The Argo II was freaking epic. Leo had to admit that. He didn't want to be stuck on the ship with a bunch of rich snobs who would probably look down on him for being the 'charity case' of the programme but the ship itself was awesome. For a start it was massive - Leo had only been on it for an hour or so and he'd gotten lost twice and only bumped into one other person. It was also amazingly luxurious and Leo had spotted signs leading to an indoor swimming pool (there was one on the front deck as well), two lounges, a games room, a library, a theatre/cinema, a gym (with a rock climbing wall), a spa as well as a casino which he was pretty sure wasn't legal on a 'school boat'.

The guy who had picked him up from his hotel and taken him to the boat, Mr

Brunner or something, had explained the ship had been a donation after a holiday company went bust. Leo had a hard time believing that any company would willing give up a ship like the Argo II but he wasn't nosy enough to look into the legality of the whole enterprise. There were worse places to be stuck for the next few months even if the only girl he had seen so far looked like a total rich brat, dressed up in designer gear and scowling at him as he passed. She had reminded him of his cousin Angela, his Aunt Rosa's daughter who had always done her best to make him feel least at home as possible whenever he stayed there. She'd always been particularly unwelcoming, especially after his mum- Angela had been a complete bitch the whole time. Gone on about how Leo was a disappointment, how no one wanted a hyperactive pyromaniac around.

Angela had been a bitch but she did have a point. No one did want him around. He was baggage passed around various family members until he had been old enough to be sent to boarding school; which he had been expelled from after nearly burning it down. It had been an accident, okay. It wasn't Leo's fault a bunch of kids thought it would be a good idea to mess around in his workshop. Since then he had been sent to school after school after school and expelled or asked to leave nearly every time. Or he had run away from bullies or cruel teachers. Finally he had been enrolled in the Olympus Educational Programme and here he was. It sucked.

Leo followed one of the many signs to a spacious room where a few bored children sat around the tables, most in sulky silence. Leo approached a boy with golden hair who was chatting to a pretty girl in a ski jacket. The girl smiled at him as he got closer, "Hey. I'm Piper, this is Jason. You are?"

"Leo Valdez. Prisoner number 42, judging from the number of my cell." To his relief the pair laughed. He slumped down beside them on the ridiculously soft chair. It felt like sinking into a cloud. He struggled upright before continuing, "So, what are you two juvinile deliquents on the cruise of a lifetime for?"

To his suprise the golden boy, Jason, answered first. "Memory problems. I had amnesia a couple of years back so apparently I need a bunch of therapy and all my 'troublesome' behaviour stems from that. What my dad doesn't get is that I really don't care that I can't remember certain things, I just really hate being treated like a three year old. You?"

"Ah you know, the usual. Disruptive, ADHD, pyromaniac, traumatised, etc." Leo said casually. He didn't really want to go into detail about his problems. Piper grinned at his careless tone. "I know what you mean. ADHD here as well as kleptomaniac. Just your average teenage girl troubles," she said equally as cooly. Both Leo and Jason smirked. Leo had to admit that these guys weren't so bad, even if the sexual tension between the two was a bit distracting.

Just as Jason began to say something a short, angry looking man strode into the room holding a megaphone. "Alright, listen up cupcakes!" He shouted through it, "I'm Coach Hedge and I'm in charge of discipline on this ship. So don't get on the wrong side of me. In a few minutes an official representative of the company will be here to give a speech and you all better listen carefully, or else!" A nervous murmur of laughter spread around the cabin as the Coach scowled at them over his megaphone. "You think that I'm joking?" Yelled the coach, "I am not joking! You cupcakes better sit pretty while Mr D does his talk and once he leaves you can all go wild. But you can't. Cause I'm gonna be in charge and in the wild big things eat little things and I may be little but there is no way in hell I am going to get eaten. You better listen to me if you want to stay on this boat and alive!" A pretty lady standing beside the door rushed in at that point and grabbed the megaphone. Sounding rather flustered, she spoke to the group gathered in the lounge, "Alright, thank you Coach, that's all we need right now. I'm Mellie and in a couple of minutes Mr D will be here."

There was a loud commotion outside the double doors to the lounge and a short, fat man in a Hawaiian shirt strode in, followed by a bearded man in a wheelchiar who Leo recognised as Mr Brunner. The man in the Hawaiian shirt, Leo presumed he was Mr D, took a sip out of the diet coke can he was holding and set it down carefully on a coffee table before stepping up to the centre of the room. "Hello young gentlemen and ladies," he said in a bored tone, "I'm Mr D, managing director of this programme, blah de blah de blah. I'm supposed to be welcoming, helpful but stern but I don't see the point. So welcome all of you to this cruise, etc, etc and don't break so many rules we have to kick you off. Okay, goodbye." With that he stepped towards the side of the room, spoke a few words to Mr Brunner before taking his coke and walking out of the doors. Mr Brunner rolled himself forwards, "I'm Chiron, not Mr Brunner, just Chiron. That's all we have to tell you right now. You have free time until dinner tonight, which is at 7:00 in the dining hall. I hope you can all find where that is. After that we will have group bonding activities. For now you can get to know eachother and don't go mad just yet. Please don't blow anything up before we leave port tomorrow as that would be a bad start to the voyage," he said jokingly.

Leo raised his eyebrows. He was exactly who Mr Brunner was talking about he guessed. Blowing things up was kind of his forte. He turned to Piper and Jason only to find they had been joined by a small girl with frizzy, dark hair and almost golden eyes. She was very pretty and had a sweet smile. She sort of reminded Leo of Caly- but no, this girl was completely different. "Hey I'm Hazel and this is my half-brother, Nico," she said, gesturing to a very pale, skinny kid behind her dressed all in black. Leo was taken aback by how different the two were. Nico looked almost ghost like, translucent while Hazel seemed vibrant with dark skin. Looking at them both you could hardly believe they were related. Noticing the threes confusion Hazel explained, "We both take after our mothers which is why we look nothing alike. Same dad but neither of us look at all like him either." Jason nodded in understanding. Piper smiled at Hazel and made room for her to sit at the table they were at. Hazel gratefully perched on the spare seat. Nico slumped into an armchair and still didn't speak. There were a few moments of strained silence before Piper asked the group, "So, which rooms are you guys in? I'm in room 24." Hazel gave a small laugh before saying, "So am I! We're going to be roomates then!" Piper grinned, "Oh my god, it's going to be so much fun." Hazel nodded her agreement. Jason spoke up, "I'm in room 10 but I know that I'm with a guy called Percy so I won't be with any of you guys." Leo inwardly sighed a little. Jason seemed like a nice guy and he had been hoping that he could be in the same room as him. He'd probably get stuck with some loser jerk who took delight in beating him up and destroying his stuff, knowing his luck.

Then the Nico kid spoke up, "I'm in cabin 42 but I don't know who my roomate is yet." Leo's head jerked up in suprise and the quiet, soft voice which didn't quite fit with the boys sullen appearance. "Hey, so am I! Guess we're room buddies for now then!" Leo said, overly cheerfully. Nico looked up at him through his too long black hair. "Oh. Okay." He said, his tone slightly annoyed. Leo raised his eyebrows. He could already tell this cruise was going to be so much fun.