Chapter 9 : My Dinner Goes Up On Smoke

3rd Person P.O.V.

"My Dinner Goes up in Smoke," read Piper.

Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.

Annabeth and Athena scowled at this while all the demigods smirked at Annabeth.

She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man),

"GOOAAT-MAN! THAT'S PAN!" Bleated Grover, slightly angry at his friend. Everyone who was with Pan when he faded looked down sadly, while everyone else chuckled at Grover's antics.

and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.

Leo had a smirk on his face and was looking pointedly back at Jason, who, in return, was scowling at his friend.

Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.

"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."

Athena had a smile on her face because her daughter was not going to be with that Sea-Spawn for the time being, in the book that is.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."

"Whatever."

"It wasn't my fault."

Everyone had a blank look on their faces for a few seconds, and then Piper asked, "He didn't really just say that, did he?"

Everyone who knew him just chuckled, and Nico said, "He makes comments like that all the time, you get used to it."

"Just like his father," said Athena, and Poseidon just frowned back at her.

She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.

Everyone laughed at that, and the Travis said, "Wow, does that make Poseidon the God of Plumbing?"

Everyone laughed harder at that, and Poseidon just rolled his eyes.

"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.

"Who?"

"Not who. What.

Rachel huffed at Annabeth, who was about to say something, but was cut off by Leo.

"Uh… I don't think she-" he started, but was cut off by Annabeth, who said, "This was before Rachel was the Oracle, and Rachel, what's with huff, you did see her, er.. it?"

Rachel's response was to just huff at Annabeth, who smirked, knowing she won.

The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."

I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once.

Poseidon smiled because his son was looking to him for answers, but he then frowned, knowing he couldn't give them to him.

I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below.

All of the Gods, and even some of the demigods had dreamy looks on their faces, and the Goddesses either, smirked, rolled their eyes, or glared at them.

They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend.

"Well he is… sort of," said Chris.

I didn't know what else to do. I waved back.

"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

Everyone except Athena raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, and Thalia said, "Jealous are we?"

This caused Annabeth to blush and say back, "Shutup."

"Naiads," I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. I want to go home now."

Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

Jason was about to say something but Piper put a hand up and said, "We get it, not the only safe place." Everyone chuckled, while Jason just blushed and try to glare at them, but it really didn't work.

"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"

"He is the only mentally disturbed one, apart from Nico, that is," said Thalia, which caused Nico to pout and everyone else to chuckle.

"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?"

A couple people sighed, but most of them were getting used to how slow he was, so they just decided to start ignoring it.

"I think you know."

A couple people raised a questioning eyebrow at Annabeth, but realized that he probably knew by now.

I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.

Poseidon and Annabeth smiled a little bit at that.

"God," I said. "Half-god."

"Finally," Clarisse said, while almost everyone else nodded in agreement.

Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."

"That's ... crazy."

"Never mind," said Clarisse, obviously annoyed.

"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"

"But those are just—" I almost said myths again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth.

"He already is," said Piper.

"But if all the kids here are half-gods—"

"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Then who's your dad?"

Athena's expression turned hard at this, while Annabeth winced, because she knew he was probably relating the question to himself, and didn't mean to offend her, but she still was really mean to him afterwards.

Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject.

Annabeth sighed, but knew that at the time, it was a very sensitive subject.

"My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."

"He's human."

"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"

All of the Girls and Goddesses, minus Annabeth, nodded in agreement, and Artemis scowled.

"He didn't mean it like that," said Annabeth, which caused most of the Girls and Goddesses to relax.

"Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin six."

"Meaning?"

Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

Athena smiled at her daughter.

Okay, I thought. Why not?

Athena huffed annoyance at that, but didn't say anything, knowing that the sea spawn was just trying to relate it to himself, but it doesn't mean I have to like it… or him, for that matter.

"And my dad?"

"Undetermined," Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."

"Except my mother. She knew."

Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Poseidon smiled at that, but Poseidon's was more wistful.

"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."

"My dad would have. He loved her."

Poseidon and Annabeth both nodded and smiled.

Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."

"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"

All of the demigods looked down at that, knowing that it was the reason that the demigods who fought for Kronos, or at least most of them, did it for that reason.

Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."

All of the Gods and Goddesses, except Hera, looked down at that

I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better.

The Gods and Goddesses were both guilty and angry at that.

"So I'm stuck here," I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"

"It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter,

Before either Goddess could comment, Annabeth said, "Sorry, I was mistaken," an answer, that both of the Goddesses were satisfied with, knowing how hard it is for Athena and her children to admit they were wrong.

you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."

"So monsters can't get in here?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."

Annabeth winced, remembering what happened to Percy in the Capture the Flag game.

"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"

"Practice fights. Practical jokes."

Clarisse grinned at the practice fights comment, while the Stolls grinned at the practical jokes comment.

"Practical jokes?"

Clarisse stopped smiling, and Katie glared at the Stolls, who, in return, just high-fived and smiled even brighter, remembering the joke they pulled on Katie and her cabin.

"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."

Demeter and Katie smiled at the mention of their strawberries.

"So ... you're a year-rounder?"

Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.

Athena gasped, which was only noticed by a few demigods who were seated near her, and Annabeth. She gave her daughter a look that silently asked is that your father's? Annabeth answered her with a slight nod, to which Athena smiled back at.

"I've been here since I was seven," she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

"Why did you come so young?"

She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business."

Piper, Jason, Leo, and Poseidon raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, who just blushed but said nothing, still embarrassed and slightly ashamed that she was mean to him at first, even though she had no reason to.

"Oh." I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"

Those were remembered that next year, he did just that, smirked, while everyone else gave them confused looks.

"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..."

"Unless?"

"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time …"

Annabeth and Grover winced, remembering what happened to Luke on his quest and what he was like after it.

Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well.

"Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"

"Ambrosia."

Apollo smiled, which caused Artemis to glare at him.

"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."

Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know some thing?"

A couple demigods gave Annabeth fake astonished looks, and some of them had a hand on their face and shock their heads jokingly, but all were laughing a little bit. All of this caused Annabeth yell, "Shut up!"

This just caused all of them to laugh harder, and Travis said, "We weren't laughing Annie. Are you sure your brain is okay?"

Everyone stopped laughing when Travis was knocked unconscious by Annabeth, who glared at them, daring anyone else to comment. Athena smiled proudly at her daughter.

"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"

She clenched her fists.

Grover and Thalia smiled a little bit, knowing how much Annabeth hated not knowing things.

"I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."

Some of the Gods and Goddesses scoffed at the normal part, while the rest were deep in thought, wondering what was wrong?

"You've been to Olympus?"

"Some of us year-rounders—Luke

Thalia and Annabeth winced at the mention of Luke, while Hermes at first smiled, and then, seeing the reactions of the two girls, frowned, realizing that what was going to happen to his son, was going to happen quicker than he thought.

and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."

"But... how did you get there?"

"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already.

Annabeth sighed as she received a few questioning glances, though most realized that until she knew him better, she wouldn't know that he knew nothing.

"You are a New Yorker, right?"

"Are most demigods from New York since that is closer to the Olympus, or are they scattered everywhere in the country?" asked Piper.

"They are everywhere, although there are more of children of certain Gods or Goddesses if their parents have a stronger influence in a certain state or area," answered Annabeth.

"Oh, sure." As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.

"What would you have done if he did point that out?" asked Rachel.

"I probably would have rolled my eyes at him, which would have just left him more confused," answered Annabeth, and a few Goddesses and girls smirked, while some of the Gods and demigods frowned.

"Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble.

Zeus and the demigods who didn't know what had happened were deep in thought wondering what has me / Zeus / dad so angry?

When you came, I was hoping ... I mean— Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon.

A couple of people smirked at Annabeth, Athena smiled at her daughter because at least for a little while she remembered that Poseidon was bad, and Annabeth just scolded herself, still a little upset that she was really mean to him when she found out his parentage, which in turn could have made him hate her, if he wasn't so perfect, she finished thinking dreamily.

Aphrodite just gave her a knowing look, which caused Annabeth to blush, look away, and think about anything else.

But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."

Cue glances from the Stolls who were the only ones who were stupid enough to realize that Annabeth didn't know Percy yet, or that he didn't know anything.

I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.

Artemis sighed and said, "Boys and their stomachs."

All of the girls and Goddesses nodded their heads in agreement, while all of the guys had a dreamy look on their faces, all thinking about their favorite dish to eat.

"I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to herself. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem …"

Athena nodded agreeing with her daughter, if anyone's children could solve the problem, and what a problem it was, it was her children.

I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.

Annabeth blushed, showing that she had been doing just that.

Thalia leaned over and whispered in her ear, "he could already read you, just like we could tell you two were perfect for each other instantly, even if it took you guys years."

Annabeth glared at her, which caused her to snicker back at her best friend.

Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers.

"Those are actually my kids and who belong in my cabin, not your kids who you are too lazy to claim," said Hermes, while the Gods and Goddesses who had children avoided his gaze.

Chris, however, was glaring at his father because, even though he wouldn't have moved into a different cabin, he would have liked to have known who his father was. Seeing this, Clarisse took his hand, which caused Chris to remove his glare, and Aphrodite to squeal silently.

Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn.

The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.

Hermes, Annabeth, and Thalia winced, Piper, Leo, and Jason had curious looks on their faces, and the rest of the demigods either kept their faces passive or glared at nothing in particular.

"Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."

Hermes gave a week smile at this, because he was still proud of his son, and knew that even if his son didn't like him, he was still his son and his genes (AN: I know the Gods don't have DNA, so they wouldn't have genes, but just roll with it.) were passed down to Luke, just like they were the rest of his children.

I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.

Hermes shook his head, letting those who felt the same way as Percy did at the time know that he did in fact steal the toiletries.

I said, "Thanks."

"No prob." Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"

"I don't belong here," I said. "I don't even believe in gods."

"Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."

Annabeth and Thalia faces darkened, knowing Luke's life was about to get a lot harder. However, the repetitive actions of their daughters did not go unnoticed by Athena and Zeus, who raised an eyebrow at them, but did not say anything.

The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.

Thalia sighed saying only loud enough for the demigods to hear her, "That's what he wanted people think, that he was superman and didn't have any problems, and he was different from everyone else in the world."

"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.

Hermes smiled a little bit relishing in the fact that his son still knew he was his father.

He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."

He probably would have gutted you if he knew you were a son of Poseidon then thought Annabeth sadly, thinking about how she wished Luke was still alive, but felt happier knowing Percy was alive. However, she felt sad again, thinking about how he probably didn't even remember anything from his past, and more importantly, her.

Aphrodite gave Annabeth a confused look, because her motions were jumping back and forth between happy and sad love, and brotherly and true love.

"The wing-footed messenger guy."

Hermes smiled at the title Percy gave him, for he liked Percy already and hoped his future self felt the same way.

"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."

I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind.

All of the demigod, minus Leo, Piper, and Jason, thought He definitely meant to call him a nobody.

"You ever meet your dad?" I asked.

"Once."

Hermes, Annabeth, and Thalia winced, remembering the time when Luke met his father.

This, however, was once again noticed by Zeus and Athena, who shared a glance that silently asked What happened with Luke? He is a good boy. They, however, failed to notice Hermes' looks when his son was mentioned, for if they had, they might have been able to put the pieces together and interrogate Hermes.

I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar.

Hermes thought No! I would never hurt Luke, no matter what he did, or will do. I love him.

Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."

A few of the demigods scoffed, but luckily none of the Gods or Goddesses noticed. Those who had scoffed, however, were glared at fiercely by Thalia and Annabeth.

He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him—even if he was a counselor—should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day.

Hermes smiled, thinking that maybe his son wouldn't turn bad as soon as he thought.

I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"

Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies."

All of the Gods, Goddesses, and demigods, minus Apollo and Rachel who frowned, nodded their heads in agreement.

"What do you mean?"

His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until...somebody special came to the camp."

The Stolls wiggled their eyebrows at Annabeth, who blushed in return, and said, "Shut up." This caused most of the campers to laugh a little.

Athena, however, was just trying to keep a straight face, because she really did not want her daughter hating her, because of something she did or said.

"Somebody special?"

Most of the demigods glanced at Annabeth once again, who just ignored them.

"Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime."

Annabeth frowned, not knowing that was what Luke thought about how much Annabeth wanted to get a quest.

The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before.

Poseidon and Annabeth smiled at that.

Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"

The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.

Artemis and Thalia smiled.

We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.

All of the Gods, plus Grover, had dreamy looks on their faces while the Goddesses and girls glared, rolled their eyes, or laughed at them.

In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

Everyone kept up their previous behaviors, except the girls and Goddesses who were laughing at the Gods stopped.

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.

Annabeth smiled a little thinking about Percy's body, but quickly wiped it off her face, hoping no one saw her, because she really did not want to be made fun of or explain herself in front of the Olympians, but her mother in particular.

Aphrodite and Thalia, however, noticed a gave her looks but, didn't say anything, to which Annabeth was very grateful for.

I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.

Dionysus smiled, thinking about his twin sons, but was unaware of the confused looks on Piper's, Leo's, and Jason's faces, or the sad looks on the other demigods faces.

Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blond hair.

Athena smiled thinking about her children, while Annabeth smiled a little, but she did really miss her siblings.

Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.

Clarisse scowled, because she didn't like being reminded of the incident, and because she hadn't gotten over it.

The Stolls snickered behind her back, and were lucky that she didn't hear them.

Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

All of the Gods and Goddesses smiled.

Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"

They all nodded towards the demigods.

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."

Dionysus frowned, but wisely chose not to say anything, because of the look Zeus was giving him.

I said, "Cherry Coke."

The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.

Then I had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke."

Everyone smiled at that, though some were a little sad, remembering that Mrs. Jackson inspired the blue food.

The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt.

I took a cautious sip. Perfect.

I drank a toast to my mother.

Hera smiled, thinking that that was how a son should view and act towards his mother.

This caused Hephaestus to roll his eyes at her.

She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday...

Hades smiled evilly, which caused all of the demigods, except Nico, to back away from him and Poseidon to glare at him.

"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.

I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion.

I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.

"Come on," Luke told me.

As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest straw berry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll.

Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."

"You're kidding."

"Nope," Apollo said dreamily, which caused Artemis to roll her eyes at him.

His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food.

Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."

Hermes smiled brightly, thinking that maybe look doesn't really hate me after all.

I was next.

I wished I knew what god's name to say.

Poseidon frowned at that.

Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please.

"I will son, when the time is right," said Poseidon.

I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.

When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag.

It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.

Hermes smirked at Ares, who glared in return, painfully remembering the time he had tried to live off of it.

When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.

Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

Ares and Clarisse smiled.

A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.

Their smiles fell and they glared at the book at that.

"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."

Poseidon glared at Dionysus, while the demigods just rolled their eyes, used to Mr. D's antics.

Chiron murmured something.

"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.

Poseidon smiled a little bit, thinking that his son may be beginning to feel at home.

Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.

My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.

Everyone, except Clarisse and Ares had a sad smile

When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.

That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.

I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.

"Ohh, foreshadowing," said Chris.

"That's it, who wants to read next? Asked Piper.

"I will Pipes," said Jason, as she handed him the book, and when their hands touched, they both blushed for a second, but it quickly went away, when they remembered they were in front of the Gods, but Aphrodite still noticed, and smiled at her daughter.

"We Capture a Flag."

Well, that's it. I shouldn't have posted this until I was already halfway done with the next chapter, and I will be doing that from now on so I can update faster from now on. Also, I have been thinking about doing a story about Percy's and Annabeth's lives a few years after the Heroes of Olympus stories, and I was wondering if you guys think I should do it after I finish doing the reading the series or at the same time (I won't be starting it for a few weeks, and before I even post the first chapter I will be done with at least the few 5 – 10 chapters, so I can update faster. However, It would cause me to update both stories a little les frequently, but I personally think that I write stories better and faster when I come up with everything, not when I do things like the reading the series where I have to write things that pertain to what the characters are reading in the books at the time. Please let me know what you think I should do, and don't forget to tell me who I should bring in the story next. However, I will tell you the only characters I will bring in are Percy, Reyna, Hazel, Frank, Octavian, and Dakota. No one else as I don't feel I know enough about them personality-wise to be able to use them effectively in the story. Sorry if the Author's Note is long, but I needed to say a lot, but that is all. Don't forget to review and that other good stuff. Hope you enjoyed it! Until next time.

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