Chapter 5

I have never wanted food more than I wanted dinner that night. Sitting down to dinner, I waited for Ben. My food arrived and I began eating, still no Ben. I'd fallen into my old habit of people watching. One of the Aphrodite girls was sneaking off with a boy through the shadows. Who knows what'll happen there. Keira sat by another boy at the Dionysus table. I guess she didn't like to eat alone. Now that I think about it, I probably looked pretty funny eating all by myself. I hadn't ever thought of that before. All the other tables looked pretty well occupied. Scanning the Apollo table, I longed for a glimpse of Trip but he wasn't there. There was another empty table nearby… well almost empty. It was the Zeus table, where Bailee sat. Eating her food, she seemed a little less intimidating than she did in her armor and helmet this afternoon. Against my better judgment, I picked up my tray and walked over there. She didn't even notice me approaching; over at the fire a couple Ares kids were waving flaming sticks around and spelling their name and being a hazard to everyone within ten meters.

"Hey," I said when I got in earshot. She looked up, her reflexes were starting to scare me. In acknowledgement to me she only nodded. "Can I sit here?" I asked, pointing to the spot next to her at the table. Turning back to her food, she shrugged.

"Sure, not like there's anyone to take it back."

"You're an only child too?"

"Not exactly, just the only one here." Bailee explained.

"Same here. So… when did you find out you were a…a,"

"Bastard?" She supplied darkly.

"Ok, I wouldn't go quite that far, I was thinking half…breed or something like that, but yeah in a way." She smiled at my squeamishness.

"It's a long story," She said as she shoveled in another couple of French fries. I looked around.

"You got somewhere else to be tonight?" When she was quiet I couldn't help but laugh a little. "You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to."

"No, no, its okay," She amended. "You really wanna know?" She seemed incredulous.

"Uh, yeah, why would I ask?"

"All right then, strap yourself in." She sighed. I got a chocolate frozen yogurt, like the ones my mom and I would get at Costco. Digging in, I looked to her.

"I was struck by lightning." She stated. When nothing else came I frowned.

"And… then what?"

"Well, my mom and I were out for a drive in a crummy part of town during a really big electrical storm. Our car broke down and my mom and I had to get out to fix it. I was supposed to keep watch for anyone because people had been known to be mugged, raped and murdered in this part of town. While she was taking a look at the car, I don't know what hit me but suddenly I was trying to sit up and breathe normally again. My mom said I'd just been hit by a lightning bolt and got this worried look on her face.

"She couldn't fix the car so we had to call a shop to come out and fix it. It was another hour wait until the mechanic came and he was a total jerk to my mother. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I got really mad. I stuck my hand out and these electric bolts flew out of my fingers and I electrocuted the mechanic." I about snorted out my Dr. Pepper.

"You electrocuted a guy?" I asked incredulously, "What happened to him? Is he okay?" Bailee lifted her own drink to her lips.

"I'll tell you when he gets out of the mental institution." She murmured into her drink. She swallowed then continued. "I do feel a bit bad about that." I smiled at the irony. "Anyways, my mom then took me home and told me who my father actually was."

"What was her BS story she fed you?" I asked, instantly regretting defaming my mother. Bailee laughed a bit.

"She told me he'd died serving the Army as an aircraft carrier pilot. I figured out she was lying in the third grade when a guy from the Army came to talk to us and told us the Navy had aircraft carriers." We both laughed but soon silence fell over the both of us.

"So what about you?" She asked me, "Where'd you come from?"

"Me? I got attacked by a Siren while I was doing laps at the pool." It was Bailee's turn to snort.

"And you survived? Last guy I heard had a run in with a Siren ended up raped, murdered, and hanging by his arms."

"Well, I would have died if not for…" I trailed off as my train of thought suddenly took off in a different direction.

"Not for what?"

"Oh, my friend Ben, he's a mermaid-man, merman and he I guess is immune to the Sirens or whatever."

"I got news for you, no man is immune to a Siren. He must have had his eyes set on something in order to get him to focus."

"Yeah, yeah I guess he did." We fell quiet again.

"Hey, I haven't had a chance to try out the plasma screen tv in my cabin, you wanna join me for a little Star Wars?" I asked. Bailee gave me a look.

"You'd let someone else into your cabin?"

"Sure," I laughed, "is there a rule that says I can't? You know what, don't tell me. Call it ignorance."

"Hmm, its just no one really goes into other people's cabins usually. The only other one I've been in was the Aphrodite one and I barely escaped with my life."

"Then aren't you dying to see the inside of another?" I asked. The way she smiled was different. It wasn't filled with dark humor or condescension, just good old fashioned friendship.

"Original or Prequels?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I think I've found myself a true friend.

Two weeks. I survived two weeks. It made it better having two more friends who weren't ordered to be my friend. Bailee and I had become inseparable. Though I eclipsed her in the water sports, she would easily whip my butt in combat. We made a pretty good team. Then there was Trip. For me it was the shy "I like you but I want to be friends first before we do anything" scenario. We'd hang out occasionally, but I didn't want to impose myself on him. But soon I found myself by his side all the time. I began to see less and less of Ben. At the beginning it was a simple game of "ditch the babysitter" but soon it just became routine to maybe see him before curfew. Ben was still friendly but I felt so much more at ease when with Trip. That is until the day when he… changed.

I woke up and did my routine stretches then headed out for the day. I had battle practice with Trip that morning so I wore my sporty pink tank top and my tight combat pants that had hide sew to the sides. I felt I looked pretty good in it. Once satisfied with my reflection in the mirror I headed out the door, grabbing my blade on the way out. Making my way across the sand, I had to fight that craving to go for a swim. The arena was pretty clear except for a few early rising Ares kids running a few laps and doing some karate. I waved to a few of the really cute ones, and then made my way to our designated meeting place. He wasn't there. It was unlike him to be later than me, but I figured we all overslept sometimes. I turned my back to the entrance to take stock of the karate members. Big mistake. Next thing I know is there is a loud yell in my ear and I am suddenly pinned to the ground by Trip.

"Remember the first rule of combat?" Trip asked, his eyes hungry for action. I squirmed, trying to get out from under his intense pin but to no avail. I held still for a moment and looked him in the eye.

"You mean 'All's fair in love and war'?" I asked as I quickly aimed a hard kick between his legs. Instantly, he was off of me, rolling around on the ground. I stood up and chuckled, slightly out of breath.

"That could be the only reason I enjoy being a girl." I pointed my sword at him. Suddenly, an exceedingly dark look over took his face. Grabbing his own sword, he met me straight on with full out violence written all over his face.

"Trip? What are you doing?" I asked as he began to slowly stalk up to me, raising his sword to his face.

"You're going to pay for that." He growled. I couldn't believe it. This guy had been the king of jokes and now this?

"Dude, I'm sorry, I didn't think it was that bad." I started to back up now, panic beginning to seep into my brain. Raising his sword, he ran at me and let loose a battle cry that made my blood run cold. I barely blocked his first attacks, each one oozed passion and vehemence.

"Trip!" I yelled, "What… is… wrong… with you?" I asked in between parries. With our swords locked, he let go and threw a harsh right hook. Luckily I saw it coming but my reflexes weren't quite up to snuff yet. I got a small clip on the chin. I felt my fears begin to materialize right before me.

"I said I was sorry!" I shrieked as we continued to fight, I was running out of options now. He was looking for blood.

"You are going to pay." He murmured again darkly.

"You already said that!" I screamed as I tried for an offensive move. Far too easily, he blocked it. He tried to throw another punch but I dodged and grabbed his wrist as it went by. I tried to hold on, to get him to stop, but he was too strong for me. My hand slipped when it latched onto the hemp bracelet on his wrist. Looking at the bracelet in my hand I knew what was coming. I hit the ground in enough time to dodge his swipe.

"Trip stop it! You're going to kill me!"

"You know what?" He said as I rolled away from him. "I don't know what he saw in you, you little twerp. You've got nothing but a famous dad to carry you and parade you around." He taunted.

"If you're trying to make me angry you're doing a damn good job!" I spat.

"Oh, you even swore, are you going to burn for that one now? Is Mommy going to appear with a bar of soap and some water?" I couldn't stop the feeling of the anger rising over its boiling point. In a rage, I threw my sword and reached my hands out to the ground below. I could feel the water sitting in the pipes from the early morning sprinkler job. I felt the anger flash through my eyes as I stared daggers into him. With a pop, the sprinkler next to him shot off and he was suddenly getting shot with 30 gallons of water per second straight in the mouth. I didn't care if he hated me after this. He needed a refresher in human interaction. I picked up my sword and headed out. I was done.

The tears didn't even register with me until I got back to the cabin and I walked into the bathroom. I looked a wreck. It didn't matter though. Turning the faucet on, I let the shower run for a moment while I undressed. I controlled my emotion until I stepped into that water and everything came running off of me like the water. I sobbed, long and hard. How stupid could I get? Hadn't I learned all those lessons watching all those girls in high school get into a guy and get her heart broken? I hadn't even considered being in love but here I was, crying in the shower. That was another thing. Could I have picked a more cliché place to cry? The water calmed me down. I even did a little water bending to help occupy my thoughts. Eventually I had to get out and get dressed.

It was getting close to lunch. I wasn't especially hungry though. I had curled up on the couch and had pulled up the Un-Tangling pillow that had the tassels I loved to straighten. He had tried to kill me. At least that was what it had looked like. Sitting there, I just mulled over the memory over and over.

"Hey, anybody home?" Bailee burst through the front door and made her way into the living room. "Come on, lets go grab some chow, I am starving, been fighting Dirk all day-,"

"And I have been kicking your butt all day," Dirk said as he swaggered into the room behind her. Bailee rolled her eyes.

"What part of 'stay out here' don't you understand?" Bailee moaned.

"Como se dise ADD, mi amiga." Dirk smirked as he came in. She shot me a look that said, 'please let me skewer the guy'. Then her face changed. Looking deeper, she could see something was wrong.

"Uh oh, you've got the Pillow. What happened?" She asked. I let a faint smile attempt to place it self but it soon faded back into my stone face.

"Nothing, just a small fight."

"Fight? With who? I had money on a couple of guys and I want to keep my investments safe." Dirk stated. Bailee sighed.

"Your sensitivity never ceases to amaze me." She deadpanned. Dirk gave a cocky grin.

"Thank you, I do feel like the sensitive type." He puffed his chest up. Bailee looked over to me we talked almost telepathically.

"Get out!" The both of us yelled to Dirk. A little shaken, he straightened his knife belt then headed out.

"I gotta um… I think someone's calling me." With that he disappeared around the corner.

"Nice guy," I commented.

"Ergh, I can't stand him. The only reason I even spar with him is because he surpasses me with knives and I can't have that. I really think I hate him"

"Hmm, he seems all right to me." I said.

"Yeah, you didn't just get pinned to a tree when you went to retrieve your knives." Bailee said, her face lost in the humiliation of the memory. "So what's wrong? You're looking a little blue." She had genuine concern on her face. I held out my arm and looked at it.

"I'd say tannish- gold." I stated.

"Come on, Sera, tell me." Bailee came and sat down next to me. "It's got to do with Trip, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"I didn't, it was a guess. So tell me,"

"I think he tried to kill me." I finally came out with it. Bailee's face darkened.

"What do you mean?"

"We were sparring-,"

"Oh… pfft, he always does that with girls he likes. Goes hard and long and just when they think he's going to play dirty he goes for the good guy routine."

"I'm sure that's true, but this was … I don't know, different? I mean he-,"

"Sera, come out with it. You like him and I bet he likes you. Its just recess romance on steroids. Instead of pine cones and mudballs flying, its swords and punches."

"Well…"

"I got an idea, lets go do some studying in the library. I found you a new Atlantis book." I brightened when she said that. It must have shown in my face because she began smiling as well. I had become intimately involved in research about the lost city of Atlantis. To the point I had an entire sketchbook filled with notes and rubbings and drawings and all sorts of other things relating to the subject. I even discovered one of the wall decorations in my own cabin was Atlantean in nature. Bailee always rolled her eyes at my obsession and when she asked why I simply told her that I would explain mine when she would explain her obsession with Lord of the Rings. She had called a truce on that one. So needless to say, I couldn't pass this opportunity.

"Okay, let me grab my shoes and put in a ponytail and I will be right out."

"Don't take too long. If Dirk comes back I might have to kill him with my bare hands."

"Hopefully it won't come to that." I said as I stood up.

"Wanna bet?"

"Not against you." I smiled, feeling the weirdness of the morning and the strange circumstances begin to fade. Bailee shrugged again and headed out.