Miss Quinn

134 ~ The Roman Camp

The first thing Emma did after entering Camp Half-Blood was go to the Big House. Emma wasn't sure when the meeting was supposed to start, but it was almost sundown. She found the cabin leaders gathered in the Big House rec room, around a Ping-Pong table, and one of the satyrs was serving nachos and sodas. Somebody had brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Someone tossed him a snausage right as Emma entered the room.

Emma looked around the room and noticed three new faces. The usuals, of course, were in attendance. Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, had her boots on the table, but nobody seemed to care. Clovis from Hypnos cabin was snoring in the corner while Butch from Iris cabin was seeing how many pencils he could fit in Clovis's nostrils. Travis Stoll from Hermes was holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it would burn, and Will Solace was absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. The counselor from Hecate cabin, Lou Ellen something-or-other, was playing "got-your-nose" with Miranda Gardiner from Demeter, except that Lou Ellen really had magically disconnected Miranda's nose, and Miranda was trying to get it back. The three newbies must have been the three Annabeth picked up a few days ago. Emma assumed they must be respectively in Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Zeus. Jason, of course, being Zeus because of his relation to Thalia.

Will was the first to notice Emma in the doorway. He sprung up from his seat and came around the table to wrap her in a hug.

"Emma, glad you arrived safely. How are you?"

"I'm fantastic, Will. How are you?"

"Great. We're about to get started."

Everyone else in the room was looking at them now. Emma locked eyes with the new girl. What did Annabeth say her name was?

"Piper, Jason, Leo, meet my sister Emma," said Will. "She's normally just a summer camper, but sometimes she visits in the winter."

"Hi, nice to meet you."

The curly-haired boy's jaw dropped. "You're British?"

Emma smiled shyly. "Yeah. Apollo met my mum while she was traveling in America. But I was born in England and I've lived there all my life."

Will ruffled her hair. "And of course Em gets special treatment from dad because she doesn't have a way of traveling across the ocean."

Emma rolled her eyes. "It's not like I can afford a plane ticket!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just teasing you."

Emma re-focused her attention on the three newbies. She assumed Jason was the blond one in the middle. He looked the most like Thalia, especially with his striking blue eyes.

"Jason Grace, I presume?" she said to him.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." He held out his hand, and she shook it hesitantly. What was with greetings and handshakes? Why not just say hi?

"I'm Leo Valdez," said the curly-haired boy. "My dad is Hephaestus."

Emma nodded her head and turned to the girl next to Jason.

"Piper McLean."

"Nice to meet you all. Your quest was successful?"

They all nodded.

"Enough chit-chat," said Will. "Let's get the meeting started."

Emma looked up to the head of the table, where Rachel Dare, Chiron, and Annabeth were seated. She gave Annabeth a small wave and claimed the empty seat next to Will. She was never sure why she was invited to these things. She wasn't a counselor. And it wasn't really fair that she got to attend just because she's friends with some of the counselors. But she wasn't complaining. Emma enjoyed being in the know about the happenings of Camp Half-Blood.