After we break from the meeting, I go to congratulate Theo, but she's talking excitedly to Will. They're both using hushed tones, but waving their arms around, their eyes gleaming.
Will sees me walking over and gestures for me to come join them.
"I've got the music and drinks under control, but I need you to spread the word to everyone who won't snitch, and find a place." Theo is quiet and quick.
"The place is no problem. Apollo cabin should be big enough."
"But the noise-"
"Leo." Will wraps his arm around me. "Do you think you could temporarity completely soundproof a whole cabin in a couple hours?"
I think about it for a second. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"
Theo is nearly vibrating with excitement. "We're throwing a party."
"What?" I ask.
"I'm going to go let everyone know." Will looks so pumped, he takes off like a rocket.
"Theo, if Chiron finds out-"
She waves it off. "Don't tell anyone, but Chiron knows. It was his idea."
"Dude." I'm so confused. "What?"
She sighs. "He thinks that the camp should bond. You know, we should all have a good time together and plan something 'secret-'" She does air quotes, "-so that we have a good memory going into these next few months. He says it'll make us feel more like a team."
"And... you're taking care of drinks? Like, drink-drinks?"
"Relax, Leo. I can turn water into wine. Literally."
"Okay, let me get back to that later." I grin. "But you're about to give wine to a bunch of kids."
"No one under sixteen is getting wine." She tells me. "And I'm on strict orders not to over serve. I can make grape juice too."
I have so many questions. "Dude, this sounds like it could be the greatest thing ever, or such a bad idea."
"So, help me make it the greatest thing ever." She pleads. "Everyone is so scared, we could all use a pick-me up. And I think Chiron is right. Sneaking around, keeping a group secret, that brings people together. And a party? That's sure to lift spirits."
To be fair, it does make sense. And I've never been to a party before. The more she talks about it, the better and better it sounds.
"Alright, Leo can get behind this." I give a little dance. "Time to get my soundproofing on."
She grins, shaking her hands excitedly. "Okay, okay. I've got music taken care of, we have a place, you're gonna take care of acoustics, we need... we need to decorate! Piper!"
"Look, I don't think Piper is a decorating kind of girl." I frown.
Piper, who had been talking to Jason at the table still, jogs over. "What's up, head camper."
Theo perks up even more. "I need a favor from your cabin."
"Anything for you, boss." Piper grins.
"I need you to get some of the Aphrodite campers to set up party decorations in the Apollo cabin. Top secret, hush-hush."
"Party decorations?" Piper perks up too. "We're having a party?"
"Shh!" Theo insists. "Hush hush!"
Piper seems to be joining the dark side way quicker than I thought she would. "Oh, this is going to be so great. We'll have a disco ball, and lights, and-"
"Perfect. Whatever you guys think will be best. Just don't let them make it too... pink."
"Ew, no way." Piper grimaces. She salutes Theo. "Aphrodite is on it."
"Okay," Theo turns back to me. "Get some Hephaestus kids, and have them build a stage. We're gonna have karaoke."
I grin wider. "Theo, this is going to be awesome."
~
From the outside, the cabin seems normal. But when I go in, there's music bumping loudly, lights flashing, and people are packed in, dancing and bouncing around with red plastic cups.
One of the Dionysus kids is at the door. He hands me a cup of water, and nods me in. "Find Theo if you want that to be wine." He grumbles. I assume he pulled the short straw and got stuck with door duty.
I look around for Theo, and find her in a crowd of campers with a few more Dionysus kids. "Hands! Let me see your hands!" She tells them. I see people lifting their left hands, some are marked, some aren't.
I push my way through and she beams at me. "Leo! Isn't this awesome?"
"Yeah!" I yell over the loud music. "Are you almost done here?"
She nods. She's going around, tapping everyone's cups. After a minute, the crowd around her thins.
"You guys did a great job." She says, tapping the last cup. "The stage looks great."
"Hey, this was all you." I elbow her playfully. "Head camper Theo, throwing parties to unify the camp."
She blushes. "Everyone deserved it. They work so hard, it's nice to let everyone feel normal for once."
I take a sip of my wine. It's not really my thing, but it's not bad either.
"You wanna dance?" I ask her.
She grins. "I thought you'd never ask."
We push our way into the crowd, the occasional cup being handed over for Theo to touch. I remember she told us how much she likes music, but damn, she did a good job picking the songs. Everyone is dancing and laughing and singing along. And Theo looks so happy too. We drink more of our wine, and I start to loosen up a bit.
"Karaoke?" Theo asks me, nodding up to where I notice some kids have been lining up.
"Oh, hell yes!" I pump my fist. This is the best night ever.
On our way, we run into Piper and Jason.
"Theo!" Jason is smiling bigger than I've ever seen. "This is amazing!"
"Gold star all the way!" Piper agrees.
We pass by a few more familiar faces. Annabeth is sitting, not dancing but she's smiling faintly, tapping her foot to the music. Will is starting karaoke, singing Livin' on a Prayer with incredible skill.
"What song?" Theo asks me, flipping through her playlist on her laptop.
I shrug. "You're the music girl."
She grins. "Here, this song is very you." She queues up a song, and we wait our turn.
Drew sings what must be her favorite song, Beautiful by One Direction. She's a pretty girl but her singing isn't too great. A couple more campers take their turns, then we go. I recognize the song instantly.
"Really?" I ask her, and she gives me a thumbs up.
We each take a microphone and sing the song.
"Mr. Worldwide to infinity
You know the roof on fire"
As we sing, the whole camp joins in. It feels so good.
Theo is dancing around the stage with me, having the time of her life.
"I was born in a flame
Mama said that everyone would know my name
I'm the best you've never had
If you think I'm burning out, I'm never am
I'm on fire
I'm on fire
I'm on fire
I'm on fire
Fireball"
The whole cabin sings the chorus together. Chiron was a hundred percent right.
