I was in a writing slump for a few hours and then I felt energized at least to plan this chapter. It took a while longer to write. For reference, it takes place after ToA.

Story #9: Clarisse was Gone For One Semester

"Yeah, I'm the boss!" Sherman chants and his brothers echo in roaring cheers inside their cabin. The walls and floors shake as if an earthquake hit them until they calm down to look at Sherman again. "And later, when we play Capture the Flag, we'll cream those -!"

The door swings open, slamming on the wall to cut Sherman off. All the Ares boys get in their fight positions, weapons drawn to take on the sudden attack on them.

Standing tall with a smug grin on her face and wearing a torn University of Arizona tank top is their old cabin counsellor and sister Clarisse La Rue. They didn't expect her to come back to Camp, let alone be here now.

"Back from college, boys," Clarisse says.

Her brothers are still tempted to battle her. Clarisse nods approvingly as she turns around and looks out the door. Chris is underneath all her bags on the field since he insisted on carrying them. She insisted on taking some of the load but she wanted to see him prove himself. He only proved he couldn't take it and she'll help him after she reconnects with her annoying brothers and he's still suffocating under her belongings.

Clarisse closes their cabin door as she walks around as if she was inspecting it. Everything looks the same. The walls are still blood-red and weapons were lined against the wall. It's as if she never left but she knows things have changed around here since most of her brothers ran out of the cabin when she looked distracted. Only Sherman and Arnold stayed with her but she can tell they should've followed the others.

"I take it by your pale faces that none of you got my Iris message," Clarisse states since they seemed surprised to see her. "Wasted my money. Now with that said, if any of you touched my bunk or gave it to some new sibling -"

"Psh, of course not," Sherman says as he dusts and polishes Clarisse's beloved bunk. He didn't give it to anyone while she was gone since nobody wanted it and they knew that was Clarisse's territory whether she was here or not.

"So I said hi to Chiron before stopping by here," Clarisse runs a finger along a mounted battering ram and there's a thin layer of questionable scum on her fingertip. Nothing she hasn't seen before. "He told me that while I was gone and the cabins were being inspected, you managed to get a worse score than Hephaestus' cabin?"

Sherman clears his throat. "That was one time. Some newbie Hermes kid set off a landmine outside so we lost all the points on exterior aesthetic, whatever that means. I think it was sabotage."

"We showed him, though," Arnold adds, pounding a fist into his palm.

Clarisse scoffs. "Nice. Speaking of Hermes twerps, I saw Connor Stoll and he told me a small child kicked you in the crotch and so you had the Hephaestus cabin use celestial gold for the jockstraps on our battle armour."

Sherman's face reddens and they can't tell if it's anger or embarrassment. "I'm gonna kill him. The same child nearly blinded him."

Clarisse nods. "So it's true. I heard from a nymph who gave me a ride back to Camp. Where is this child?"

Clarisse, Arnold, and Sherman look out the window. As they scan the Camp, ignoring Chris still under a doggy-pile of Clarisse's bags, Arnold points over to the Demeter cabin, glad that Meg Crotchkicker McCaffrey decided to visit so Clarisse could see her. She was fertilizing a flowerbed with her siblings but all Clarisse sees as a threat so big that her brothers needed an armour upgrade is a small child.

A. Small. Child. One dressed in bright primary colours and jewelled glasses. She looks like a bedazzled traffic signal.

A small Demeter child, as well.

Clarisse isn't sure which is worse. As the only Ares daughter they know of, the truth about being underestimated is that nobody expects anything from you. When she was younger and got tortured by her father and older brothers, she had to train and fight to show them off and become the next head counsellor. She thought she literally whipped her brothers into shape to become a striking force to survive when she left for college but no, they became wimps.

"Please tell me that's a joke," Clarisse says, pointing at Meg.

"It's half a joke," Sherman says.

"She's more than half your size."

"It's a joke. You can take a joke, can't you?"

"I can take a joke if it's good."

"She's barely at Camp and has an insane diapered demon Karpos that nearly mauled Connor," Arnold adds.

Clarisse nods. "I know Peaches."

Arnold looks at her strangely. "How?"

"College."

Arnold can't argue that point. "Basically, we stay out of Meg's line of sight."

Clarisse laughs. "Have you seen those grandma glasses? She's basically blind. She has no line of sight. What kind of boys are you?"

Sherman clears his throat. "I'm comfortable with my masculinity."

"That's great. Just don't get comfortable with mine." Clarisse closes the curtains. "I'm not saying you boys are getting better without me. You're doing worse." She cracks her knuckles. "I'll have to get that Meg girl to help me train you boys while I'm here on my reading week."

Sherman and Arnold run out of the cabin.

Sometimes, I think back to THO and how, upon arriving at Camp, Meg poked Connor's eyes and kicked Sherman in the crotch. It always brings a smile to my face.

And according to the wiki, Clarisse is the only girl in the Ares cabin so I had to play with that.