cacoethes |PERCY JACKSON| [book 2]

IV

SELENA SAT WITH her cabin mates as dinner started in the Pavillon. "Yes, well," Tantalus began once the talking had died down. "Another fine meal! Or so I am told." As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was doing, but it did. It shot away down the table as soon as he got within six inches. "And here on my first day of authority," he continued, "I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."

Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some half-hearted applause from the satyrs. Tyson was still standing at the head table, looking uncomfortable, but every time he tried to scoot out of the limelight, Tantalus pulled him back, "And now some changes!" Tantalus gave the campers a crooked smile. "We are reinstituting the chariot races!"

Murmuring broke out at all the tables-excitement, fear, disbelief. Selena remembered the last time they had a chariot race. The horses went wild and some campers died. Thank the Gods she was too young to participate at the time.

"Now I know," Tantalus continued, raising his voice, "that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."

"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," Selena glared at Tantalus.

"Yes, yes!" Tantalus said. "But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

An explosion of excited conversation. No KP for a whole month? No stable cleaning? Was he serious? As much as Selena wanted to be dismissed from her chores for a month, there's no way she'd be apart of the chariot races. It was too dangerous.

"But, sir!" Clarisse called out and Selena looked at her wide-eyed. You would think that Clarisse would be all for the chariot races. But she looked nervous, but she stood up to speak from the Ares table. Some of the campers snickered when they saw the 'YOU MOO, GIRL!' sign on her back, "What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots-"

"Ah, the hero of the day," Tantalus exclaimed. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!"

Clarisse blinked, then blushed. "Um, I didn't-"

"And modest, too." Tantalus grinned. "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"

"But the tree-"

"And now," Tantalus interrupted, as several of Clarisse's cabin mates pulled her back into her seat, "before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here. " Tantalus waved a hand toward Tyson.

Uneasy murmuring spread among the campers. A lot of sideways looks at Percy. He didn't look happy towards Tantalus, "Now, of course," he continued, "Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?"

Silence at the Hermes table. Travis and Connor Stoll developed a sudden interest in the tablecloth and Selena picked at her food. No one could blame them. The Hermes cabin was always full to bursting. There was no way they could take in a six-foot-three Cyclops.

"Come now," Tantalus chided. "The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"

Suddenly everybody gasped. Selena stared at Tyson in awe at the brilliant green light. A dazzling holographic image that had appeared above Tyson's head. Swirling over Tyson was a glowing green trident, the same symbol that had appeared above Percy the day Poseidon had claimed him as his son.

There was a moment of awed silence. Being claimed was a rare event. Some campers waited in vain for it their whole lives, like Selena. 

Tantalus roared with laughter. "Well! I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!" Everybody laughed except Annabeth, Selena, and a few of others.

Tyson didn't seem to notice. He was too mystified, trying to swat the glowing trident that was now fading over his head. He was too innocent to understand how much they were making fun of him, how cruel people were.

Selena looked over at Percy and she gave him a small smile. He had a roommate. He had a half-brother.

But on the inside, Selena was fuming. Tyson seemed nice and all, not that she really conversed with him, but he was a Cyclops. How could a Cyclops get claimed before her? Did she do something wrong?

With one last glance at Percy and Tyson, Selena stood up and walked away from the Pavillon.