Camp Half-Blood/Camp Jupiter

Aphrodite, Come Get Your Son

    If I'm going to be honest, dinner is kind of awkward. I sit at the Hermes table, which is very chaotic. Everyone's talking about what pranks they'll be pulling next. I feel bad for the Aphrodite cabin...They're definitely in for a surprise. The Hermes kids plan on stealing their hair brushes. I honestly don't know how these kids plan to survive an angry horde of Aphrodite children.
    I don't know any of the Hermes kids, and that doesn't help me at all. I stay out of most of their conversations, not wanting to intrude. I'm not one of them, but one girl tries to get me to join in on the fun. I don't exactly call pranking people fun, but I try to help the girl (she told me her name's Leah). So far, we've come up with stealing the Hephaestus kids' tools. They'll probably destroy us, but I hopefully won't be doing the prank. I just helped plan it. I hope that the Hephaestus kids will understand that...
    "What if we scared the Apollo kids?" Leah suggests, smirking.
    "How would we do that?"
    Leah thinks for a moment. I'm not sure how her brain works, but she truly scares me. I have no doubt that she'll prank me one day. I just don't know when. I don't think I'll be able to sleep ever again. But, honestly, this whole half-blood thing is already going to make sleeping difficult.
    "One of us could run to the infirmary and pretend to black out."
    "Isn't that a bit cruel?"
    Leah laughs. "They'll be fine with it, she says. "Only a few of them are healers, anyway."
    "Who will be there?"
    She shrugs. "I know that Will would definitely be there."
    Oh gods. I can't do that to anyone! They probably have more important things to focus on. What if someone's actually hurt?
    "Won't they get mad?"
    She nods, grinning mischievously. Honestly, the Hermes kids are the scariest at this camp. "But, that's the point! It'll be hilarious!"
    I can't exactly stop her. I have the feeling that once she has a plan, nothing will prevent her from carrying it out. I'm not going to even try. She'll probably destroy me if I stand in her way. So, I won't. Simple solution. People need to learn from me and not cause problems. That would make everything so much easier.
    "Alright," I say. "I think you should do it."
    "You don't want in on the fun?"
    I shrug. "You're probably better at this whole pranking thing."
    "You'll learn," she says. "Until then, watch and learn."
    Doesn't she know that I might not be staying in his cabin for much longer? I guess there's nothing wrong with staying friends. I'd like that a lot, actually. Leah's a really nice person, and even if I'm not in the Hermes cabin (maybe. I don't know for sure), I want to keep pranking people with her. Well, I want to watch her prank people. I don't want a part in the actual pranking process.
    I still haven't found out who my father is. I'm hoping for tonight by the campfire, but I can't let myself be too hopeful, or I'll be disappointed. So, no. I'm not going to be claimed tonight. I'll be in the Hermes cabin for the rest of my life, and that's fine. I don't need to be claimed. I don't depend on the word of some random god. No, I'm my own person, and I won't let my father control my life.
    "When are you planning to do this?" I ask.
    She smiles. "Either after the campfire songs or tomorrow morning."
    "I'll be there, watching from a distance."
    I look over at the Apollo table and see Will. He doesn't even know what's coming. He doesn't know that Leah is planning something. I almost feel guilty for not telling him, but that would ruin the prank.
    Nico is sitting next to Will, eating his dinner. When he gets to his corn, he just stares at it for a moment. It's like he's scared of it, but corn isn't scary. At least, I don't think it is...Will ruffles Nico's hair, grinning. Nico glares at him, but he's beginning to smile.
    Leah and I get up to dump some of our food into the pavilion fire. Supposedly, we have to show the gods that we appreciate them by burning our food. Wow, the gods are pretty greedy and self-centered. But, I'm not going to disrespect them by not giving them what they need. I'm sure they'd probably kill me for that.
    "How do you like camp so far?"
    I turn around to see Will and Nico standing behind me. My mind flashes back to the Capture the Flag game, and I think I'm going to be sick. My first day at camp was crazy. I don't have any problems with Camp Half-Blood, just some of the people that live here.
    "Camp's great," I say.
    Will gives me a worried look. "Are you okay?"
    I nod. He shrugs, and then scrapes some of his food into the fire. Nico does the same, watching his corn fall in. Will seems amused by this, but I'm not going to ask why.
    I must not be the daughter of the goddess of luck, since I apparently have none of it. Brady walks over with his plate, smirking like he knows something that no one else does. Well, that's true. I haven't told anyone about what happened in the forest, and I don't plan to. He used Charmspeak on me, but he still didn't get the flag. If he had, this probably would've be even more embarrassing.
    Nico gives me a strange look; I guess he noticed something.
"Hello, everyone," Brady says, smiling sweetly. I want to slap him, but I don't. I've already punched him, and that didn't end well. I settle for glaring instead.
    I want to go back to the Hermes table, but that would show him my fear. I refuse to be scared of him. He could use Charmspeak on me again. So what?
    "How are you doing?" I ask.
    He raises his eyebrows, surprised. I feel a small bit of satisfaction at that. "I'm alright," he says. "How are you?"
    I want to run, but I force myself not to move. This conversation won't be long. At least, I hope it won't be. "I'm okay."
    "So, you don't hate me anymore?" he asks, smirking.
    I clench my hands into fists at my sides. Nico, Will, and Leah watch us talk, probably confused by what's going on. Well, they don't need to know about that. Hopefully, they won't find out.
    "I never said that."
    He frowns. "I suppose I can't expect you to forgive me after I—"
    "I haven't," I say, cutting him off. I know that this is what he wants, but I'm not going to let him think that Charmspeaking people is okay. It's not.
Nico and Will look at each other, trying to figure out what's going on.
"Why are you talking to me?" I ask. Honestly, I'm not sure why he is. I punched him earlier. Does he want me to do it again? I wouldn't mind.
Brady shrugs. "I felt like it. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't."
He smirks, and the only thing preventing me from tackling him is the fact that there are other people watching. Leah, Nico, and Will would have many questions, and I really don't want to answer them all.
"I just want to get to know the new camper," he explains.
I laugh. "Well, if this is how you treat all of the new kids, I'm surprised you have any friends."
Leah taps my shoulder and holds up her hand. I smile and give her a high-five. Brady on the other hand, isn't very happy about my words. I didn't really expect him to be. That was kind of the point...
"For your information, I'm very popular among my friends," he says, defending himself.
"Is it because of your bright personality?"
He glares at me. "It's brighter than yours."
Everyone's dealt with this kind of person before. They pretend to be all nice and smiley, but they're truly fake and mean. I can pretty much tell right from the beginning if someone's like that. Brady is definitely one of those people, and I hate him. Sure, he might be nice to other people, but definitely not to me.
"That's a false statement," I say. I give him what I hope is a threatening smile. "I'm as bright as the sun."
"Right...Is your dad Apollo?" He smiles, like he's won. He hasn't. "Oh right. You don't know."
I clench my fists, fighting back my rising anger. It's like he always knows what words will hurt me the most, and I hate it. I'm not supposed to care about my father. I'm not supposed to care about finding out who he is, but I can't help it. I just want to know.
Brady wants me to get angry. I know that for sure. Well, it's certainly working. No matter how hard I try to fight it back, it just keeps rising. Brady thinks that he can just say all of these things and get away with it. I want to prove him wrong so badly that it hurts.
I glare at him. "Don't talk about my father," I growl.
He smirks, knowing that he's hit a nerve. "You must really hate him. The least he could do is claim you, but he hasn't done that yet."
How does he know everything I'm thinking? He barely knows me! I feel my anger rising past the point where I can keep it under control. I know that I should try to stay calm, but I don't really want to. If this is what Brady wants, then I'll let him have it. I'll let him realize his mistake.
I take a step towards him. "I'd stop talking if I were you."
I'm not sure if I'm imagining this or not, but I feel the ground begin the tremble. My anger only rises, and it's almost frightening. But, it also feels amazing. After fighting it back, I'm finally letting it run free. I can't help but smile. I think about what Brady said. He's not wrong. I hate that my father left me, and I had hoped that he'd claim me.
    The ground shakes beneath my feet, and now I'm sure that I'm not imagining it. Is this an earthquake? I'm not sure what's going on.
A hand clamps onto my shoulder, pulling me back. I turn around to see Will, a worried look on his face. Leah and Nico are still here, watching, and I can't tell if they're scared or not. Are they scared of me?
"I'd get out of here if I were you," Nico says to Brady. Brady leaves without another word, heading out of the dining pavilion. Why is he leaving? I'm not going to complain, but I didn't even do anything...
    After a few moments, all of my earlier anger is gone.
    "I'm sorry," I say.
    Leah shakes her head. "You don't need to be sorry! That was epic!"
    I give her a questioning look. "What was epic?"
    "You totally scared Brady!" she says. "He deserved it."
    Will glares at her, and she shuts up. "We're trying to keep her calm, okay?"
    Before anyone says anything else, something happens. A collective gasp goes up from everyone that's in the dining pavilion. They're all staring at me, and I want to disappear. I hate all of the attention they're giving me. Can't they focus on something else? I'm already embarrassed enough. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. None of this should've happened. I look around, looking for an easy way to escape.
    "You might want to look up," Leah suggests.
    I do as she says, and above my head is a dark, glowing helm. I have no idea what it means, and honestly, I find it kind of creepy that it just appeared above my head. What is happening? The helm lowers onto my head. It stays there for a moment before it disappears. That was...interesting.
I look down at my feet, but I can still feel everyone's eyes on me. I hear whispers, and I'm able to pick up on some of what they say. None of it makes any sense.
"She's a daughter of Hades..." Leah murmurs.
I know that she's talking about me, but she can't be right. This must be some kind of mistake! I'm not a daughter of Hades. I'm not a daughter of any of these gods. This is all a very strange dream that I'll wake up from any time now. Right?
I shake my head, trying to erase all memories of the helm that lowered itself onto my head. This can't be real. It can't be...
    "Can someone please explain what's going on?" I ask, hoping that someone will tell me that I can go home and live a normal life. I know that that won't happen. I've seen monsters. I've played deadly Capture the Flag. I've met all of these demigods. I can't possibly expect life to be normal after all of that. Maybe this isn't so bad...
    "You've been claimed," Leah tells me. "By Hades."
    I feel as if I've been punched in the gut, like the air has been knocked out of my lungs. I've forgotten how to speak. I can't even finish one sentence. So, all of this is real. My dad is some god—Hades—and I'm at this camp without my mom. I have to stay strong and make Mom proud. She'd probably hate the monster fighting, but she doesn't need to know about that.
    "Hades?"
    Leah nods, giving me an encouraging smile. She seems to be taking this news better than the other campers. No one says anything, and I'm starting to wish that the dining pavilion would go back to being its noisy self. Well, I guess the odds are not in my favor.
    "I'll help you move into your new cabin if you want," Leah offers, glancing back at the other campers.
I shrug. "I didn't really bring anything with me." If I had had time to think, I would've brought a backpack or something with some clothes and other necessities. But, no. I had to run from monsters until I got to camp. Monsters seem to always find a way to ruin everything. Now, I don't have anything to remind me of home.
"Oh," she says. "I forgot about that. Well, I should probably head back to my table, and you should get situated."
I give her a small smile. "Will I see you around?"
"Of course." She waves before leaving me alone with Nico and Will. I watch her leave, almost wishing that she'd stay. I know it's selfish, but she's one of the only people I know here. She accepted me at the Hermes table and gave me something to talk about. She talked to me like everything was normal, like we weren't half-bloods. It was a nice break from reality.
"I'll take you to the cabin," Nico says, then leads me to the Hades cabin. I don't know where Will went, but I'm guessing he's back at the Apollo table with his siblings. Once I'm out of the dining pavilion, I can't feel everyone's gazes on me anymore. That was terrifying. But now, I think it'll be okay.
The Hades cabin has walls made of obsidian, and there's a skull hung over the doorway. Torches blaze brightly, lighting the area around the cabin, and there are no windows. I'm not going to lie, the cabin is a bit unsettling, but so is my dad. I'm sure I'll get used to it, anyway. At least I know that I won't have too many visitors.
Nico glances at me, I guess to read my expression. "It's not too bad once you get used to it," he says.
I nod, and we go inside the cabin. The first thing I notice are the beds. They're shaped like coffins with mahogany frames, brass railings, and red pillows and sheets. I can't help but think that I could easily pretend to be a vampire. There's a small shrine with bones a jewels. I'm not sure of its purpose, but it's pretty cool.
"Not bad," I say, shrugging.
Nico sits one of the beds (his, I assume). "Yeah, it's not terrible. Definitely the gloomiest of the cabins, but it's alright." He gestures at the bed across the room. "I guess that one's yours, since Hazel sleeps over there when she visits." He points to another bed.
I'm not sure who Hazel is, but maybe I'll get to meet her someday.
    I sit on my new bed. The softness definitely makes up for how creepy it is. I don't think I'll mind sleeping here at all. Of course, the cabin doesn't feel like home yet. I'm not sure it every will. I already miss my mom's apartment, and everything about my old home. I tell myself that I'll get used to it in time; it really hasn't been long since I first got here, anyway.
    "So, that's about it," Nico says. "If you need anything, feel free to ask me, and hopefully you don't hate camp much.
    I smile, realizing that maybe I have someone I can depend on. Everything has changed within a day, and I thought that I was alone. I'm still not used to Camp Half-Blood, but slowly, it's starting to feel more like my home.
    "I'm going to get some sleep," I say. "Goodnight, Nico."
    At that, I get under the covers and close my eyes. No light filters in through the windows, since we don't have any. I find it almost easy to fall asleep in the dark of the cabin.