Percy Jackson - The First Being

Chapter Seven

*Percy POV*

"Umm? Hi?" I said. They were looking at me as if they were deciding to prank me or recruit me to help them prank. Which they probably were doing both. We were in the Hermes cabin. I was being sized up by these two boys that looked like twins. Annabeth was busy flirting with the cabin counselor, Luke, to notice the danger I was in.

"What's your name-"

"-new boy?" They said, one after the other. "Umm, my name's Perseus, Percy for short." They looked at me, nodded, then walked away. That was weird.

"Rob no. Stop!" Luke was trying to hold back...wait is that Robert? He came up to me. I had seen this view a little too often in school to not know what it meant. I was about to get beat up. "Hey Jackson." He said, but he had no malice in his voice. "Sorry for the way I acted. I kinda had to act to keep an eye on you." I looked at him suspiciously. Was he being serious? Luke was about to speak up when a conch horn sounded. "Eleven, fall in!". We all got into a line and started walking to the Dining Pavilion. I wanted to know what Luke was going to say about Robert. I looked at all of the cabins and the Artemis Cabin was starting to glow a faint silver as the sun went down and the moon came up.

We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other nymphs came out of the woods and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill. She saw me staring and waved at me. In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off. Grover was sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Probably his kids. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for his full centaur form.

Dionysus stood up to make announcements. "Quiet you worthless half-bloods!" He yelled. "First off, capture the flag is on Friday, don't forget to sharpen your weapons. I want a nice show. Second, we have a new camper," He said pointing to me. Everyone turned and stared at me, except Clarisse who was glaring at me. I lowered myself in my seat. I don't really like attention. ", Perry Johnson." Chiron nudged him in the arm. "Sorry Percy Jackson. Will his godly parent claim him this night?" Everyone was quiet. "Don't give the kid hope." An older camper said. "Nobody gets claimed their first night at camp." The boy froze the moment the words left his mouth. He looked at me then Mr. D. "Never speak to me that way ever again Jason Pinecone! Next time it happens I will incinerate you." The boy was trembling. "It-It's Jacob, sir, umm Jacob Peirce." Mr. D rolled his eyes. "Jason, Jacob. What's the difference? Anyways, to the food."

The pavilion was immediately filled with chatter from all of the tables. Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty. I gave Luke a confused look. He realized how lost I was. Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want-nonalcoholic, of course." Oh yeah. Of course they have glasses that can have whatever drink you want. "Ummmm.. Ok." I said, looking skeptical. I didn't want to look like a fool, and even if he was my friend-ish, he was still a son of Hermes.

I said, "Cherry Coke." The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid. Then I had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke." The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. "Yes. This is awesome." Luke chuckled at my amazed expression.