Alex Rider: Luck of the Goddess

The UNO Champ

Alex adapted to the unclaimed demigod life, but he still couldn't get used to the strange looks people were giving him.

Alex felt like he was new kid in a new school. Or more accurately, like the new kid in a SAS training camp.

Alex saw the way these kids all under the age of twenty, and they way they fought, the way they held themselves, and the way they trained. Alex felt like he had walked back into the SAS training base. This wasn't how Alex imagined this trip going.

But, for once in his life, Alex had met kids his age with his agility, his strength, and his speed, although, he wished he had figured it out a different way.

His first day had been interesting enough.

Alex had just walked out of the big house after arranging for his belongings in America to be delivered to a strawberry farm, not enjoying himself, when there was a girl, maybe 19 waiting for him.

"I'm Katie, the head counselor of the Demeter cabin, nice to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you too, I'm Alex Rider," and Alex offered his hand as a reflex.

Alex wasn't sure what Katie was more startled by the outstretched hand or the accent.

He was about to withdraw his hand, when Katie sensed the awkwardness and quickly took it.

Alex was glad Katie didn't say anything about the accent, his brain was cloudy enough with everything he needed to process, he didn't want anyone making any dumb comments that would make his head hurt.

Katie did what she was supposed to, she showed him around the camp, the lava wall (frightened him about the legal system in America), the cabins making a sort of U, the pavilion ("What happens when it rains?" "It doesn't."), the amphitheater, the armory, the volleyball court, the lake, the forest, and several other locations that were mostly explained in the video.

Alex was mostly just concerned about the lava wall.

Eventually, they got to a small decrypt cabin that looked as if it was about to fall over with that swirling snake staff in the front. (I'm sure Alex would know what it's called but I'm too lazy to learn how to spell it). Alex had learned the name from the video, and when Katie had lead him by, the Hermes Cabin. Home for the children of Hermes and the kids would were unclaimed.

"Here we are, the cabin for the unclaimed, you'll stay here until you get claimed, see you around Alex," and with that Katie scurried off and left Alex standing alone in front of the cabin. It wasn't almost as if she was in a hurry to get somewhere. More like someone's.

Alex was pondering what to do. Normally he would knock, but now he was in America, in a strange mythical summer camp. He opened the door and walked in.

He watched as a nineteen-year-old jumped out of a bunk, glance behind Alex, and shoved past Alex as he ran outside.

Another boy got up, Alex thought he was hallucinating at first, or he had just witnessed his first act of magic, because the boy looked a lot similar to the first. But, upon closer inspection, Alex could see that they weren't identical, and the boy now standing in front of him was a couple years younger.

"Forgive Travis, he's gone after Katie," he said with a mischievous smirk that Alex was instantly put on alert. He was suddenly glad he hadn't brought anything with him.

"Alex Rider," Alex decided not to offer his hand this time.

"Connor Stoll, co-head of cabin 11 and proud American," Alex had learned the cabin numbers from the video. That didn't mean he was any less annoyed at Conner's mockery.