So, here's the second full chapter. I hope it is to your expectations. Now, unlike the Demigod trap, I have no idea where this is going and where it is going to end. If you are wondering, no, neither Addy nor Izzy will be going on a quest.
Also, happy Novel writing month. That's right, November is the month for all you poets and novelists to give up your social life and write the novel you've always dreamed of. So, this is your chance to do it. Cheers.
Chapter 2
"This is bad, Addy," Izzy whispered hurriedly to her sister at the campfire, the first chance the two had to talk since learning that Linda was going to be a counselor and could easily put the two of them in trouble whenever she wanted. "Really, really bad. We could call Mother and Father at Uncle Connor's house before they set off for Maine and have them pick us up. They'll understand."
"Hey, we are not doing that," Addy said. She stuck a marshmallow onto a stick and held it near the fire. "We already learned that we can stick up to her and let her have it. I understand why you're so afraid, but I had to mentally prepare myself to have her be my step-mother, thank Zeus that that didn't come to pass."
Izzy nodded. "She's got to be over that by now, I guess," she said. "It's been over eight months."
"Well if it isn't my two favorite miscreants," the soft and smooth voice of Linda sounded behind the two. She smiled in a way that showed that she was very much not over the whole affair. "What a surprise to see you here, considering that you're not children of the gods."
"They clearly don't care, because we have their gifts and they let us over the border," Addy said, looking directly into Linda's blue eyes.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Izzy asked. "I thought camping really wasn't your thing."
"Oh, I would hardly call this camping compared to last year's disastrous excursion," Linda said. "Notice how we even have marshmallows here?"
"I noticed how you're not eating any," Addy said, as hers set on fire. She quickly blew it out before flicking off a piece of ash and placing it on a graham cracker with chocolate on it.
"You still haven't answered my question," Izzy said, taking Addy's stick as Addy took a bit of her s'more.
"Well, even demigods need jobs," Linda said. "You two may not have known this, but I had quit my job to become your father's assistant. When you two wrecked our wedding, my old work had already filled my position. This was the only job I could get with decent enough wages, though working with children is anything but a dream. I should be happy with your father right now."
"Maybe you've forgotten how he was carrying a ring for our mother in his pocket at your wedding," Izzy said. "Clearly, he was completely committed to marrying you."
"Minor detail," Linda said, avoiding all eye contact.
"How does it feel to know you will never be more than number four in the list of women in Travis Stoll's life?" Izzy asked with a smirk.
Linda screwed up her beautiful face in anger. "What gives you two the right to even be here?"
"This does," Addy said, throwing her hand down, then up, bring the grass to life and entangling the woman's lower legs.
"Let's go, Addy," Izzy said, grabbing her sister's arm and dragging her away from Linda as the older daughter of Aphrodite growled and struggled against the grass. "You can't do that. You'll get in trouble. She can punish us now."
"Oh, where's your sense of adventure?" Addy asked. "Plus, if she tries, we'll just play innocent and say it's revenge for Dad not marrying her."
Izzy smiled. "That could so work," she said.
"Hey, are you girls joining in on the camp singing?" Sonny asked, walking up to them with a bright smile on his face. Izzy's cheeks went red, and Addy definitely noticed even if it was only in the light of the fire.
"Kumbiyaing isn't really my thing," Addy said.
"Well, you are in luck," Sonny said. "As head of Apollo cabin, I get to pick the songs, and I'm not big on traditional campfire songs either." He smiled at the two.
"Yeah, but his song selection still sucks," a girl said, coming up from the other side of him. She stepped in front of him and got on her toes, kissing him quickly on the lips. "Missed you at archery today. My shooting still sucks and I won't get better if my teacher doesn't show up to help me."
"Sorry," Sonny said throwing his hand behind his head. "I was with these two. Char, meet Addy and Izzy."
"Hi," the girl said, turning to the two girls. She stuck out a hand for them to shake, which Addy did. Izzy was a little shocked and wide-eyed. "I'm Chardonnay, but call me Char."
"One guess which god your dad is," Addy said, pretending to tip a glass of wine into her mouth.
"I didn't know..." Izzy said slowly getting over her shock. "That you have a girlfriend."
"Oh, no, we're not really together like that," Sonny said. He gestured to the black-haired Char. "We're more friends with benefits."
"Good benefits," Char said with a wink. She pushed some of her curly black hair off her shoulder. She smiled, her nose wrinkling a bit and her green eyes shining. "So, I hear that both your parents are half-bloods, and yet you still ended up with the powers of the gods?"
"Yeah," Izzy said, her cheeks turning a bright red color.
"That's cool," Char said.
"Sonny!" One of the other campers, another blonde with blue eyes, called from closer to the campfire.
"Oh, sorry, but I have to go," he said. "We're starting the sing-a-long." He smiled at the three girls and turned around, heading for the others in the Apollo cabin. Izzy stared after him for a few moments before turning to Addy.
"He really is something," Char said, her smile turning into a smirk. She poked Izzy's shoulder. "He's not really the dating type, but I'll let you have some benefit time if you're a good girl." Izzy stood stock still, her blue-green eyes wide with shock as Char just laughed a bit and continued on, sitting with a few of her friends.
The next morning proved very different for the Stoll twins.
Izzy woke up at exactly 6:15, stretched, and then set to work in Cabin Eleven's bathroom. With all the windows opened, Izzy found some cleaners that seemed to have never been opened and began cleaning every surface. She started with the counter, the mirrors, the sinks, faucets, walls, floors. She gagged as she pulled wads of hair from the shower drains, and then scrubbed the showers clean.
When she had finished, none of her cabinmates had yet to wake up. She took advantage of this and took a good long shower, basking in the fact that it was clean.
"What happened?" she heard voices when she was finished. She pulled on her clothes and wrapped her hair in a towel.
"This is what bathrooms are supposed to look like," Izzy said, stepping out.
"I for one like it," one small boy with mousy hair said.
"It is nice," another girl said with a smile.
It was decided that the cleanliness was appreciated. "And, if everyone just cleans up after him or herself, it can stay this way. That means pick up hair that you shave or shed, dry up water off the counters, and clean the mirror if you get soap on it. And, at the very least once a week, we should use actual cleaners to sanitize it."
"I'll pay you to do it," one kid said, looking down from his top bunk.
Izzy stared as everyone nodded. "Fine then," she said. "Hundred a week and I'll keep the bathroom in tip top shape." She had already done all the hard work, keeping it good would be a piece of cake.
Addy woke up to giggles. She pulled her covers up and put her pillow over her head. However, the giggles persisted.
Finally, she sat up. All six girls, aged approximately nine through sixteen, were showered, and dressed. None of them had dried their hair, and the oldest two had the driest, while the youngest's hair was still dripping a bit.
"About time you woke up," Leiko, the cabin leader, said. She had a Polynesian look about her, with certain Asian features, tanned skin, and black hair. However, like all the other girls, her eyes were green. "We thought we might wake you with our giggling."
"You did," Addy said, scratching her hair.
"Well, bathe quickly because breakfast is in half an hour and we can't really clean the bathroom before you've bathed."
Addy groaned, but crawled out of bed. When she got to the bathroom, however, she noticed that there was a drawn bath. The water seemed dirty. "What is this?" she asked. "I'm not going to bathe in that."
"But, we wouldn't want to waste water," Leiko said.
"If I get into that, I'll end up dirtier than when I got in," Addy said. "There are ways to take showers that don't use much water." She reached in and pulled the plug, draining the water. She then shut the door to the shower to her sisters, and as soon as it had drained, she turned on the shower head and climbed in. As she always did, she wet herself, shampooed and rinsed. She then turned off the water, while she used conditioner, soap, and then shaved. She turned the water back on for less than a minute to wash it all off, and was out, squeaky clean.
"Your total time with water on was less than three minutes," one girl said, looking at her watch. "That's amazing."
"And, wow, I still got clean," Addy added. She looked around the bathroom, but didn't see any outlets. "Where do I plug in my hair dryer?"
"Oh, we don't use those in here," Leiko said. "We only use natural means to our looks."
"Oh, like that blush and mascara on your face?" Addy asked. She walked to her things, slipped into sandals, and took her hair dryer, heading to Cabin Eleven.
"Whoa, you must be Izzy's sister," one boy said as Addy walked into the cabin.
"I need an outlet," she said, walking to the bathroom. She quickly raided Izzy's things, as Izzy was not around, and found a hairbrush. She dried her hair quickly and dropped the brush back on Izzy's bed, along with the hair dryer. No use bringing it back if she couldn't even use it in her own cabin.
When Addy got back to her cabin, her bed had been made, her towel hung to dry, and her pajamas were folded and back in the drawer. She slipped off her sandals, and into her gym shoes. She then quickly brushed her teeth, and when she got back to her bed to put her tooth brush back with her stuff, her sandals had been lined neatly along her bed, next to her night shoes. All the work done, none of the effort put in. She could get used to it.
"Okay, campers," Linda stood at the front of the dining pavilion as everyone ate. "This morning, we have a meeting with a few former campers. That means this morning's usual activities have been post-poned. You may do what you please, and the heads of cabins are in charge. However, there is to be no fighting, except in the arena under camp battle rules, and no horseplay." She looked around. "And, if you break camp rules, you will be caught, and you will be punished."
With that, she left and walked with Chiron to the Big House.
"I wonder what kind of meeting... Addy?" Leiko suddenly realized Addy was gone.
"I want to climb the wall," Addy said, staring up at the wall, lava leaking from one crack slowly.
"Are you crazy?" Izzy asked. "You could get killed on that. You can't have ambrosia if you get hurt like everyone else here, Addy!"
However, it was too late. Addy had strapped on a helmet and was grasping a few rocks, going upward. She was about twenty feet up when someone came up next to her. They both reached for the same rock, her with her left hand and him with his right. She grasped it before he could.
"I won," she said. "Either find a new rock or wait."
The boy smirked at her. He had to be about her age, but his build seemed older. He had light brown hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was tanned, and he had a few scars on his bare arms. "I choose C," he said, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her off. She yelled as she fell from the wall and hit the ground. And he just laughed.
Addy hit with a soft thud, and all the air was knocked out of her. However, aside from that, she was fine. She took a few deep breaths to get back to her feet, and then yelled up, a little strained, "Jerk! You will pay for that! Mark my words."
"Just try, you little daisy girl," he yelled back, sitting on the top. "You know this is a battle you're going to lose!"
Addy frowned and was about to chase him up, but Izzy grabbed her wrist. Addy turned to her twin, then took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, your turn to pick an event."
"Show me the pegasi," Izzy said. "I didn't get to see them yesterday."
Addy nodded and smiled. "That I can agree with," she said and began heading toward the stables. She looked back and noticed that the boy was no longer at the top of the wall. "Who was that jerk?"
"I think he's a son of Ares," Izzy said. "I saw him at that table while we were eating this morning. He looked like the guy everyone seems to follow for them." She smiled and sighed a bit. "Kind of like Sonny is for the Apollo cabin."
"Oh, gods, seriously?" Addy questioned, even though it was so obvious. "You're into his kind of thing. But... he's such a boy scout... except for that benefits thing with his friend Char."