Cp 17

Ace wanted to at least help Sherman to the infirmary but I voted against it. Let the jerk do it himself.

We were walking back to the mess hall when the conch horn blew loudly. "It's six already?" I asked Ace. He shrugged. "Wait, we came before lunch, right?" I wonder aloud.

He frowned. "Hmm, no, you arrived around 1:00. Some campers were still finishing up with lunch. By the time Chiron explained everything and you met us, it was around 2:00." Ace explained. I nodded.

That made sense. But…there was a nagging question in my mind. Why did Augustina say the trip will take less than an hour? I was pretty sure we left for camp at 5:00 a.m.

I shrugged the thought off, for now. I didn't forget about it, though. We were 5 minutes away from the mess hall. "Hey, uh, I never got to thank you for what you did back there." Ace whispered. I smiled.

I had a trait that always cancelled each other out. I like to tease my friends a lot, but I am very protective of them.

I remember once in fifth grade; Nicki was being pushed around by a guy outside of school. Josh Carter. I found out one day when she broke down crying after school.

"He said I was spoiled and that I should stop trying to be a stuck-up brat."

When I told her I'll deal with it, she protested all the way.

I didn't care. I wasn't afraid of him.

The next morning, I beat up Josh. A teacher finally stopped us, and I ended up with 2 detentions; morning and afternoon. My parents were really upset that day, I had to do all the chores around the house. But there was an extra punishment: apologizing to Josh.

I might've been in fifth grade, but I could never apologize to someone like that. When I refused, Josh's parents scolded my bad manners and threatened to involve the police.

I still didn't say sorry.

"Your son has been bullying my friend after school. She's fed up with it. She's too kind to stand up for herself, so I did it for her. Nicki broke down crying when she told me. It shouldn't be this serious, but it is. Involve the FBI for all I care, I'm not saying sorry." I told Josh's parents.

They were shocked of course, but I knew one thing. Josh was always sensitive about appearing weak. So, after my explanation, I added: "But Josh is too afraid to admit it." The trap sprung and Josh fell for it. "I am not!" It may not seem like much, but it was the answer I was hoping for.

"If there's nothing to hide, why be afraid at all?" I retort, innocently. Josh's face went slack with shock and his parents demanded for a reason behind this.

Another thing I knew: Josh wasn't that smart and he was a terrible liar. "I-I but…she—fine! I did bully Nicki, but it wasn't that bad,"

Josh's parents grounded him for two weeks.

I told Ace all this as we reached the Mess Hall. "That…was clever. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

I smirked. "Mama bear, remember?" I joke. When we enter, most people are all ready at their tables and seats. I spotted Lilith, Cassie and Nicki and waved at them. They stood huddled in a corner. "Guess you have to go. Bye, mama bear." Ace said as he walked to the Hephaestus table. Leo waved at him with a big grin on his face.

I shuffle to join my friends as everyone walks up to get their food. Various smells filled the air. I felt like my nostrils might explode. Well, at least, not if my stomach beat me to it. It growled the loudest this time. I cursed silently as I remembered about the granola bar I had left behind.

And Sherman Yang. But the granola bar was more important.

"Holly and Laurel kept fighting over who gave the tour better, what about you guys? Any luck?" Lilith whispered. "Oh, Blake is awwweesomme. He let me stick beads onto his forehead in arts and crafts. It now spells: Casie wuz here!" Cassie grinned. "Olivia?" Nicki asked. "what about you?"

I snapped back into reality. Geez, that ADHD was kicking in fast. "Uh, yeah. Ace is cool, I beat up Sherman yang, left him by the lake, and I'm hungry. When do we get our food?" I ask and tell them. My friends gaped at me. "Uh, did you just say beat up Sherman Yang?" Lilith asked.

"And left him by the lake?" Nicki continued, wide eyed.

I shrugged. "He was being a brat, I just put him in his place." I defended. The line was slowly decreasing.

"we'll talk about this later. Can we go get food now?" I whine. "We have no where to sit, doofus." Lilith pointed out. "I'd be happy to stand." I shot. "You know what? I'm going anyway." I tell them as I walk to the line and grab a plate.

The tables were stacked with roast beef, mac' and cheese, steamed vegetables, fresh picked fruits and hot soup. I was raised not to be eager when I see food. It was disrespectful.

…but the instance with Ace's granola bar was different. Totally.

I put a spoonful of fruits and mac' and cheese on my plate. Then helped myself to a slice of roast beef. What spotted my eye was a small section filled with goblets. The goblets that granted whatever drink you liked! I was excited to put them into action.

I recalled having to thank the gods before eating. It was my turn to do so after a couple more people.

"Everyone's looking at us," Cassie hissed. "Isn't awesome?" She smirked at the crowd. They're stares turned elsewhere. It was finally my turn. I slid the cheesiest spoon of mac' and cheese, juiciest fruits, and prettiest looking roast beef into the fire. (What? I didn't know which was the juiciest!)

I caught a quick whiff of the fire. It smelt like all the tastiest food servings combined, it was a smell that pleased my nose. I went back to my corner and started eating. I watched my friends do their part in offering the food to the gods while consuming the delectable mac' and cheese.

Lilith rushed over to me first. "You looked super disappointed when giving the food to the gods, pretty sure everyone noticed." I shrugged. Oh well.

I stuffed a piece of beef in my mouth. Cassie and Nicki walked over to us and smiled. "Isn't it awesome? Were living in what we thought was a fantasy." Nicki marveled. We all nodded in agreement as we consumed our plate. "Do you think it might actually work?" Lilith prompted, eyeing her goblet.

"Use it and find out, dummy." Cassie told her. Lilith pursed her lips, but still decided to try it. "Okay, uh, lemonade." Lilith asked the goblet. Instantly the goblet filled itself with the sugary-sour liquid. "Woah," Nicki stared wide eyed at the lemonade. Cassie, however, looked unimpressed. "You chose lemonade. Are you kidding? Any drink!" She shook her head in disapproval.

Lilith lifted a shoulder. "Hot chocolate," muttered Nicki to her goblet. Bam, warm chocolate filled itself.

"Go ahead, Cassie." Lilith pushed. Cassie smiled and told her cup: "Iced Raspberry and Lime soda. Make it bright green." The goblet obeyed, and I had to admit, it looked delicious. "Cheers, girls," Cassie said smirking at Lilith. "I made it up, too."

"Olivia, you didn't say yours yet!" Nicki poked me on the forehead. "Are you okay? You seem super distracted." I grin. "I'm fine. Pink pina colada please." Just like that the drink raised to the top of my glass. "Sweet." I mutter.

Folded hands come down on my head. "You feeling better now, mama bear?" I snort.

"Yes, but I'll always be mama bear, if you don't get your filthy arms off my head." I warn. Cassie, Lilith and Nicki pretend to be in a conversation, but I know they're listening.

Ace takes his arms off my head. "Hey, come on, it's not my fault you're so short." I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. At the age of 13, I was only 4 11' – 5 feet. It was pretty pathetic. "Yeah, yeah. But that doesn't mean I'm an arm rest." I counter.

"what are you doing over here?" I cross my arms and stifle a yawn. "A) People keep staring at us and B) we don't have a table to sit at." I answer. Ace looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, mama bear, see you later." He walks back to his table.

I squeal interrupts my thoughts. "That was adorable!" Nicki gave me an excited smile. I sighed. "Why? Look, I know I'm not a fan of dudes, but Ace is alright. He's my friend." Cassie and Lilith snickered at that. "And what's so funny?" I growled.

"Nothing-I" Lilith starts, but she gets cut off from the sound of hooves. Chiron. He's going to tell us our guardians now. I felt more curious than nervous, but I was still fidgeting. I forced myself to stop.

"Hello campers, as you all know today, four new campers joined us. It is a…different case for them, but we they are still one of us. Now let's start with—" Chiron starts. A loud grunt and growl stop him.

Entering the Mess Hall is a guy with dirty black hair, he looked as if he slept in the woods. Probably because he did. Interrupting Chiron's message was the infamous: Sherman Yang.

A/N: hehe. Cliffhanger. Please don't hate me, but i'd like to know who you think Cassie, Olivia, Nicki and Lilith's godly parents might be. I've dropped a few hints! I'll upload the next chapter probably tomorrow or this weekend.