A Little Different || PJO: TLT / Clarisse X OC

III

(This is a short chapter)

Ciara watched the girls told her she couldn't be in the "private talk circle" and that it was a different Ciara they talked about. She felt awkward and a bit left out and sad.

When she was 4 her mom was too poor to take care of a child, and she felt bad she couldn't give Ciara the life she deserved. So she gave Ciara up, put her into foster care.

Ever since Ciara been going foster home to foster home, but she didn't stay there for long. She always ended up back in the orphanage. She didn't know why. She did everything she was told. She never caused trouble. She wasn't a bad kid. So why did no one want her??

She just wanted to be wanted and loved and needed. Maybe that's why she does everything Clarisse says, so Clarisse doesn't leave her like everyone else has ever done.

She really liked one foster home she went to, she was about maybe 8, or 9. She met a guy, a Latino boy with curly hair and... dirty and greasy skin but anyway. His name was Leo, and he was really cool and nice. She really liked him, it made that foster home more better with him.

But then he ran away, and she never saw him again. She always thought maybe it was because of her, maybe she did something to upset him. She missed him.

The girls then came back over telling her she couldn't hang out with them anymore. Not wanting to argue and just wanting to leave she got up and left the football field and went to the bathroom. She went into a cubicle and sat on the toilet, she just wanted a friend.

Someone she could play with, someone she could talk to, someone who wouldn't judge her. She just wanted someone.

She felt lonely.

She was almost home when she saw her foster carer. She was mean, her name was Karina. She was bossy and rude, and always put her into new foster homes. Always told her she needed to be better in school, it wasn't Ciaras fault she had Dyslexia and ADHD

When she saw Karina talking to Mr. And Mrs. Stewart she turned around and walked off quickly before Karina or her like 19th foster parents saw her.

She ran into a forest where she heard people speaking. She walked slowly and sniffled and wipes the tears from her eyes as she hid behind a tree. She saw a girl around her age, maybe a bit older. She looked mean and scary.

Blond-ish hair tied back into pig tails, a white shirt and sweatpants. Brown eyes, and a tough face. She was with.... A weird donkey man. He carried a weapon thing which Ciara wasn't sure what it was. It looked Cool though, he looked really old though, and had furry legs which creeped her out.

"Are we there yet?" The girl complained stopping and drank some water,

"not yet, another day or so. Just be patient Clarisse, we will get to camp half.... Blood. Soon" the donkey dude slowed his speaking and sniffed the air a bit.

"What is it?? Is it a monster!" The girl said excitedly and grabbed a stick, she looked like she was ready to bash anything at any moment.

The goat man shushed her and looked around, sniffing the air. His eyes landed on the tree Ciara hid behind, she gasped softly and ducked down moving right behind it.

The goat man shushed the girl to be quiet, Ciara felt scared. Maybe she shouldn't have ran off, she would've been better to just go into a new foster home. Now she was going to get beat with a stick and eaten by a donkey.

"Come out behind the tree" the goat demanded. Ciara stayed behind the tree but eventually slowly came out.

"I'm Coach Hedge. This is Clarisse, I'm a satyr and Clarisse is a half blood.... You're a demigod to.. aren't you?" Hedge said. Ciara had no idea what he meant.

"We're heading to camp half blood, a safe place for people like you and Clarisse" he added. Clarisse went closer to Ciara inspecting her.

"You're not a monster" Clarisse said. "That face could be classified as one though" Clarisse smirked. Coach hedge nudging her, giving her a look.

"Excuse Clarisse, she.... Just talks a lot" coach hedge sighed.

Ciara shrugged. They started walking, Ciara stayed though. She looked back at the town, what would her foster parents be thinking? Or Katrina? She didn't want to disappoint anyone or make anyone mad.

She turned around to head back but the girl, Clarisse grabbed her wrist pulling her along.

"Come on, you are not leaving me alone with coach Hedge, he's bossy and smelly. You're my friend now so you have to come with me" Clarisse said. Just claiming Ciara as her friend now, not even giving Ciara a choice.

Word count: 819