CHAPTER THREE
( normal day in camp half-blood )

     WORD TRAVELS FAST in Camp Half-Blood ( I know this fact due to personal experience ), so the majority already knew what had happened inside the bathroom stalls not even five minutes after it had happened. Wherever we went, campers pointed at Percy and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth and I, since we were still dripping wet.

     We showed him the last places that were left to show, including the metal shop, the arts-and-crafts room, and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough. Finally we returned to the lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.

     "We've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."

     "Annabeth, Maia, I'm sorry about the toilets."

    "Water under the bridge," I replied, but then cringed at my bad choice of words. "Sorry."

     "It wasn't my fault."

     Annabeth and I exchanged a look between ourselves, something we did often. It was a way of communicating our thoughts without having someone hear us, and based on the look behind her stormy grey eyes, it seemed like she did want to blame Percy for what happened inside the stalls. I wasn't that sure, the least I knew is that he didn't do it on purpose. I was still skeptical beforehand of who his parent might be, but after that stunt, I had a nice guess.

     "You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth blurted out.

     "Who?"

     "Not 'who'. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."

     I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about five meters below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved in their usual nature, and Percy, not having a single clue of what they were, waved back.

     "Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

     "Naiads," Percy repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. 'That's it. I want to go home now."

     Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

     "You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"

     "I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

      "Half-human and half-what?"

      "I think you know."

     He stayed silent for a few seconds as if he didn't want to admit it out loud.

     "God," he said. "Half-god."

     Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead. Percy. He's one of the Olympians."

      "That's. . .crazy."

    "Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"

      "But those are just – " Percy paused before he almost said the word 'myths' again. Finally, he was learning something. "But if all the kids here are half-gods – "

     "Demigods," I spoke up, correcting him. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

     "Then who's your dad?"

     I crossed my arms. "Cabin seven."

     "Meaning?"

     "Apollo," I specified with a smile. "God of the Sun and Music."

     "Oh, sure," he said sarcastically. "That clears out."

     He turned to face Annabeth, "And yours? Who's your dad?"

     I mentally facepalmed at the question. When I was about to jump in and force Percy to take it back, I watched how her hands tightened around the pier railing. "My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."

     "He's human," Percy stated the obvious. Gods, doesn't he know when to shut up?

     "What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive?" Annabeth jumped in defensively. "How sexist is that?"

    "Who's your mom, then?"

     "Cabin six," Annabeth mimicked my words.

     "And that is. . .?"'

     Annabeth straightened, though the annoyance behind her eyes never wavered. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

     "And my dad?"

    "Undetermined," we replied at the same time, almost monotony. I cleared my throat, "like we told you before. Nobody knows."

      "Except my mother. She knew."

     "Maybe not, Percy," Annabeth responded. "Gods don't always reveal their identities."

     "My dad would have. He loved her."

     That's what they always say, I responded in my mind, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I tried not to think of my own experience, since it wasn't important right now.

     Annabeth and I exchanged a cautious look before turning back to him. Part of us didn't want to burst his bubble. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."

     "You mean sometimes it doesn't?"

     Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."

     That was true. The only way we were lucky enough to get a single hint of attention from the gods was by completing quests, which wasn't an easy task. I wanted a chance to prove myself to my dad and the other Olympians, but I was never given the choice. My mind also went back to the majority of the kids stuck inside the Hermes cabin; children whose godly parent never claimed them, and they were all forced to be crowded together. Most of them are sullen and have dull eyes, downward postures that give away how they gave up in trying to belong. I have to confess that I was scared to become one of them when I first arrived at camp.

     "So I'm stuck here," Percy said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"

      "It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay in the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble – about ten or eleven years old – but after that most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."

     "So monsters can't get in here?"

     Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."

     "Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"

     "Practice fights. Practical jokes."

     "Practical jokes?"

     "The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out," I explained. "From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see just a strawberry farm."

     "So. . .you're year-rounders?"

     Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was the same as mine, except Annabeth's had a big, gold college ring. Most of the campers made their bead necklaces their own by adding a personal touch, but I wasn't lucky enough to do that myself.

      '"Maia and I have been here since we were seven,' she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. We've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

     "Why did you come so young?"

     "Wouldn't you like to know?" I retorted, playing with my own necklace.

      "Oh." Percy stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So. . .I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"

      "It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr D's or Chiron's permission," Annabeth commented. "But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless. . ."

     "Unless?"

     "You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time. . ." Her voice trailed off, and I didn't have to be a genius to know what she was thinking of.

     "Back in the sick room," Percy's eyes fell on me, "when you were feeding me that stuff – "

     I tensed, knowing what he was about to say. Still, I corrected him, "Ambrosia."

     "Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."

     I felt Annabeth's sharp gaze on the side of my face since this was new knowledge for her. My shoulders tensed when I realized I was caught. "Oh, you do know something?"

      "Well. . .no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"

     I pressed my lips in a thin line, avoiding Annabeth's eyes. "I don't know. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell either one of us. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time we were there, everything seemed pretty normal."

    "You've been to Olympus?"

     "Some of us year-rounders – Luke, Clarisse, Annabeth and I and a few others – we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."

     "But. . .how did you get there?"

      "The Long Island Railroad, of course," Annabeth stated as if it was obvious. "You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six-hundredth floor." She looked at Percy to question him. "You are a New Yorker, right?"

      "Oh, sure." He responded, like he didn't believe a word we were saying..

     "Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping. . .I mean – Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."

     "I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to herself. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem. . ."

     "Annabeth," I warned. We've been here before, and every time she gets her hopes up, her dreams are crushed by the brick of reality. I understood her frustration, I really did, but the quest would come when the time was right.

      Suddenly, the smell of barbecue from the mess hall filled my nostrils. It was quiet enough to hear Percy's stomach growl, and we told him we'd find him later. With a push toward the cabins, he headed back to the cabins. Annabeth and I were left alone in the railing, the only sound around being the one of the constant movement in the lake.

     "I thought you said he was still asleep."

     "Annabeth – "

     "Why hide that from me? We're in this together!"

     "We are, it's just. . .I don't know. . .it wasn't a big deal," I defended myself. "He doesn't know anything."

     She sighed, knowing I was right. "I know. . .I know, but still. This is our thing."

Annabeth and I have been begging for a quest ever since we knew what they were. Every chance we got, we've asked Chiron, but he shrugs us off. We thought at first, that this might the perfect opportunity for it, although I was starting to grow hesitation. I didn't want to tell her that, of course, because it would crush her spirits entirely. The only person who seemed to believe we had a chance was each other.

I didn't know what time it was, but based on the sun's position, I figured it was almost time for dinner. With an apologetic gaze, I excused myself from Annabeth and made my way back to my cabin, leaving her in the railing.

THE WHOLE CABIN filed into the commons yard. Lee led the line like always, and his eyes scanned the line in search of an excuse to complain. He lined us up in the order that we arrived in, and poor Will was sent to the back. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end; Zeus, Hera, Poseidon and Artemis. We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion, trying my best to ignore the tugs and pushes that were happening behind me; I had to maintain a clear record with Michael that had me away from cleaning the stables. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake.

     In all, we were maybe approximately hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads. At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns, and the central fire burned in a bronze brazier

     We sat at our respective table and I saw from the corner of my eye how overcrowded Hermes's table was. Grover was sitting at table twelve with Mr D, a few satyrs and a couple Mr. D 's own children. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur. Annabeth sat at table six with her cabin mates or 'siblings', all with her same gray eyes and honey-blonde hair. Luckily, Clarisse forgot all about the bathroom stall stunt and was laughing loudly like always with her own cabin mates. A few minutes after everyone settled at their own tables, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent.

     He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

     Everybody, including me, raised their glasses. "To the gods!"

     After that, the wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread and the special course, barbecue. As usual, I grabbed my cup and spoke out into the air for a regular Diet Coke. In my first week of camp, I wanted to try something new and asked for Cherry Coke, which sent me to the infirmary. Turns out I'm allergic to cherries; and now all I ever ask for is a Diet Coke.

     In typical Camp Half-Blood nature, we stood up with our plates in hand and headed toward the central fire, ready to place our offerings to the gods. No matter how many times I've asked for different things, from just a simple sign that my dad was listening to me or help in finding my place in camp, all I ever received was silence.

     Molly was before me in the line, and she approached the fire, bowed her head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Apollo."

      I was next. I tossed in my remaining strawberries. "Apollo." I closed my eyes and thought of something to say. Please let me prove myself.

     Silence, the usual. I pretended not to be disappointed.

     I did my best to not inhale the smoke that whiffed out after I tossed my food into the fire . Smoke and asthma don't mix, and I learned that the hard way. It smelled nothing like burning food. Some say it smells of hot chocolate and fresh baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did.

      When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention. Mr D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

     A bunch of loud, blaring cheering rose from the Ares table.

     "Personally," Mr D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson." Chiron murmured something.

      "Er, Percy Jackson," Mr D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

      Everybody cheered. We all headed down towards the amphitheater, where my cabin led the sing-along like always. Lee took charge of the guitar while the rest of us backed him up with the songs, the majority of them being about the gods. Of course, after playing three slow songs that talked about the gods and their tales, the famous campfire song took charge. It was a tradition we only did when we received new campers. The order of the song was a son of Hermes (Luke took charge), followed by Annabeth, afterwards a child of Demeter, Adeline, then Grover, Chiron followed after him, then Silena Beauregard, and so on.

     Percy did his best to follow the beat, but I figured that singing wasn't his strong suit. After that, we kept roasting marshmallows in the fire and traded jokes. It was one of my favorite things in camp; the only time where it didn't matter who your godly parent was.

      When Lee knew it was too late to be hanging around outside, he sent us all back to the cabin against our will. I still had a bit of enthusiasm in my body, but it was shut down by the glare I received from my cabin counselor. The moment I laid down in my respective bunk, all my energy started draining out and that's when I finally realized how tired I really was.

     Tomorrow will be just the same, I thought to myself. And a part of me wanted to change that, although I was slightly afraid that one day I won't experience a normal day in Camp Half-Blood.

author's note !
in celebration for the percy jackson show premiering tomorrow, i decided to publish a new chapter.  

i forgot how funny it was to write maia  lmao. hopefully work isn't too time consuming that i'll have time to update more.

-see you soon, bex :)