☾ The Child of Artemis ☾

8. I Become a Powerful Cowboy

           In the morning, I am feeling curious, so I take a "shower." It is just like a sink, but the tap is higher and the water sprays all over you. There are also bottles of Shazam poo that I rub all over my body. When I exit, I explore the outhouse. I did not think that the white chairs with lots of water in them were necessary. I push a button and the water goes swirling down with a weird noise. As I exited the outhouse, I strolled back to my cabin. My whole body is dripping with water. I shook it all off just like I would back in the jungle. I only had one spare outfit, my black panther hides. I just put it on and kept my wet jacket on.

          I woke up the earliest, so I decided to do some archery. I got all the bullseyes, and after I filled the bullseye, I attempted to fill the whole target. I did the same with all the other targets in less than a minute. Everyone was awake afterwards, and we went to brekkie. I stayed at my table this time, thank you, di Angelo. Uncle Apollo snuck over to my table this time. "Nico," he whispered, "I heard you visited Camp Jupiter in the past week. How was it?"

          "It was okay," I replied, "apparently, Artemis is called 'Diana' over there."

          "You know, Diana was a superhero once. She was known as Wonder Woman," Uncle Apollo said.

           "Why didn't she go by Artemis?"

          "I don't know, but I wanted to give you these." Uncle Apollo handed me a golden lasso, two golden bracelets, and a golden diadem.

          "Am I a cowboy now?"

          Uncle Apollo laughed. "No, Nico! You are stronger than a cowboy!" He started to explain how the items he gave me worked. "The lasso forces anyone who is bound in it only to tell the truth. It's really strong and all you have to do is learn how to throw a lasso properly. The bracelets are bulletproof, like a shield. The diadem was your mother's since she was princess of the Amazons."

          "Am I the prince of the Amazons, Uncle Apollo?"

          He pondered my question for a while. "There actually is a very good chance you are!"

          I took all the things given to me. I put the bracelets and diadem on me. "You look great!" Uncle Apollo complimented.

          "Thanks," I replied, "I wonder how the other campers would react."

          "They'd say you look awesome, for one."

          Uncle Apollo went back to his table, and I finished my breakfast. Cabin inspections was next. Uncle Apollo left after breakfast for a quest to find an oracle. Nigel carried out inspections today. "Nico, your cabin is wet." he complained, the moment he walked in.

          "Yeah," I replied, "I took a shower today."

          "Wipe with a towel next time," he said, leaving.

          Sorry, but I don't know what that is, Nigel. I head over to Ancient Greek class. I learned how to pronounce names better and learned about monsters that attack demigods. I hoped that none of the monsters attacked me. Next, I went strawberry picking. (I did not have fun. I was bored.) Luckily for me, I was taught monster assault techniques after picking strawberries. The techniques were really smart, actually. I learned some Greek mythology afterward. Greek mythology is full of crud and all the characters are insane. Finally there was lunch.

          I did sneak over to the Apollo table, this time. di Angelo is the first to notice my new look. "Since when did you get a lasso, golden bracelets, and a diadem?!" he said, surprised. "You don't deserve that stuff. As the son of the god of riches and the underworld, I know."

          "I hate you," I replied.

          "Stop, you two. Why are you guys always arguing?" Will asked us.

          "Because he's annoying and rude," we simultaneously said, pointing at each other.

           "I am upset that we have the same name, di Angelo," I whined.

           "Nico and Nico, quit arguing already," everyone at our table groaned.

           I was getting annoyed at di Angelo for giving me nasty insults. "He started it today by saying I don't deserve the things Uncle Apollo gave me."

          Uncle Apollo wasn't here, but if he heard di Angelo's insult, he would've talked some sense into that guy. Will Solstice told him to knock it off. He told me not to reply to the insults. After lunch, I made some weapons and sent a letter to my parents. (They live all the way in Mexico.) I had some free time, so I practiced throwing my lasso. Unfortunately, Uncle Apollo wasn't here to help me. People are still talking about "Nico McAngelico, son of Artemis." One camper asked, "If there are two Nicos, what do we call each of them now?"

          "Easy," Nigel answered, "You'll just call Nico di Angelo 'Nico' and Nicovlad McAngelico 'Vlad.' Or you can call him Nicovlad."

          "I didn't give them permission, Nigathaniel."

          "I did. That is all the permission they need."

          "No, it isn't."

          "Yes."

          "No."

          "Yes."

          "No.

          "Yes."

          "Did you know that Connor and Travis from the Hermes cabin threw the rock at you last week when you were rock climbing?"

           Nigel paused. "What?"

          I repeated my sentence. "Why?!" Nigel shouted. "I'm gonna tell on them!"

          Nigel ran off to tell Chiron, probably. (Mr. Pee isn't the guy you would tell because he won't care and walks away sipping his wine.) Anyway, I bailed myself out from embarrassment. "Nicovlad," the campers laughed.

          For a little while. "You idiot, Nigel," I huffed.

          I kept practicing my lasso throws. As I threw my lasso, Chiron called me into the Big House.