ONE MORE WORD ABOUT PERCY JACKSON AND EFFIE MIGHT KICK TRAVIS STOLL OFF OF HIS BUNK. Ever since Percy was claimed by Posideon, Travis and Connor haven't stopped talking about the blond-haired boy and Effie was on the edge of losing it. "How strong do you think Percy is?"

"I don't know, he's the son of Posideon, so he must be powerful."

"Posideon can transform into animals, do you think Percy can do that?" another camper asked as they listened in on the brothers' conversation.

"I haven't seen Percy turn into an animal, that would be so cool though!"

"Can everyone stop talking?! I'm trying to get some sleep!" Effie snapped, Cabin Eleven went quiet which was difficult to do due to Cabin Eleven being the most overcrowded cabin. The Hermes kids knew why Effie wasn't in a talking mood, they know it every time a new demigod gets claimed, Effie's jealous.

Cabin Eleven isn't just where the children of Hermes stay but also where the children of minor gods, like Hope, whose mother is Iris, the Goddess of Rainbows, and where unclaimed demigods stay, aka Effie.

It's a hard time for Cabin Eleven when a new demigod gets claimed because while it's exciting for some of them, it's also a reminder that some of them are yet to be claimed, and some of them are the rejects of the gods.

Effie rolled over in their bed, the hard mattress making it impossible to sleep.

Effie looked at the roof, they didn't want to go to sleep, every time a half-blood gets claimed, Effie's dreams are filled with memories they would rather forget. Dreams or memories, Effie wanted nothing to do with them. Effie started to doze off, their brown eyes closing against their will. No! Stay awake, Effie tried to tell themself but Effie's body was stronger than their mind, Effie's eyes closed as they found themself in the past.

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Effie sat in the office of their old elementary school, they tapped their shoes together as they waited for their foster parents to finish talking to the principal. Effie looked at the three office ladies who looked at Effie with pity. "Can I have some water?" Effie asked the lady closest to her.

The lady smacked her dry lips together, "Of course, dearie," she got out of her chair and walked over to the water dispenser.

Effie smiled, they looked at the TV, it had some news channel on it but the volume was down. Effie tried reading the headline but it didn't make any sense to them. 'Car crash up down, family safely gave.'

Effie read the headline over and over again, 'Far crash up down, family safely gave,' but it only made less sense to them. Effie had recently been diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability which means Effie has a harder time reading, spelling and writing. Effie's foster father hadn't spoken to Effie for a week, Effie hadn't understood what they did wrong but Effie's foster mother assured Effie that they didn't do anything wrong, Effie's father just needed time.

"Euphemia-" Effie jumped as the office lady said their name, Effie most had zoned out because they could've sworn that the lady wasn't there a second ago.

"OH!" Effie took a deep breath, "Er- thank you."

The lady smiled, "You're welcome."

Effie grabbed the drink and took a sip, Effie glanced back at the writing and tried to read it again. 'Car crash up down, family safely saved,' Effie accepted that as what the headline said because it made the most sense out of what they'd read so far.

Suddenly a loud bang caught Effie's attention, they looked towards the Principal's Office, the door was now open and had her foster parents standing in the middle of it. "I hope you reconsider!" Mr Cameron called out as the couple walked out.

"Absolutely not!" Neal Dennings, Effie's foster father is one of the most famous producers in New Jersey, responsible for some of the most popular songs on the radio. Neal was wearing a pink polo shirt with short golfing pants, he wasn't seriously dressed but you could tell he was a serious person by the constant stress line on his forehead that multiplied every time he squinted, and the grey hairs spreading in his dirty blond hair.

"Honey, please-" Rebecca Dennings, Effie's foster mother, tried to convince her husband to let it go. Rebecca is a lot younger than her husband, possibly in her early thirties compared to Neal who's in his late forties.

"No! I've had it with this school. They're trying to turn our daughter into some kind of special needs headcase."

"Mr Dennings!" Mr Cameron snapped, "I assure you, no one is saying that Euphemia is-"

"Enough! I'm taking my daughter home, don't expect her back tomorrow, we'll find her a new school."

Neal grabbed Effie's wrist and pulled them out of the office, his grip was tight and hurt but Effie knew better than to protest. "Get in the car, not a word Euphemia, we'll talk about this at home."

Effie nodded, the six-year-old waited quietly.

The scene changed, Effie is now back in their childhood bedroom, sitting on their bed as their foster parents stood in front of them. No, Effie thought.

Wake up!

I don't want to remember this!

Young Effie looked around the bedroom, trying to find where the voice was coming from. Effie recognises the voice as their own but at the same time, Effie struggled to recognise it. The voice sounded so much colder, sadder, it could be because Effie is seven years older than this memory but Effie doubted it.

"Are you even listening?!" Neal screeched.

Effie's attention turned back to their foster parents, Neal's face was red, as if he was a pot about to boil. Effie wanted to look at Rebecca but Effie knew better than that, it would only end up getting both of them in trouble. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry?!" Neal exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as if he was a madman. "Do you have any idea how much you've embarrassed me?! First, you get diagnosed with dyslexia and now your teachers are telling me that you're seeing stuff and not paying attention!"

"I'm sorry, I saw something at school. I- I thought it was..." Effie trailed off as they thought about what they had seen, it was a tall creature, with black scaly skin and red eyes, whatever Effie saw, they knew it wasn't human. "Something-"

"Something? Your teachers want to get you tested for ADHD! Do you have any idea how people will react when they hear that I'm raising a lazy child?"

Effie frowned, "ADHD?"

"Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, sweetie," Rebecca gave Effie a sweet smile, one that made Effie feel lighter.

"Disorder," Neal spat the word, "This is all your fault," he turned to Rebecca, "If only you had given me a child."

"Neal!" Rebecca gasped, she looked at Effie and then back to her husband, "Please, not in front of Mia."

"Nonsense, we're getting rid of her. Then we'll find you a normal child, one with fewer problems."

Effie's heart dropped, it felt as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, and then thrown the pieces in a blender. Their eyes had begun to water, this wasn't the first time they had been given up, it wasn't even the second or third but it hurt, just as all of the last times had done too. "Neal, please, I'm sorry," Effie pleaded, the six-year-old started to break down, snot escaping their nose, water running from their eyes.

Neal looked down at Effie in disgust, "It's too late child, I've already spoken to the social worker about it."

"You what?!" Rebecca cried, in the middle of Effie's own tears, they hadn't seen that Rebecca was also a sobbing mess, her mascara running and ruining her perfect makeup. "How could you?"

Neal sighed, "Stop crying, you look ugly when you cry." The old man's phone began to ring as he looked down at it, "I need to take this. Rebecca, help Euphemia pack her bags."

Rebecca nodded, she looked so weak as she watched Neal leave the room.

As Neal closed the door, Effie leapt to Rebecca arms, clinging onto the lady. "I don't want to leave, I like it here! I- I like you being my mum!"

Rebecca stopped crying, she wiped her face, smudging the mascara even more, she looked down at the child, running a hand through Effie's long brown hair. "Wake up, Eff."

Effie sniffled, "What?"

"Wake up!"

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Effie shot out of bed with a start, they put a hand on their cheek and felt a wet liquid, they had been crying. The memory from their dream was still playing in their mind, the conversation they had with Rebecca that followed. Effie looked next to them and saw that Luke was standing next to their bed looking at Effie with concern. "You were having a dream."

"No shit."

Effie hopped out of bed, they looked around the cabin, it was empty. Effie sighed, "How late did I sleep in?"

"Only a few hours, everyone is at breakfast."

Effie grabbed their shoes and put them on, they were unmatching, the shoe on the left was a white Converse while the other shoe was a light purple and blue Sneaker. The Converse was a light grey, the white fabric had been dyed with mud and dirt, and it was the older of the two. Effie lost the right one a few weeks ago when they got in a fight with an Ares kid, fortunately, there was a shoe Effie's size already in the Lost And Found.

"Percy's been given a quest."

"What?"

Luke leaned on a bed frame as he waited for Effie to get ready, "After breakfast a couple of us are lining up so Percy can choose his companions."

"Good luck with that," Effie rolled their eyes.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it because Chiron wants a skilled archer to be in the lineup and I don't know if I'll be able to compete with them."

"Yeah, the kids from Cabin 7 are- Wait... You're talking about me?!"

Luke crossed his arms, a smirk tugging on his lips, "Chiron thinks you're ready."

"I-" Effie blinked. Effie doesn't want to go on a quest, the thought of playing soldier for the gods annoyed them, they ignored Effie their whole life but now they need to risk their life while doing the gods' bidding? no thanks. But the thought of leaving camp, maybe even seeing New Jersey again, it was a bitter-sweet taste in their mouth.

"Do you want some advice?"

"Sure..." Effie looked at Luke's scar on his face, a dash that goes over his eyes and down the right side of his face. Two years ago, Luke went on a quest, with him went Chris and a boy from the Demeter cabin, Effie doesn't know what exactly happened, Luke and Chris refused to tell Effie and Ash left for College. But during the quest, Luke failed and the Ladon gave him the scar. Ever since Luke has been different, a slight change but as if overnight, the little faith Luke had in the Gods disappeared.

"Don't rely on the Gods for anything, respecting them can help but don't rely on them, okay?"

Effie nodded, "Okay."

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Against Effie's better judgment, they took Luke's words to heart. No more relying on the Gods, the Gods have never done anything for Effie anyway, if Effie wants to leave Camp then that's just what they'll do. Effie's been at camp for three years. Every day they've been improving their survival skills, Effie has a shot that could rival even Lee Fletcher, the head counsellor of the Apollo cabin.

Effie decided that they'll go on this quest and that they won't come back. "The oracle has confirmed what we expected," Chiron told the dozen campers he had lined up in a semicircle.

Effie recognised the 12 other people who had been chosen, it was hard not to, as much as Effie disliked the Gods, Camp Half-Blood had become Effie's home for the last three years and the other campers became a part of their family. An Apollo boy named Lee was lineup, his arrow readily slung over his shoulder, there was no Demeter, Aphrodite or Hephaestus kids lined up which didn't surprise Effie, Demeter and Aphrodite kids usually preferred more calm activities such as gardening, while Hephaestus kids were better kept behind the controls, their main skill building weapons and not using them. From the Ares cabin was Clarisse, her arms were crossed and a frown was plastered onto her face, Clarisse always wanted to go on a quest but she wasn't to lead on, not play second or third fiddle.

Annabeth was lined up next, her half-brothers Malcolm Pace and George Stone next to her. Next to the Athena Cabin was Hermes' Cabin which contained Luke, Chris, Effie and Kitty Lavia (Hope's sister, a daughter of Iris.)

The Dionysus cabin had a few more people lined up too.

"This quest will proceed towards the underworld where you will confront the God who has rebelled against his brothers, Hades," Effie rolled their eyes, from what little Greek storues Effie knew, Hades seemed to be the more chill of the Gods. "

The entrance to Hades' domain lies under the city of Los Angeles. This is where you will journey to, time is short. I have selected our most compelling candidates to ensure that you succeed," Effie felt a rush of pride, Effie knew they were a good archer, Effie never misses a shot but it felt nice to hear someone as old and experienced as Chiron to choose them.

Effie stood straight, their slingshot in their pocket.

Percy turned to Chiron, "Annabeth—" and just like that, Effie's hope for leaving Camp Half-Blood was crushed.