10th chapter- enjoy!

So this is the tenth chapter/continuation of the previous chapter. Can you believe we're already on the two-digit chapter numbers?

Thank you very much to PokemonandPJO, bookwormultimate, and rrfanman for reviewing. Stay loving and keep on reading!

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Sadly, I do not own PJO but I do own my OCs. :):

...New Enemies?

ARTEMIS'S POV

"Go Andrew!" Sophie cheered, her excited voice bouncing off the painted walls of the gym.

I simply sighed as my eyes followed the direction of the ball that my brothers threw. It made a perfect arc above the players, quickly sailing into the net with a whoosh. Another three points for my brother's team.

"Wow. Your brother wasn't kidding when he said he was good, huh?" Sophie broke away from the game to face me for a moment. As she did, sounds of palms slapping could be heard as the club instructor announced that Andrew's team was in the lead. Immediately, words of encouragement were spoken for the opposing team as the game resumed.

"He wasn't," I confirmed, leaning forward. With the eye of an expert hunter, I caught sight one of Apollo's teammates committing an offense as he tried to run to the other side of the court. A whistle was blown a heartbeat later.

Sophie snapped back to attention. "What happened? What did he do?" She pointed at Apollo's teammate who was scratching the nape of his neck irritably when the instructor approached him.

"Travelling," I replied in a bored manner.

"What's wrong with that?"

I gave her a puzzled look. "Travelling is an offense."

"Oh... Oh, right!" She averted her gaze, only to look at me a second later with a sheepish smile. "And, um, what's that?"

"It's when you take more than two steps without dribbling that ball." I explained through a patient smile. "I thought you watched basketball."

"Sometimes, but I'm not familiar with the terms," she admitted.

I nodded in understanding. "That'll probably be the same case for me if only I didn't sit through Andrew's games."

Sophie nodded back and then faced front to watch the game again. I leaned back, letting my back rest against the cool, metal edge of the dark blue bleacher, my arms dangling beside me. I glanced up at the high ceiling of the gym which stopped at the top of the second floor.

The gym, by the way, was like a three-story sports complex. Literally. In the first floor was the basketball court, complete with the shiny floorboards and metal bleachers, just like what I mentioned. Located in the second floor were more bleachers (cement, this time and painted alternately blue and white) and small badminton courts off to the side. The third floor was solely dedicated for runners, having only a track and field oval with fake grass surrounding it (and the bleachers—you mustn't forget the bleachers). Sophie toured me around the gym after meeting up, and she also showed me the swimming pool and the volleyball court (both beside the gym) before settling to watch Apollo's first ever club meeting.

But to be honest, when Sophie asked me earlier to hang out with her, my mind was filled with images of the typical "girl talks" or maybe even "gossip trades," reading books in the library, or eating in the cafeteria. You know, those mortal stuff. So I wasn't exactly thrilled beyond thrilled when Sophie lead me here. Hence the boredom.

It was a little fun, though. From time to time Sophie would blurt out jokes and share Skittles left over from lunch and Coke she brought from home. But really, not even sugary snacks can keep me from yawning.

Another sound of the shrill whistle piercing the air jostled me awake. My eyes popped open and I did a little squeak like someone did a surprise attack from behind.

Sophie peered over her shoulder and laughed. "Wakey, wakey Sleeiping Beauty. The game's over; it's the girls' time to shine."

I sat up straight and did some shoulder rotations to awaken my numb shoulders. Wincing a little, I checked my surroundings. The crowd of boys running around the court was thinning out, flocking over to the bleachers across the ones beside us to talk with their instructor. The girls' team, who were intently watching the game a while ago in the corner, were now jogging to the court to take center stage.

"Hadley!" Sophie sang over the sound of squeaking sneakers. "Hadley!"

The brunette turned to face us, her braided hair whipping over her jersey-clad shoulder. She grinned and waved.

"Have fun!" I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth.

Her grin grew wider before turning her back. From beside me, I felt Sophie abruptly stop waving. Tearing my gaze away from the team, I eyed her. "Is something wrong?"

"It's them,"

Them? I followed to where she was pointing at and my eyes landed on the Elites, entering in all their snobby, elite glory.

"I sometimes spot them here," she continued to say, "but when I didn't see them when we came in, I thought their flirt fest got canceled. Guess they were just late." She finished with a sigh.

"Flirt fest, eh?" I watched as Elise singled out a shaggy older blonde near the edge of the court. He was too busy drinking his red Gatorade to actually notice the girl parting from her friends to go over to him. The poor boy, I thought sadly.

He may have been a boy, but no man deserves to be pounced on by a girl as selfish and vain as Elise. My heart goes out to him. I looked away from the now laughing duo, wanting to focus on the more important things.

"Ignore them," I instructed Sophie. "Let's just watch Hadley practice." Sophie nodded in agreement.

But it was hard to, as we learned a few minutes later.

We cheered Hadley on as she dribbled her way to the other side of the court. Two thickly-built girls ran up to her, one on each side. It was obvious they were trying to block her. Hadley desperately twisted her neck around, sending telepathic distress calls to her teammates. But as she did so, she stepped on her own tied shoelaces, letting the white laces loose free. She immediately stumbled on them and her arms started flailing as she tried to retain her balance. However, despite all the efforts, she went down with a thud, the ball flying out of her hands.

The good news? Hadley didn't seem to be hurt.

The bad news? The ball was heading straight for the boy and Elise.

It was already too late for anyone to do anything so we all watched in horror and awe as the ball smacked the boy square on his arms, the Gatorade in his hand spilling over. Half of the red liquid splattered his jersey, half-soaked Elise.

At first, no one dared to make a sound. Elise stood there, unblinking as the boy opened and closed his mouth in surprise. Then, as if someone hit the volume control button, almost everyone started to laugh hysterically; I could even hear pig-like snorts. Some chose to snicker softly instead, while a few weren't laughing at all. Sophie, me, the instructors, select teammates from the girls' team, and Hadley—especially Hadley—were under the latter part.

"Oh, boy," Sophie muttered under her breath.

We both watched, helpless, as Elise stomped her way to Hadley. Our friend, who was helped up by one of the thickly-built girls earlier, looked like she was about to stumble again when realized that Elise and her friends were ganging up on her. The rest of the Elites stood behind the fuming Elise, arms crossed and eyes ablaze, as she started to shout ego-bruising comments at the poor Hadley. Her perfect little features sorted themselves into an angry, disoriented expression that even Medusa would run away from.

"Hey, Elise," a boy sneered, "is today the day that you have it? Because you sure are making a scene!" The boys around burst into another round of hysterics, and I was sure that Apollo would suffer from lack of oxygen.

But the boy was right. With the way the red drink soaked Elise's white jeans, you'd think that she had an, um, unfortunate stain due to her womanly business.

One of the instructors and the blonde haired boy finally had the right mind to stop Elise, but even with their combined muscular strength, they couldn't move Elise from her spot.

"It's so surprising that you're in this club when you're more uncoordinated than your friend Sophie's clothes," she spat. "Why did you even join? No wonder you're not varsity."

"Ms. Knight!"

"I'm sorry! I-I-It was just an accident..." Hadley's voice was a half-squeak, half-whine.

"That's it," Sophie narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "I'm going in."

She made her way over to the crowd and wasted no time in telling off Elise. But as expected, the brat became more violent. She pushed Sophie hard, telling her to back off. Sophie retaliated and jabbed Elise's clavicle, saying that it was she who needed to back off. I found myself heading towards them with much determination to stop them before this turned into a full-fledged fight. A series of one-liners ran inside my head, but even before I could decide on what to say, I already inserted myself between Sophie and Elise.

Elise's eyes widened in surprise. They were usually a pretty aqua color, but strangely, they were a navy blue now. "What do you want?" she finally said. "Did you come here to embarrass yourself too?"

"Oh, don't worry." I assured her, my voice surprisingly calm and clear. This was just like having one of my arguments with Aphrodite, I realized. "This won't take too long. I just have one question for you."

"Oh, really? This should be interesting." She smirked, and her friends felt obliged to giggle.

"So." I took a deep breath and made sure to look straight into her eyes. "Elise, are you a dengue mosquito?"

"No, why?" She looked confused.

"Then why are you making me sick?"

Stunned silence.

Before anyone else could react, I hurriedly turned to Hadley. "Everything okay?" She nodded quickly. "Good." Then I looked over and glared at Elise. "And by the way, it's the truth. I may be new here, but I can already feel that everyone's sick of you."

And with that, I grabbed Sophie's hand and ran as fast as I could, the sound of silence acting as our escape music.

Any comments, suggestions, or violent reactions? If so, you know what to do.