warrior ( RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE. )

xii. BIRTHDAY

"Ingrid 1, Casey 0!" Chiron bellowed, resulting in either a cheer or a groan from the campers.

The twins continued, staring each other down as they did so. Casey winked at Ingrid on the third rap of their fists, causing Ingrid to lose focus, putting down scissors instead of her usual paper. To Casey's luck, he put down rock, beating her in that battle.

"Ingrid 1, Casey 1! Next one to earn a point wins first pick." Chiron announced, and Ingrid furrowed her brows at Casey.

"You did that on purpose," She said. "You knew it'd trick me up."

"I know." Casey said with another wink, but a grin on his face along with it.

Ingrid rolled her eyes and put her hands into position. She knew that Casey liked to do rock, but he always switched to scissors for the last round. All she had to do was rock and she would win. They began the round, but on the first rap of her fist, she heard a cheer from a voice that always made her lose focus.

"Go Ingrid go!" Rachel yelled out, which encouraged cheers from the rest of the campers as well. Ingrid widened her eyes at the sound and panicked as her palm hit her palm, ending in paper, which is her usual go-to. Casey laid down scissors as usual, earning him the win.

"DAMNIT!" She yelled out, while Casey just smiled.

"Ingrid 1, Casey 2! Casey Reid wins RPS, and will choose first for the picking of teammates!" Chiron announced. At that, many drachmas were passed around the crowd, from winners to losers.

Ingrid's heart was racing. Rachel was here? To watch her? She couldn't believe it. Who had told her about the race? What if she lost in front of Rachel? The possibilities of outcomes were running through her head so quickly that she almost missed Casey picking his teammates.

   "I choose Clarisse LaRue and Piper McLean!" He announced and the two girls bounded over to Casey's side. Casey puts an arm the two and turned to Ingrid. "Your turn, twin."

   Ingrid raised her eyebrows. She knew he'd pick Clarisse. Anyone would pick her first. But Piper surprised him. Not because she's a bad pick, but she knows that Casey is strategic with his picks.

Ingrid scanned the crowd, looking at the faces of those to choose from. One of the Stoll brothers would be a good pick, but Travis was older and stronger. With Clarisse already taken, Sherman was her next best bet, and he always had her back. There was the new guy, Jason, who looked tough but didn't know him enough to consider him part of a team. And then there was Rachel.

The two locked eyes and Rachel smiled wide, holding her hand up in a wave. Ingrid felt her face grow hot, and gave a small smile back before focusing her mind into choosing teammates.

"I choose Sherman Yang and Travis Stoll." She said the two boys joined her side. With the two being a head taller than the girl, they slung their arms around her shoulders.

   "Okay! The teams have been chosen. Remember, all is fair in this race except for quite literally blowing the other team out of the water. No explosives shall be thrown into the other team's canoe." Chiron said with a pointed glare towards Travis. The boy held his hands up guiltily in the air, but still had a devilish grin on his face nonetheless.

   "Remember, all three team members must return for it to count as a win. Now, we will begin in 5 minutes. Teams, use this time wisely." Chiron said, and Ingrid nodded, immediately turning to Travis and Sherman. Not wasting any time, she jumped right into strategy.