The Summer I Turned Into a Demigod

chapter one ~ ziggy

seven years at this camp and still, nobody calls me by my actual name. they all act as if they don't know it but i know they're just messing with me. at first i thought it was a funny joke but now it makes me want to throw myself into a fiery pit of melted imperial gold.

"yo izzy!" i heard a voice behind me yell. i automatically knew who it was so i groaned in response and kept waking as i said, "it's ziggy." i heard the person behind me clear their throat, "right whatever, i was wondering if you could do me a quick favor?" they responded.

i raise my eyebrows and turned around to face the person, "are you shitting me? don't you have a teddy bear to rip to shreds?" i say. ocatvian scoffs, "excuse me?" he exclaimed. i turn around and start walking away, "you heard me" i yell back to him. i hear him groan, "come on izzy!" he said.

"oh for the love of the gods my name is ziggy you mαλάκας!!!!"

i slap my hand over my mouth and freeze. it's only after i yelled that loud enough for everyone to hear, i had realized what i said. i stand there with wide eyes praying to the gods that octavian doesn't notice.

"what did you just say?" octavian asked, sounding absolutely offended. i panicked and stalled a clear answer. "i just told you my name is ziggy?" i say. octavian raises an eyebrow and steps closer to me, "no, after that," he said. i look at him and nervously laugh as i try to think of something to say. "oh that? i don't know, it was just some gibberish i guess." i try to smile and laugh it off but octavian doesn't buy it. "oh really? then how come that 'gibberish' was clear greek?" as soon as octavian said that, everybody around us gasped.

octavian was being a drama queen, per usual, and put his hand on his chest, "how do you know such an awful language!?" he said. i rolled my eyes at his little scene.

the truth is, i don't actually know how i know greek. for some reason it's just always seemed so much more natural than roman; and don't get me wrong, i love roman culture since i was raised on it but i'm so much more drawn to greek mythology. everyone at camp says that the greeks are all gone and the demigod population is extinct but i think that's just a tall tale that people made up.

ive only ever told one person about my theory; jason grace. he wasn't disgusted, in fact, he was quite fascinated. jason and i have been best friends since i first came to camp jupiter. i dont actually recall how we met or even how i got here but i guess we just instantly clicked and never left each others side. jason is the only known child of jupiter. unlike me, i'm one of many phoebus kids. i've never met him but my half sisters, rey and cami, have told me stories of when they got to meet him. apparently they were on a quest together and phoebus just appeared out of nowhere to help lead them through some desert. some of it sounds like a marco polo story but they're my family and i don't think they'd lie to me.

i snap out of my thoughts and answer octavian, "i didn't even know that was a real language!" i exclaim. i make it as believable as i possibly can. octavian is technically related to me since he's a legacy of phoebus so he can always point out if something is off with me. in other words, he didn't believe me. "you know you suck at lying." he points out. i roll my eyes to give him the sign that i don't care. octavian walks up to me so our faces are just inches away as if he's about to kiss me (ew), "if you talk in that language, hell, if you even think about that language again, i will have you thrown to the streets of the mortal world." he threatens. he had a scary tone in his voice. i've never been intimidated by him but now i couldn't help but get goosebumps. however, i stand my ground and stare daggers into his soul. "i'm keeping my eyes on you." he says as he gestures to his eyes and then back at me. we both walk separate ways. i didn't turn around to look at him, though i wanted to just to shoot an arrow into his thick skull.

~   ~   ~

"im sorry, he said what!?" jason said in a shocked tone. i laugh, "yeah he threatened to banish me from camp but i doubt he's serious," i say, "you know how he can be sometimes." i add on. jason leans back against a tree as he raises his eyebrows, "are you sure he's just trying to scare you? i don't mean to worry you or anything but octavian does have the power to do that and he's been getting a bit too comfortable with it lately." he says. i scoff, "please, the last time that man, no, child did anything with his power was when he banned everyone from eating gluten because it made him sick or whatever." i say as i roll my eyes. jason laughs at my comment, "yeah that was a sad day..." he says with a dramatic sigh.

there's a few seconds of silence. "jason," i get his attention, "do you actually think octavian is gonna banish me to the mortal world?" i ask in a worried tone. jason shrugs, "i really don't know, i mean, i hope not." he replies. i nod and it goes silent again. "hey, if you get banished then you bet your ass i'm gonna do something stupid to get banished too!" jason says. i laugh at his attempt to lighten the mood. "you're too valuable for anyone to even think about banishing you." i try to make it sound like a joke but it was true. i really didn't mean to bring the mood down again.

jason is special no matter what.

i am a threat if i open my mouth.