El Héroe Perdido (Alma del Olimpo Libro 1)

I - What Great Confusion You Have!

Sol didn't like being a babysitter. She especially didn't like babysitting when her charges were two 16 year-olds with ADHD, criminal records, and demigod powers. And she wasn't even getting paid!

Sol crossed her arms and blew a piece of hair out of her eyes. She was waiting outside of the Wilderness School for Piper and Leo. She was told by... someone that they were demigods, and she had been tasked with protecting them until someone could come from Camp Half-Blood to pick them up at the Grand Canyon. That's where they were headed now.

She saw a head of brown curls bouncing over the crowd of students that had began flowing out the door. Leo. There was Piper, next to him, holding someone's hand. It was a blond guy, with bright blue eyes and surprisingly muscular arms for a dude that Sol had never noticed before. No, if this kid went to the Wilderness School, and was 'holding hands' levels of close with Piper, she would know him.

Sol walked up beside Leo nonchalantly. "So, you guys ready?"

"I am, so long as Coach Hedge doesn't kill me on my first field trip," The blond boy said.

Piper laughed. "Jason, you wouldn't do anything that would make Coach mad. It's Leo we should worry about." So the boy was named Jason. Sol had never heard that name here before. She briefly wondered if he was a monster, but dismissed the idea. There was something weird about him, that was clear, but it wasn't monstrous. Sol would just have to watch him.

"Hey, if Coach wants to yell at me, he'll need to use his megaphone. We sit in the back," Leo smiled his twisty, smirky grin. Sol payed more attention to him when he smiled like that. It was another thing that she didn't understand. What she did understand was that it usually foretold something that would make Sol's job infinitely harder.

"Salazar! Get over here!" Sol didn't even try to hold back her groan. Hedge avoided talking to her as much as possible. He only did so when he absolutely had to, if something was wrong. Really, really wrong. And things going wrong was something that Sol could not have on this mission.

"Hey, I'll be right back guys. Don't do anything. Stand here, don't move."

Leo rolled his eyes. "It's not like there's any cars for Piper to steal, or kids for Jason to beat up."

"Hey, I didn't ask for him to jump me!"

"Yeah, and he didn't ask for you to break his hand."

Sol walked away before she got caught up in an argument.

Hedge was waiting behind the bus, away from the kids. "Hedge, whatever this is must be important."

"Well you tell me, Salazar! Who's that boy over there? You were on strict orders to keep McLean and Valdez isolated, and it really isn't that hard!"

Sol let out a dramatic sigh. "I don't even know where that kid came from. His name is Jason, and he's like... Piper's boyfriend, or something, I dunno. I don't think he's a monster, though. I'll have to keep an eye on him."

"Just don't mess up your mission now. There's only a few hours until we're at the Grand Canyon, and then you'll be back at camp, and those kids can become someone else's problem." Hedge glared at her, but his heart wasn't in it. It never was with her. Sol went back to Leo and Piper and Jason before she had to respond.

"Alright guys, it's time to go. No funny business on the bus, or I'll have to kick you off." Sol turned and marched away.

Jason looked to Piper. "Would she actually throw us off a moving bus?"

"Probably."

"Huh."

~~~~~~~~

For someone so worried about her mission, Sol was a really bad chaperone.