Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by our wonderfully talented Rick Riodan.
We ended up in the woods opposite Half-Blood Hill. Nico looked pretty exhausted. I couldn't blame him though. He had just strangled a ginormous snake and then shadow traveled us, and all my luggage, all the way across the country.
We cross the deserted country road and start heading up the hill. I could see the giant pine tree, the golden fleece sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight, and instantly started feeling better. We crossed the boarder and then we were home.
I breathed in the air tainted with a mixture of sea salt, sun-ripened strawberries, pine needles, and the unusual, but familiar, musty scent of monsters. The Big House looked exactly as it had last year, maybe a new coat of white paint on the shutters.
Nico and I started walking down the hill and toward the cabins. I just wanted to take a shower and collapse into bed. I could already feel soreness creeping into my joints and muscles. We walked to cabin seven and heard the chaos before we saw it.
"Give it back!" I hear Danielle scream.
"I told you! I didn't take it!" Scarlett shouts back.
"Liar!" Danielle yells.
"What the hell is going on here?!" I shout, slamming the door open, trying to be heard over the shouting match going on.
It quiets down instantly and their heads snap towards the flung open door. Danielle had gotten her cherry red hair cut short since last summer and she was pale from this past winter. Her brown eyes were blazing with fury and she towered over Scarlett. Scarlett's bleached blond hair had gotten longer and she had added hot pink streaks to it. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight coming through the open windows.
"She stole my diary!" Danielle says, pointing an accusing finger at Scarlett.
"For the millionth time, I did not steal your stupid diary!" Scarlett says, knocking away Danielle's hand, obviously exasperated.
"I'll, um, I'll see you later Ky." Nico says, backing out of the room, cautiously.
"Bye, Nico." I say, giving him a quick kiss.
He closes the door behind him and I hear his light footsteps on the steps. Coward. He had no idea how lucky he was sometimes.
"Okay. Scarlett, did you or did you not take Danielle's diary?" I ask, tossing my bags onto my bed and collapsing onto the red love seat.
"No!" she shrieks.
"Okay then. If Scarlett says she didn't take it, she didn't" I say, leaning my head back.
"What?! You can't just pick sides!" Danielle says, stomping her foot.
"Did you even consider that maybe the Stolls took your diary?" I question.
Danielle stops her protests and grows silent. I look up to see her blushing and looking a little baffled. Scarlett, her arms crossed, had a smug look in her face.
"No. I didn't." she says.
"Okay. Go over there and demand to see them. Scarlett go with her. Oh, and has Keegan gotten here yet?" I ask.
"No. He called and said he wouldn't be getting here till the sixth." Scarlett says.
"Gotcha." I say, yawning.
They walk out, closing the door behind them. I fall asleep on the couch, curled up in a ball.
A/N:
Kind of a short chapter... I think I'll upload another! BTW, why do you think Danielle blushed when Kyra mentioned the Stolls?
XOXO,
Mrs-diAngelo25