As soon as we finished washing up, and headed back to the Athena cabin, the conch shell blew in the distance, telling the campers, nymphs, and satyrs that it was dinnertime.
The counselor of our cabin yelled, "Six, fall in!"
The whole cabin filed to the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, but Xavier stood next to me, not in line, for being one of the teachers and campers at the same time. Campers came from the others cabins, too, except of the Big Three's, and Artemis's cabin, which was starting to glow silver as the sun went down.
We marched up to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. Many girls, dryads, melted from sides of trees in the woods, and came skipping up the hill.
In all, there were at least a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted dryads and naiads.
At the pavilion, torches blazed around marble columns. A hearth burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table that we were assigned to sit in, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four tables were empty, but Cabin Elven was too overcrowded, and should of used those tables. But that would be disrespectful to the gods who owned those tables. I saw Percy have to squeeze onto the edge of a bench with half his butt hanging off, and I gave a little snicker.
I sat down at table six, with XAvier and my half siblings, a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, who had the same gray eyes, and honey-blonde hair. After a little while, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor, everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"
Everybody else raised their glasses and repeated, "To the gods!"
No longer had the dryads had to give plattered food to the campers, because Xavier made some plates the Arts-and-Crafts area while doing pottery, made the same way the glasses did. Speak to it, and whatever you want appears on your plate. The dryads were fine with that, because they were sort of getting sick of serving the campers, especially the satyrs, who eat everything.
I looked down at my plate. "Ravioli with tomato sauce topped with parmesan cheese." Appeared on my plate was exactly that. I faced my glass, and said, "Orange juice." I took a cautious sip. Gods, I love Camp. I looked at Xavier, and gave a sly smile. Xavier was thinking for a bit, and he didn't know what to order.
"I got it!" He finally said. "Curry rice and pork cutlet." The plate filled with delicious food that smelled amazing. "Chrysanthemum tea with boba." What filled his glass was a light yellow liquid with little tapioca pearls. The look of his entree was just...
"Hey, Annabeth?"
"Yeah?"
"You're drooling."
I looked at Xavier with wide eyes and quickly wiped my mouth with a nearby napkin. He gave me his charming laugh. I blushed and every. Single. Camper. Stared at us. Even the nymphs and satyrs. I looked around and even Chiron and Mr. D saw us. Both of us looked into our food, and everyone was still staring at us as if they wanted us to kiss.
"Now, now," Chiron said to everyone. "Everyone just eat." And silently, they did, but some remained staring at us, either snickering or giggling. I put my fork in my ravioli and raised it to my mouth, biting into it.
Xavier poked me three times on my right arm. I looked at him and he leaned over towards me. I moved the other way, trying to avoid him. He raised an eyebrow, and leaned towards my ear, and I shut my eyelids immediately. But he just whispered in it. "What's their deal with shipping us? You're pretty young for me. And you're like my sister." Oh my gods, finally someone agrees with my point… Wait, did you just say I'm too young for you?!
Xavier began eating, and I started to drool once more. I haven't had that meal before. I stared at it like a madman. He noticed this, and asked, "You want to try some? It's a pretty big meal."
I shook my head. "No, no, no, it's fine. Just go ahead and eat. I'm good." But I was dying to eat some. He rolled his eyes and took a bite, my eyes following his spoon going in and out of his mouth. Xavier looked back at me, snapped his fingers and pointed his finger at my face.
"I knew it. Just help yourself." He pushed the plate towards me. Struggling to hold back, I picked up my spoon and put it in my mouth. The spice and vegetables of the curry went all across my taste buds and there was an explosion in my head. I cut a piece of the pork cutlet and it was just as excellent. It was juicy, the outsides fried with bread crumbs.
"That is awesome. How'd you know-" It was a silly question to ask, considering he was Asian. Or just took form of one.
"I used to make it at home," Xavier responded, smiling. Then, all of a sudden, he lifted his head and stared at the campers, who were staring at us again. "Seriously, guys?!" He shouted.
They all laughed, and went back to eating. No one would mess with him, considering he's a god. Or something. There's no term.
A person suddenly said, "There's someone at the entrance. At the foot of the hill."
Everyone started murmuring and getting up to look and see. The person was in a hoodie, wearing sneakers. Chiron clopped over to see what the commotion was about. The person seemed to be carrying something, and they looked like they were jamming with music. Xavier stood up, eyes wide, and rushed towards person, hugging them. Their hood dropped, and the person was a girl. A beautiful girl, even prettier than the Aphrodite girls, who were pouting and looking at the ground.
She looked familiarly like Xavier. Xavier, his back to the crowd, and he leaned over towards the girl. In what looked like a kiss. A full blown one. I didn't have any words. I stood. And left.
I laid in my bed, crying endlessly. He... He has a girlfriend... He never told me. Xavier usually told me everything that he could, but... this. I loved him. Why the Fates torture me like this? What's going on with my life? Every time I look into his eyes, I see a spark of fire, jumping around. Whenever he hugs me, I am surrounded with warmth.
I then heard the cabin door open, and I covered myself with my blanket, with the hope that they wouldn't see me. As some footsteps came closer, and I buried my head in my pillow, gripping it tightly. The person was right next to my bed, they sat down and sighed. Then I heard a baby sound, which made my eye twitch. What was that?
A familiar voice asked, "Annabeth, are you alright?" Of course that familiar voice was Xavier. (Who else could it be? Michael Jackson?
"Can..." I began, letting another tear go down my face. "Can I just be alone for a moment?"
"Don't be so stubborn, Annabeth. I know."
I sniffled, took off the blanket, and sat up, but my head turned. "What? That you have a girlfriend that you never told me about?! How do I trust you anymore?!"
Xavier gave me a look of great shock. "Annabeth..." He put a hand on my shoulder.
I moved away quickly. "Get away from me!" I shouted. Then I heard a whimper that quickly turned into a humongous cry. I covered my ears, trying to shield my ears from the deafening sound. "What-" I turned around to see a little baby in the arms of Xavier. By sight of me, the baby silenced and smiled.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Xavier asked, waving his finger in front of the baby. He looked at me with the spark. "Reminds me of you."
I stared at him. Just plain staring. And I was completely red, redder than any other times. My mouth gaped open. "But you have-"
"Annabeth, that was a nymph. A wood nymph. She found this baby lying on the ground, and trusted me with her. You're kidding me, right? That you think that I have a girlfriend?"
I was speechless. I am the daughter of Athena, and it's never wise to skip to conclusions. Was I supposed to bring shame to my family name? "I-"
"Shut up." And with that, he leaned in closer to me and put his lips on mine. My eyes went open completely, shock placed on my face. What?
The baby cooed in delight, as if she wanted us to kiss. She sort of resembled Xavier, for some unknown reason. Xavier removed his lips from mine and stood up, carrying the baby.
"I'm going to go back to the pavilion. You going to come with?" He held out his hand.
I smiled, took his hand and said, "Of course." We walked out of the cabin, into the dining pavilion to only see all of the campers clapping. The only person who wasn't was Percy Jackson.
