Running the Gauntlet

I'm given a nickname

Garden

I woke up to some girl yelling about a summer solstice.

"Will you be quiet? I've got a killer chest ache." I moaned in annoyance while sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I looked over at who was talking and saw a girl with long blonde hair, tanned skin and a skinny body.

"What's this about a summer solstice?" I ask, raising an eyebrow while getting up from the bed and wincing. I grab my ribs in pain and hiss.

The girl walks over to me and shoves a spoonful of what looks like pudding in my mouth and it tastes like strawberry milk.

"Swallow that it will make the pain go away, honestly I'm surprised you're even awake. When you got dragged here in you looked like a corpse Flowers." She said giving me a look of confusion which I returned.

"Flowers?" I ask.

"Well you have that stem of flowers behind your ear, and I don't know your name." She explained pointing to the stem of flowers.

"They are forget-me-nots." I said standing up noticing I was an inch or so taller than her.

"Name's Garden, where is my stuff and where am I?"

"You're messing with me right?" She asks while I raise an eyebrow at her again.

"No, my name is Garden."

"My name is Annabeth, nice to meet you. Your bag is right there." She said pointing at it in a nearby chair. "Get changed and come down stairs there is someone who you need to talk to." She said walking out.

I walked over to my bag well limp over to my bag and grab a change of clothes. I finally notice that there is another kid in the room just opposite of the bed I was sleeping in, messy jet black hair, tan skin. Kinda looks like he just walked off the beach. I leave the room and shut the door quietly and after a few attempts find a bathroom to change in. I walk in, lock the door and look at myself in the mirror.

My shaggy rusty colored hair that just passes my ears, tucked in my ear was the forget-me-nots stem, my eyes are blue and yellow looking like the flower that I've always had. My eyebrows were sharp and full and the color was a bit darker than my hair. I unstood what Annabeth meant when she said I looked like a corpse. The bags under my eyes were very dark and hanging, my skin which was naturally pale - looked like snow, and my face was covered in dirt and I had a bruise on my cheek.

I washed my face, getting rid of the dirt. I got rid of my clothes and changed into different ones, consisting of a black Miss Murder shirt, white torn up jeans, my white hiking boots, hanging around my neck was my mom's dog tags. Finally putting on the gold hoodie that the dragon dropped and my mom's army jacket over top of it.

Feeling like I was missing something I realized that I didn't have my golden bracelets.

'Dang that sucks.' I think to myself as I leave the bathroom and when I close the door I notice that they're back on my wrists. 'Okay nevermind I'm just crazy.'

I walk through the house and walk out the front door to be met with a man in a wheelchair. He looked like a college professor, nice silver hair and soft eyes. In contrast the man across from him was small, and porky. Black hair that was almost purple, big watery eyes, and his nose was super red. He was wearing a tiger striped Hawaiian shirt.

I also noticed the girl, Annabeth was there leaning against the porch railing.

All three turned and looked at me as I stared back. Then everything that happened recently crushed me all at once. So I was pretty moody.

"What?" I glared at them.

"I'd rather not explain twice so you'll just have to wait for Mr.Jackson to wake up." The man in the wheelchair said.