Just Add Water

just keep swimming

Training, for the most part, wasn't so bad. The Hermes kids weren't so bad, either. In the arena, Percy started out with a wooden sword, and he was glad; those sharp, celestial bronce edges seemed way too scary for him. Then came more activities: archery (he was very bad), clay sculpting (that was fun), and picking strawberries (here, strawberries came year-round because of Mr.D, who was the god of wine. These strawberries were frozen like popsicles.) Finally, everyone took a break, heading to the dining pavilion for lunch.

The day had rolled out before him, goose-bumped and filled to the brim with things to do and places to go.

However, he could never get the image of Xime off his mind. He was relieved that she was safe with her mother, of course, but something stranger was going on. She'd played mind games with the Headmaster. He'd believed every twisted little lie she'd said, and Almudena, her mother, seemed to understand this, too. Percy needed to find her, get her to camp; she obviously had magic powers.

If only Grover were here.

"You know how to read?" Cami asked, cutting off his reverie.

His eyes went back to the thick and clunky book laid out on the table, until once again landing on Cami. Camila Tonatiuh. But Cami for short. Her two braids and round, innocent face made it seem like she was almost Percy's age. During her introduction, she'd said that she was twelve...maybe. It was hard to tell, since she was really small.

"Well?" she prodded. Her patience was never good.

"Only a bit," he admitted.

"That's because you're dyslexic."

His eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

Her lip curled into the hint of a smile. "Most demigods are. Duh. We're hardwired for Ancient Greek. Which is what this book is."

This class, too. Right after lunch, they'd gone to a small room inside the arts and crafts cabin, where Ancient Greek lessons took place. Percy hadn't understood why, until now. Cami had volunteered to help him, since she was trilingual—whatever that meant.

He ran a hand through the smooth cover. With a start, he managed to read: The Iliad on the front, even though it was obviously in Greek and with letters that he didn't understand.

"Go on," Cami said.

And with the book wide open, their work began.

The lake was nice that day. At four thirty in the afternoon, cabin seven was prepared for canoe practice under a sunless sky. The kids waiting in line for their canoes shivered like wind chimes while Percy stood in the sidelines. He knew that he couldn't go in. Not without risking getting a rogue splash.

"Hey, Peter," one boy said, approaching Percy. He had thick brows, made more prominent by a scar that cut one of them in half. "You want to be on our boat? You don't have to do anything."

"It's Percy."

"Oh, sorry, Percy. I suck ass with names."

"Steve," Landon warned, coming out of nowhere and wrapping an arm around Bushy Eyebrows Guy. "Remember what we said. No swearing in front of the seven-year-old."

"He doesn't know what that means."

"I do!" Percy protested. "I know what that means! Smelly Gabe said it all the time, and Momma says it's bad!"

Landon raised his eyebrows. "You're a smart kid. Anyway, do you want to join us, Percy?"

A cold stab of fear ran into him like a freight train once his brain processed Landon and Steve's offer. "No!"