I was sitting on a merry-go-round. Everything looked dull, as if the color were being sucked out of it. Then the horse I was sitting on started moving. Slowly the merry-go round picked up speed. Soon all I could see was a blur of gray and green. I gripped my horse as tight as I could and tried not to fall off. The wind was whipping my hair into my face and tears were streaming out of my eyes. Suddenly black smoke began to rise out of my horses' nostrils. It spread through the air and joined the colors swirling around me. The dark shadows started to consume the other colors until the entire world was full of thick darkness. The shadows started pouring into my nose and throat. I didn't even have time to scream as the merry-go-round beneath me vanished and I fell into the endless oblivion.
I awoke abruptly to a wet sensation spreading through my sheets. No, I did not pee myself. This liquid was ice cold. I sat up groggily to see what was happening when a red water balloon collided with my face. The freezing water made me feel wide awake.
"AAAGH!" I screamed in surprise. "What the-" I looked up from my soaking shirt to see Connor sitting on the edge of my bed with an armful of water balloons. His grin was so wide I wondered how it fit on his face.
"Rise and shine, princess!" He said cheerily, hopping off my bed onto the floor. He wandered off down the rows of beds, probably to ambush more unsuspecting campers.
"Was that really necessary?" I yelled after him. He didn't reply, but responded by grinning and throwing another water balloon in my direction. It was a weak throw and it landed with a splash on the floor. I used my blanket to wipe the water off of my face. I stuck my head over my bed to warn Oliver, but I saw that he was already soaking wet. When he saw me he smiled.
"Good morning!" He said pleasantly.
"Is it like this every morning?" I asked, looking around at the wet campers who were starting to move around the cabin.
"Pretty much." Oliver replied, shrugging. "Sometimes they blast music. Other times it's a bucket of dirt. But, that's Connor and Travis for you."
I groaned and Oliver laughed. We both climbed out of our beds and got dressed. I wore a pair of blue jeans and an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that Travis had gotten for me. I braided my hair off to the side and didn't put any makeup on. As I tied my converse, I thought about where Nico was and what he was doing. I made a mental note to find him after breakfast.
Oliver was wearing a swirly tie dye shirt and shorts. Before we left for breakfast, he checked to make sure his lap top was still in its bag. Then he put it over his shoulder.
"Why do you carry that around with you?" I asked, pointing to the satchel.
"Hermes is the god of thievery." He said plainly. "If you don't keep your belongings close, you won't have them for long." I nodded and glanced at my suitcase. There wasn't anything extra special in it, so I didn't worry about it.
Oliver and I followed the Hermes cabin out into the fresh air. I took a deep breath. I hadn't realized how stuffy the cabin had been. I saw that other groups were coming out of their cabins. A group of Barbie-look-alikes walked out of the pink glittery cabin. Every single one of them was wearing something pink, even the guys. One of the girls saw me staring and she gave me a look that said, 'Ew, where did that come from?'. I quickly looked away. Back at my old school, I was in the "pretty" group; the group that terrorized the nerds and outcasts. I grimaced as I thought of the memory. I squared my shoulders and raised my chin. Maybe leaving that school wasn't so bad after all. Maybe I have a chance to be different.
The trail of kids led to the roofless dining hall. Before I could worry about where to sit, Oliver pulled on my arm and led me to a table where the entire Hermes cabin was seated. It was a really tight squeeze and I had the misfortune of sitting next to Travis. I turned to Oliver.
"Why don't people go sit at the other tables?" I asked, trying to move my elbows without bumping Travis.
"We sit according to our cabins." Oliver explained. As he said it, I noticed that the "pretties" were all at one table and a cluster of tough people dressed in red and camouflage were sitting at another table. I wondered where Nico was. I tried to pick his face out of the sea of people. I turned around as finally saw him. He was sitting three tables away, but he was all by himself. I was about to ask Oliver why he was alone, when an adult started to speak.
"Campers!" the voice shouted. I turned and saw Chiron sitting at a table with a fat guy in a tiger striped shirt. "Silence, please!" When the dining hall was quite, he continued. "It's another beautiful day, and you know what that means!" I had no idea what it meant, but apparently everyone else did because they all started cheering. Chiron smiled and continued. "That's right! The canoe races will be held at three o'clock this afternoon! Register at the Big House with a team of three. Winner does no chores for a week! Now, with that being said I would like to go over rules here at Camp Half-Blood…" Chiron droned on about staying in your cabins after midnight, no killing people during capture the flag, don't upset the monster in the lake, etc. etc. When he was finally done with his speech, he announced, "We have a new member at Camp-Half Blood."
Oh no. No no no no no no no. This was going to be embarrassing.
"Everyone please welcome Juliet Barnes!" The Hermes cabin all clapped, but I could hear some people snigger and whisper, 'What kind of a name is Juliet?'. I blushed angrily and quickly sat down. Once the laughter and applause had died down, the fat guy spoke up.
"As you all know," he said in an impatient voice, "I have to give this speech to you pathetic twerps every year. My name is Mr. D and I am camp director. Welcome to Camp-Half Blood. Have a great year. Stay out of trouble. Always say thank you. Don't do drugs." With a final eye roll, Mr. D stood and left his table. With a wave of Chiron's hand, the campers started to talk again. I was wondering where the food was, when suddenly an omelet appeared on Oliver's plate.
"Woah!" I gasped in surprise. Oliver looked at me and then explained.
"Just hold your plate and think about anything you want and it will appear. It's the same for cup. Just make sure you give an offering to the gods." He pointed at the fire pit in the middle of the dining hall. I summoned a cinnamon roll, some bacon, and a cup of apple juice. I felt kind of foolish, but I slid a couple pieces of bacon into the fire.
Hey, dad? I whispered very quietly. If you're out there, I would be grateful if you could claim me quickly. Uh, thanks. After breakfast Oliver said he had to go to Latin and archery lessons, but he said he would meet after lunch. Everyone was leaving to go to their classes and soon I was standing alone next to the dining hall. I was about to go find Nico when I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I turned around and was surprised to see Nico standing there.
"You're OK!" I shouted. I was really glad to see him and I was extremely relieved that I would not be spending the morning alone.
"Yeah," he said, smiling a little. "But I'm not going to be shadow traveling any time soon." I didn't really know what to say, so I just stood there awkwardly. "Oh, yeah!" Nico said suddenly. "Chiron said I had to give you the official tour."
"Finally!"
"Well…" Nico began, rubbing he arm."I'm not really sure where to start." I thought about it for a second, then said, "Start with the dragon."
Nico explained that the dragon was there to protect the camp. Then he showed me the sparring pit (otherwise known as the dirt pit) where he teaches sword lessons in the afternoons. We walked along the lake and past the different cabins. He explained that each cabin is for each god or goddess and is decorated accordingly.
"Wait," I said, stopping suddenly. "Who is your godly parent?" Nico raised his eyebrows.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"I took mythology in sixth grade." I explained.
"Oh, well, Hades is my dad." He said quickly. I noticed that he as avoiding my eyes.
"Oh! I remember him! God of the Underworld, right?" I looked Nico up and down. "The black clothes should have given it away." Nico smiled a little.
"Anyways, moving on..." He said as he led me towards the strawberry fields. He talked about how they were the Camp's main source of income. Then we just walked all over camp. We walked along the edge of the forest and just talked. Nico told me that satyrs usually bring demigods to camp when they are twelve, but after the Giant War with Gaea, there have been less monster to threaten demigods.
"Wait," I said, interrupting Nico. "The Giant War? And who is Gaea?"
"A war against Mother Earth. There were lots of giants involved." Nico summed up. I nodded like I knew what he was talking about.
Nico ended the tour by looping back towards the lake. We sat down on a grassy hill a few feet away.
"Well, that's Camp Half-Blood." he concluded. "What do you think?" I didn't respond immediately.
"It's beautiful." I said after a minute. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before." Nico and I stayed silent for a few minutes. We were both soaking in the sun and admiring the breathless beauty of the lake. After the long silence I turned to Nico.
"So what's your story?" I said wiggling my eyebrows at him. "Who brought you to Camp Half-Blood?" I was only trying to strike up conversation, but I knew I had struck a chord. Nico's eyes clouded and he pulled his jacket around himself protectively.
"I came when I was nine. My sister was twelve." He wouldn't look at me. Instead he watched the lake. "Another camper found me. His name was Percy. He's the son on Poseidon." Nico seemed to pale even further than he already was. "Bianca and Percy went on a quest together. Only Percy came back." I felt my entire body go cold and rigid. I could see that Nico's eyes were wet. "But that was seven years ago." He turned to me and broke out of his trance. I wanted to hug him so desperately, but I was pretty sure he would punch me if I did that. Instead I changed the conversation off of his sister.
"So, where is Percy now?" I asked tentatively. Nico shrugged.
"He graduated a few years ago. He's probably at college or something. He comes back to visit every once and a while." We fell back into silence, but it wasn't as comfortable as the previous one. I had been sitting criss cross and my knees were starting to cramp so I spread my legs out next to Nico's. Then I noticed that he was still wearing converse.
"Hey!" I shouted suddenly, pointing at his feet. "We're wearing the same shoes!" Nico looked really confused for a second, but then he laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed. It was my turn to be confused. I guess if you are depressed for so long your laughter builds up and you eventually explode. Nico's laugh was contagious. It was loud and warm and I was soon clutching my stomach and laughing with him. After a few minutes our laughter faded we were both smiling. Nico was looking at me funny.
"What?" I asked. He shook his head.
"I've never met someone who gets that excited over shoes. Except maybe the Aphrodite cabin." I laughed again.
We rubbed our sore stomachs and relaxed. I suddenly felt Nico staring at me. I turned towards him and he immediately looked away, blushing a little bit. I looked away back at the lake, but then he spoke.
"I've never met someone like you." He said quietly. "I mean, you're so…. happy all the time." He turned to me. "I always feel so warm when I'm around you. You make me want to laugh all the time, and that's weird for a child of Hades." Nico blushed again and shook his head. "That was unbelievably corny. I can't believe I just said that."
I laughed and he smiled. That was probably the biggest compliment I had ever gotten in my life. I wanted to say something meaningful back, but I couldn't think of anything. Instead I just stayed silent and watched the waves lap at the shore.
The sun rose higher as we laughed and talked. It was so refreshing to see this boy- this emo, dark, and troubled boy- smile and laugh and have a good time. It made me feel good to see the little boy side of Nico; the one who isn't afraid to smile and be himself. It made me feel like I had a purpose. It made me feel like I had a true friend.
I was reluctant to leave the lake and go to lunch, but my growling stomach said otherwise. Nico and I slowly wandered back towards the dining hall. When we were about half way there we were ambushed by the Aphrodite cabin. As soon as they encircled us, Nico's smile vanished and his eyes turned cold. The leader of the gang stepped forward. Even in her seven inch heels she wasn't taller than Nico. She ignored me completely and spoke to Nico.
"I've been looking for you." She purred though perfectly glossed lips. "Where have you been, honey?"
Honey? I almost gagged. I looked at Nico, but he was too busy avoiding the girl's stare to notice me. When Nico didn't reply to her question she continued.
"I've missed you so much." she crooned. Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. If my eyes could get any wider, they would have popped out of their sockets. Nico was blushing ferociously. The girl turned to me and pursed her lips.
"Hm." she said, looking me up and down. "You would do well in the Aphrodite cabin." With one last wink at Nico, she led her posy away toward her cabin. Nico released the breath he had been holding and quickly wiped off the lipstick mark on his cheek.
"So," I began awkwardly. "Was that your, uh, girlfriend?" I didn't know why I cared so much. I mean, his love life was his own business. Why did I care?
"What!" Nico's eyes grew wide. "No, no, no, no." He said, frantically waving his hands. "That was Drew, head of the Aphrodite cabin."
"And she just kisses every guy she sees?" I replied skeptically. Nico's cheeks turned red again.
"Well, no. But she does when she wants to make someone jealous." Nico glanced cautiously at me.
"Me?" I asked pointing to myself. "And why would I be jealous?" I asked, folding my arms.
"I don't know!" Nico said, throwing his arms in the air. "I don't know how the female brain works! Go ask the Hephaestus cabin. They're good with complicated machines." I laughed and rolled my eyes.
"Come on." I said tugging at his arm. "Let's go get some lunch." I tried to ignore the warm feeling in my stomach that I knew was jealousy. What was I even jealous about? It's not like Nico and I are in love or anything. I mean, I only met the boy yesterday! Still, as we walked into the dining hall and Nico left to go to his own table, I felt an uncomfortable tug in my stomach. I shook my head and pushed Nico out of my mind. There was no way I was going to ruin our friendship so suddenly. Besides, I had bigger problems; I still hadn't been claimed.
Sooo... Who do you think her dad is? Review and write who you think it is! Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed. At least I know some people like my writing :). From now on I am going to try and update the story every Sunday, but I might do it more often depending on how creative I am feeling. Thanks again!