Happy PJO TV show day!

Chapter XVII: A Letter From a Clarisse La Rue Prompts a Small Heist

Jason's heart races as he fiddles with a small flower in his hand. He wasn't sure what flower it was but as he was sitting in his botany class learning to weave it into baskets and which ones were edible. (Oddly, Coach noted that the basket was a better food source. The carbs would sustain them more than greens or petals).

Jason saved one of the little blue flowers and hands it to Piper during one of their breaks. They were sitting against the school's brick wall as their other cohort mates played soccer on the dusty field. Occasionally, sand would fly their way and prick their faces and eyes.

"Here," Jason says, handing the small blue flower to Piper.

Piper looks at him hesitant for a moment. A small smile forms on her face as she takes the flower. Her eyes lock with his own as she sniffs it.

"So you have been listening in our botany classes," Piper remarks, grinning.

"Well, yeah," he responds.

"As expected from Mr. Grace. I'd get you a forget-me-not."

"Why that flower?"

"With your memory, I wouldn't want you to forget me."

Leo peeks from sitting beside Piper on the other side. "Nobody asked but I'm pretty forgettable. Oh, guess what I found while I was on mail duty."

Leo shuffles through his pockets. A cacophony of various noises fills the area and random bobbles like magnets and clothes pins fall out. Usually, mail consists of late holiday cards, magazine subscriptions, and forwarded mail from other institutions. Leo pulls out a letter for Coach with no return address or a stamp.

"I swear it came like this," Leo states.

"Oh my god, open it!" Piper exclaims.

She puts the flower in her hair and reaches for it but Jason grabs the letter.

"Guys," Jason stops them, "just give it to him. It's not our business."

"But he's always in our business," Piper argues. "It's only fair."

"Besides, it's probably taxes," Leo suggests although it's definitely not taxes.

"We can see how much money this dump pays him. There's no way he'd do this for free … actually, he would."

Jason frowns. "Guys."

He sighs when Piper yanks the envelope from his and opens it. She holds it out for her and Leo to try to read. Jason watches their eyes go back and forth across the page as if they have issues deciphering it. Maybe it might as well be taxes. Jason didn't want to snoop, but curiosity got the best of him and he scoots closer to peek.

Reading isn't his strong suit either, but there are definitely some spelling mistakes in the letter.

"Happy birthday to the best satyr from the best cabin ever. We have no updates on Jackson but we hope you come back to Camp soon. Capture the Flag ain't as fun without you. - Clarisse & Cabin 5, but mostly Clarisse"

"What's a satyr?" Leo asks.

"Think a faun," Jason responds.

After he said that, Jason realizes that eating cans and all the clopping makes so much more sense now. Coach is a faun. He has to be. That could only mean that Chiron on the phone wasn't a man on a horse but a literal horseman. A centaur.

Just when things start making sense to him, they get weirder.

Leo continues staring at him blankly. "And what's a faun?"

"Maybe we're just reading it wrong or they spelled something wrong," Piper reasons.

"Is that Jackson guy a cohort person here?" Jason asks. "Maybe in your old one?"

Leo and Piper look at each other before shrugging.

"I barely know who's in our cohort but if there was a Jackson here, I think Coach would've dragged him out," Leo says.

Piper waves them both off. "Guys, bigger picture, it is or was Coach's birthday! Or it's soon or maybe already happened. Nobody dated this letter. We should do something."

"How about giving him his letter?" Jason suggests. He grabs the letter and folds it again before returning it to its envelope.

"After. What are birthdays like here?"

Leo laughs, shaking his head. "At one of my foster homes, I don't know how the other boys knew it was my birthday but during birthday beatings, I got a black eye and a split lip. Why would anyone celebrate the day you were born when they wished you were never born?"

Jason sucks in a breath as Piper slowly nods, patting Leo's leg.

"Okay…" Piper mutters. "I was thinking we give Coach a gift."

"Like what?" Jason asks.

Piper shrugs. "We'll think of something."

Leo perks. "Okay, hear me out. I've been thinking."

"Here we go."

"Maybe the Horseman from that call and the hot blonde chick were expecting whoever they were looking for to come here but instead got you, Jason. Maybe there was some prisoner exchange happening and you two got mixed up like switched babies at birth."

"That sounds like some movie my dad starred in."

Jason shakes his head. "That's insane."

"Or maybe Jackson was also in that exchange and expected there but wounded up who knows where." Leo pauses. "I have the perfect gift for Coach."

"What?" Piper and Jason ask in sync.

"Cohort contraband."

Piper and Jason lean in closer to listen to Leo's plan. Cohort contraband consists of items that kids would steal from the school itself, have family smuggle in during meetings, and potentially theft from field trips. Rarely, it's the occasional package but those are often opened and examined before being distributed.

The dorms here would be full of them. Leo has enough junk that could be considered weaponry.

Coach would be thrilled at the gold mine they could find.

While everyone was still outside, the trio sneaks back into the school and run towards the dormitories. They start at the girls' wing and Leo picks the lock of one of Piper's neighbours with some headphones he found in his pocket.

It's a typical room upon entry. Everyone has the same basic furniture arrangement, but this dorm has more personality with patterned sheets and accessories on the dresser. Clothes and shoes are thrown all over the floor.

"And what happens when she snitches that her things are missing?" Jason asks.

"What is she going to do?" Piper asks with a snicker. "Tell Coach that items she's not allowed to keep have gone missing?"

"Fair."

Leo pushes some things on the floor with his foot. "Let's look for things Coach would like, although I'm not sure what he would find interesting in here."

Jason stands by the door to keep an eye out for anyone as Piper opens the nightside table's drawer. She takes out some nail polish bottles. She opens each bottle and tests in on each nail, falling out her hands and smiling at the multicoloured results.

Jason laughs to himself as Leo pulls out a can of shaving cream. He looks at it for a moment before stuffing it in his pocket. It may be floral-scented but Coach has a goatee.

"Jackpot!" Piper exclaims. "I was looking for this since I've seen Lena drinking these early in the morning."

Piper pulls out a canned energy drink from under the bed.

So far, they have two sad cans and the letters as gifts, but Coach would love it regardless. Or at least say he loves it. They've only looked at one room so far.

"We could stop by the cafeteria and see if there are actual cupcakes in the fridge since he always calls us that," Jason suggests. "Let's get out of here."

Piper swipes the nail polish back into the drawer and Leo kicks the clothes around to make it look like they were, ironically, never here.

-o-

They sneak into the kitchen, which is usually off-limits to students but nobody's there.

Leo looks into the cupboard and climbs onto the counter, opening a box of granola bars and dumping the contents into his pockets. Jason takes one and starts eating it, both laughing. Piper opens the fridge and shudders at the sight of questionable meats in discrete and similar packaging and generic bread. She closes the fridge and looks in the freezer only to see frozen packaged vegetables.

Jason opens another cupboard and sees a box of those snack cakes which is close enough to a cupcake. They each take one, it was likely vegan (or Piper believed it was since it would be easier than reading the ingredients), and pocket another one for Coach.

Piper gags. "This is so bad that I'm reconsidering meat."

Leo laughs. "That only means Coach will love it."

Jason looks at the time. "They should be coming in soon. Let's get out of here."

They turn off the lights on their way out but Jason freezes as the lights spark above them. He immediately shields Piper and Leo.

His mind takes him to a dark forest on a stormy night. He's small, trees tower above him and the winds are so strong he could fly off the ground. His heart races as he shivers, whipping his head around as tears fall down his cheeks. He wants to scream but the sound is so lodged in his throat that it's stuck.

"Jason!"

Just above the bushes, Jason catches the head of a young girl. It's almost like looking in a mirror with her stormy blue eyes like his own. Her hair is dark and brushes her shoulder as she frantically looks around.

"Jason!"

It's her. The voice. She finally has a familiar face that he still can't recognize. The sound lodged in his throat wants to yell her name but he doesn't know what to say.

"Get back here!" Another voice yells. The girl turns her head for a moment. "We're not finished our conversation!"

"You just gave him away!" The girl yells. "How could you?! If I can't find him, then I'm done with you!"

Jason snaps out of it and his eyes first land on Piper and Leo staring at him confused and concerned. He slowly straightens, taking a breath to calm himself as he takes a step back from them.

"Jason?" Piper whispers. "Are you good?"

"I think so?" He whispers back.

"Probably those dumb cardboard vegan cakes," Leo says without changing his tone.

-o-

The trio finds Coach later. Before he could grill them about where they've been for the past few hours, Leo holds out the letter in its evidently opened envelope they forgot to discard.

"I was on mail duty and this came for you … and it came like that too," Leo tells him.

Despite Coach's grimace not believing them, he takes the letter and reads it. For the first time, they see the older man soften. They never thought they saw his face rid itself of its usual annoyed and angered expression.

"Happy birthday, Coach, or belated," Jason says.

"We come bearing gifts," Piper adds.

They hand him the can of shaving cream, energy drink, some shivs, throwing stars, and alcohol. Coach stares at the variety of items. For a moment, they think they'll get in trouble for having all this despite their intentions, but Coach smiles — an even freakier sight.

"These are some of the best cans out there," Coach mutters to them, keeping his eye on the floral shaving cream. "Thank you, Cupcakes. This'll let you off the hook for now."

"There he is," Leo rejoices, "I was scared you were getting too mushy for anyone's liking."

Coach grins. "You know, you three would love Capture the Flag with Clarisse and her brothers." He holds up the letter. "I can't say for sure which side it's safer to be on since Clarisse would get you anyways."

"If they play like the kids here, then I'm uninterested," Piper says.

"Oh no, they're much more deadly."

Jason raises a brow. "Deadly?"

"I'm not joking. Some of the best players out there." He sighs. "I miss those kids."

This has nothing to do with this chapter, but I originally had a scene in the next chapter that I cut out so it will now be in Campfire Stories (Chapter 47). I'll make a master list of all the counterparts at the end of this story.