Faking It

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Let me make this completely clear—it's not my fault. I'm not a Stoll. I'm not good at pranking—but the Stoll brothers are. They're the ones with the fancy tricks and gadgets, I'm just their main victim. And I'm sick and tired of it.

"This isn't a good idea, Katie," my best friend warns. "You're going to get hurt, or in trouble, or both."

"Well I'm tired of getting humiliated in front of the entire camp," I shouted down at her from the roof. "They play around too much, let's see how they like it."

"All of us Demeter kids are tired of it," my sister muttered before grinning. "Alright I'm in."

"You guys are really going to get into trouble!" My best friend shouts at us as she watches my sister, Miranda, climb onto the cabin's roof with me.

"Railyn, this isn't the first time I've been in trouble." Miranda brushed her off.

"But it could be Katie's!" She sighs. "And just because you've caused trouble before doesn't mean it's free reign now!"

"Rai," I smile with a sigh, "Nothings going to stop me. I already set everything up. If you really don't wanna get in trouble, then don't be a witness." I wink at her.

Railynn's face painfully contorts as she weighs her options. Stop us and fail, join us and get in trouble too, or walk away and pretend she didn't see anything.  "Be safe!" She calls out before jogging back to her cabin.

"Was I too mean to her?" I ask Miranda.

"Nah, it's best she walked away." My sister gave a grin so mischievous it almost matched the Stoll's.

"Can't believe I had to talk you into this—usually it's the other way around."

"Yeah, well," She shrugged, "I already punched Connor this week so Chiron is keeping a good eye on me. Now I can at least say I tried to stop you."

I almost laugh as I remember the younger Stoll brother's surprised face after she delivered the blow. "The Stolls damn near set our roof on fire. What made them think hiding fire crackers up there was funny?"

"I don't know but when we're through with them, they'll know to stop messing with us."

"I swear to the gods, if they mess with us again I'll strangle them with vines."

"Sh! Here they come!" Her smile matches mine as we watch the Heremes Cabin doors swing open. Their head counselor, Travis Stoll, begins to exit in a strut. His arm wrapped around a girl with tan skin and brown hair—Myra Starr, Apollo's daughter. His siblings and the rest of the cabin following after.

"Now!"

I blinked, how did he get her into the cabin? No one is allowed to have mixed-cabin sleepovers! Even if they're dating! My heart hardens—rule after rule he breaks them. I softened the ground where his first step onto the dirt is. The floor gives way underneath him and he falls into a pre-made pit of shrunken Titan Arum flowers. All around, the stench of the horrible smelling plant travels around and many campers begin to gag at it.

"Oh my gods!" Myra screams. "Ew, ew, ew, ew!" She retreats to the Apollo Cabin.

"Oh my gods is right," Miranda smirks. Now that he'll have been in the pit for a while, he'll be smelling terrible for the rest of the day.

Travis climbs out of the pit and tries to breathe out of his mouth but it doesn't help very much. "What the hell?!" I try to hold back my laughter but it's too difficult. Miranda laughs with me, the smell of the plant doesn't reach to our cabin, we've prepared for that.

Campers stampede back into their cabins but the Hermes Cabin closes the door on Travis. Soon it's only the three of us—Travis gagging and banging on the doors and Miranda and I. I make the pit to close up with dirt again before the both of us loose it.

"Open the doors now!" Travis yells between gasps."Guys come on—I need—to shower it—smells—so bad!"

We climb off the roof, giddily.

"No! Travis go bathe in the lake! You smell terrible!" One of his siblings shouts through the glass windows—they don't even bother opening it in fear of the stench.

Travis sprints to the Apollo Cabin. "Myra! Babe, open the door, let me shower really quick!"

"Ew! Get away Travis!" She shouts and Miranda and I crack up even more.

The older Stoll's eyes find us and he marches over to us. "You two!"

"Run, run, run!" Miranda smiles and races away, into the safety of the Demeter Cabin.

I, on the other hand, hold my ground. I glare at him with a smirk on my face. "Who? Me?" I tease in mock innocence.

"You did this!" He growls in my face.

I dont back down. "Did what?"

"You made me smell like this, with those—those stupid plants!"

"It's not smart to say plants are stupid to a child of Demeter, you idiot."

"It's not smart to prank a child of Hermes, you idiot!" He retorts back.

"I don't see any pranks, do you Miranda?" I look at my sister who's watching from a nearby window.

"No pranks here!" She eggs on through the glass.

"Just a teenage boy with some really bad BO!" I smile as his face reddens.

"Excuse me, Gardner?"

"What? You pass gas on top of that stench? You're excused."

"Stop!" Chiron separates us.

"She started it!" Travis shouts.

"I did not! You and Connor always prank my cabin—you guys started it!"

"That is enough!" Chiron shouts at us. "Travis if you can't handle being pranked, then don't prank others."

"Ha!" I smirk at Travis.

"They're harmless jokes, Chiron!" Travis argues.

"I'm not done! Katie, if you don't like being pranked then why would you partake in one? You're only allowing the cycle to continue!"

"And now I'll be getting payback!" Travis smirks this time.

"You don't deserve payback—you're the instigators who started this! I was getting payback!"

"So you admit you did it!"

"No schist Sherlock!"

"Be quiet both of you! There will be no more pranks unless you two figure out how to get along!" Chiron tells at both of us.

"What? No!"

"Fine with me!" This has got to be the best day of my life.

"Please! Something else Chiron!" Travis pleads.

"You'll have kitchen duty for two months if you keep your pranks to a minimum—if I hear any more arguments about them, your jokes will stop but you'll still have kitchen duty."

"I'll take it!" Travis sighs.

"Now get on with your activities!" Chiron frowns. "It is not my nature to be this upset but you guys have been arguing like this for years! When will you let a centaur rehabs his peace?"

"Sorry, Chiron." I apologize.

"Sorry..." Travis bows his head remorsefully.

"Please, learn to get along."