I realized pretty quickly, as the thought of breakfast filled my mind, that I hadn't officially eaten anything in slightly more than six days. I was pretty sure that whenever the medics checked to make sure I hadn't died and/or soiled myself, they probably followed it up with food. I was glad for the fact. My stomach roared in desire to eat something enjoyable.
I walked inside the mess hall. It was empty except for a few people at the Hermes table where I sat last time I was here and one child of Athena, reading a book that looked like it weighed more than I did. I got in line for food and that's when I noticed everyone get up and leave. I had to sit at Hecate's table, so I looked for it, just as everyone in the room seemed to glance at me then leave. Quickly.
I shrugged and sat down, immediately grabbing my glass and ordering coffee. I usually didn't drink coffee because it made me kind of…jittery, but I already was pretty jittery, with the whole struck-by-lightning thing, so a bit more wouldn't hurt. I took a long sip and took a deep breath as I felt the warm coffee run through my body. I shivered slightly then got to work on my breakfast.
It was pretty good food, thankfully. The last summer camp I had attended seemed to serve the same food each year. And I don't mean that they make the same thing every year, I mean that they made a cubic ton of the stuff 20 years prior and have been serving it since. This food was good though. Being made by magical folk would probably do that to food.
I ate it all pretty quickly and was just finishing when some of the other people from my cabin started to show up. 'My cabin.' Weird. I took another sip of coffee as they joined me at the Hecate table, giving me hesitant glances. I was pretty sure that was a sign that they didn't want to talk to me and I didn't blame them. That didn't mean I was going to take the hint though.
"Hi, I'm Peter." I said, scooting down to join them. There were three sitting together: One guy, a rather potbellied looking guy with sandy blonde hair maybe about 15 or so, but one of the most baby-faced people one could ever meet, and two girls, both redheads and both thin, but one less than the other.
"Uhh…Hi. Carl." The guy said, brushing his hand on a napkin then shaking mine with his stubby-fingered fist.
"I'm Maddison and this is Sophie." The more thin one said. I shook both their hands. "What are…Sorry, what are you doing at the Hecate table?"
"Well, I slept in the Hecate cabin. I guessed…" I didn't finish. I just shrugged.
"And she didn't kick you out?" Maddison asked, cocking her head slightly. I narrowed my eyes. Apparently, I had reached celebrity status as the guy who gets kicked ejected from cabins. Great…I miss six days and this happens.
"Well, unless I've been vaporized without me noticing, am now dead or in a coma, and am dreaming about three people whom I've never met, no she didn't kick me out." I said with a nod. "So, I guess that makes me your cabinmate."
"But you're not Hecate. I mean…She would have claimed you, right?" Carl said, looking a little nervous. I shrugged.
"I-dun-know." I said, taking another sip of coffee. "You've been here longer than I have."
"Well, I'm…just thinking…" He said, going back to his food. I narrowed my eyes and looked from him to Sophie and Maddison and realized that no one was looking at me. Not even venturing glances. They looked scared.
"Alright. Fine. I'll talk to you guys later then." I said, roughly putting my cup down on the table, the hot coffee sloshing over onto my hand. They watched in shock as I paid the heat no mind. If they were going to be scared, I was going to give them something to be scared of. Was that rude for me to do? Probably. I stood and brought my dishes to the tub for them to be cleaned before heading outside. I took a second to wipe my hand off on my shorts then I went to pull out my schedule when I heard fast footsteps and then was tackled.
"Oh my gods, Peter!" I groaned under the weight and looked up to see Lindsey straddling me, a smile across her face. She took a deep breath and hugged me, yanking my top half up uncomfortably.
"Okay. Okay. As much as I don't mind this hug right now from you, I like my spine straight and the ability to breathe." I mumbled into her shoulder. She gasped a little then stood, reaching her hand down to help me up. I stood, with her help and a groan, then brushed myself off, only to be hugged by her again.
"Peter, I went to the infirmary and your bed was empty and I thought you had died, but then I saw you and I was so relieved." She said quickly. I paused a moment then hugged her back.
"Did you check on me every day?" I asked quietly as we pulled away from each other.
"Well, after clean up, there—"
"Clean up?" I interrupted. "What clean up?"
"You made a tornado, Peter. Those can be kind of bad sometimes."
"Kind of all the time…"
"Well, it just picked up some debris. Knocked a guy on his butt. Messed up a lot of hair." She explained with a giggle.
"Anything else I missed during my mini-coma?" I asked quietly, looking around the camp.
"Umm…Oh! Check this out!" She started to run off, but then she ran back and grabbed my hand and then let it go. "Stay here, actually. I'll be right back." She said before dashing to her cabin. I didn't exactly listen to her and I instead, pointed toward the large climbing wall that was sticking over the trees. It was only a few seconds later when Lindsey returned.
"Welcome back." I said with smirk. She laughed and then presented me with a small harp. It was in the shape of a horseshoe and it had 4 strings strung along it. I knew it was a lyre. Not like someone who doesn't tell the truth. Like a really old tiny harp. "I didn't know you played lyre."
"When did I say I didn't play?" She asked, running her fingers along the strings.
"What? No, why do you have that tiny harp?" I asked, sighing quietly. She smiled and plunked one of the strings.
"I don't know! My dad gave it to me. It came yesterday. I'm not sure on what it does, yet, but I'm learning how to play it." She smiled and held the lyre carefully before plunking out a brief segment of "Smoke on the Water."
"Good choice. I'm sure they played Deep Purple in Ancient Greece." I said with a nod. She laughed and then smacked my arm.
"I told you. I'm learning." She smiled and then, tucked the lyre under her arm before heading away from the dining pavilion.
"Where are we going?" I asked, jogging a step to catch up with her. "I have the climbing wall now."
"Yeah. Me too." She said with a grin.
"Well, how did you know I had climbing wall?" I asked, feeling confused. She smiled and then held up my schedule, giving it back to me. I slipped it back in my pocket then followed her toward the wall, glancing at her as we walked. "How have you liked camp so far?"
"I'm adjusting…" She said with a shrug. "I kind of miss Crefeld, you know?"
"Nope." I said with a sigh.
"What? No what?"
"I don't know. I don't miss Crefeld."
"Oh…Well, I miss it and everyone here seems to know exactly what's going on."
"If it's any consolation, I don't know." I said with a chuckle.
"Well, you've been asleep for a week. You don't count." She replied. "I mean, I know where everything is now, but that's a fairly recent development."
"Well, then I know exactly who to have guide me around here." I said with a smirk. She blushed softly and smiled back. I was curious if this is what flirting was. I was unfamiliar, considering I probably would have been beaten up for flirting typically, but it was a time for new things. What's one more, right?
"We'll start at the wall, then." She said as we came up to the wall. My eyes widened as they surveyed my current objective: Climb that. "Basically, climb the wall. Fast." Lindsey said with a giggle. "Travis! He's next!"
"What?! No, no. I'm not—"
"Learn by doing, Peter." She said, shoving me toward the wall. I found myself between two large climbing walls. There was a whistle blown and I didn't realize that was my signal to go until I realized the walls were moving together. Without any grace or agility whatsoever, I leapt to the wall, clinging onto the first handhold and scrambling my feet to something to stand on. I managed to scrape off of something and grab another hand hold, pulling myself up. I kept moving and just as the bottom part of the opposing wall, slammed against the wall. I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to move again when I heard rumbling above me. I looked up and saw that a large boulder was coming straight for me. I panicked and then managed to move over to dodge it, but then the wall behind me started moving and another boulder was released.
I somehow survived to get past the middle section with only a banged foot, a broken shoelace, and some scraped knuckles. But then the lava started. Like a volcano in the middle of the top, oozing molten rock down toward me. I wasn't sure how I would survive this, but then I realized that I was immune to lava. I simply kept climbing and other than a spot where I slipped, I made it with no difficulty. I stood victorious at the top of the climbing wall, arms aching, body smoking, and chest covered in magma. I took a quick slide down the back of the climbing wall and was on the ground again.
"Time to go, again." Travis said with a chuckle. I turned to him, a sorrowful look in my eyes. "No, I'm kidding. Just relax. Lindsey, it's your turn."
"Maybe I can get some lavaproofing and just coast through this, next time." She said. I chuckled quietly and turned to look at her, but her face was not a happy one, looking at me before turning toward the climbing wall. I furrowed my brow at her then stood, checking my schedule.
"Wood chopping. Fabulous…" I muttered then turned to look at Lindsey who was just passing the bottom section with plenty of space, but she was slowing down. She quickly dodged around the boulders, using the oncoming wall to lean on for a split second before going back to the main wall. I was impressed. I didn't know that gymnastics and cheerleading would transfer so well into magical climbing wall. I made a note to ask her about it, but I kind of wanted to disappear before I had to climb the wall again. I started to back toward the woods and watched as she finally came upon the lava. It oozed after her and she seemed to freeze then look back toward the oncoming wall. I noticed that the lava had gaps in it. Gaps that she could climb through, but that didn't look like her plan. She suddenly jumped off the main wall and reached for the oncoming wall, but it wasn't close enough. And she fell. I tried to think of something to do, but it was happening so fast. I finally focused enough to try and make a tornado under her, but nothing was coming. My mind was too fuzzy and no one even knows how powerful it would have been if I had formed one.
She kept falling until she landed safely on a large cushion, bouncing her safely to the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief and then shook my head at myself, leaving the climbing wall area. I had to get my head under control. Before I really needed my powers.