Percy Jackson One Shots and Short Stories

#33 - The Makeover

"Wait, how do we know you won't cheat?" Katie demanded.

"What? I won't—"

"Sam can go!" Travis offered, nudging her in the side.

Sam blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Go, follow Piper," Travis explained. "Make sure she really gets a makeover."

Sam shrugged awkwardly. "I mean, she doesn't have to—"

Travis gasped over-dramatically. "What?" He shook his head in disbelief. "How are we related?"

"Believe me, I'm still stuck on that one," Sam muttered under her breath.

Piper laughed at that, which gave Sam a strange sort of I-just-made-Piper-McLean-laugh satisfaction.

"Okay, okay, we'll go," Piper relented, beckoning for Sam to follow her. "We'll be back in a few minutes. Assuming I haven't found a hole to die in."

Sam followed Piper as they circled round the Big House to get to the Aphrodite cabin. She started to panic — what do you say to Piper McLean?

Fortunately, Piper was as friendly as she was pretty.

"So, how're you enjoying camp?" she offered.

Sam shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really know." She hesitated for a moment. But Piper had something about her that made her want to spill all her secrets. "It's cool, but everyone already seems so connected because of the last war."

Piper pulled a face. "I know what you mean. It was the same when I got here last year."

Sam did a double take. "Last year? I thought you'd been here for ages!"

Piper laughed. "No, Leo and I are actually the newer ones."

Leo Valdez, Sam assumed. He had supposedly died stopping Gaia, but somehow came back to life. His arrival a few days ago had caused quite the commotion, as all his friends had promptly arrived to knock some sense into him — quite literally.

"But everyone knows you so well," Sam said, hoping she didn't sound too rueful.

Piper bit her lip. "I don't know, honestly. I mean, I'm friends with most campers, yeah, but I feel like a lot of people just talk to me all friendly because I'm one of the Seven. It just feels pretty fake sometimes."

Sam was hit with sudden understanding, and she realised why Piper had seemed to familiar. She reminded her of the popular girls in school, who were nice, pretty, and smart.

"I'm sorry," Sam apologised.

"What for?" Piper smiled. "You only came last week. It must be quite overwhelming."

Sam nodded. "Everyone's talking about a war I wasn't even here for. Talking about people I've never heard of before. I feel like I don't fit in."

And she'd never really felt like she fit in. Anywhere.

Sam had always felt so uncomfortable in her own body, like she truly didn't belong. It was weird, but talking to Piper made it go away, and she was more comfortable than she'd been since her arrival.