𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐗𝐈𝐑, 𝐏𝐉

𝟎𝟎𝟒

❛𝟎𝟎𝟒❜

❝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧❜❜

Percy watched in question as Luke took them to dining pavilion, the entire place was covered with kids and it was even hard to get a seat by the table.

Grover sat at table 12 with Mr. D, Annabeth was sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes.

Juliet sat right infront of Annabeth at table seven, the kids all having the same shiny blonde hair and wide smiles. As if feeling his gaze she looked up from her conversation with a small blonde girl and waved in his direction.

Percy was about to raise his hand to wave back when he got pushed with a grunt, "Move,"

The scary asian guy from before waved back, leaving Percy embarrassed as hell. He used his lifted hand to brush his hair but was once again pushed by the guy beside him, "She's waving at you."

Percy looked up at Juliet, properly looked, she wasn't wearing the sunglasses for once, Percy wondered why she really wore them when the sun didn't really affect her much, he got a glimpse of her eyes, they were so blue he had to do a double take.

He hesitantly waved back and the girl grinned before turning back to her conversation.

Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, Percy's glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—
nonalcoholic, of course."

He said, "Cherry Coke."

The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid. Then he had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke."

The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. He took a cautious sip. Perfect.

"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing him a platter of smoked brisket.

He loaded his plate and was about to take a big bite when he noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. He wondered if they were going for dessert or something.

"Come on," Luke told him.

As he got closer, he saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. Luke murmured in his ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."

"You're kidding."

His look warned him not to take this lightly, but he couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food. Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."

He was next. He wished he knew what god's name to say.

"You can say to the gods if you don't know," Juliet came beside him and said, she gave him a smile before moving forward with a...was that a crème brûlée?

She pushed the dish in the fire and spoke, "Hey dad, missing you tons."

The fire rose a little more. Juliet's words were a high contrast to what Luke said.

She came back and lightly patted Percy to go forward, "You can't eat until offering."

Finally, he made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please.

He scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.

When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for their 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 ugly 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. They all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along, Juliet didn't quite sing though she just sat by the side with strumming an old guitar. They sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, Percy didn't feel that anyone was staring at him anymore. He felt that he was home. Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and they all filed back to our cabins.

He  didn't realize how exhausted he was until he collapsed on his borrowed sleeping bag.That was his first day at Camp Half-Blood. If only he'd known how briefly he would get to enjoy his new home.