𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 ✶ clarisse la rue

006. hey, now you have me.

Annabeth showed River and Percy a few more places. Then they returned to the canoeing lake.

"I've got training to do," Annabeth said. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."

"Annabeth," Percy said. "I'm sorry about the toilets."

"Whatever."

"It wasn't my fault."

Annabeth looked at him skeptically before saying, "You need to talk to the Oracle."

"Who?"

"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."

They stood silently for a moment before a boy around their age came over. He had curly brown hair, River thought he was cute.

"Hey, I'm Rome," he said. "New kids, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," River said.

"Rome," Annabeth said. "This is River and Percy Jackson."

"I heard."

"Rome is the son of Hermes," Annabeth said.

River turned to Annabeth. "Who's your parent?"

"Athena."

"Goddess of wisdom?"

"Correct."

River turned back to Rome.

"Dinner is soon," Rome said. "You guys wanna head back to cabin eleven with me?"

River looked at Annabeth.

"I'll catch you guys later," she said.

Percy and River followed Rome back to cabin eleven. Everyone was talking and messing around, waiting for dinner. River and her brother walked over to their spot on the floor.

The counselor, Luke, came over. "I found you guys some sleeping bags," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."

"Thanks," they both said.

"No problem," Luke said. He sat down next to Percy, and they started talking.

Rome sat next to River. "How's your first day been?"

"Not that great," she said. "My mom is dead, my brother's head almost got shoved in the toilet, and I can't even explain what happened to the bathrooms."

"Yeah," he said. "I get it. It's always confusing when you first come to camp. You'll get the hang of it soon."

"When did you come to camp?" River asked.

Rome hesitated. "When I was nine. I ran away from home."

"Oh."

"Yeah, it's a long story. But Luke took me under his wing the second I arrived. We do everything together. How about you and Percy? Do you guys get along well?"

"Yeah, we do," she said. "Percy is the only person I have, especially after what happened to our mom."

Rome nudged her slightly and smiled. "Hey, now you have me."

River smiled. In the distance, a horn blew. Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"

The whole cabin fled to the common yard. They lined up in order of seniority, so Percy and River were last. Campers came from other cabins too. They marched up the hill toward the mess hall. Satyrs joined from the meadows, naiads emerged from the lake, and a few other girls came from the woods—like, the literal wood of the trees. One girl melted from the side of a maple tree and skipped up the hill.

Torches blazed around the marble columns of the pavilion. A central fire burned inside of a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth, and trimmed purple. Four tables were empty, and cabin eleven's was way too crowded. River and Percy had to squeeze onto the edge of the bench.

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

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

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food. River and Percy's glasses were empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."

Percy and River looked at each other like they knew what each other was thinking. Then they both said at the same time, "Blue Cherry Coke."

The glasses were filled with sparkling blue liquid. They both smiled and took a sip. A toast to their mother.

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

They loaded their plates, but before River could take a bite, she noticed that everyone was getting up, bringing their plates to the fire in the center.

"Come on," Luke said.

As they got closer, she saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it in the fire.

"Burnt offerings," Luke said. "The gods like the smell, so it gets their attention before you say a prayer."

"They like the smell of burnt mac and cheese?" Percy asked.

"They like the smell of begging," Rome said.

"You burn what you'll miss the most." Luke continued. "Then they know you mean what you're about to say, so they listen."

He approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of red grapes.

Percy went, and then it was River's turn. She made a silent plea. Bring my mom back, please.

She scraped some of her food into the fire.

When everyone had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his foot against the floor again.

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 that Capture the Flag is on Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table. River looked over and ended up meeting Clarisse's gaze.

"Personally," Mr. D continued. "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have two new campers today. Peter and Riley Johnson."

Chiron murmured something.

"Eh, Percy and River Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

Everyone cheered. We all headed down to the amphitheater, where the Apollo cabin held a sing-along. They sang camp songs about the gods, ate s'mores, and joked around. River didn't feel out of place anymore, she felt like she was home. Singing and hanging with her brother, Rome, and Luke.

Later, the conch horn blew again, and they all fled back to the cabins. When River lay down, she fell asleep instantly.

She had a nightmare, worse than all her others. More, realistic and scary. One that would stick in her mind forever.