Alstroemerias {Percy Jackson}

11

Learning that your Latin teacher is part horse really had an effect on the way you view the world. Well, at least the way you view your mental health. However, Percy wasn't hallucinating. Mr. Brunner really was a centaur named Chiron, not some old man in a wheelchair.

He was a little miffed to find out that Maggie had known she was a demigod and never told him. He would have thought that the green haired girl would know what the monster really was after he had described Mrs. Dodds to her. He knew that she was just as confused as he was during the school year though, her eyes gave it away. Besides, even if she hadn't been confused, Maggie was just trying to protect him just like Grover had, so Percy really should not be mad at either of them.

The two finally made their way to the Hermes cabin. With a small wave, Chiron turned around, leaving him with Annabeth.

The blonde gestured to the door of cabin eleven.

Percy took a good look at it as he walked. The cabin was the only one out of the twelve that looked like a regular summer camp cabin. As he crossed the threshold, he noticed that one of the doctor's symbols was placed there, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. He racked his brain for a few seconds trying to remember the name, a caduceus.

Inside, the cabin was packed with people, both girls and boys. It seemed that there were more people than available bunk beds as sleeping bags were scarred all over the floor. 

Percy stod in the doorway, not sure of what he should do. He was unnerved by all the stares he received, kids sizing him up just like they every time he went to a new school.

"Well?" Annabeth prompted. " Go on."

He really should not have taken her advice because, as soon as he came in, Percy tripped. A few campers snickered.

"Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven." Annabeth announced.

"Regular or undetermined?" somebody in the crowd asked.

"Undetermined." There was a collective groan. 

"Now, now, campers," A boy who was a little older than the rest said as he came forward, "That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy! You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."

The boy was about nineteen. He was quite tall and muscular, with short cropped sandy hair. His friendly smile calmed Percy a bit. He wore an orange tank top along with some shorts. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was the thick jagged scar that ran to his right eye to his jaw. The boy also had on a leather necklace that had five different colored clay beads. Some of the heads looked familiar. With a start, Percy realized that he had seen some of the beads on one of Maggie's bracelets. The more he thought about it, he slowly noticed that the bracelet was made of the same material the blonde boy's necklace was made of.

"This is Luke," Annabeth said. Percy noticed that her voice sounded different. He took a quick ga;nce at the girl and saw she was blushing. Once she noticed Percy, her expression hardened once more. "He's your counselor, at least, for now."

"For now?" he asked her.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained for her. "They don't know which cabin to put you in, so you're in here. Cabin eleven takes all the newcomers and visitors. My father, Hermes,the patron of the cabin, is the God of travelers. So, naturally, we take those that have not found their place." For a second, Percy thought he had heard a hint of malice on Luke's voice when he admitted that Hermes was his dad.

Percy around the place he had been given, trying to remember where he would eventually sleep. He was not surprised to see a black sleeping bag and a chest right next to his own spot; however the initials engraved on the truck caught his attention. MHJ. It could have been a coincidence that he had ended up next to someone with the same initials as Maggie. The small flower pots and the designs on the items told him otherwise, though.

"How long will I be here?"

"Good question." Luke answered. "Well, until you're determined."

"How long will that take?" he asked, soon regretting his question when everyone started laughing.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"But I've already seen it."  

"Come on," she said once more, this time with an air of finality. She wanted no time in dragging Percy out the door, ignoring the laughing kids inside.

Once they were a few feet away, Annabeth let go of Percy's arm. "Jackson, you have to do better than that."

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I thought you were the one."

Percy remembered the moment he had collapsed on the steps of the big house. Annabeth had been one of the people to come outside, along with Chiron. Before he completely blacked out, Percy had heard her murmur something about him being "the one."

"What's your problem? All I know is that I killed some bull guy-"

"Don't talk like that!" her own voice taking an angry tone like his had. "You know how many kids at camp wish they'd had your chance?'

"What chance? To get killed? Because let me tell you-"

"To kill the Minotaur!" she cut him off. "What do you think we train for?"

"Look, if the thing I killed really was the Minotaur, the same one form the stories..."

"Yes..."

"Then there's only one."

"Yes."

"And, he died like a gajillion years ago right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So..."

"Monsters don't die, Percy They can be killed. But they don't die."

"Oh, thanks! That clears everything up."

"They don't have souls like you and me. You dispel them for a while, even a lifetime if you're lucky. But they're primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, all monsters reform."

"You mean, hypothetically, if I killed accidentally one with a sword-"

"The Fur-I mean, your math teacher. She's still out there. You probably just made her really mad, to the point where she wants to spill your guts."

"Like she didn't want to do that before." he muttered before freezing. "How do you know about Mrs. Dodds?"

"You talk in your sleep."