I BECOME SUPREME LORD OF THE BATHROOM

The tour was nice, though I made sure not to walk behind Chiron, much to his amusement. I'd done poop patrol at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and let's just say, I didn't feel as comfortable with Chiron's ass as I did his front.

As we passed the volleyball pit, several campers nudged each other and pointed at me, whispering. They were specifically pointing at my Minotaur horn. One even whispered, "That's her." Buncha' gossipers I tell ya.

Many of the campers were at least three years older than me. All the satyrs were bigger than Grover. I finally had enough of the pointing and shouted, "What the hell are you staring at?"

The campers' eyes widened and they all averted their eyes. I looked back at Chiron, only to be met with his reprimanding face, silently telling me to stop.

Of course, I just smirked. He was going to have to do a lot more than just give me a look.

I was just staring at the huge farmhouse before something caught my eye in the attic. Something moved, and I had the feeling that I was being watched. Weird.

"What's up in the attic?" I asked Chiron.

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

"Like hell its just the attic! Something moved, Chiron!"

He looked surprised for a second, then worried, then his features were blank.

"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, forcing a lighthearted tone. "Lots to see."

Suspicious.

We passed the strawberry fields, where I saw campers picking berries while other satyrs did their reed pipe thing.

"The strawberries pay our expenses," Chiron explained. "And they take almost zero effort to grow."

"Let me guess, Dionysus." I said.

"Correct. Well done, Persephone."

"Yeah ok. And please, don't ever call me Persephone. Got it?"

He just nodded, a curious glint in his eyes.

I knew I was being rude, but I had to keep my walls up. Everyone I've met—bar Grover, my mom, and Chiron—always acted nice at first, but as soon as you let your guard down, they hurt you. I had to be sure that this place was trustworthy before I could even think about opening up.

My thoughts wandered to Grover, who was probably still getting chewed out by Mr. D.

"Grover won't get into too much trouble will he?" I asked, trying to mask my concern. "I... well... he was a good protector. Really, he was."

Chiron smiled warmly at me, seeing that this was the most emotion he was going to get out of me, then sighed. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Maybe bigger than reasonable. For him to reach his goal, he must first demonstrate courage by succeeding as a keeper. The only way to do that, is to bring a new camper and bring him or her safely to Camp Half-Blood.

"But he did that, did he not?!"

"I might agree," Chiron said. "But it's not my place to judge. It's up to Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders to decide. I'm afraid they might not find this as a success. After all, Grover did lose 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 not see that as courage on Grover's part."

"Ok. For one, I left Grover at New York, I went directly against his rule to stay put, that's my fault. Two, Grover said his job was to get me here safely, not my mom. And three, it's not Grover's fault that that bull-headed idiot slammed into our car, knocking him unconscious!" I yelled. "He better get a second chance! He will, won't he?"

Chiron winced and look at me sympathetically, which I just scowled at. "I'm afraid that you were Grover's second chance, Percy. The council did not want to give him this second chance either, after what happened five years ago. Olympus knows, I would advise him to wait longer before trying again. He's still very small for his age..."

"And how old is Grover? Fourteen? Fifteen? Maybe sixteen?"

"Oh, twenty-eight."

"The fuck!? And he's in sixth-grade?!"

"Yes, you see, satyrs mature half as fast as humans. Meaning, Grover had been the equivalent of a-"

"Middle school student for the PAST SIX YEARS! Imagine doing the same exam for six years... damn. I'd die," I interrupted, feeling proud that I knew.

He looked at me in pride, then cleared his throat. "Quite. Even by satyr standards, Grover is a late bloomer. He's still not very accomplished in woodland magic either. Perhaps now that he probably won't be going on any more assignments, he'll choose a different career."

I thought that was so unfair, but then I saw it from the old cloven dudes perspective. If I was them, I wouldn't want to recruit Grover either. No offense to him.

I wasn't completely ready to drop the subject, but I pushed it to the side anyways. It occurred to me that when Chiron was talking, he was intentionally avoiding the word death. I knew my mom wasn't dead, but that didn't mean she wasn't in the Underworld.

"Chiron," I asked, gaining his attention once again. "Since the whole Greek stuff is real..."

"Yes, Child?"

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

Chiron's expression suddenly darkened.

He hesitated before responding, as if carefully choosing his words. "Yes, child. There is a place where spirits go after death. But until we know any more, I suggest you put that thought out of your head."

"What exactly do you mean by 'until we know any more'?"

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

"You infuriate me, you know that?"

He just smiled slyly and continued with the tour of the woods.

As we got closer and closer to the forest, I saw just how big it was. And holy shit, it was huge! The trees were very tall and thick, great for sneaking in and out unnoticed if you ask me.

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

"Wait! We get to use weapons?! Awesome!"

Chiron looked a little unnerved with my enthusiasm with weapons.

"Well, you can test your weapon skill during Capture the Flag, which is on Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"

"How the hell would I have my own sword and shield? Can you not see that I'm basically empty handed?" (I wasn't going to tell him about by hidden knife in my boot, or the brass knuckles in my back pocket...)

Chiron looked a little sheepish before responding. "Of course, I suppose not. I believe a size 7 will do (Percy is much more athletic than canon Percy) I'll visit the armory later."

As we continued on the tour, we saw an archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which I didn't think Chiron was very fond of), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights (which I would happily join in).

"We get to fight with swords and spears?!" I asked with unmasked glee.

He looked at me weirdly before responding. "Yes." he said it like he wanted to say no, just to keep me away from pointy objects. "Cabin challenges and all that. Not usually lethal. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."

After Chiron horribly changed the subject, he pointed to a Greek-style outdoor pavilion on a hill. There were a dozen uncomfortable looking stone picnic tables. Weirdly enough, there was no roof or walls.

"I'm gonna go on a limb here and say that you guys use some magic voodoo shit to keep the weather controlled," I said dryly.

Chiron looked at me with surprise and, once again, a little pride. "You are correct."

Finally, we got to the cabins. There were twelve of them, for the twelve Olympian Gods I assumed. They were arranged in a U, with two on the base and five in a row on either side. They were the most stupidest looking buildings I've even seen, and that's sayin' something.

They all had a large brass number above each door, but that's where the similarities ended. Number nine had smokestacks, kinda like a factory; Hephaestus, I assumed. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and the roof was made of real grass; Demeter, my mind supplied. Seven was blinding, probably being made of 1000 karats of gold that was definitely polished daily; obviously Apollo. The rest of the cabins I didn't feel like going into depth with. All the cabins faced a common area that was dotted with Greek statues (that thankfully weren't naked), fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

In the center of the field was a bonfire sized fire pit. It made no sense to me that the hearth smoldered since it was a pretty warm afternoon. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick. Something drew me to her...

"Hey Chiron? Is that a goddess? I don't think you'd let a nine year old tend to a flame..." I asked.

He looked momentarily shocked, but got over it quicker than last time.

"Yes... that is Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, Family, Home, etc."

Hestia looked over at me. I gave a small, barely noticeable bow and a little wave. She looked happy, like no one had even bowed to her before. That thought made me feel sympathy for the forgotten goddess.

When I finally averted my gaze, I caught site of the two most luxurious cabins here. Cabin one and two. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest one out of the entire twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered, so that from different angles, lighting bolts seemed to streak across them; definitely Zeus'. Cabin two seemed to be more graceful looking, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls had peacocks carved into them; it was, once again, pretty obvious whose it was. Hera.

"Oh jeez... I wonder who those cabins could belong to...lightning bolts and peacocks. Imma take a wild guess and say Zeus and Hera," I said as sarcastically as possible.

Chiron gave a little chuckle that slowly faded as lightning flashed across the clear sky. Drama Queen.

"How come the cabins are empty? Last I checked, Zeus was the one who banged around the most," I questioned. This was the one thing I didn't know so far.

Chiron awkwardly cleared his throat. "Several of the cabins are empty. That's very true. But no one stays in one or two."

"How come?"

He ignored my question, making me silently seethe; that horse was more annoying than Nancy.

Then I caught sight of cabin three, the first one on the left.

It wasn't high and mighty, which I admired. The outer walls were of rough grey stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral that looked like they came straight from the ocean. It was my fathers, Poseidon. I peeked inside the doorway but Chiron stopped me. "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"

But before he could pull me back, which I almost slapped him for, I caught the salty scent that I loved so much. There were six empty bunks with silk sheets. But there was no sign that a living thing was ever there. What was going on? Poseidon AND Zeus not having kids? (Bar me) WHAT WAS GOING ON?!

Chiron put his hand on my shoulder, to which I shrugged off, and said, "Come along, Percy."

Almost all the other cabins were crowded with campers.

Number five was more my style, after cabin three, of course. It had a bright red paint job that looked like it was slapped on with fists and buckets. It had an awesome stuffed boar's head hung over the doorway, it's eyes seeming to follow me. Inside, we're a bunch of mean looking kids, arm wrestling and arguing while some amazing rock music blared (Greenday, anyone?). The loudest girl looked thirteen or fourteen. She wore and X times one-thousand CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a Camo jacket. She stared at me long and hard, then had a determined glint in her eyes. Freaky. She looked like a bigger and tougher Nancy Bobofit, and her hair was long, stringy, and brown instead of medium, curly, and red.

I kept walking, making sure to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "So, how come there's no other centaurs here?"

"Well," Chiron started sadly. "My kinsmen are wild and barbaric. You might see them in the wilderness... or at major sporting events. But you will almost never see any here."

I hummed. "So since you're a centaur, and your name's Chiron, does that mean you're the Chiron from the stories? You know, Trainer of Hercules and all that jazz?"

"Yes, I am." Chiron answered as he smiled down at me.

"Well I'm just gonna assume you're immortal or something cause there is no way you should still be alive," I stated bluntly.

Chiron paused, then looked at me. "You really should watch how you phrase your words," he said is a reprimanding way. "As for how I'm immortal, it's quite simple actually. You see, I can't be dead. Eons ago, the gods granted my wish, so I could continue the work I love so much. Therefore, I will continue to be the trainer of heroes until humanity doesn't need me anymore. As you can see, I'm still here, so I can only assume that I'm still needed."

I took a minute to mull over his words. Being a teacher for three thousand years? Fuck that.

"I bet it gets horribly depressing at times, huh?"

Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again, to which I just huffed at, being used to the centaur's antics.

"Oh, look," he said, horribly changing the subject once again. "Annabeth is waiting for us."

Hey! It's my hoe! Line Break! Wassup?

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 over me critically, to which I scoffed at, making her scowl.

◦I, being my curious self, tried to read the title. At first, I thought my dyslexia was acting up again. That's when I realized the title wasn't even English, it was Greek (don't ask me how I knew). With a minor headache, I was able to make out the title. It said 'The Architecture of Ancient Greece' (totally made that up).

I was snapped out of my ADHD thoughts when Chiron said, "Annabeth, I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you be so kind as to take Percy from here?"

Somehow, I feel that Chiron just wanted to get rid of me...

"Yes, sir." The Annabelle girl replied. Or was it Annabeth? Oh well...

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward a beaten doorway. "Make yourself at home. And please, try not to put anyone in the infirmary."

I just snorted and said, "No promises."

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most normal, but it was old, very old, looking. The doorstep was worn down, the brown paint on it peeling. Over the threshold was one of those doctor symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. I think it was called a caduceus, also known as Hermes symbol. (Thank you mom.)

Inside was a little better, but not much. It was packed with boys and girls, all of them ranging in age and size. There were even sleeping bags on the floor for the extra people. Either Hermes was fucking around too much, or something was going on.

Chiron didn't go in, as the door was way too low for him. But that didn't stop the campers from standing up and bowing respectfully.

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

I snorted once again as he galloped away to the archery range.

I stood in the doorway, sizing up all of the kids, and vise versa.

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

I gave her a dirty look before walking forward. I saw a kid stick his foot out, so I did the natural thing and pretended to not noticed. When I was about to trip on his foot, I kicked it as hard as I could, making him yelp in pain and grab his injured foot.

I grabbed his collar and said in a menacing voice, "You think you're funny, huh? The only thing funny here is the fact that I can beat you to a pulp in three seconds, do we understand each other?" Without letting him answer, I said, "Good." And shoved him away from me.

Before anyone could react, Annabeth cut to change the subject. "Well, this is Percy Jackson. Percy, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" A voice asked with a hint of wariness in their voice.

"What the hell do you think?" I shot back. "Obviously undetermined."

Everyone looked a little disappointed that I was undetermined, but decided to not show it.

"I'll eat my underwear if she's not an Ares kid." A random person said.

I just smirked.

Then, a guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. Don't just assume parents, that's not what we're here for. Welcome, Percy." He said a little warily. "You can have that spot right on the floor over there."

The guy was probably thirteen (A/N: Yes I made Luke two years younger than the book), and he looked pretty chill. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different colored clay beads; I noticed that everyone had necklaces with beads. He had a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, and let me just say, it was cool as fuck.

"This is Luke," Annabeth said in a dreamy tone. I looked over at her and I could've sworn she blushed. She saw me smirking at her and blushed harder, before hardening her expression again. I would so tease her later. "He's your counselor for now."

"So until I get 'claimed'?" I asked.

"Yes, nice thinking," Luke said. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes in all newcomers and visitors. Since Hermes is the god of travelers and all, of course we would. So, until you're claimed, you'll be here with us."

"Lovely," I muttered sarcastically.

I looked at the tiny section on the floor they'd given me; I've slept on worse. The thing that bothered me was that I had no luggage, no clothes, and no sleeping bag; I'd have to borrow. That thought alone made me shudder.

I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and wary, some grinning like idiots, some eyeing me as if they wanted to pick my pockets but were too scared to.

"How long does it usually take to get claimed?"

For some reason, the campers laughed. I looked around to see what was funny before I realized that they were laughing at me. Me.

"And what the hell are you laughing at, assholes?" I asked in mock innocence.

They all stopped laughing.

As I was about to deck someone, Annabeth grabbed my arm. "Come on," she said. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"Already seen it. Now let me deck the jokers!"

"Come on!" She grabbed my wrist in a tight hold and dragged me outside, but not before I kicked some guy in the stomach. I could here his groans from here.

When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Really?! Did you have to kick him! What's your problem?!"

"My problem? My problem is that everyone here thinks they're better than me because I'm new! I'll teach 'em that I'm not to be messed with!" I said as I cracked my knuckles.

She looked at me in grudging respect and whispered under her breath, "You just might be the one."

"What's your deal about the whole 'you're the one' thing?"

"None of your business."

"Yeah, okay, whatever. Is this about me killing that bull-guy? Stupid," I scoffed.

"Don't you know how many people want to be you?! Who want a chance to fight monsters?!"

"Who the fuck would wanna fight that thing?"

"Everyone! What do think we train for?"

"Um, to survive!" I said incredulously.

She just shook her head and dropped the subject.

"I have a question. How did I fight the Minotaur if he died almost two thousand years ago?"

"Percy, monsters don't die. You can kill them, but they don't die."

"Oh, thanks. That clears it up oh-so-wise-one."

Annabeth glared at me but elaborated. "Monsters don't have souls like we do. That way, when you kill them, their essence can be sent away, but they can reform back since they don't need a soul to live. Understand?"

"See, was that so hard, Annabeth?"

Annabeth was not amused.

"So the Fury I killed will be back?" I asked.

She looked at the ground, as if expecting the ground to open up and swallow us. "You shouldn't cal them by their names, even here. We call them Kindly Ones."

"Why are mythological creature and deities so god damn sensitive!? Jeez! Can't even say a gods name without him or her throwing a thunder fit!" After my rant, a huge boom of thunder flashed in the sky. "See?!," I shouted.

Annabeth Just shook her head at me and looked warily up at the sky.

"So, onto a different topic," Annabeth said. "Do you know what your parent is?"

"Duh! He's a god. Did we not just have this conversation?"

Annabeth looked a little annoyed. "I was just trying to start a discussion."

"Well-"

I was interrupted by a husky voice yelling, "Well! A newbie!"

I swiveled my head to the direction of the voice. That big girl from the Ares cabin was casually sauntering towards us. She had he posse of a whopping three girls behind her, all of them just as big and ugly as the last, all wearing camo jackets.

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

"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said, to which I snorted at, earning me a glare from Annabeth. "So I can run you through with it on Friday."

"Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which I understood to mean 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded. I really needed to learn Greek curses. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. I don't think Miss Tough Girl over here could follow through. Then she turned toward me. "Who's this punk?"

Before Annabeth could answer, I stepped up and said, "I'm Percy Jackson! Who're you?"

Clarisse was surprised, if her wide eyes meant anything; she must not be used to newbies standing up to her. She finally regained her composure and sneered at me. "I'm Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares! We have to show you to the initiation ceremony, Prissy. It's exclusively for newbies! You should feel honored!"

"It's Percy! Or are you too dumb to understand that?" I shot back.

"Doesn't matter. Come on, I'll show you just how fun our initiation ceremony is."

"Clarisse-" Annabeth tried to say before Clarisse and I both interrupted.

"Stay out of it, Wise Girl."

"I don't need saving, Annabeth." (I think you can guess who said who.)

Annabeth looked between Clarisse and I, then finally backed down, if a little reluctant. I could stand up for myself. I was gonna show this camp just who Percy Jackson was.

I tossed my Minotaur horn to Annabeth and got in a fighting position and quickly lunged at Clarisse. We both fell to the ground, but, unfortunately, Clarisse got her bearings quicker than I did and grabbed me by the neck and dragged me to the ladies' room.

Clarisse's goons were laughing heartily all the way there. If only they knew that shit was about to go down.

As we entered the bathrooms, I saw Annabeth watching through her fingers. Wow. As we neared, I tried to control the water, as Poseidon was the God of Seas, which meant water. After a bit, when I was at the door of a stall, I felt a sharp tug in my gut. Then I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse iron grip on my hair loosened as water shot out of the toilet and showers, over my head, and onto the faces of Clarisse and her friends.

Just as she got up, all the other toilets exploded and hit Clarisse and the others so hard in the face they were pushed onto their butts, outside of the bathroom.

As soon as they were out of the door, the tug in my gut lessened and the water shut off.

The whole bathroom was flooded and unfortunately, Annabeth hadn't been spared. She was sopping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out of the door. She was rooted to the ground, staring at me in shock.

I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. I also didn't have one drop of water on me either. Cool.

I stood up as Annabeth said, "How did you..."

"Wouldn't you like to know," I said.

We walked out the door to be met with the sight of Clarisse and her friends sprawled in the mud, surrounded by a bunch of campers gawking at them. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face, her camouflage jacket soaked and smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred, but before she could say anything, I came up to her and held out my hand.

"Hey, sorry about spraying you, but you didn't really give me an option. I was actually hoping we could be somewhat friends, you seem like a fierce friend. You know, someone I can be myself around and stuff," I said this all so quietly that only she could hear me.

She stared at me, and then my hand with a contemplative look. After a couple of tense seconds, she took my hand and I helped her pull her self up.

"Yeah, sure. You pretty cool, I guess. I still hate you, but I'll give you a chance, Prissy."

Then, along with her goons, she made her way to cabin five, glaring at anyone who looked at her.

Annabeth stared at me. I didn't know if she was grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.

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

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

I only had one question. What the hell was Capture the Flag?

So, what did you think? If you didn't notice, Luke is not evil. Our favorite son of Nemesis is. ANNABETH AND PERCY ARE STRICTLY FRIENDS!

POLL

Who should Percy be with?

Luke: 0

Ethan: 2

Conner: 0

Malcom: 1

Olympian: ( be specific): 0

Other: 0

None: 0

Please vote!