YES I IZ TERRIBLEZ. I know. But being banned from the computer is no small feat. I'm sorry and I can't do anything else than update to repent.

Chapter 8 - I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

"I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom," Verna read. "Um, just what were you doing?"

"What the title says," Percy chuckled. "You'll just have to see."

Clarisse gave him a death glare.

"That's annoying!" Verna huffed.

"But no one ever gives me a straight answer," Percy said.

"That's because you never understand," Annabeth muttered.

"Hurry up and read mortal girl," Hera sighed elegantly. "We don't have all day."

"Why that arrogant—" Annabeth growled. Percy shook his head quickly.

"You do not need to be an enemy of her in this time. It's not going to help."

"It's okay," Verna tried to say reassuringly. She didn't like Hera's attitude much, but Annabeth being in trouble wasn't going to do anything. Especially a goddess that was famous for grudges and jealousy.

Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse,

"I thought I was still hallucinating," Percy explained.

"I saw a new kid staggering around Chiron. Was that you Percy?" Katie asked.

"Eh… probably."

we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.

Everyone burst out into laughter, especially Hermes and Apollo.

"Chiron's not going to be happy when he reads this," Annabeth chuckled.

"Vulgar," Hera sniffed disdainfully.

We passed the volleyball pit.

Verna winced. The first she passed by there, the Hephaestus cabin's automatons were testing out flaming cannons.

Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's him."

"Way to boost his ego," Annabeth snorted.

"I was telling the truth!"

Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters.

"That freaked me out," Percy said sheepishly. "I'm surprised that you didn't with Grover."

"I was more disturbed by the bleating."

"Are you still going to keep that up?"

"Yes."

I wasn't normally shy,

"You were sort of shy when you first got into camp," Nico said.

"You weren't even there!" Percy said.

"I was talking to Verna."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"But she was technically saying it."

"…What…oh!"

"A little late."

"If you two don't shut up in two seconds, I will fry both of you and serve fried fish for lunch!"

"HEY!"

"But I'm not a fried fish!"

"And I was not shy when I got into camp!"

"I said sort of."

"That… was not shyness!" Verna said indignantly.

"ENOUGH AND LET HER READ!" Thalia shouted. "Or I will serve some fried bones as a side course." She added in an undertone.

"That doesn't even exist…"

but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.

"You did one in the chapter before last…" Annabeth said.

"It was a comparison…"

I looked back at the farmhouse.

"When will you stop calling my design a farmhouse?" Dionysus asked, look queasy.

"Um… before that, why do you look sick?"

"That blasted cereal killer," Dionysus cursed.

….

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"DIONYSUS! YOU INSULT MY CEREAL?"

"Cereal~ Serial~" Clovis shuffled.

"First she killed her own daughter off with cereal, then her brother/son in law," Hermes sang. "Then Dionysus actually makes a comeback."

"Daughter has KO'ed,

Brother defeated,

Nephew triumphant!"

Apollo sang.

"Worst one so far," Artemis said.

"You just don't appreciate art," Apollo huffed.

"That's new," Nico said. "I'd never thought of that."

It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort.

"My design."

I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane

"Father insisted on putting his symbol on the top," Dionysus sighed. "Ruining the affect."

on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.

"Rachel's predecessor," Percy laughed.

"She'll kill you if she hears that," Annabeth said.

"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.

He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."

"Somebody lives there?"

"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."

"It must have been boring for her to be stuck in that body," Percy muttered. "Not to mention being cursed."

Hades shuffled slightly as Hermes sighed.

I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.

"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."

We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.

"Took me a while to learn," Grover said.

Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."

"Not when the twin sons Hermes 'ACCIDENTLY' KILL ALL THE STRAWBERRIES!" Katie yelled. The twins high -fived each other.

"What have you done to your children, Hermes?" Hera muttered.

"I've taught them well."

He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those,

"Yet, I have never seen a sober Dionysus," Artemis said wryly. Zeus's look darkened.

"I wonder why…"

"DIONSYSUS!"

"I'm drinking COKE!"

so they grew strawberries instead.

"Technically, strawberries can be made into wine," Annabeth snorted. "But Dionysus only invented the types with grapes."

"Temptation, old D," Hermes snorted.

"…Shut your trap."

I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire.

Ares grinned. War action. Sort of.

I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.

"I'd probably have made the strawberries explode at that point," Grover said ruefully.

"Low self-esteem," Annabeth sighed.

"Can we send him to the Ares cabin for some training, Clarisse?" Conner asked.

"With much pleasure."

"HEY! I do NOT want to be skewered and barbequed."

"That's my girl!" Ares said proudly.

I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.

"Yes."

"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good protector. Really."

"I can't believe you were sticking for me after that… fiasco."

"Well… I think I was thinking about something else at the time."

"?"

Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable.

"Hearing it from other people isn't that great though," Grover sighed.

"Chiron is very… blunt," Annabeth suggested. "I think it's his way of making certain heroes to not go into the ego zone."

"But I'm a satyr!"

"Well… it's his habit and technically you are a hero."

To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him

Thalia snorted. Sexist.

safely to Half-Blood Hill."

"But he did that!"

"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... ah ... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."

"Nope. Nada. Nothing."

"…Your self esteem's is lower than ever I see, goat boy." Thalia said.

"Wasn't that… a little harsh?" Verna asked.

"All I can say is I'm glad I'm not a shrub, handmade by Mr. D."

I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.

"Does the sea ever feel guilty, Poseidon?" Hera asked. "That seems to happen a lot with your son."

"Er… sometimes… I accidently wrecked a couple of ships…"

"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"

"That was my second chance…"

Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy.

"I'm sorry! I won't repeat again!"

The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."

"How old is he?"

"Oh, twenty-eight."

"What? And you're in 6th grade?" Verna exclaimed.

"Satyrs age half as fast as humans."

"So… you were… 14 years old?"

"Yep."

"What! And he's in sixth grade?"

"Now it's spreading to VERNA! The horror!" Conner gasped.

"I'm sorry!"

Verna? Persephone thought.

No it can't be.

But it's not a common name…

"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."

"That sounds terrible… repeating more than you should…" Annabeth said.

"Well, I'll live longer than most, so yeah. Might as well."

"I would have hated that," Nico snorted.

"Nico, do you even go to school?"

"Well I have 'tutors' if you get my drift. Chiron is all of ours, isn't it?"

"Oh… yeah, I suppose."

"That's horrible."

"It's now spreading to Annabeth…" Travis smirked

"OW! Katie!"

"Stop interrupting!"

"S&M, bro…"

"OW!"

"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards,

"Hahaha…"

and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."

"Puppet Theater…" Percy mused.

"Don't remind me."

"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"

"It was not," Thalia said. "It just was really boring after so many years."

"And you're going to tell me what happened, right?" Verna sighed.
"Yep."

Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"

"We're going to have to teach Chiron how to change the subject," Travis snorted.

"So not subtle," Conner added.

"Whoa, Stoll. When did you start using big words?"

"Thanks… eh… HEY!"

But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire—started forming in my mind.

"You're not thinking about… you know what, were you?" Annabeth said incredulously.

"It's not strange, but I don't think it'll work, Percy." Poseidon said. "Not in the way you're thinking. No one' s ever done it."

"Mom was alive though," Percy said. "Did anyone else think about it?"

Percy gave Nico a glance, not including you.

"I did," Verna confessed sheepishly. "With… you know."

"You did?"

"Well, Lord Poseidon (he grinned while Hades shook his head) did say it wouldn't be strange."

"Wish someone else thought the same and didn't declare war on me," Percy added to Nico.

"Glad to be of service, Percy."

"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."

"Yes, child?"

"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"

"Yes," Hades had a maniac expression. "Very much so."

"I think brother's gone delusional from the time in father's stomach," Poseidon muttered.

"Now, now, my lord," Persephone soothed.

Verna almost keeled over.

"A little too cheesy for my taste," Drew sniffed.

"Nico."

"Um, yeah?"

"Are they always like this in the Underworld?"

"Somewhat… but when Demeter comes… you saw what happened then."

"Are you saying my gra— er, relative really is a cereal killer?"

"Unfortunately."

Chiron's expression darkened.

"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words care fully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."

"Did you have the same idea I had?" Percy asked Verna curiously. "It's okay if you don't want to answer." (Annabeth had been about to say contradict him.)

"Well, I was on the run so I didn't have a lot of time to think about it," Verna murmured to him. "I guess I sort of accepted that I was going to see them in the end; if I get into Elysium anyway."

"Huh…"

"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"

"Just means Percy being reckless and stupid…" Annabeth said.

"Hey…"

"Seaweed brain."

"Wise girl."

"Enough with the flirting," Clarisse rolled her eyes.
"Like you don't do it with—"

"PUNK!"

"As much as Athena getting a coronary is amusing, can you read, Verna?" Hermes asked, grinning.

"Oh, right." Percy blushed. "Moving on."

Athena looked slightly faint while Poseidon tried not to laugh.

Athena recovered quickly.

"We'll read more and I'll decide on whether you're worthy of a demigod. Since you're a son of that sea spawn (hey!) I don't see much hope."

Hestia chuckled. She could see several opportunities of where this could go.

"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."

"That was subtle."

As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick,

"Can't beat mine," Thalia snorted.

"You mean the thickness of hair under there?" Conner suggested innocently.

Thalia was a confused for a second, then unsheathed her hunting knife.

"I'M SORRY!"

you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.

Ares was suddenly reminded of the civil war between the two groups of demigods. He grinned.

"Ares."

"Eh— what?"

Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."

"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"

"Burritos," Grover muttered to Percy.

"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"

"How did he expect you to have those?" Verna asked.

"I have no idea how Chiron's mind works."

"Learn or die," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Nico was suddenly reminded of the Roman side of the gods. The Greeks were so alike, yet so different from them.

"My own—?"

"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."

I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range,

Apollo grinned, "We're the best." The camera nodded.

"The hunters are," Artemis rolled her eyes.

"You guys have been arguing about this for as long as you've arguing who's older," Hera said. "Enough."

Annabeth coughed.

the canoeing lake,

"I like," Percy grinned.

the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),

"Bad memories?" Katie asked.

"Chiron doesn't like being called pony or horse," Poseidon said.

"Tyson…" Percy snorted.

the javelin range,

Ares fiddled with his chrome armrest,

the sing-along amphitheater,

"Apollo, we do not need to get any more arguable now."

"Aww… no singing? Walking on sunshine is one of my favorites!"

"Obviously. Your twin daughters wrote that song for you."

and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.

"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.

"Cabin challenges and all that,"

"Most of which the Ares' cabin…" Conner grinned.

"Gets beaten." Travis grinned.

"Only by the Athena cabin," Annabeth rolled her eyes. "The Hermes cabin gets pulverized by Clarisse entirely. And unless you want to get half killed now, it's best if you don't say anything else"

he explained. "Not lethal. Usually.

"That's reassuring," Verna muttered. "I'm not sure I'll want to do that now."

"But we're already having one… sort of," Percy said.

"Oh… right."

Oh, yes,

Hermes snorted.

and there's the mess hall."

"Now I'm hungry," Percy muttered.

"We can have lunch soon," Hestia said.

"After a few chapters," Zeus boomed. "I want to hear some more."

Thalia face palmed while the demigods tried not to snigger.

"Did Mother Rhea tell you any bedtime stories, Zeus?" Poseidon muttered. "Because that seems to be the case."

Hades smirked.

Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea.

Percy grinned, remembering the last date he had with Annabeth on the beach.

There were a dozen stone picnic tables.

"Twenty now," Annabeth said proudly. "With my designs of course. Though, what do we do with your case, Verna?"

"I could just live in the woods."

Travis and Conner started laughing.

"I'm being serious."

They stopped and sat up pompously.

"Um… I'm not sure that's safe, even for you. We should talk with Chiron when we go back to camp."

No roof. No walls.

"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.

Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird.

"How was I supposed to know that it rarely rains," Percy grumbled.

"We still have to eat, don't we?" I decided to drop the subject.

Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.

"I didn't mean it that way! It's just that they weren't like real collection of cabins! Just! Never mind. Please read Verna."

Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike.

"That's what I meant."

Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.

Hephaestus and Jake sat up straighter.

Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.

Demeter beamed at her daughter.

"At least there's no wheat. I don't think I can survive another bout of it," Hades muttered.

Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.

"I wonder why…" Artemis said drily.

They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).

"Yet the Apollo cabin always beats you."

"You're picking on me… again."

In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.

Hestia smiled, "It's rare that people see me."

"I didn't talk to you though…" Percy said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's alright. After hearing about it, it's understandable."

"Understandable," Travis snorted.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve.

"And the most dramatic one of all, brother."

"INSULTS IN MY OWN HOUSE—"

"Yes, brother. Please read."

Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.

"Did you like living in that cabin, Thalia?" Percy asked. "I don't think it's my style…"

"It wasn't that bad, but I do prefer the Artemis cabin."

Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.

"That doesn't sound that bad…" Verna thought aloud. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth had an odd look on her face.

"My problem isn't the cabin, it's the goddess."

The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

"Never mind."

"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.

"Correct," Chiron said.

"Their cabins look empty."

"The first is supposed to be anyway," Hera snapped.

"Yes dear."

"What happened to the pact anyway? Swearing on the River Styx (boom) doesn't have any use anymore…"

"Yes dear."

"Yes dear," Annabeth muttered.

"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one

The gods stared at Thalia for a moment.

"Not anymore," Thalia muttered.

or two."

"If someone did, that would be disastrous," Hephaestus grunted. "I'd feel sorry for that child."

Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot.

"Mascot?" Annabeth exclaimed. "Seriously, Percy? It's been a couple of chapters and you've offended all the gods!"

"It's my duty to."
"Percy!"

Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians.

"It's changed a lot, huh." Verna frowned.

But why would some be empty?

"Because those gods aren't SUPPOSED to have DEMIGOD KIDS!"

"Calm down. The note said no fighting."

"!"

I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.

Intuition, Percy thought.

It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one,

"Pompous eagle," Hades snorted.

but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"

"Would you have vaporized any demigod that trespassed there, Father?" Percy asked.

"I don't think so. I don't supervise it 24/7. If it was anyone, it would be Apollo looking at the Aphrodite cabin."

"What… HEY!"

"It's accurate, brother."

"That's mean, sis!"

"Don't call me sis!"

Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there.

"Not for a century anyway," Hades muttered.

The place felt so sad and lonely,

"Are you sad and lonely, punk?"

"Shut up. I was describing the cabin."

"Percy's really a pessimist. That's what it means."

"Hey!"

I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."

"Oh come on, your father was calling towards you," Apollo said. "Hold on, that sounds like Star Wars… Luke, I am your father."

"He's my son," Hermes said.

"Oh… right."

Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.

"The family sure has been busy," Hera glared.

Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.

"It's improved now," Clarisse smirked. "We upgraded the defenses and the interior mines."

"Thank the gods that you do know where every mine is," Percy muttered to Annabeth.

The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me.

"Your mom's owl does that too. It's so annoying."

Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids,

"Figures," Hephaestus grunted.

both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen.

"Punk."

She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer.

"Just what have you been teaching your children?" Hera sniffed.

She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit,

"I am not a kleptomaniac," Clarisse rolled her eyes.

though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking,

"Do you think that there's any child of Ares that isn't tough looking?"

and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.

"Still comparing me to her?"

I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves.

"And his rear."

"We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.

"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid.

"How can Chiron not like the Party Ponies?" Apollo scoffed.

"Chiron prefers Italian opera," Dionysus said. "It spoils their appetite."

You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events.

"You mean they go to the Olympics?" Percy asked.

"Gods Percy!" Annabeth said exasperatedly. "He means parties not sporting events literally."

But you won't see any here."

"Not true," Dionysus sipped his coke leisurely. "The party ponies enjoy meeting me as much as possible. We generally have pretty wild meetings."

"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ..."

He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules

Hera scowled even more.

and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."

"But, shouldn't you be dead?"

"That was tactful."

Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead.

"Immortal means immortal Percy."

"I was twelve!"

You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."

"Yep," Zeus said darkly. "The cycle goes around and around."

Only Athena understood what he meant. Titans to Typhon to Giants… and then all over again.

I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.

"First sign of Percy going mad. He wants to teach."

"OW!"

"Doesn't it ever get boring?"

"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."

Annabeth nodded. If she was Chiron, she probably wouldn't have been able to handle what he had to.

"Why depressing?"

Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.

"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."

"We've got to teach him how to talk," Conner said sadly.

The blond girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.

When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.

"I wasn't," Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't just assume things if you don't know if it's true or not."

"Then what were you thinking?"

The prophecy. "Just… never mind."

I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek.

"Worst pun ever."

There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.

Athena almost groaned. Maybe this sea spawn wasn't as reliable after all.

"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon.

"Yep," Apollo grinned at the scowling Artemis.

Would you take Percy from here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."

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.

"I guess I need to upgrade it again," Hermes frowned.

Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ?

"Martha and George," A muffled voice came from Hermes messenger bag.

"A caduceus you dolt. And I do all the real work."
"Oh yeah? I'm sure Hermes likes me the best. You're just jealous!"

"Do you want me to put you guys on vibrate?"

The snakes became silent.

A caduceus.

Maybe the sea spawn isn't that hopeless.

Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.

"Claim your kids," Hermes grumbled. "It's not fair that they all have to be cramped together.

Some of the gods shuffled a bit.

Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.

"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."

He galloped away toward the archery range.

I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.

"At least you know the routine," Annabeth frowned. "Otherwise you might have gotten in more trouble."

"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."

So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.

Percy groaned while all the demigods sniggered.

"I see where he gets the genes from," Zeus looked at Poseidon.

There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.

Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.

I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."

Everybody groaned.

Annabeth nodded slowly. This was one of the largest reasons for the second Titan War.

A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward.

Luke… Annabeth thought sadly.

"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."

The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile.

The twins stiffened and were reminded of the betrayal of their half brother.

He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.

Thalia looked down and shuffled.

"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.

"That was back then," Annabeth rolled her eyes at all the stares she was getting.

She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."

"For now?" I asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

So the camp was that different in the past, Verna paused.

I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.

"I was lucky I had nothing to lose," Nico chuckled. "Only my sister's purse when Travis and Conner gambled over."

"You gambled over Bianca's purse!" Verna exclaimed. "I'd have thought she would have scolded you for that."

"Oh… she didn't really need it anymore."

"It's going to be something up coming in the books right?"

"Yes. So if you read faster, you'll be able to find out."

Verna huffed but kept reading.

I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious,

The demigods that betrayed camp… Percy thought. But it wasn't that they didn't have a reason.

some grinning stupidly,

The newer campers that still believed, Annabeth thought.

some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.

"And those are my kids," Hermes said proudly.

"How long will I be here?" I asked.

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

"How long will that take?"

The campers all laughed.

Zeus chuckled as well.

"That is not funny," Percy said quietly. "If a child was neglected without knowing with their parent was, do you think that they would respect gods in the first place?"

"The spawn is right (hey!). Do you think that anyone would respect us if they don't know who they are?" Athena said.

Zeus started to gape.

"Moving on," Verna said hurriedly.

"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"I've already seen it."

"Come on."

"I was trying to save you from humiliation, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I didn't care that much."

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside.

"Always dragging Percy around even when I'm a tree, eh?" Thalia muttered.

Annabeth tried her best not to blush.

Aphrodite could tell that the stories would be interesting for her especially.

I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.

It had really changed over the years, Katie thought. Of all of the years she had been there, it had really changed for good. Except for the two nuclear bombs of course, Katie thought wryly.

When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."

"By the way when did you guys get on pet name terms?" Aphrodite asked eagerly.

"Pet names?" Athena almost choked.

"I actually have no idea," Percy said.

"What?"

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

All the demigods choked over laughing.

"Which one is that?" Travis asked with glee. "But we can kill birds with one stone this time."

Verna frowned at that. She didn't like animals or anything getting hurt. Monsters however were an exception as they reformed anyway.

"Why?" Annabeth asked warily.

"Because we can get a kick out of this with you and Verna. So you think Percy's the one, Verna?"

"What? There's about a five year difference here!"

"Relax, I'm joking. Annabeth seems to be in more of a…"

"Do you understand your position that you're about to be killed by one goddess, three dangerous girls who are trained in weaponry and the girl catching dude?" Conner nudged Travis.

"What?"

Verna was glaring at him and Annabeth was even worse. Katie flexed her fingers and mouthed don't think about it. Athena was glaring at Travis and Nico was glaring at nothing in particular.

"Please move on, Verna. Please do."

"Actually, you can move on," Annabeth said.

"Thank you!"

"For compensation. Drew, I think you really have a good chance to put a full makeover over Travis Stoll."

"WHAT?"

"What's your problem?"

"You didn't even get 'the one' thing, Percy. Hopeless." Nico shook his head. "Even I got the wind of it back then and I never met Annabeth before!"

"So it's Pick on Percy day now."

"Yes."

I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"

"You've haven't killed the Minotaur before," Conner tried to put a light joke in.

Verna raised an eyebrow, "Who says I haven't?"

Conner blinked for five seconds then started gaping. "You've got to be joking."

"I'm not kidding Conner," She said seriously. She adjusted the book cover then turned back to the book.

The demigods stared at her. Clarisse looked at the young girl, smaller than her by many sizes with renewed respect.

"Looks like your father recycles his monsters frequently," Percy muttered to Nico who shook his head in disbelief.

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

"I like your daughter, Athena. Good sense for bloodshed," Ares nodded.

Annabeth winced. That had sounded pretty bad.

"To get killed?"

"That is a valid point," Hestia said quietly. "Demigods have to suffer because they were born."

Hera wanted to interrupt but stopped herself. Hestia could be scary when she wanted to.

"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"

"Not anymore," Annabeth said quietly.

I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."

"Yes."

"Then there's only one."

"Yes."

"Too much yeses."

"OW! Katie, jeez!"

"And he died, like, a gajillion years

"Is that even a real word Percy?" Verna asked.

Apollo and Ares nodded.

"No," Athena said.

The two gods stiffened. The golden camera tilted so it's screen was on Ares' stupefied face.

ago, right? Theseus

Dionysus scowled.

killed him in the labyrinth. So ..."

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

"Oh, thanks. That clears it up."

"I guess that really didn't make any sense," Annabeth said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"But he still doesn't understand anything," Nico said. "He does things like on the spur of the moment."

"The person you are talking about is right here."

"They don't have souls,

Verna felt better at the reminder that she would definitely see her father again if she became a hero.

like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky.

"When is Percy ever lucky?" Thalia muttered. "Almost killing me on the mountain top."

But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them arch types. Eventually, they re-form."

"And makes another generation of demigods worry."

I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally,

"Accidently," Conner chuckled. "My favorite excuse."

"Which never works," Katie rolled her eyes.

with a sword—"

"The Fur

Alecto is sort of furry, Nico thought.

Verna bit her lip but kept on reading.

... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."

"Of course." Hades snorted. "Monsters in my domain barely need any time to reform."

"Which is why she still hates you," Nico said. "You barely give them time to reform."

"It's my life," Percy shrugged.

"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"

"You talk in your sleep."

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

"You better believe it."
"Of course he does my lord."

Verna blanched.

Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.

Percy glared at Nico who shuffled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."

"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?"

"NO!" Zeus boomed.

I sounded whiny, even to myself, but right then I didn't care.

"Most of others had cried or gone into denial," Annabeth said. "You were stronger."

"Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."

I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale.

"How do you expect me to get it?"

"Glad you acknowledge it Seaweed Brain."

Aphrodite grinned. A piece of evidence.

"You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent."

She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.

"Which is what happens often," Annabeth muttered.

"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said.

"She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."

"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."

"Here I thought you believed your mom that I was alive," Poseidon said.

Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids.

"Yeah and they never ended exactly great."

"Your father's not dead, Percy."

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

"I didn't know him directly then."

"No, of course not."

"Then how can you say—"

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

"Then there are the exceptions," Percy said, thinking about Rachel.

"Of course," Hermes said quietly.

"You don't know anything about me."

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

"Were you, Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"I was mostly home-schooled. I preferred that over regular teachers."

"How—"

"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."

"Are all demigods like that?" Verna asked. "Are there exceptions?"

"Yes," Athena said. "There are some demigods that have powers that allow them to not be dyslexic or they could be descendants of demigods. There are also just some demigods that don't have one of them. Most demigods have ADHD at least though."

"Descendants of demigods!" Percy said in amazement. "I didn't know that there were any."

"They're rare, but they do exist."

I tried to swallow my embarrassment.

"Why would you be embarrassed?" Annabeth asked. "It's a pain to read human languages but it's not a reason to be."

"I have no idea what I was thinking."

"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.

"It would be much nicer if we can read both," Percy said. "It's not like we use Greek in real life often."

And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated.

"You just called Paul a monster."

"Most of them are monsters! I didn't say that all of them were!"

Most of them are monsters.

"Don't repeat yourself!"

"Well I have to because it's you!"

"Now stop the flirting or I won't be able to read how this Kelp Brain messes up in my absence," Thalia rolled her eyes.

They don't want you seeing them for what they are."

"That sounds like a song," Will muttered.

"You sound like ... you went through the same thing?"

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

"Ambrosia and nectar."

"No," Nico said. "It's spaghetti and meatballs as godly food of course. Not ambrosia and nectar."

"There's hope for you yet Nico," Travis beamed.

"Um… okay…"

"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid.

"What would happen if we gave some to Rachel?" Percy asked queasily.

"I don't think we should test that out," Annabeth shuddered. "She's still a mortal."

It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead.

"A half-blood died from an overdose a couple of years ago," Jake said sadly. "It was terrible."

Face it. You're a half-blood."

A half-blood.

I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.

Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"

"I do not have a husky voice," Clarisse grumbled.

I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin

Ares glared at Percy.

was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her,

"Not so much anymore," Percy grinned. "Since two years ago, interesting things happened."

"Go to Hades, punk."

"Been there, done it."

"Damn."

all wearing camo jackets.

"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

"Rarely works," Clarisse muttered. "When there's lucky moments, maybe once in a while."

''Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said,

Ares forgot that Athena's daughter was cursing his and said, "Nice."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

which I somehow under stood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.

"Yes," Apollo shuddered as Artemis pulled her bow with a twang.

"You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"

"Runt to punk to Percy? What has this world come to?" Nico muttered.

"To an end of course," Verna grinned.

"You're started to get the hang of it," Thalia grinned. "Always use any means to insult Kelp Head over there."

"HEY!"

"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."

I blinked. "Like ... the war god?"

"It's the god with peace and love of course," Nico said.

"That would really be Iris," Hermes said. "Even though she's a goddess she really prefers being neutral."

Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"

"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."

"It improves!" Percy protested. "In five years anyway…"

Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."

I am so glad Clarisse didn't give that to me… yet, Verna thought.

"Percy."

"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.

"Stay out of it, wise girl."

"Right in the first book!" Aphrodite shrieked. Athena looked murderous.

Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it,

"I tried to stop it," Annabeth shrugged. "But you sure were persistent."

"Yep, that's me."

and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.

"See?"

"Nobody said otherwise."

"Oh, I knew that."

I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.

"With my supreme lord of the bathroom skillz."

I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before,

"Is that a good thing?" Conner asked. "I stay out of that and just pull pranks."

"Probably earlier training in life."

Poseidon frowned.

"I wouldn't want that," Grover shuddered.

"Of course not, G-man."

but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls' bathroom.

"And that was not the only time that happened," Percy muttered.

There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.

"You were not seriously thinking that," Clarisse glared.

"You'd better believe it."

Clarisse scowled.

"Why don't you upgrade it Dionysus?" Apollo asked.

"It's fun to watch the brats… er, children squirm."

Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.

"There's water there anyway…" Drew rolled her eyes.

"Like he's 'Big Three' material,"

"He is," Percy said.

"Shut up."

Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."

Her friends snickered.

"Snicker bars," Clovis grinned in his sleep.

Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.

"You stayed behind and watched?" Katie said. "Honestly…"

"Well I had been thinking that I had to take care of him after Clarisse did afterwards," Annabeth glared at the sofa.

"But I survived…"

Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl.

Ares grinned maniacally.

It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets.

Aphrodite and Drew gave a dramatic shudder.

I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.

"As rebellious as the sea," Hestia chuckled.

Poseidon smiled too. Maybe he had 'helped' a little at that time.

Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.

Clarisse scowled darker.

I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt.

Clarisse's face turned puce.

The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.

She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her.

"They just don't learn," Thalia said.

"They do…" Clarisse said half-heartedly. "Eventually."

But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls

"You're calling my sister camouflage girls," Clarisse said in disbelief.

"Why not?"

"Just… never mind."

right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.

"Just like the father," Hephaestus muttered. "Useless murdering garbage."

As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.

The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared.

"Sorry about that," Percy frowned. "But it's not like I could control it well."

"At least it was the shower water," Annabeth said. "And I was really just watching."

She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door.

"Feeling the love there, Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Shut up."

She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.

I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.

I stood up, my legs shaky.

Annabeth said, "How did you ..."

"I don't know."

We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred.

Like she did now, but on a milder scale.

"You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."

"If he's gone to the Underworld with a grand total of three times, is that going to work?" Nico muttered.

I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."

Clarisse scowled. She never could win against that punk… unless she ambushed him that is.

Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.

Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.

"I was planning."

"To pulverize me."

"Exactly."

"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."

"And getting me killed," Percy muttered.

"Ok, that's done," Verna said.

"The story's done!"
"No! The chapter."

"I'll read next," Nico said. Verna passed the book.

Conner and Travis were about to say something, but a warning shot from Katie stopped them.

"My Dinner Goes up in Smoke," Nico read.

I want to know if Verna seems like a character that makes sense. If anyone has questions, ask me, the Cherry. 8 more days till my birthday.