The Third Camp

Chapter four: Courtney

The second I arrived at school the next morning I ran straight to Hailey's homeroom, desperate to see her there. She wasn't. I checked her locker. There she was. Laughing with Cameron, who had just made a joke of some kind (probably a greek god joke, those were his specialty). I walked over to them and sighed with relief.

"Hey, Neptuna!" Hailey grinned at me.

"Hailey." I smiled and gave her a hug. Then I backed away and glared at her. "Why did you go with them?"

"They're my friends."

"No! No they're not!"

"Yes they are. You're just jealous. I presume you heard what I am?"

"Yes, I heard, and it's fine with me, but those people are going to-" I stopped myself, seeing the confused look on Cameron's face. "Come on." I pulled her arm down the side staircase and out the door.

"Where are we going?" Hailey asked.

"My camp." I responded.

"What are you talking about, 'your camp'?"

"Just be quiet while I concentrate." I shut my eyes to concentrate.

"What are you-" She stopped.

I opened my eyes and smiled, in front of the school was a river, and I put that river to work. Sitting in the water in front of us was a boat, pulled by hippocampus.

"Wow." Hailey's mouth hung open.

We both boarded the boat. The second we did, the hippocampus shot forward. Suddenly we were going about a hundred miles per hour. I was grinning like a maniac, enjoying the spray of water in my face, but Hailey was holding on for dear life.

"Is this seriously happening?" Hailey yelled to me.

"You bet your buttons it is!" I laughed.

"Oh my gods!" She was having trouble staying on her feet.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the front of the boat. She grasped the bar and stayed there. I looked just above her head and laughed. A silvery owl shimmered into existence.

"What?" Hailey asked loudly.

"You've been claimed, my genius friend!" I shouted over the wind.

Hailey glanced up and gasped. Then she frowned and looked at me.

"What is this? Are you-"

"You think I'm making this up? We're both demigods, Hailey!" I grin wider. "My dad's Poseidon!"

"So that whole time we were joking about you being a daughter of Poseidon—?"

"Nope!" I laughed. The wind whipped around me, sending a wall of water into my face. My sleeves rolled up with the gusts of air. Hailey glanced at my S.P.Q.R. tattoo.

"And is that real?" She gaped at it.

"You bet!" I couldn't stop smiling. The boat started slowing down. I could see Camp Half Blood in front of us.

"Wait, does that mean we are going to-" Hailey gasped.

"Just look! We're here!" The boat slowed down to a complete stop, pulling up near the beach. We were still about two yards away from the shore. I was fine with that. But Hailey might have some trouble walking atop the water. I jumped off the boat and landed on top of the waves. Hailey stared, jaw dropped and eyes wide.

"Come on, get off the boat. Let's go." I offered her a hand. She slowly climbed off the boat and onto the water. She was shaking violently. I made sure she was able to walk on the water and we began to make our way to Firework Beach. I spotted the cabins and laughed when I saw Percy getting his butt kicked by Annabeth.