strawberries into the fire, saying, "Athena." Mom, I hope he's the one. I know I can help.

I went back to the table, and waited for Mr. D to talk. Chiron pounded his hoof again, and Mr. D stood up sighing. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." Clarisse and her cabin mates all cheered.

"Personally," said Mr. D, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson." I rolled my eyes. Chiron whispered something to him. "Er, Percy Jackson. That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on." We all cheered. We settled ourselves in the amphitheater, and Apollo led the sing-along.

After a while, the horn blew again and I led Athena back to the cabin. I didn't sleep well that night.