Outsider (Story about Camp Halfblood)

Chapter 14

*a few weeks later*

Over the last few weeks, I haven't done much. Yes I did study up on my talent, and I even planted a grape vine in a pot I made in Arts and Crafts with the nymphs, so Pollux can be happy that I worked hard. But now, I was bored. I talked to Clarisse and when we'd throw javelins, then I'd hang and joke around with Connor and Travis. I tried finding that one nymph, Acacia, but she disappeared. Right now, I was sitting around my cabin throwning grapes in the air to catch them. 

"Why can't it be spring!" I sighed. No one was here to hear me, which reminds me, I need to make some friends, or else I'm going to go insane. It makes me wish I could go to school. I got up and went outside. The sun was high and it was a very nice day, not a cloud in sight. I went back into the cabin and got a book to walked into the woods to find a nice spot to read.

Walking through the woods made me remember that silly ghost story Clarisse told us. I laughed to myself. She told me she just came up with it on the spot and wanted to make a fake 'trap' to scary campers. But with the little amount pf campers, it was almost impossible for it to happen.

I found a tree that was next to this cliff, blocking the sun, but allowing enough light to shine so I could read comfortably. I stuck my book in my mouth and jumped to grab the lowest branch and hoisted myself up and climbed to the thickest branch. The branch I chose was roughly fifteen feet off the ground and had a small branch running below it that I could rest one of my feet on for balance. I got comfy and began to read the book I chose.

About twenty minutes of peaceful reading, I was interupted by talking, or more like someone angrily shouting and hitting things. I closed my book and peered through the branches to find who it was. All I could see was a rock face, but the sound was coming from inside the boulder. I leaned forward, perhaps too far, and stumbled off the branch. And of course there wasn't any other branches there to break my fall. I landed in a thorny mess in a tree below this one (how I landed in the tree, I don't know).

"Ow!" I cried. I covered in little scratches and thorns with a growing bruise on my bottom. I groaned a crawled out of the thorns.

"You squashed my tree!" a soft voice call, very angrily.

"Ugh, sorry. I sorta fell." I mumbled getting up. I turned to face the nymph, who I recongized as Acacia. "OH my gods! It's you! This is where you live? I was trying to find you an--"

"Shush!" Acacia said putting a finger it her lips. She had a small dent in her forehead, problably because I squished her tree. Sighing through her nose, she touched her tree and it started going back to its original shape.

"You know I didn't mean to do that, right?"

"Well I really don't know what you did. But what are you doing here? The only other demigods that come down here are Leo, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper. Mostly just Leo."

"Is that who's yelling inside the boulder?" I asked pointing to the boulder. Another shout and a few more bangs.

"Yes. He gets in there by using fire. A scary gift, I don't want my tree to get burned." Acacia said.

"Okay, but how are you growing here?" I asked. I remember that acacia trees grow in California and Arazonia, and other places but here.

"Hm, never gave it much thought. I geuss that since this camp is magical, I'm able to grow." she said smiling. I bit my lip, thinking what to say next. Another bang and some more yelling in the distance.

"So, uh, you still mad at me for crushing your tree?"

"Oh, no! Not at all, you barely did any damage anyways." Acacia laughed. "It was nice to meet you properly."

"Yeah, well if you'd have said something a few weeks ago." I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, but Connor and Travis make me feel, oh I don't know."

"Awkward." I suggested.

"No, no."

"Uncomfortable?" I tilted my head.

"That's the same thing as awkward, and no!"

"Annoyed?"

"N--yes, yes!" she jumped up and down excitedly.

"They make everybody feel that way. It's just what they do, you know, annoy."

"But it's so annoying!" she stamped her foot and frowned.

"Well you should expect annoyance to annoy you."

"Ugh. It's just so dumb."

"Travis is dumb."

"When they see me they always say something the drives me up my tree! They don't know what they say! It's just ugh!" Acacia began to pace and rant on about them. I don't think she geard any of my clever input.

I sighed through my nose and picked my book off the ground and leaned against the I recently fell from and began where I left off. Acacia still rambling. I rolled my eyes and read my book.

About a few chapters later....

"Are you even listening to me?" Acacia demanded.

I jumped and almost dropped my book. "Of course!" I lied.

"Then what was I talking about?"

"You were ranting about the Stolls."

"Oh." she said quietly.

"Yep. I'm just that talented. I can read and listen at the same time." I teased. Acacia stuck her tounge out at me and we both laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" a voice called. I jumped, thank goodness I wasn't in a tree.

"Ash?" Acacia asked turning around. Her eyes widen and she ran towards the voice. "Ash! Your back!"

She attacked him in a hug. Ash was a satyr of average height with hazel eyes and tanned skin. He had on a Yellow Stone National Park t-shirt on with a tan ball cap and a walking stick. He had a backpack that was most likely filled with tin cans.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Ash gave Acacia a funny look.

"Oops! Ash, this is Mia. Mia this is Ash, my boyfriend." Acacia said with a loving smile.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled and stuck my hand out.

He met my hand. "Nice to meet you, too."

"How was it?" Acacia asked, not as excited as she was a few seconds ago.

"Not very good. But at least there are some really great places out there that aren't so bad. But they aren't what they were eons ago. I wish I could've seen what is was like." Ash said, ending with a sad sigh.

"Hm, why do humans have to ruin everything!" Acacia humphed.

"Excuse me? Human thing here?" I said waving my hand in a small circle.

"Oh, we didn't mean to do any harm--"

"Yeah! I didn't mean it!" Acacia said putting a hand to her mouth.

I chuckled. "Guys, it's okay. I agree. I grew up on a vineyard where it was clean, or so I say." I raised a brow. "Then when I came here, like in the city, I was repulsed. The water, it, it shouldn't look like that."

"I know!" Ash said putting his hands on his head dramaticly. "Acacia, I like this chica."

"Well we met on accident." Acacia said.

"Naw, friendship is no accident." Ash said.

"Who said we were friends?" Acacia and I said at the same time. "Ahh!" We pointed at each other and grinned.

"But seriously, she fell on my tree."

Ash's face was priceless.