Looking for Ogygia

Chapter 5: Lemon Noses and Game Plans

After lunch, I decided I wanted to try something new. I ran to where most of the Apollo kids were shooting at targets on trees. I got a bow, and aimed at a small target, hanging from a branch.

"You're holding your bow wrong," I heard a girl giggle.

I lowered it in embarrassment and turned around to see who the voice belonged to.

A small, skinny girl with a big smile was holding a bow that probably weighed more than her.

"Oh. How do you hold it?" I replied, smiling back.

The girl giggled and adjusted my bow at a different angle.

"Thanks," I smiled. "What's your name?"

"Bella. Or Isabella, whichever you prefer. Isabella Jenae Roberts, twelve year old daughter of Iris."

"So is it usual for demigods to announce their middle name and age when they introduce themselves?" I asked jokingly

"Yeah, there are a lot of us, there's bound to be several people with the same names, so we say our full name. What's yours?"

"I'm Stephanie Marina Hilton, thirteen year old unclaimed."

As I continued to look at Bella, I realized how small she was to only be a year younger than me. She was barely five feet tall. Her arms weren't very muscular, and neither were her legs. They looked like they could snap at any second. She had straight blonde hair, and a small button nose. Her eyes were a bright, happy shade of green.

"Hey Twiggy! Are you hiding under a rock again?"

Bella's eyes turned into a pinkish red. She turned around to face a tall, ugly kid, whom I guessed was a son of ares.

"Is that a bra you're wearing? Are you sure you shouldn't replace it with bandaids? You don't even have breasts."

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I said, stepping between the bully and my new friend. He cracked his buckles and snickered at me.

"Maybe I will."

I regretted opening my mouth almost immediately. The sudden burst of courage I got, suddenly went away. This kid could possibly kill me just by punching me in the right place. I stood my ground, though. I steadied my breathing and looked lemon nose in the eye. The next thing I did was probably the stupidest.

I glared at him, and spat at his feet. He looked at me in angry shock, and shoved me. My instincts kicked in. He lifted his fist, but he was slow. I dodged his punch, and his fist missed my face by a millimeter. He shoved me again and again, until I couldn't back up anymore, and I fell over.

"Justin stop!"

The voice belonged to Bryan.

"What makes you think you have the right to shove anyone you want?"

"Stay out of this, Collier."

"You know Isabella gets offended when people make fun of her size. And Stephanie was just standing up for her, so just go somewhere else because we all know you couldn't shoot anything with a bow, even if your life depended on it."

Justin made a noise that didn't even sound human, then stomped away. Bryan looked over at me and sighed.

"Can't eat a sandwich without you needing my help, Green Eyes," he teased as he helped me up.

"I could have taken on him," I said, dusting myself off.

"Steph, I know you're strong, and you're definitely brave, but he's beat boys and girls up all of his life. He could have pounded me too."