Random Person with No Name has a couple questions. Should I keep my username the same, or change it to Jerry the Pickle? (Inside Joke. PM me if you get it.) Is it even possible to do that? And one last one, pertaining to the story:
SHOULD I ENCLUDE ERICA AS I HAVE OR MAKE HER FADE MORE INTO AS A BACKGROUND CHARACTER!
Cause honestly, I got a review saying she's annoying and that the reviewer hates her, so I don't know if I should just make her take less precedence, and have her pull random pranks in the background, or stick to my plan and keep developing her. Please, this is eating at me! Also, I hope you get the Monty Python reference. My brother inspired me to have the idea, and I couldn't resist.
Mood: overthinking.
Song that's stuck in my head: Dreamer by Jenn Grant
Diss: Not knowing something- I know, it's totally Annabeth, but that's how I am.
Because these things will change/ Can you feel it now?/ These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down- Change by Taylor Swift
So a couple months passed. It was now late November. Mr. D. wouldn't let snow in, not even when Erica asked him nicely- and Erica's the only one he likes other than his kids- So she went and had the Stolls get her a couple, scratch that, a lot of snow machines, to place around camp. So now Erica is hated by Mr. D. Everything is normal.
I was in a intermediate sword fighting lesson with Percy, and was doing better than I normally did. Meaning Percy wasn't totally going easy on me, just partially. At least it wasn't a beginner's class. The only people in that class are the newbies, the Aphrodite kids except for Piper, some Hermes kids who failed their last course, and everyone from Apollo but me and Erica. Of course, Erica had been a little off since the skeletons incident, so I didn't blame her for getting more comfortable with a wide range of weapons, but it was still humiliating when your little sister, two years younger than you, who has only been here for a little more than a year, two years if you go by beads, can beat your sorry butt when it comes to everything but archery and healing.
But just for the record, she was cheating during that wrestling lesson. Clarisse didn't say anything about pressure points, and Erica used some Clarisse didn't even know.
So anyway, I was getting better at sword fighting- at least I could beat Katie Gardner- when Annabeth came clopping in with two girls by her side. The girls were giggling about something.
"Percy, could you go break up a fight? I've told Connor a million times not to annoy his brother and Katie, but does he listen? NO. At least make sure he comes out alive, I would ask you to keep them from maiming him, but it might be too late for that."
"Don't worry, I've got it under control. I'll talk to you later, sweetie." Percy kissed her cheek on his way out.
"Will, I have some paperwork about some girl who got her arm cut off to fill out. You remember Alisha? Yeah, her dad doesn't know about the whole demigod thing, and he is NOT happy. Anyway, could you take Jenny and Lulu on a tour?" She leaned in closer. "They're a bit crazy, even by our standards, so I reinforcements coming."
I nodded and said I would. Putting my sword away, I turned to the two girls. They looked about twelve. "Alright, Annabeth told me you guys were Jenny and Lulu, so that's covered. Um,-"
"Actually," the girl on the right who had muted blonde hair that shone in the sun pulled into two braids, with pale gray eyes piped up. "I'm Luci, and this is-"
"I'M GINNY GINNY POTTER BECAUSE I MARRIED HARRY POTTER BECAUSE HE'S HOT!" The girl on the left screamed, then broke out giggling. Like the other girl, her hair was shoulder length, but was a dark chocolate brown, and so were her eyes.
Just then Nyssa walked in. "Let me guess. These are the two that need to be toured, and you're the one who I'm supposed to help?"
"You got it right." I looked at those two girls who were laughing over something else. "These two are scary, and that's coming from after I've seen Clarisse with bedhead."
Nyssa snickered. "She tried to kill you."
"I remember."
"It was funny to watch."
"Gee, thanks."
"Are you two going to stop flirting and show us around, or are we going to have to stand here and watch you snog?" Ginny glared at us while Luci snickered.
"Alright, well, the big blue building is where you met Annabeth, probably, and that's called the big house. It's basically camp headquarters. When they're not teaching lessons, Chiron, Percy, and Annabeth work there." I started.
"This is the arena." Nyssa picked up right where I left off. "A lot of your lessons will be taught here. Wrestling, sword fighting, knives and daggers, dog handling, and monster training all happen here. Don't worry, I know it stinks in here, but the schedule was created so you're not spending twenty four/seven in here."
We walked out of the arena, showing them everywhere in camp. Where which lessons would be taught, when the times to eat are, and special things that happen, like Capture the Flag.
"Hey." Ginny interrupted Nyssa talking about the trireme fights that are held in the ocean as we were walking along the beach. "Luci, isn't that Erica? From Girl Scout Camp? What is she doing here?"
"She's my half sister. Demigod daughter of Apollo." I said. "You guys know her?"
"Heck yeah we do. She had this crazy idea two years back to run through the Juniors camp with pots and pans to wake them up. By the time we got most of the people together, and got over to their camp they were all awake, though. . ." Luci explained. "I think that is the Erica we know. Who is that guy?"
"Her boyfriend." Nyssa said. "The cabins are right over there. You get sorted into a cabin depending on who your Olympian parent is. Luci, you said you live with your dad?"
"Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" Luci looked confused, and her eyes were darting around, taking everything in.
"Well, your mom is probably Athena. She's the goddess of wisdom, battle strategy, weaving, crafts, intelligence, and good counsel."
"Sounds like a Girl Scout Leader." Ginny said.
"That's totally something you would say, Ginny." Erica walked up with a grin on her face.
After Luci and Ginny stopped squealing about Erica, and how much she grew, and who she's so tan, and how she was actually here, Erica shot a look at Nyssa and I.
"Hey, Luci, Ginny, why don't I take over for Will and Nyssa? They look like they could use a break. Come on, I'll show the different cabins. Now, Luci, I heard them telling you about Athena, but Ginny, you live with your mom, right?" Erica's voice trailed off as she left us standing on the beach.
"So how's that ear?" Nyssa asked after an awkward moment of silence.
"It's better. The hearing is coming back, but I still have some trouble balancing. I can't shoot, and my swordplay is off- and I only just started improving."
"Well, it's great that you're getting better." Nyssa gave me a terse nod, before walking off. "I'd better go back to the forges."
"Wait, Nyssa," I grabbed her before she could leave. One hand on her arm, the other on her thin waist- I relived that moment on Half Blood Hill for a moment. By the way Nyssa was blushing, I could tell she was too. I awkwardly let go of her. "Let's hang out. We haven't done that for a while."
She looked at me with those big dark eyes, and nodded. "Fine." Then she walked off along the beach.
I looked at her confused. She turned around after taking several steps and looked at me. "Aren't you coming?"
"Oh." I shook my head and ran to catch up, stumbling right into her.
"Careful, Solace." She waited until I regained my balance, then kept going.
"Where are we going anyway?" I asked. We were entering the woods now, along the perimeter of camp.
"A little place that I found." Nyssa looked at me over her shoulder. I smiled at her. She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Mature." I said as she sat down on a log.
"Look who's talking." she said as I took a seat next to her.
"You know, I have grown up a lot these past couple months." I looked at her. She was staring at the ground, kicking at some pine needles.
"Yeah, I know. What happened to that constant string of girlfriends."
"I don't know. I guess after I broke up with Drew last December, and we. . . we fought, and Erica came, and she's been doing all sorts of crazy stuff. . ."
"Solace, cut the bull."
"Alright, I guess that I had my eye on one specific girl, and I tried and epically failed to send hints, but she missed them all." I looked at Nyssa, hoping she would get the hint.
"Yeah, Miranda can be dense sometimes." What?
She noticed me looking at her. "Oh, come on, Solace, everyone knows you like her. Except her. But she likes you back. Everyone knows. Except you."
"What are you saying." I looked at her evenly, trying to figure out what she was getting at.
"I'm saying go for it." She glanced at me again. "Did you hear?"
"Hear what?" I was immediately on guard, looking for any monster.
"There's no monster you idiot, I meant did you hear Malcolm asked me out."
"What?" I looked at her, my eyes wide.
"Yeah, he's really nice, and he's a gentleman. He creates these amazing ideas, these plans, and I help him make them, they really are amazing. I think we're a good match."
"A good match." I repeated, thinking.
"Yeah, like you and Miranda."
"Huh. So, Malcolm, I don't know him that well. I take it you do?"
"Uh, yeah, he's probably my best friend."
"How long have you been friends?"
"A couple months. He saw the video. . . it just went from there."
"So he's a better friend than someone you came to camp with. Who's saved your life more than once. Who's known you since second grade when I put glue in your hair." I said bitterly, glaring at the ground, poking at it with a stick.
"You know what, Solace, I don't even know why I told you. This has nothing to do with you!" Nyssa yelled, standing up. "Just leave it to you to mess everything up! If you're so jealous of me and Malcolm,"
"Whoa." I stood up and looked down into her eyes. "Who said I was jealous?"
"No one did. No one had to. The way you reacted said it all."
"Well, I'm not jealous."
"Oh, sure."
"Yeah, well, you wish I was."
"Maybe a few months ago. I gave you a chance, Will, I gave you plenty of chances. Hints, clues, telling you that girls aren't into you so you wouldn't ask them out! I did everything short of telling you that I loved you, but now it's too late." She sighed, looked away, then back up at me. "It's too late for you. I've moved on."
I brushed past her and walked away. How could I have been so stupid? Nyssa, she said she loved me. I completely missed that.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't see Leo until I had walked into him. He was laughing about something.
"Dude, what are you. . ." My voice trailed off as I saw what he was laughing at.
Nyssa ran up beside me. "What in Tartarus?"
Jason was walking past in brown monk robes, chanting and whacking himself in the face with a board. "Pies esu domine." WHACK! "Dona eus requiem." WHACK!
Leo cracked up even harder when he saw our faces. "Chiron let me get Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and I couldn't help but think of Jason when I heard the Latin. So, when we-"
"We who?" Nyssa cut in.
"Pies esu domine." WHACK! "Dona eus requiem." WHACK!
"Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Clarisse, and I- we were playing Truth or Dare-"
"Pies esu domine." WHACK! "Dona eus requiem." WHACK!
"And I dared Piper to charmspeak Jason into doing this!"
"Pies esu domine." WHACK! "Dona eus requiem." WHACK!
On that final whack, Jason finally knocked himself out. Leo cracked up.
"Alright then." I said, and me and Nyssa slowly backed away from the scene.
