GOLD RUSH ↬ p. jackson x reader {book one}

CAMPFIRE SING ALONG (NOT SO ENJOYABLE)

I WASN'T ALWAYS THE BIGGEST FAN OF FRIENDSHIPS AND HOLDING HANDS, BUT THIS WAS PROBABLY WORSE.

That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along. They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. We all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the Apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres. Silena Beauregard and I swayed to the music in sync, though her eyes were on Charles Beckendorf.

Gracie, the daughter of Apollo, and her friends Valentina, Katie and some other girl whom I had not yet had the pleasure of meeting led a song that I also could not name.
"I wanna hold the hand inside you. I wanna take the breath that's true."

The flames were not lively and beautiful as they usually were, and the mellowness of the song didn't assist in the cause. Instead, the enchanted bonfire was only about five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint. I was miserable sitting there, and even Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House.

When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!"

He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.

Tantalus turned back toward us, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."

"Sir," Percy said.
Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"
Some of the Ares campers snickered and I rolled my eyes. How was that entertaining?

Percy stood and looked at Annabeth. She stood with him. He said, "We have an idea to save the camp."
Dead silence came in response, but clearly people were invested as the campfire flared bright yellow.

"Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—"
"The Golden Fleece," Percy said. "We know where it is."
The flames burned orange. Before Tantalus could stop him, Percy blurted out a dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. My face fell as realization hit me. His dream was my dream. We were sharing dreams? I didn't want to jump to conclusions but

"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it."
"Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving." Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable. "Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."
Yes, I would, I said to myself in my head.
"Yes, I would," Percy said. "30, 31, 75, 12," he said.

"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."
"They're sailing coordinates," he said. "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social studies."
Even Annabeth looked impressed. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"

"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said.
But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"
The flames rose higher.
"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.
"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"

"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"
"YES!"
"Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying."

"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious."
Tantalus looked at Annabeth and Percy as if he wanted to flay them alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest ... Clarisse!"

I tilted my head. Oh? Clarisse was capable enough, sure, but the entire idea of the quest did come from Percy and Annabeth...
The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"
Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"

"Wait!" Percy shouted. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."
"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"
"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.
Clarisse glared at me. "I accept the quest!" she repeated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"

The Ares campers cheered even louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Everybody else started taking sides-shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats!"

His tone stunned even me.
"Sit down!" he ordered. "And I will tell you a ghost story."
I didn't know what he was up to, but we all moved reluctantly back to our seats. The evil aura radiating from Tantalus was so easy to spot, it was like a physical wave.
"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest. He was obviously talking about himself.

"This king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe-just one little doggie bag, mind you- the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children-just-like- you."

He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including me. I scrunched my nose and my best friend Silena wrapped her arm around me endearingly.

"Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus asked softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"

No one dared answer. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on Tantalus's crooked face.

"Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked. "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so ... are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"

Silence.
Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."
She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet.
"Sir–"

"Go!" he snarled.
She bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the Big House.
"What about you, Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?" The son of Poseidon remained quiet.

"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone- no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries ... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."