CH 2 RIDER

Rider was scared and confused about what happened this morning, but he was still dwelling on the dream he had had. Rider decided not to tell anyone about the dream, but he was sure Chiron suspected it. Rider tried to act normal at the ceremony, but it was hard to do when two hundred demigods kept on glancing at you. Usually at a ceremony like this, everybody would be riled up and yelling, but not today. Everyone was scared about Rider's gigantic… explosion.

"Okay, now we are going to name off the people who are going to go with us to Camp Jupiter, the Roman Camp on the Argo II." Leo Valdez, the creator of the flying boat, said. Suddenly Rider remembered Uranus telling him he HAD to go to Camp Jupiter, so he paid attention.

"Okay now… from Ares, Clarisse LaRue. From Hephaestus, Jake Mason. From Demeter, Katie Gardner…" This went on for quite some time. Fifty of the two hundred campers would be going on the Argo II, Rider waited… and waited. The names kept on being called off.

"From Nemesis, Silvia Waters. From Apollo, Timothy Brook, and finally from Hermes… Kasper O'Malley." Riders heart sunk, he had not been called, but his best friend had. Just plain unfair.

Kasper was celebrating next to Rider, " I made it! I'm going to Camp Jupiter! Yes!" Kasper looked down at Rider and realized he wasn't smiling. "What's the matter with you?" Kasper snarled, "I know you wanted to go on that boat, but at least pretend to be happy for me."

"It's just…" Rider didn't know what to say, he couldn't just say in public, "Well Uranus kind of told me I have to go, so if I don't, I will probably either be swallowed up by some earthquake, or incinerated by some asteroid! I'm soooooo lucky!"

"Rider, C'mon man, this is my moment, please don't spoil it." Moaned Kasper. Rider didn't reply and slowly made his way back to his lonely, small cabin. Where is my luck now?

KASPER

Kasper couldn't believe it, he had been chosen to go to Camp Jupiter, and his best friend didn't even congratulate him. Rider's weird behavior didn't end either, He showed up to archery (his best class) knocked ten arrows in the center of the target ten times, and walked off without bragging. Leaving the Apollo kids struggling to breathe in the shock. He didn't show up to his next two classes and at lunch he didn't make any effort to talk with anyone. Kasper was watching him sit at his lonely Caerus table not even pretending to eat his food. Just starring blankly at his fork.

"What was wrong with him?" thought Kasper. Kasper excused himself to go to the bathroom and left the dining pavilion. Kasper walked past the bathroom and down the beach, on a normal night when Kasper and Rider "went to the bathroom" they would run down too the beach with a couple of cokes and just joke around. Rider never followed Kasper tonight. He sat down on the sand, coke-less and Rider-less when he heard something that sounded like a cough. Kasper bolted upright to see a man with dark shaggy hair and hazel eyes, he looked so much like Rider he almost called him that.

"Uh… hello Ri- I mean sir." Kasper stammered.

The man winked at Kasper and said, "Good afternoon Kasper, I am Caerus, god of luck."

"Oh… uh, I'm Kasper" Idiot, Kasper told himself under his breath, Caerus just said Hello Kasper, and you say my name is Kasper. I can be so dumb.

Caerus tried to smile, but it faded as soon as it arrived, " Kasper, I'm sure you are aware of my son's, ah, condition," Caerus sighed, "but I urge you, I may have granted Rider luck, but luck will not save him from the clutches of Gaea. I beg you, please look after him."

"Um… Sir, I'm sorry, but I am going to be going to the Roman Camp tomorrow, and, well, Rider isn't."

Caerus laughed, "You think that silly list will keep my son from going to the Roman Camp?"

"Uh…" Kasper hadn't thought that Rider would sneak onto the Argo II.

"Well let me say that, Rider will not go away quietly, and oh, I nearly forgot, please give this to Rider, he will no what to do with it." And with that Caeurus dissolved and all that was left was a golden coin.

Why would Caerus give Rider a drachma? But when Kasper picked up the coin he realized this wasn't a drachma, inscribed on the coin was the picture of a cloud.