My Latin teacher was a horse, the Chiron of Greek myths, and we took a tour of the grounds, but Percy and I chose not to walk behind him, as I'd already had riding lessons and I'm telling you, horse manure is not cool.
We passed the camp's volleyball court, where several boarders exchanged elbows. One of them pointed to the minotaur horn Percy held in his hands as he passed they'd say, "That's him." Or when I saw them, they'd glare at me as if they were going to end up like the Cyclops.
Most of the campers were older than me. Even the satyrs were taller than Grover, even if some weren't as old as Coach Hedge. All had T-shirts printed CAMP HALF-BLOOD, and nothing to hide their behinds, so they were half-naked, good to know. The way they were looking at us made me feel uncomfortable, as if they were waiting for us to do something surreal.
I looked at the farm and then noticed the building, the big house was really a big house: three floors, blue the color of the sky, like the luxurious hotels I used to go to when I went on trips. Something caught my eye. A shadow, near the window that parted the curtain.
"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.
He looked in the direction I was pointing and his smile disappeared.
"Just the attic."
"Somebody lives there?" Percy asked.
"No," he said irrevocably. ""Not a single living thing."
I had the feeling he meant it. But something had pulled aside that curtain.
"Come, children," Chiron resumed, in a cheerful but somewhat forced tone, ""Lots to see"
We crossed the strawberry fields, where several campers were picking, filling baskets to the sound of a satyr's flutes.
Chiron explained to us that the colony had a very good crop of strawberries, which he sold on Olympus and to certain New York pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."
He told me that Mr.D had a very good effect on fruit bearing plants not sure if that extended to the rest of the camp if you ask me. I asked why not grapes, since he was the god of wine. He explained that it worked better on grapes but that he was forbidden from vines.
"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he? Percy asked Chiron. "I mean...he was a good ."
"Quite ," agreed Chiron. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career…"
"That's not fair," said Percy.
We continued our tour, but I don't think Percy had let go of the case.
"Chiron," he said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real..."
"Yes, child?"
"Does that mean the underworld is real too?"
Chiron's face darkened.
"Yes, child." (He paused, as if choosing his words carefully.) "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now... until we know more... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."
"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"
"Come on, Percy, Kassi. Let's go see the woods."
Chiron was obviously hiding something from us.
This forest was truly immense. It made up at least a quarter of the valley. The trees were so tall and dense you'd think no one had logged it or even walked in it for centuries.
"The woods are stocked," said Chiron." if you care to try your luck, but go armed."
"Stocked with what?" I asked."Armed with what?"
"You'll see. Capture the flag on Friday night. Do you have a sword and a shield."
"What..."
"No, of course not," Chiron cut me off. "I'll stop by the armory for you , a size 5 should be fine."
He looked at me as if to ask 'and you Kassandra.' I took the ring out of my pocket and showed it to him, he looked at it interested but said nothing.
I still wanted to ask him what kind of summer camps had armory, but there was too much other information to take in and the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing area, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much), the javelin throwing area, the amphitheatre for singing evenings and the arena where, Chiron told me, sword and lance fights were held.
"Sword and spear fights?" Percy asked.
"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."
Chiron pointed to an open-air building surrounded by Greek columns, at the top of a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.
"What do you do when it rains?" I asked. Chiron looked at me as if I'd lost it a bit:
"Well, we still need to eat, don't we?"
I decided to let it go.
Finally, he showed us the cabins. There were twelve of them, arranged in a U-shape: two at the base and five on each side. And, without a shadow of a doubt, it was the most bizarre assortment of buildings I'd ever seen.
Finally, he showed us the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U-shape, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And it was without doubt the most bizarre set of buildings I'd ever seen.
Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds and ends on the left, pairs on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had chimneys, like a small factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made of real grass. Seven appeared to be solid gold, shining so brightly in the sun that it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a common area the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds and a few basketball hoops.
In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the fireplace was smoldering. A girl of about nine tended the flames, fanning the embers with a stick. The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like mausoleums to him and her, large white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. The first cabin was the largest and most voluminous of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles, lightning seemed to flash through them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns adorned with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks, while the polished bronze doors were carved with patterns of peacock feathers, glittering in different colors.
I stopped in front of cabin two.
"Hera," I guessed.
"Right," said Chiron.
"Why does she have a booth, she's supposed to be like Zeus' eternal wife so not have children with other men right?"
Chiron came to my side and said:
"The booth is more for honorary purposes, but..." said Chiron thoughtfully.
"But what..."
I was about to ask him the reason for this questioning but Percy interrupted us, he was about to enter cabin 3.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that!" shouted Chiron.
I thought he was going to pull him in, but he just put his hand on his shoulder and said:
"Come along, Percy."
Most of the other cabins were inhabited. Number 5 had a red facade, the paint was badly smudged and the roof bristled with barbed wire. It also had a stuffed boar's head hanging over the door and its eyes seemed to be following me. Inside, I could see a group of mean-looking kids, girls and boys, fighting and arguing while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. She was wearing a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She focused on Percy and gave him an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, although the camper was much taller and tougher, and her hair was long and stringy, and chestnut instead of red.
I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves.
"We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.
"No," Chiron said sadly. ". "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."
"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really..."
. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Kassi, I am."
"But... you shouldn't be dead, because of a poisoned arrow and Heracles, I even think you've become a constellation...Sagittarius."
Chiron fell silent, as if puzzled by the question.
"I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish…and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."
Being a teacher for three thousand years didn't sound like the top 10 best things in the world.
"Does it ever get boring?" Percy asked.
"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."
"Why depressing?" I asked.
Chiron seemed to become hard of hearing again.
"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."
"Who's Annabeth?" I asked.
"She's the one who nursed Percy, dear." Chiron pointed to the blonde girl reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.
"The same way Luke did for you. In case you don't remember, he was the one who carried you to the Big House when you collapsed, Kassandra.
I had to blush a little thinking about the incident and the first time I woke up. When I saw the boy, Luke. When we reached this Annabeth, she looked at me critically. I got the impression she didn't really like me. She was probably my age, maybe about as tall as me, but a little more athletic. With a good tan and curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except that her eyes spoiled the picture. They were a striking gray, like storm clouds.
I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized that the title wasn't even in English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were images of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.
"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have a master's archery class at noon. Would you mind taking Percy and Kassi from here?"
"Yes sir."
"Cabin eleven," Chiron continued with a gesture toward the entrance. "Here you are at home."
Of all the cabins, Eleven looked most like an ordinary old summer camp cabin, the emphasis on old. The threshold was worn, the brown paint peeling. Over the door was one of those doctor symbols, a winged pole with two snakes coiled around it. A caduceus. Inside, there were a lot of people, boys and girls, far more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were strewn across the floor. It looked like a gymnasium where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center. Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him, they all stood up and bowed respectfully.
"Well, then," said Chiron. "Good luck, Percy, Kassi I'll see you both at dinner." He galloped away toward the archery range.
Percy and I stood in the doorway, watching the children. They no longer waved. They were looking at us, sizing us up. I knew this routine. I'd lived it in enough schools.
"Well?" asked Annabeth. "Carry on."
And of course, Percy stumbled in through the door and made a complete fool of himself. There were a few snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything. I rolled my eyes and helped him to his feet. Annabeth announced:
"Percy Jackson, Kassi Knight meet cabin eleven."
"Regular or indeterminate?" someone asked.
I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Indeterminate." Everyone groaned. A guy who was a little older than the others stepped forward.
"Now,now,campers. That's what we're here for." he gave me a warm smile. "Welcome, Kassi, Percy. You can have those corners on the floor right there."
I knew that smile, the muscular figure, Sandy's short hair and sparkling blue eyes. It was Luc. He was wearing an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. Again, I was troubled by the thick white scar that extended just below his right eye to his jaw, like an old stab wound.
"It's..." Annabeth's voice changed. "Luke," I finished and everyone looked at me with shock and confusion.
"Chiron told me your name a while ago," I quickly added.
. "It's good to see you up and about, Kassi. You actually worried me when you didn't want to wake up." I had to blush a little again. I also noticed Annabeth's expression harden and her fists close.
"W-why?" stammered I. Luke was about to answer when Annabeth spoke up. "Whatever it is," she said in a strong voice. "He's going to be your counselor for now."
"For now ?" asked Percy.
"You're both indeterminate," Luke explained patiently."
They don't know which cabin to put you in, so here you are. Cabin eleven welcomes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our boss, is the god of travelers."
I looked at the tiny bit of floor they'd given me, and the first thing I thought was that I finally had somewhere to put my suitcase, which I'd been lugging around since the Big House. I thought about writing that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves. I looked around at the faces of the campers, some sullen and wary, some smiling stupidly, some looking at me as if waiting for a chance to pick my pocket.
"How long am I going to stay here?" I asked.
"Good question," said Luke. "Until you're determined."
"How long will that take?" asked Percy.
The campers all laughed.
"Come on," Annabeth told him. "I'll show you the volleyball court."
"I've already seen it."
"Come on." She grabbed Percy's wrist and dragged him outside.
The kids in cabin eleven were still laughing at him. I glared at each of them, and their laughter all turned to nervous giggles. I get that a lot. People tend to be really scared of my stare. Percy didn't say anything wrong. He even asked a sensible question. What's wrong with all of them?
"All right, all right," said Luke. "Calm down, everybody. Then he turned to me. "And, uh, Kassi? Maybe you should calm down, too."
I was a little embarrassed all of a sudden, and just looked at my feet. "Sorry."
"So, how about you put your stuff over there," he pointed to my spot on the floor.
"And make yourself comfortable. I saw most of the campers eyeing my suitcase hungrily, as if they couldn't wait to get their hands on what I had in there.
"Uh..." Luke seemed to notice my reserve and said:
"Don't worry, Kassi, nothing's going to happen to your stuff. Then he looked at the campers one by one. "But if anything does happen to them, let me know and I'll get to the bottom of it," he said so that everyone in the cabin could hear him.
The campers looked disappointed. I figured they'd listen to Luke, so I placed my suitcase in my space on the floor next to Percy's.
"Come with me Kassi," Luke told me. "We need to talk." He said nothing else and just walked out of the cabin.
I followed him shyly as I walked through the doorway, the campers in the Hermes cabin laughed at me, I would have yelled at them but I wasn't going to give them that pleasure especially my first day at camp.
"Well done Kassi."he began.
"Why?"
"The cyclops, you eliminated them, a lot of people didn't manage that feat."
"The feat of almost dying."
"The feat of surviving Kassandra."
He said this with a much darker tone someone he knew hadn't had to survive a monster attack.
"Why is cabin eleven so full, because there's plenty of room in the other cabins given how empty it is."
"You don't just pick a cabin, Kassi."
"Depends on who your parents are. Or... your parent." He stared at me, waiting for me to understand, but I was too focused on the change in his tone to contemplate what he really meant.
"My father is Andrew Knight." I said. "He was the founder, president and CEO of Knight Industries."
Luke blinked. "Wait, you're the daughter of one of the richest men in the world?"
I corrected. "He's dead, remember? "
"Sorry, but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about the other one, your mother."
"She abandoned me right after I was born. I never knew her."
I was sure Luke could hear the acid in my voice. I hate her. What kind of mother leaves her newborn daughter-I was sure she never wanted to be with me. Goddess or not, I was sure I never wanted to see her.
"You're probably right," Luke said. "Your mother abandoned you, but here you have a chance to meet her and find out why."
"How can you say that? Do you even know her? "
"No of course I don't."
"Then how can you say..."
"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."
"You don't know anything about me." I snapped.
"No?" He raised an eyebrow. "I bet you move from school to school. I bet you've been expelled from a lot of them."
"How do you..."
"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD too."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's because your brain is wired for ancient Greek. ADHD because you have to be ready at all times for battle "Sounds like... you've been through the same thing?"
"Most of the kids here have. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived those Cyclops, let alone ambrosia and nectar."
"Ambrosia and nectar."
"The food and drink we were giving you to cure you. That stuff would have killed a normal child. It would have turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you would have died. Face it. You're a half-blood."
A half-blood.
"I hate that term very offensive I find."
"Don't take it wrong it's the official term" he replied.
I looked at Luke with the aim of answering him, but something behind him caught my eye.
A girl the one we'd seen in the badly painted shack earlier, was holding him by the neck towards a brick building, with three girls behind her looking just as mean.
"What's he got himself into now?" I said with a little Juron. (Too sweet to tell you.)
I ran over to Annabeth and when I got to her level, I asked:
"What happened?"
"Clarisse wants to put Percy through, the initiation ceremony, "she whispered to me.
"Clarisse? "
Annabeth showed me the big girl from earlier Percy towards the girls' bathroom, as he continued to struggle. I immediately understood what the big girl, Clarisse, intended to do with him. Annabeth and I followed them into the bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls on the other. It smelled like any public bathroom-if this place belonged to the gods, they should have been able to afford fancier customers.
Clarisse's friends laughed. I was about to rush over to Percy and try to fix the mess he'd gotten himself into, as I always do, when one of Clarisse's friends blocked my path. "I don't think so, girl," she said. "I'd just stay out of it if I were you, unless you want initiation too?"
"Let me through, I have to help my friend! "I shouted to him, trying to get to Percy.
They looked at me with interest.
"You've got guts, that means you want to pass initiation too, kid," one of the girls laughs.
The other shouted to Clarisse: "Clarisse there's a second one who wants to be initiated".
"Bring her," said the one concerned.
One of the girls took me by the neck like Percy and led me towards Clarisse who took her place, I struggled but even my kicks did nothing for her
"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me and Percy toward the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking. And you, the Cyclops, they went crazy when they saw how weak you were."
"Leave me alone bitch!" I yelled at her.
I managed to free myself from her grip and pulled her hair, she screamed in pain and then something happened, my hands started to sting and Clarisse's hair went from its natural brown to a bright blonde. I didn't have time to figure out what was going on because Clarisse saw the change right away, which made her even angrier. When she saw this, she literally grabbed my face and buried it in the toilet.
"what have you done to me I look like a fucking daughter of Athena now.
His friends giggled. Annabeth and I were standing in a corner. Annabeth was looking through her fingers, and I couldn't blame her. What happens next is certainly not going to be pretty. Clarisse bent Percy over her knees and began pushing his head toward the toilet bowl. Then something happened. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes quiver. Water gushed out of the toilet, making a straight arc over Percy's head, and the next thing I saw, Percy was lying on the floor and Clarisse was screaming. The water gushed out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse in the face so hard it knocked her on her butt.
The water stayed on her like a jet from a fire hose, pushing her backwards into a shower cubicle. She struggled, panting, and her friends began to come toward her. But then the other toilets exploded too, and six more jets of toilet water sent them back. The showers acted too, and together the jets of water swept the girls in camouflage jackets out of the bathroom, spinning them around like detritus carried by a current.
Percy was sitting in the only dry spot in the room. A circle on the floor, and not even a single drop of water on his clothes, nothing. He stood up with wobbly legs.
"You did it again like with Nancy, but how..." I said, pointing at him, trembling and wet.
"I don't know,"he interrupted me."But how did you do the hair?"
"No idea." I told him, resting my hands on my knees, I was out of breath.
We headed for the door. Clarisse was in the mud, a few residents had gathered around them. Clarisse's hair was plastered to her face. Her camouflage jacket was soaked and she smelled of sewage. She gave Percy and me a look of pure hatred.
"you're dead, newbies. you're totally dead."
Percy probably should have let it go, but knowing him, of course, he didn't and said:
"You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."
"See you later, blondie!" I continued.
Her friends had to restrain her. They dragged her toward cabin 5, and the assembled residents quickly moved aside to avoid her furious kicks.
Annabeth stared at Percy. I didn't know if she was just disgusted or mad at him for spraying her.
"What'?" he asked her. "What are you thinking?"
"I think," she replied, "I want you both on my team to capture the flag."