25 August 2009

Over the course of the next week, cabins 13 through 16 were designed and constructed, so Annabeth had now turned her focus to my own cabin. I had preemptively told her that I didn't care about the design of the cabin one way or another, so long as I had space for a foosball table. She had eyed me strangely at the request but agreed. It had been a few days since our conversation, and I was anxious to see her plan.

I was playing basketball with some of the Apollo campers when Chiron called across the commons, "Julia!"

I jogged over to where he and Annabeth were standing in front of a small cabin.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

"I'd like to present to you Annabeth's latest design: completely customizable, modular cabins."

I walked up to the cabin and peered in through the door. "It's small," I frowned.

"It's private!" Chiron countered. "Each module is for a maximum of four people. How many did you have to live with in the Hermes cabin?"

"A lot," I admitted.

Annabeth added, "These modules are brand-new. The bathrooms are state-of-the-art."

That got me interested. "Bathrooms… in the cabin?"

"Yep. The furniture is programmable. The exterior colors, the interior design—it can be changed to whatever you want." She touched the closest cabin, and it turned from dull red to bright silver.

I hummed, impressed.

"But we can't give brand-new cabins like this to just anyone," she said. "Whoever gets these, everyone else in camp will be totally jealous. We need to find the absolute best campers..."

I squinted in suspicion. While I was obviously the best camper, Annabeth was not one likely to admit it. When her face showed no signs of mocking, I stood up straighter. "Well, you've come to the right person for that."

"So, are you interested in claiming this as Cabin 17?"

I grinned, "Count me in."

I spent the rest of the day moving my few belongings from the Athena cabin into my own.

Despite first appearances, the cabin was actually quite roomy. I climbed up the ladder to the loft I had claimed, which conveniently had a bathroom as well. I placed my duffel bag with my stuff on the bed, and haphazardly put all of my clothes in the wardrobe.

Then, I carefully took out an old shoebox (Nike brand, of course), and opened the lid. Inside was a collection of photographs that each had held a place next to my bunk in Cabin 11, at one point or another.

The top photo was of me and my parents just before my 6th birthday, which I celebrated with my father in Nagano. As a child, I met my mother twice - which, I suppose, is frequent for a demigod. You see, my father was a different sort of Olympian. He was one of the best skiers in the world - maybe even the best. That's how he had attracted my mother. At 20, he won gold in ski cross - one of the youngest ski champions in history. And on the day of the closing ceremony when he came back to his room in the Olympic Village, lying on his bed was a golden cradle with beautiful baby me inside.

The next was of me and my childhood friend-turned-step sister Melody, right after winning gold at my first ever track competition. I was so happy… but my father had failed to show up. That winter had been hard for him - it had been the first Olympics where he hadn't gotten the gold. His coaches were still thrilled since he'd come in 2nd place even after a nasty leg injury only months prior. But 2nd place wasn't good enough for him - and certainly not for my mother. It was the first time she didn't come to see us on the day of the closing ceremony. Truthfully, I think that hurt him even more than losing. After that he stopped caring about everything. We went straight back home instead of vacationing out west for the spring as we'd planned. At the time, I didn't understand the full story. I didn't know she was a goddess, and what her absence truly meant for my father.

I look around the crowd hoping to see my father. He isn't there. He hasn't come to any meets at all this year, but I had hoped he'd come to see the final. Instead, it is my friend's mother, Ms. Fletcher, who comes up to me and tells me how proud she is. Her daughter Melody is also on the track team but finished in the middle of the group.

"Great job Julia! You were amazing!" Melody says when she walks over with her older brother Lee.

"She's right!" Lee says, "I know some pretty talented runners and you're on their level."

"Now, kids, don't give Julia a big ego. She can still improve," Ms. Fletcher leans in and fake-whispers conspiratorially, "But you sure were awesome, honey." She winks at me.

"Mel! Julia!" I hear someone call out. We turn and see our classmate Mark trying to get our attention. He shouts, "My mom said I could invite the team over for a pool party. Do y'all want to come?"

Melody looks at her mother with pleading eyes. Ms. Fletcher laughs. "Alright. Just make sure to call me when you need to be picked up."

"Thank you!" She hugs her mom. "You coming, Julia?"

I shake my head. "I just want to go home." Melody frowns but runs off to join the group without me.

For a moment I stare at them wistfully, but then I see something that changes my life.

A family is walking past us back to their car. Their young son takes off running, and his mother calls out to him to be careful. Not a second later, he crashes into a middle-aged woman standing idly on the sidewalk. But instead of stumbling or falling over, her head falls off. The child does a double-take but keeps running after a second glance. I look around in horror. Is no one else concerned about this? Then the woman bends over, picks up her head, and puts it back on.

My jaw drops.

I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Lee behind me, staring at the woman with caution. "Turn around and look at me," he says quietly. I obey.

"What is that?" I ask, a hint of panic in my voice.

"One of the blemmyae. They're pretty common out here. Luckily, they don't tend to go after demigods if we leave them alone." He looks me over and notices my stiff posture. "Am I correct in assuming you have no idea what I'm talking about?"

I give him a panicked nod.

He hums in thought then abruptly calls out, "Mom? Code Orange."

I look at Ms. Fletcher and see her with her mouth agape. "Julia?"

Lee nods in affirmation. "Can you take us to the Zafer's place? We need to explain everything to Adil as soon as possible so we can leave for New York tonight."

"New York!" I manage to squeak out, tears forming in my eyes. Ms. Fletcher rushes over to give me a tight hug.

"Everything is going to be okay," she soothes, "Let's just take this one step at a time, okay? First, we need to go and talk to your dad."

The third picture made me laugh out loud. It was a cheesy selfie taken by Drew when she came back to camp during Thanksgiving the first year that she went to school. Everyone in the picture is making silly faces: me, Drew, Malcolm, Annabeth, Michael, Clarisse, Jake, Katie, Travis, and Connor. The older campers - the ones who were high-school or college-aged at the time: Silena, Chris, Lee, Beckendorf, and Luke - decided that they wanted to have a party. When the 'younger' campers found out, we wanted to come too, but they refused. Drew decided that instead, we would have our own party and that it would be better than theirs. But of course, Drew has always been Drew, and she demanded that our younger siblings be forbidden. I still feel a little guilty when I think about the look of betrayal on Mitchell, Nyssa, and Miranda's faces. Drew had come back from her school in Brooklyn very proud for learning what she deemed 'the best game ever'.

Truth or Dare.

Drew may claim that this is a fun game, but I think her mortal friends must be playing it differently. Because I am not having fun. So far, Malcolm, Katie, and Jake have all opted for 'Truth', but now it's my turn.

"All of you are cowards!" I complain. "Dare."

Drew gives me an almost maniacal grin. "Did you say, 'Dare', Julie?"

"Of course!"

"Then I dare you to kiss someone."

I give her a blank stare. "Excuse me?"

"I dare you to kiss someone!" She laughs with glee. "Everyone at schools says that kissing is the best dare to give - so kiss someone!"

I glare at her but don't object. I glance around the room, looking for my best option. My eyes pass over the other campers. Then I lock my eyes on my victim. I smile internally before leaning over Malcolm to lay a loud dramatic kiss on Drew's cheek.

"Hey!" she splutters. "That doesn't count!"

"You never said I had to kiss someone on the lips. So yes, it does," I said smugly.

The next picture wiped the smile off my face and replaced it with a quiver in my lip and tears in my eyes in an instant.

Castor.

Instead of putting it up on the wall, I kissed it and put it under my pillow. I was about to stand up when I heard a pounding at the door. I rushed down the stairs and opened the door, half expecting an emergency.

Drew, Malcolm, and Pollux were standing in the doorway.

"Come in," I said as I composed myself and dried my cheeks.

"I hope we're not bothering you," Pollux says. "But we wanted to come and celebrate with you!"

A genuine smile made its way onto my face. "Thanks, guys. That means a lot."

I gesture for them to follow me into the cabin, and I lead them to where I have set up a small living area. I grabbed four diet cokes from my minifridge and went to spend time with my friends.

After the construction of Cabin 17, camp lasted one more week.

The entirety of camp was seated in the amphitheater, and there were more campers than there had ever been in my time at Camp Half-Blood. It seemed that, for now, the gods had listened to Percy.

After we placed this year's bead on our necklaces, we gathered by cabin to hear Chiron's remarks. Since I was the only one in Cabin 17, I was seated with the other small cabins: Nemesis, Hebe, and Tyche.

"Never forget this summer!" Chiron began. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honor of the camp." He smiled at Percy, and all the campers cheered. "And now," Chiron said, "Early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"

As we were leaving the amphitheater, I rushed to catch up with Pollux, since Drew and Malcolm were busy with their siblings.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

We meandered slowly back to the cabins in comfortable silence. When we arrived at Cabin 17, I gave Pollux a tight hug.

"Goodnight," I whispered.

He gave me a tight hug back. "I'll see you tomorrow." Then he let go and walked briskly towards Cabin 12.

NEXT TIME OF VICTORY IS SWEET, SOMETIMES: A MISTAKE AND A GOODBYE

Pollux decides to go home for the first time since the Battle of the Labyrinth. How will Julia be able to let go of another one of her best friends?