Chapter 11 – Levina

New character! Her name is Selena!

Do you have to ruin everything? Are you really selfish enough to let down half of the camp?

The words echoed through her mind, images swimming through her head. She silently watched the retreating figure of Kyle. He was throwing his armor to the ground in anger. Anger that was meant for her.

She shouldn't care. She should have been enjoying it. But she wasn't. Was she really that bad? When Kyle had finally disappeared, she felt a single tear trail down her cheek. She was crying? No! Levina was not supposed to cry. This was all wrong! She angrily wiped the water away. That was just some dust she told herself. Only dust.

She looked around anxiously, hoping nobody had spotted her, before running back to her cabin. Once there, she collapsed on the thick sleeping bag in the corner, lying on her pillow and staring up at the domed ceiling. Eventually, she dozed off.

When she woke up, there was a pool of light in the middle of the cabin. There would be no camp activities today. Slowly, Levina pulled on a pair of jeans and a purple shirt. Her stomach growled as she stepped out of her empty cabin and into the warm sun. Some of the campers were shooting nasty looks at her. They were mad about yesterday.

A Hermes kid walked over to her, grinning, and said, "Thanks so much! We couldn't have won the game without you!" He and his friends started cracking up as they walked away. Levina stayed still, holding back more anger. She spotted her friend, Alayna, standing ahead and went to talk to her.

Alayna was a second-generation demigod too. Her mother was a daughter of Aphrodite and her father was a son of Apollo. Levina was constantly struck by how beautiful she was, but it hit her a little harder today.

Her black hair was in curls, when normally, she preferred to keep it straight. She had on her usual eyeliner but it was pink instead of black. She had added sparkly pink eye shadow. Her full lips were stained hot pink.

"Hey Alayna," Levina said hesitantly. Alayna's brown eyes looked her over before flashing back to the people she had been talking too. She looked almost…embarrassed.

"Be right back, girls!" she said, waving her fingers. "Let's go talk over there Levina."

Levina followed her behind the Aphrodite cabin. Alayna turned to look at her, looking her over once again. Standing in front of the doll-like Alayna, Levina became very conscious of her own uncombed dark brown hair and the fact that she didn't have on so much as lip-gloss.

"Well?" Alayna asked, looking at her expectantly. Levina looked puzzled. "Look, um, there's really no easy way to say this…" Alayna began, avoiding Levina's eyes.

"Say what?"

"I don't think we should be friends anymore. I mean…it's not you, it's me. Well, actually, it is kind of you. I mean, right now, half of the camp hates you, and I can't be friends with an outcast, it would ruin my reputation," Alayna said, examining her perfectly manicured, hot pink nails. "And besides…look at me, and look at you. I mean, I'm a descendant of Aphrodite and Apollo. Two of the most attracting gods! I can't hang out with riff-raff. Let's face it hon, you're a reject."

Levina stared at her 'friend' in disbelief. Piper had warned her. She should have known better than to become friends with Drew's daughter. Alayna Tanaka was just as bad as her mother.

Alayna turned to leave, but before she left, she looked over her shoulder and said, "And please, don't try and talk to me." Then she was gone, leaving only a very shocked Levina. She had just lost her only friend.

Running her fingers through her untamed hair, Levina walked along the back of the cabins. The backs were considerably uglier than the fronts. She thought a lot.

Just yesterday, Alayna had been talking happily with her. They had even come to camp together. Was one day in the Aphrodite cabin really enough to change a person so much? Or was the Alayna she had known just a fake?

"You seem upset." Levina turned and saw a girl standing a few feet away. Levina's first expression was of a shadow. The girl had jet-black hair and olive skin. She was wearing black jeans and a black shirt covered with a black leather jacket, complete with chains and all. Her hair was long and smooth, and her eyes were dark brown. They weren't cold and dead though, they had a certain sparkle to them. "I'm not goth," the girl said, seeing Levina's expression.

"No…it's just…" Levina stuttered, at a loss for words.

"I'm a daughter of Hades. I was born looking like this, and guess what! I can't change it!"

"I know, I just…I'm sorry," Levina said.

"It's okay." The girl extended a hand. "I'm Selena." Levina took the hand, expecting it to be cold, but instead it was warm.

"I'm Levina."

"Zeus and Bellona descendant. Yeah, I know. I know everything going on in camp. You'd be amazed how many people pass me off as a shadow," she said with a sly grin. "Ever need a spy, let me know."

"Definitely," Levina said smiling.

Selena shoved her hands into her pockets and assumed a guilty look. "Now's probably a good time to tell you that I saw what happened back there. Sorry, didn't realize it would become so personal."

"It's okay."

"That chick is a jerk."

Levina smiled. "I know."

"Looks like you're in the market for a new friend," Selena continued. "Thought I should let you know that I'm available."

"Good to know."

"And I don't hate you."

"Also good to know," Levina said. Selena smiled.

"So, why don't you come into my cabin with me and tell me all about your problems. I'm a really good listener."

"That'd be really nice," Levina said. She followed Selena to the black obsidian Hades' cabin.

"Welcome to my crib!" Selena said, leading Levina in. The place was beautiful. The floor was polished black marble. There was a fireplace in the far wall, with green flames blazing. A mounted flat screen TV was on top of it. Black leather couches were arranged around the TV, with a black coffee table in the center. There was a kitchenette in one corner and a few bunk beds in another. It had a modern look to it. "Take a seat," Selena said, pointing to a black recliner. Levina sat down and Selena pulled something that made a foot rest pop out. Selena sat down on a black sofa opposite from Levina.

"This place is awesome."

Selena nodded. "Levina is a strange name – and I mean that in the best way possible. What does it mean?"

"It's Latin. It means 'Lightning Bolt'," Levina responded promptly.

"Makes sense. Zeus and what not," Selena mused.

"Jupiter," Levina corrected.

"Whatever you say," Selena said distantly. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Train."

"Makes sense. Bellona and what not," Selena said. "I like to write. It's a way for me to express myself and show who I really am. But enough about me. What's going on in Lightning Bolt Land?"

Levina explained about the Capture the Flag game, and her long rivalry with Kyle.

"Not taking sides or anything," Selena said when she had finished, "but I think you're being stupid. Who cares what Kyle thinks? I mean, you guys hate each other!"

"Yeah, you're right," Levina said. She felt her stomach groan. "I shouldn't have skipped breakfast."

"Hungry?" Selena asked. Levina nodded, and Selena snapped her fingers. Levina suddenly felt a presence standing next to her. She turned her head and saw a skeleton. Obviously, she screamed. "Relax, that's just Alfred, the butler."

"You have a skeletal butler?" Levina asked, breathing heavily.

"Hello? Hades," Selena said, waving her hands around. "Anyways, if you avoid screaming, you'll find that Alfred is offering you a plate of pancakes. They're quite good actually."

"Oh, um, thanks Alfred," Levina said, taking the plate of pancakes. Alfred bowed and stepped back.

"Anything to drink?" Selena asked,

"No, I'm good."

"That will be all Alfred." The skeleton bowed again and walked away. Levina noticed that he was wearing a clean and new-looking suit, which looked strange on his skeletal body.

"This place is awesome," Levina said, looking around.

"Yeah. I suppose you'll be spending a lot of time here now that we're friends."

"Definitely," Levina said with a broad smile.

Levina was smiling as she stepped out of the Hades cabin with Selena by her side. She realized that Selena was way better than Alayna ever was. When she saw Kyle sitting alone on a bench, her heart nearly stopped. Now he was going to ruin her good mood. She was sure of it.

"Oh no, I forgot something. I'll go get it, you keep going. I'll meet you there!" Selena said suddenly, turning and running back to her cabin. Levina continued walking. She made it past the bench Kyle was on, and was silently celebrating when he spoke to her.

"Well, would you look who it is?" he said in a taunting voice. She turned to look at him. He looked miserable, but he was grinning maniacally after teasing her. "Lady Lightning herself."

"Lady Lightning?" Levina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Kyle hissed. "Don't even talk to me."

"Funny. I believe you are the one who began speaking to me," Levina said icily.

"I hate you. Because of you, the camp hates me. I wish you would just die." Well, that stung. Wishing death upon someone was pretty harsh. Besides, Levina was already suffering emotionally because of the Tanaka family. Was Jackson going to mess things up now too?

"I feel the same way," Levina responded coolly.

"It would have been better if you were just put on defense. You would've been useless as a partner in stealing the flag anyways. I didn't need a partner. I could have done it all by myself," Kyle continued bitterly.

"Well I guess it's obvious what your fatal flaw is," Levina said sharply.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Hubris. You have deadly pride. Not to mention you're an arrogant little pig."

"Oh, am I? This coming from a coccydynia," Kyle said heatedly.

"What in Hades does that mean?"

"Ninnyhammer," Kyle muttered. It didn't take a genius to figure out that that was an insult.

"You know what your problem is?"

"No, and I don't really care."

"You are such a little-"

"Hey, what's going on here?" Levina turned and saw Selena watching them. "Who is this?"

"Kyle," Levina said with extreme dislike. She saw Selena look at him, as though sizing him up.

"Who's she," Kyle asked. He was staring at Selena.

"She is Selena," Selena said. "You can talk to me directly you know," she added, folding her arms across her chest. Kyle continued to stare at her. "I'm not goth. I'm a daughter of Hades," she continued. It looked like she was starting to get uncomfortable from his staring.

"Stop staring at her," Levina finally snapped. Kyle jumped a little bit. "Stop staring at Selena," she repeated.

"I wasn't staring!" Kyle said defensively.

"Oh, really," Levina started, about to start another argument.

"Guys stop fighting," Selena interrupted. "You're being asinine!" Levina groaned. More big words.

"Not you too! Speak in English!" she said irritably. Kyle, however, was looking at her with a new interest.

"How do you know that word?" he asked curiously.

"I'm a writer. I like to look up synonyms so I can have a diversity of words in my writing," Selena said with a shrug. "Most people don't understand what I'm saying. They look at me like I'm crazy for using big words."

"I can relate," Kyle said sympathetically. Levina watched the scene with disgust. Selena and Kyle could not become friends.

"Let's go Selena," Levina said, tugging her away from Kyle.

"Oh, um, bye Kyle!" she called over her shoulder as Levina pulled her away. Kyle was watching them go, and Levina saw him wave goodbye. Once they were a good distance away, Levina turned to Selena. She was blushing a little bit.

"Why were you being so nice to Kyle? Remember, he's the one who-"

"I know," Selena interrupted. "But that doesn't mean I can be rude to him. Besides, he's not that bad."

"Oh yes he is. Follow my advice, and stay away from him. He thinks he can do anything and everything better than anyone. I could beat him anytime, anywhere," Levina said confidently.

"I see Kyle isn't the only one with hubris," Selena muttered. Levina rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Come on, I need to introduce you to Hippie Zeus." Levina walked towards her cabin with her new friend.

Who cared if half of camp hated her? Who cared if Alayna had turned out to be a brat? Who cared about that arrogant Kyle?

Right now, Levina was fairly happy, and she wanted things to stay that way.

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