Percy's POV
"How're you feeling?" Jason asked.
I rolled my shoulders, "Excellent. I haven't had a good match in like, three weeks. You?"
Jason raised an eyebrow, "Not bad. Perhaps missing three weeks of practice will have made you soft."
I snorted, "What are you talking about? Just because I've been in public school, doesn't mean I haven't been practicing. What do you think I did instead of homework?"
Jason chuckled, then lifted his breastplate over his head, and his voice echoed slightly until his head poked out the top, "I would have done the same thing. Homework sounds awful."
"No you wouldn't have," I said, tying on my leather greaves, "You would have been one of the good kids who magically get their homework done on time, and are never late to class, and have tons of friends."
"You're probably right," Jason tied on his sword belt, "But that doesn't mean I would have liked it."
"It's impossible to like homework," I replied, standing. I stuck my sword in its sheath, "I'm pretty sure it's straight out of Tartarus, and is made to ruin the lives of mortal children everywhere."
"You guys ready?"
We both jumped. Nico was standing by the entryway, his hand on his sword hilt, wearing all black like normal.
"Oh, hey Nico," Jason said lamely.
"You really need to stop doing that," I said, jamming my helmet onto my head, "You're going to kill someone one of these days."
"Are you ready?" was all he said, though I could see a tiny smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, we're ready," I said, "We're ready, right?"
"Yup, see you in the arena, Percy." Jason jogged off down the dimly lit corridor to the right. It would lead him around the entire stadium using the underground hypogeum, so that we could both enter at the same time from opposite sides of the battlefield.
Nico turned and walked down the tunnel in front of me, leading out into the stadium. You could hear the crowd from here. The whole camp was probably assembled to watch the match. The Monochromachia club hadn't done a public match in a few weeks. Since long before I left for Goode. (No pun intended.) Everyone was probably anxious to see us at it again.
There were quite a few kids in the Monochromachia club, sometimes it felt like most of the camp. Since everyone was pretty good with some kind of weapon, it made for a lot of different types of people at the meetings. So what do we do at these "meetings" with so many people? We fight, obviously. That's why it's called the dueling club.
Chiron was announcing. I could hear his voice, but I didn't know what he was saying over the roar of the crowd. The stadium gave an even louder howl, sounding like a monstrous wave crashing on the rocks. I looked at Nico, who nodded.
"Good luck. And don't forget that you owe Jason brownies if you lose."
I grinned, "Right. Oh no! Not brownies!"
Nico nodded gravely and sulked off down the corridor. I set my shoulders and faced the stadium. At the far end, I could see a little spec of blond that must mean Jason had made it to the other side. I stepped forward, blinking in the sudden sunlight.
The crowd roared. Jason and I walked across the vast arena floor. Today's obstacles included boulders the size of cars, a dozen or so plastic trees, and a weaving river zig-zagging all over the place. We met in the middle, right across the stream and Jason stuck out his hand. I took it, flashing him a grin, and the stadium roared its approval.
I stepped back, my hand hovering over my sword hilt. It was a rule that we couldn't unsheathe them until the match officially started. An eerie silence fell. My fingers tapped against the hilt.
BRRRRREEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!
The buzzer rang in my ears, and my sword was suddenly in my hand. Jason leapt over the stream and raised his sword, ninja-style. I blocked. The crowd was yelling and screaming, but I couldn't tell whether it was in my favor, or Jason's. We parried back and forth for a few moments. The problem was, Jason and I had fought each other so many times, that we both knew each other's fighting style almost as well as our own. I would have to think of something clever to win out on this one.
Not that winning was all that important. The match was actually just a celebration of my return to camp, (thank you, thank you) so it wasn't part of any important competition or anything. However, losing a match fought in your honor would not look too good.
Besides, Thalia said she would pay me in desserts if Jason lost.
I swiped wildly at his head and Jason ducked. Jason tried to stab at my legs, but I managed to evade him. I made to step on his sword, but like I said, we know each other too well. He turned the blade upwards and slipped it out of my reach.
Blades clashed: bronze on gold. Of course, they were just knock-off metals of what Chiron assumed the Greeks and Romans used, not actually really gold, although that would be sweet. Jason went on the offensive. Typical Roman. He pushed me back and back and back. Until I was up against a boulder, fighting off my best friend.
Let me tell you, defending with one sword and wearing barely a breastplate, greaves, and helmet is not fun. If I had been wearing full body metal armor, I would have a lot less fragile skin to defend.
Jason brought his arm back for another stab and I took my chance. I dove to the side, rolling out of the way, and standing up behind him. Jason whirled around, nearly taking off my nose with his sword. I stumbled back in surprise, bringing up an arm instinctively to defend myself. His blade nicked my forearm, and I sucked in a breath. The crowd all gasped.
He swung and I ducked. I slashed and he parried. I stepped forward. Our swords clanged against each other. Behind Jason, I spotted a river of water about eight feet across. Getting an idea, I pressed my advantage harder. Now Jason was the one retreating. Every blow brought him closer and closer to the water's edge.
With a smack of my blade on his, Jason teetered on the edge. "Woah-oh!" He waved his arms around trying to regain his balance. I stepped forward and shoved him. Jason yelled as he tumbled backwards and landed in the water with a splash.
He came up spluttering and to a cheering crowd. The match was over.
I stood at the edge, grinning, and reached down a hand to help Jason out of the water. He scowled at me, but accepted. I pulled him out, "Good match."
Jason snorted, then shook the water out of his hair. Water splattered over my face, and I jerked back, "Hey!"
He grinned, "Good match."
Chiron was wheeling himself toward us, several campers from the Half-breeds club laying down boards so his wheelchair could make it over the rivers. He raised an eyebrow at me, "I'm not sure that letting the river win for you actually counts as a victory.
"Hey!" I cried defensively, "I was using my surroundings!"
Chiron chuckled, "I'm sure Jason would rather be wet, than wounded."
Jason crossed his arms, "Who says I'd be wounded? If Percy hadn't cheated, maybe he would have been the one wounded." He glanced at my bleeding wrist, "Well, more wounded."
That was when the crowd reached us. Everyone had fled from the stands to come congratulate me, and console Jason. Or, like Thalia, punch him on the arm.
"HA!" she laughed, "Thanks Percy, that was brilliant!"
"What do you have against me?" Jason complained rubbing his shoulder.
Thalia grinned, "You're my brother! It's my job to torment you."
"Nice one!" my friend, Grover said at my shoulder. He was wearing his characteristic Rasta cap and green Save the Earth! T-shirt. His reddish curling goatee had grown a little longer since I'd last seen him. Grover was a member of the Half-breeds club, which was focused around the Greek god, Pan. Pan was the god of the wild, hence the whole Lorax motto.
Grover had been at camp longer than me, and was one of the first people who welcomed me into the group. We'd been close friends ever since. Even when Jason and Thalia and Nico came along and we started hanging out, Grover had always been that rock that I could go back to, even if we didn't spend as much time together as we used to.
"Hey, G-man!" I said, giving him a high-five, "How's Juniper?"
Juniper, Grover's girlfriend, was also part of the Half-breeds club. She was part of the group of girls who liked to think of themselves as nymphs, nature spirits who live in trees. Basically your Lorax girl-scout clique. But I don't pretend to know a whole bunch about the Half-breeds club. From what Grover has told me, there's a council in charge, and many layers and groups and clubs inside of clubs, and crazy stuff that I don't really concern myself with.
"She's great. I was trying to convince her to go to a movie with me the other day, but you know how nymphs are about leaving camp."
I didn't have time to say anything more than, "Yeah," before Chiron announced loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Everyone, down to the pavilion! We will eat before the campfire tonight, where our new campers' cabins will be announced!"
There was another cheer and everyone started filing out of the arena. Thalia bid farewell to Jason and me, "I've got to go show the newbies where the pavilion is, see you guys at the campfire tonight."
"Don't forget to pay up!" I yelled as she retreated.
Jason and I tugged off our helmets as the pressure of the crowd eased. "Let's hurry and change," I said, "Or there won't be any food left."
Annabeth's POV
The gladiator with the green plume reached out a hand to help his opponent out of the river. When the poor kid had fallen in, Luke and Clarisse had basically gone completely nuts. Luke had apparently been rooting for the blue-plumed kid, and Clarisse probably just liked seeing anyone lose. I glanced at my other friends. Selena didn't seem to be paying attention. She had a cell phone out and was texting furiously, completely ignoring the No-Phones rule Malcolm had told us of. Piper, Rachel, and Frank were watching with startled expressions, as though they had never expected there to be actual sword fighting.
Our guides, Malcolm, Thalia, and Beckendorf were screaming and hollering at their favorite fighter.
"No!" Malcolm shouted, "Jason, what was that? You almost had him!"
"Nah," Beckendorf said happily, "Percy knew exactly what he was doing before the match even started."
Thalia elbowed my brother, "Face it, Athena boy, Jason lost. Pay up."
In resignation, Malcolm shoved a hand in his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He handed it to Thalia, who spun on her heal without another word and flew down the bleachers into the stadium. That was when I noticed Chiron making his way out to the two boys.
"Come on," Malcolm said sadly, "I guess we'd better get down there and congratulate them or whatever." He forced a smile, "Besides, you guys have got to meet Percy. He's probably the most seasoned camper here. Except for those kids in the Half-breeds club, I'm pretty sure most of them were born here."
We followed him and Beckendorf down the stairs and ran out into the field with the rest of the crowd. It was a very bizarre experience. Like running onto a football field after watching two teams that you've never heard of play. There was nothing celebratory about it, just awkward.
The knot of people right around the two gladiators was so tight, I could barely see their plumes. It was a very uncomfortable moment, being squashed between several people, and unable to breath without the stench of bodies. I couldn't see much.
Then everyone grew very quiet, and I could hear Chiron's voice over everyone's heads, "Everyone, down to the pavilion! We will eat before the campfire tonight, where our new campers' cabins will be announced!"
A jolt of nerves shot through me. The campfire? They were going to announce our cabins in front of the entire camp? I wasn't necessarily afraid of crowds, but the cabins--from what I'd heard--seemed really cliquey. What if I ended up getting placed in a less favorable cabin?
Next to me, Frank was chewing his lip, and Rachel's fingers were capping and uncapping a bright green marker in her hands. I couldn't see the others' reactions, but just then Macolm, Thalia, and Beckendorf rejoined us.
"Alright!" Thalia shouted over the noise of everyone moving toward food! "Follow me, everyone! The pavilion is this way."
We started shuffling out of the stadium. The crowd grew thinner. Malcolm and Thalia were arguing about the match. Clarisse was giving an animated blow-by-blow playback to nobody in particular. Behind me, I sensed Luke turn around.
"That was so cool! When can I join up?" he shouted.
There wasn't a reply, and I turned to tell him off. "Shut up, Luke. They probably didn't even hear--"
I froze. Jogging back toward the entrance were the two gladiators. They had taken their helmets off. My vision tunneled. No Way. Is that...? There was no mistaking it. One of the boys was tall and rugged and blonde. The other.... His head full of thick messy black hair was unmistakable.
The other boy was Percy Jackson.
I was sure of it. It hadn't even occurred to me that the "Percy" Thalia and the others had spoken of could possibly be the same person that my friends had joked about back at Goode.
"Annabeth, you coming?" Thalia asked, glancing back.
"Coming!" I said, darting after the rest of the group. No need to mention that the one they all called "Prissy" was the one who had just won the match.
I thought back to the conversation I'd had with him the other day. He'd been defensive, certainly, but not socially incompetent, as my friends kept teasing him for. He wasn't a slacker at all, he just wasn't used to the unforgiving rigidity of public school life. With a jolt, I realized that Percy had been the kid my brother had spoken of in his emails with such admiration.
Was it possible I'd completely misjudged him?