Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan! Apologies :)
"Ow.." Argo was jolted awake, crashing onto the aisle of the bus. She sat up, rubbing her head. "Why am I on the floor?" Leo, who's legs were the only thing visible at the moment, struggled to get out from underneath Percy, who had gotten hurled on top of him.
"I think we crashed, which, last time I checked," his head popped into view. "was physically impossible."
Percy was attempting to untangle himself from a rogue pair of headphones. "Everybody alright?"
There was a sort of roll-call then, as Coach Hedge had been incapacitated for the moment, an espresso in one hand, and his club in the other.
Everyone was present, confused and groggy, but present.
Annabeth stood unsteadily on the seat of the bus, which was leaning heavily to the left.
"We have arrived! Everyone, take inventory. Anything left on board will most likely not be returned, so make sure you have everything you packed."
Groans rose from the front, as campers started to see the state of the vehicle.
Bags had been scattered everywhere, the contents spilled thoroughly.
A pink makeup bag had exploded, making a section of the bus look like a Cyclopes had puked up a few pounds of cotton candy.
Earbuds and iPods were lodged pretty much everywhere, and someone's Adventure Time boxers were hanging off one of the Coaches horns.
As Argo peeled her sweater off a window, she noticed the sun was starting to rise.
They didn't have much time.
She had forgotten about the briefing Chiron had given them that morning.
In order to avoid rising accusations from the mortals, the plan was to have each bus "stall" at different intervals near the tunnel, giving an excuse for them to be unloaded.
One of the Farm vans would then then stop and lift their hoods to appear as if they were hooking up the engines, while everyone was sneaked inside to the Roman Camp.
They were partly relying on the Mist, because nothing could totally cover up around a hundred Demigods running across the highway from a bus to a service door guarded by armed roman warriors.
Even with Chiron's ability to control the Mist, it would need to be amplified to almost ten times it's original power.
Mr. D had refused to join them on the trip, and had only agreed to help because of Argo, for some reason.
Dionysius was to appear when each of the groups started to cross the highway, veiling the eyes of all mortals in the area.
Argo looked out the window, and sure enough, the Wine God was sitting in a leopard-print lawn chair, sipping a diet coke through a straw, ushering campers across the road, and looking bored.
She stuffed the last sock she figured might be hers into her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
They were the third group so far, and with two more buses to unload, the whole of Camp Half-Blood even in Roman territory was going to be difficult. Much less actually unpacking and setting up.
Being carried along in the current of people, Argo felt herself being moved out of the bus, into the morning air, her feet crunching on the gravel. Unable to pick out anyone in the small crowd, she shrugged, following the general flow of people.
She found herself next to Dionysus, who saw her immediately. She smiled and did a slight bow, respectfully. The corner of his mouth rose in a half-smile, then waved a hand dismissively.
Argo realized that people had started sprinting across the four lanes, then waved at Dionysus one last time.
Reaching the other side, a hand touched hers. She looked up. She came face to face with Hazel, who was in full armour, including her cavalry helmet. Her golden eyes glittered.
"Hi."
Hazel opened her mouth about to say something, then Argo was shoved hard from behind, propelling her forward, into New Rome.
Argo collapsed onto her sleeping bag, ignoring the fact it was almost ten in the morning. The work of arriving had wiped her out, not to mention that three other groups had arrived in the last half an hour, which was draining in itself.
Argo had chosen to stay close to Piper, pitching her tent with the Aphrodite Cabin. Unfortunately, pretty much everyone other than Piper and Argo knew how to stake down a tent, meaning that they had to do everything. Piper had been cool about it, though Argo thought she saw a small flicker of annoyance, but she hadn't been sure.
Not only had the campers have to set up their own areas, but huge undercover areas had to be organized. Picnic tables would be arranged around in a large circle, in the shade, the head table in the center.
The portable kitchen had taken the longest to haul across the highway, across the Tiber, into the fields, and to unpack. When Chiron had finally dismissed them, he only instructed that they not enter the Roman Camp, and to come back in time for briefing. The crowd had immediately dispersed into small groups, talking and laughing quietly.
Most people had headed back to their tents, overworked. Argo had forgotten where hers was, so she was glad of the signs indicating what direction each cabin was, and the signs in front of the tent clusters, declaring the number.
She had wandered for a while, enjoying she soft morning sun. When she finally found the Aphrodite tents, she had entered silently, trying not to bother the other girls she was sharing it with.
Now, she buried her face in Albert, who served as a decent pillow.
She breathed out, relaxing. Not bothering to get inside the bag, Argo let her eyelids fall, giving in to the exhaustion that had been plaguing her all morning.
"Hey. Get up, fuzzy head! It's time to go." Argo was being shaken lightly by Lily, a sweet ten year old year-rounder.
Argo groaned. She rolled over, pulling Albert over her head, blocking out the now warm sunlight and cutting off Lily.
"Ten more minutes.." Her voice was muffled my the fabric, but it still made it to Lily, who giggled.
"Allons-y! Nous avons retarde! We're going to be late!" Lily slipped into French briefly, forgetting Argo didn't understand.
Argo let out a defeated rush of air, and sat up. Looking down, the first thing she saw was her necklace.
It read 6, and Argo glared at it. She wanted to rip it off her neck, and hurl it into the sea, be rid of it forever. She didn't get a chance however.
"Come on, Argo, please."
Argo forced a smile. "Alright, okay I'm up!" Lily bounced to her feet, chattering at Argo, who followed her to the mess area.
As the tables came in view, Argo saw that they weren't the only late ones, many other people had overslept, yawning and trying to pat their hair back into shape.
A steady stream of demigods, ranging from around eighteen to nine years old, gathered at their camp tables and benches.
She scanned the scene for Piper, who was nowhere in sight. She turned to ask Lily, but she had melted into the crowd, leaving Argo alone.
She started to panic slightly, seeing almost no one she knew, not even Chiron. Nervously, she fingered her necklace, running her thumb over the raised number six, then pressing hard, imprinting it onto her finger.
She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey."
Argo turned and was surprised to see Annabeth, who smiled sympathetically. "If you're looking for Piper, she got special permission enter the roman camp, she's visiting Jason."
She gestured to a table full of blonde-haired and blue-eyed campers who were playing some sort of card game.
"You could sit with us, if you like, no one will mind." Argo brightened, she had not met many of Annabeths brothers or sisters yet, because they had all been busy working on the buses.
"Thanks!"
Sitting down, she was immediately dealt into the game. Unfamiliar with the rules, it took a few minutes for Annabeth to explain, but Argo had understood quickly.
She set to work, quietly taking out each player.
Soon it was just was just her and Annabeth.
Argo was struggling, but managed to keep her face clear of any emotion.
A crowd had gathered around them, and kids had started to place bets.
She shuffled her cards, ignoring everyone around her, hoping that her queens would hold out.
They were down to the last move, and Argo was hanging onto a spade, confident that Annabeth was trapped in a bluff.
As she put down her cards, there was a collective intake of breath. It was a powerful play, and she shrugged. It was her final blow, and if this didn't work, nothing would.
Annabeth smirked, and slowly revealed her cards.
A full break, Argo was beaten.
Cheers rang out, and so did a few curses.
Many people were cashing in their bets. As it turned out, the stakes had been pretty high for one kid, who had to hand over around seventy dollars mortal cash.
"Not bad." Annabeth said, nodding at the cards, which Argo had started to put away.
"It runs in the family."
I'm back with another chapter! Sorry this took so long to update, argh. NEW FANGLED TECHNOLOGY. I tried to get this right, but Argo seems rather out of character, if that makes sense. I am not happy with the ending of this chapter, but this is as good is it gets, I guess. Please review, it means a lot!