Bottled Up | PJO

⇝εννέα(IX)⇜

'Even the loneliest flames find warmth in unexpected company.'

Estelle woke to the sound of paper crumpling in complete darkness, momentarily wondering if she'd fallen back into that chasm. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, realizing the crumpling sound came from accidentally crushing the paper bag on her bed. Inside the infirmary, Michael was asleep with his face planted on the table. He was probably updating the supply ledgers and at some point, he must have dozed off. There were two other patients in their own beds, tucked nicely under the flowery print of the infirmary blankets which reminded her of Goldilocks and the Three Bears for some reason. Maybe it was because that's how she imagined Mama Bear's clothes would look like. Judging from their muddy clothes, she assumed she'd missed capture the flag that night. Another win for not getting mauled by a camper or stuck up a tree for who knows how long.

With her bearings regained she checked on the state of her shoulder which no longer had any sign of dislocation or injury, all credit to ambrosia and none to her immune system. Estelle opened the paper bag to find a note and a messily rolled up roti inside of it.

'Heard you fainted so got you some food. We got a new kid relocated to your bunk cause he looked like he would start crying in his sleep if we didn't. Could probably get it back later. Dunno. Enjoy the food',

Judging by the chicken scratch on the paper it was probably one of the twins. The way the I looped and the T slanted told Estelle that it was most likely Connor. Estelle surveyed the roti with chicken, some sort of coleslaw and avocado slices. It looked like someone had carefully assembled it with her in mind because this combination was one of her go-tos. She wrinkled her nose at it, the normally welcome meal feeling like prison slop. She barely had an appetite so she did what she could to make it seem more presentable and rewrapped it in the paper bag, the note scrunched up and tucked in-between the mattress and the bedframe. Estelle stood up and folded the flowery fabric of the blanket as best as she could and pushed in whatever corners that poked out right back into the folds. With Gideon, her premium stuffed toy, in tow, she carefully placed the now appetizing-looking roti next to Michael. She was sure he had probably skipped dinner and chugged a red bull or something along those lines because he had eye bags that filled half his face. Orville was late this time around to camp and there wasn't anyone who was more experienced than Michael so he was filling in some big shoes.

Estelle stepped outside rethinking on how unorganized the entire Demintors thing seemed. Sure they were volunteers and legitimate adults who had jobs but it just made Camp seem all the more... chaotic. Like, where were those therapists that normal schools had? And no Mr. D did not count because Estelle was sure he would try to cure your mental illnesses by giving you a more severe one. The only seasoned medic at camp was Michael—a literal child—and occasionally, Orville, an actual paramedic (yes, that's his real profession) who only stayed for about one month out of the twelve in a year. Yu-Mi and Asuka took turns teaching basics of the syllabus but their enthusiasm to certain subjects told her exactly how little they wanted to be teaching some specific subjects. At least they were getting their education in though, because she did not want to return to normal life one day to realize that she has to restart her education from 6th grade. Heiko was... the definition of a theater guy(makes sense because he's a stunt coordinator for stage plays) but he had a mean right hook and could take down two Ares kids simultaneously. The Demintors were fine. They were the best Camp could afford and sometimes you had to make do with what you got.

Outside was the same as ever, which almost took her back to those times she'd sneak out with Nakoa and the extremely reluctant Jae. Back then felt so much simpler than right now even though it had only been two years ago. Estelle was intending to go back to her Cabin before she heard voices near the campfire. Being the ever so smart person she is, she trudged to the campfire to find one of the campers talking to... himself? Estelle did a double take and realized this was probably one of the new kids because she'd never seen anyone else in camp wear an aviator jacket in this boiling summer. Hopefully it was a fashion statement and not an elaborate cry for help.