All the senior counselors gathered at the ping-pong table, Annabeth sat right next to me, while the Stoll brother sat at the other end of the table, trying to pickpocket Clarisse, she was arguing with Will Solace, the new Apollo cabin head counselor, apparently about some other loot they got in Philadelphia. Next to him, sat Drew Tanaka, the new Aphrodite cabin counselor. Thinking about the new counselors made me sad again, thinking about everyone we lost in the war. Miranda Gardiner, the Demeter Counselor, is making the potted cactus in the room grow wild. Pollux was sipping a glass of kool-aid next to Mr. D when Chiron entered the room.
I spoke first, "Uh, Chiron, what exactly happened out there?"
Chiron looked serious, "I don't know, Percy, when an oracle tells a prophecy, she usually passes out,"
"But also, the prophecy, it wasn't even in English!" I said,
"No, it was in English," Annabeth cut in, looking at Chiron, "it was in Shakespearean English. What it meant was:
'The two will go belowground,
through the haunted maze, they shall move south;
The work of the fire god,
they shall find, ending the king's undead foul."
"What now?"
"The point is, Peter Johnson, We have a prophecy, and we have to elect members to complete the prophecy."
Easy for you to say, I wanted to say, but keeping your mouth shut is an excellent way of not getting turned into dolphins.
"I'll go," I said, "I've been having dreams about the quest, not good ones, mind you. But terribly nightmarish ones."
I told them about my dream. Chiron thoughtfully scratched his chin.
"Yes Percy, you should go,"
"Count me in too." Annabeth firmly said,
"Why you, wise girl, why shouldn't anyone else go?" Clarisse asked challengingly, more like 'Why shouldn't I go?', but (again) I kept my mouth shut.
"Because I translated it, Clarisse,"
"Or because he's your boyfriend," Drew Tanaka added smugly and un-helpfully,
"Shut up!" Annabeth glared at her, her own face as red as her shirt.
The rest of the day I spent in the sword arena, challenging the Ares campers to sword fights. We had Capture the Flag that night, and after that ended, Annabeth said to me, "Have a good night, Seaweed Brain, we have a prophecy to worry about tomorrow."
"You too, wise girl."
I went to my room and promptly passed out.
I did not sleep well. At all.