Sunlight | Luke Castellan

XII. the star of icarus

   CHIRON'S HOOF POUNDED the floor of the mess hall pavilion, and the conversations ceased. I glanced up from my Ancient Greek journal toward the centaur, the pen I was previously twirling aimlessly between my fingers clattering on the table. Another fight had broken out an hour prior to dinner, a messy brawl between an Ares boy and one of the unclaimed girls in the Hermes cabin. A comment had been made about wanting to follow Zeus only for a chance to have a parent claim her.

I was with Lee when screams and chants carried across the camp. My face still throbbed, a bruise threatening to form by the morning after I was slammed with an elbow. The son of Apollo had suffered a kick to the gut in his attempt to break the two apart, and resolution only came when Chiron finally made it to the sand volleyball courts. His fury was terrifying.

The centaur's posture was stiff as he looked over the campers, his black tail swishing side to side. "Three altercations today," he said, his voice steely with residing anger. "Shame. That is what I feel. I did not think this camp was represented by such foolishness."

I glanced over to the Cabin Five table, and my eyes quickly found the boy responsible for the last outburst. He hadn't been able to yet change his camp shirt, and there were stains of blood from where his broken nose had dripped. The camper had to have been ten, but there was no remorse in his eyes. He wore his wounds like a badge of honor.

Clarisse sat next to him, her eyes narrowed as she looked to Chiron. She had barged into the infirmary ten minutes after we arrived. Argus, the hundred-eyed giant who worked as the camp's security guard, had to force her out of the room. Clarisse's insults could still be heard well outside the Big House, chastising the boy with a wide vocabulary. She was definitely her father's daughter.

"This is your home," Chiron continued. He paced the long picnic table for Cabin Twelve. "These are your friends. What logic is there to establish enemies with the possibility of war?" The centaur had not invited me back yet for the talk he had promised, his hands full with trying to manage the camp after news broke about the reason for Percy's quest. "Actions have repercussions. I hate to have this affect the entire camp, but I must. Individual actions represent your cabin as a whole."

I sat straighter at his words, and I placed my pen between my journal pages before closing it. No one dared to whisper throughout the entire pavilion, every camper silent as they waited to hear Chiron's verdict.

"Until further notice, all campfire activities are postponed." There was an uproar from the Apollo cabin. Every person seated at Cabin Seven's table stood, words tumbling over each other as multiple voices protested. Only Lee kept his seat, though his fists were clenched. His narrowed blue eyes turned to my table, the boy's shoulders squared.

"That's not fair!"

"The Ares kid started it!"

"As well," Chiron continued, his voice raising to speak over the chaos, "all cabins will be required to hold a curfew by nine at night." More campers began to stand from various tables, anger circling the pavilion. "Counselors will- counselors will hold perimeter checks throughout the night. Any camper found missing will be held to disciplinary action."

The noise level was louder than the singing at campfire ever was. Chiron's words were gasoline to a fire. Some campers were even marching to other tables, pointing accusatory fingers. I stood from my table, watching the scene in horror. The centaur was calling for quiet, but his orders were meaningless now. The counselors were jumping between verbal battles, holding people apart or even starting their own arguments in attempts to settle spats down.

"This is your and your brother's fault!" My eyes narrowed as two female Apollo campers came rushing toward me. The one shouting at me had to have been my age, their partner maybe thirteen. Despite the friendship I had with their counselor, it was clear that these negative emotions toward me had been building for quite some time. "Everything was fine before you came here!"