I definitely remember my first day at Camp Half-Blood. Back then, I was still twelve and everything was simple. I got decent grades, exercised, and monsters only came about once a week. Going to Camp was something my mom had pushed me to do, claiming that I was getting to the age where monsters would attack more. So, I ran over to camp.
Camp was pretty weird back then. There were a lot of monsters invading every day, and everyone was yelling about a dead tree constantly. They kept talking about a Clarisse and Percy or something, and I was generally confused.
Chiron understood. He invited me to talk with him. He seemed surprised to find that I knew my godly parent, and that I already could control my powers. So, he had the Stolls show me to the Hermes cabin. They were pretty cool, and very surprised too when they found out they couldn't fool me. No matter how many tricks they pulled, I knew them all; it was in my blood. It was really crowded; my guess was that Dad really loved having kids. But, for some reason, they seemed excited that I was a son of Hermes. It took me a while to learn that unclaimed demigods came to our cabin.
Then came my official "Welcome to Camp" swirlie.
I remember it was after first climbing the rock wall. I nearly got burned by the lava dripping down. My feet may have been fast, but my arms were only as fast as any twelve year old's. I headed back to the cabin, only to be cornered by four tall, strong Ares kids. Nobody but Chiron knew about my powers at camp. They just assumed I was a regular weak and annoying little kid. One of them muttered something about being careful and Percy Jackson. Seriously, back then, I had no idea who he was and why he was a legend. Everyone talked about him, and I had no clue as to why he was a beast. I mentally made a note to ask Connor or Travis about it. The tallest kid pushed me down. In a rough voice, he said:
"Percy Jackson was a wimp, but a bit powerful. This guy is just a wimp." He stared at me and smiled. "You know what we do to newcomers?"
"No," I squeaked, "and for your sake, I'd like to keep it that way!"
The kids stared at me for a second, then burst into laughter. Here was a scrawny kid on the ground threatening grown men and women by then. It was a hilarious situation.
"Grab his legs," the leader ordered, "Clarisse isn't here, but we can still make this special."
I sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Five minutes later, people were astounded to find four kids with their heads stuck in toilets with a twelve year old boy escaped completely unscathed. No one had pulled that stunt since Percy Jackson(Again with the name. Seriously, that guy was like Trump these days.). Connor and Travis were slapping me on the back all through dinner, and were happy to tell me about Percy, as long as I paid.
After an hour and twenty dollars, I was given the general breakdown on the master bolt snatcher and the hero of Olympus. I really wanted to meet this guy to see what he was made of.
By the time Percy Jackson came back, everyone knew how fast I was, I had been banned from capture the flag(for obvious reasons), and I had barbells tied to my shoes to keep me from tearing up the camp.
When he got back, I sized him up in around three minutes. I saw his recklessness, but I also saw skill. I could see the ADHD symptoms, but I also saw a strategist. He was definitely used to offense and only played defense when necessary. He looked harder than the guys I ordinarily fought at camp. My only chance would be relying on my speed.
Annabeth Chase was way easier. She was a strategist, but her fighting style was limited. She could defend herself, but she mostly relied on outwitting the enemy, like Odysseus. I just had to avoid her deception and beat her in swordplay.
Later that day, after recounting his adventures, in fighting class, Percy saw me and smiled.
"You're new here, right? Brandon Lee? New kids gotta learn how to fight. I want you to come up and help me demonstrate."
I shrugged and stood up. "Fine. Let's do this."
At that time, Percy was thirteen, a year older than me. I knew that he could beat me in raw power, but I could out-speed him. So, I posed a question.
"Do you want me to use my power or not?"
He looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Normally, we encourage people not to use their powers." He smiled, like he was remembering something glorious. "But, I'll let you use them. Just this once. I want to see what it is. Son of Hermes, right? Gonna steal my sword?"
He's getting cocky, I thought. "You're welcome to use your powers as well."
He seemed surprised by this. "Ok then. But I warn you, with this, I'll be hard to beat." With that, he doused his head in water. Of course, Son of Poseidon, water, made sense.
I smiled and hefted my sword. "Your go."
"Fine. 3..."
I got ready to go.
"2..."
"1!"
He surged forward. I dashed around him, grabbed his sword, ran to the kitchen and got a sandwich, came back, threw the sword across the room, and stopped.
Percy looked dumbfounded. My guess was that he had never seen someone do that before, nor had he been disarmed so quickly.
I chewed on my sandwich. "Super speed. And before you say it, I've heard enough Quicksilver and Flash jokes for a lifetime."
He smiled. "Yeah. I get Aquaman about twice a day."
I looked at him. "Need help?" I asked, reaching out a hand.
"Sure."
As I reached over, I suddenly ran to his pocket, grabbed his pen, and kept it in my hand.
"Can't have you keeping this, can you?"
Percy laughed. "You got me. How about no powers this time?"
"Ok."
After that was over, I had bruises all over my body. Dang, I thought, that guy can really fight. I lay down on my bed and slept.
After that day, Percy and I became good friends. We would never forget the day that a little boy kicked a man's butt and then got kicked himself. He never let me forget, all the way up to my death.
One day, I was just strolling through Camp Half-Blood and talking to the Stolls. They were really cool, even if they occasionally tried to steal my drachmas. Then, Percy ran over and said, panting, that there was a new kid and that we needed to go welcome her. So, knowing the brothers' welcoming tour, I decided to go with them to experience the comedy, and maybe to add a little myself.
When we got to the Big House, we got out first glimpse of the newcomer. She was striking. Even at twelve, she was beautiful, with long brown hair that fell to her shoulders and electric blue eyes. She had a nervous sort of smile that all kids on their first days had. I immediately fell in love with her. Being thirteen and in love, I made the response most people make when they see someone beautiful.
"Uh..ahm...gah...bluh..." I babbled. Four faces turned to star at me. I looked around nervously, turning red. "I gotta run." I blurted, and dashed away. I ran to the nearest park and sat down to gather my thoughts.
Okay, I thought, there is a cute girl at camp. She is new. You got this. She seems nice. Don't screw this up. I took a deep breath and went back to camp. I went back to find them in about the same position. I exhaled and smiled.
"Hey. Sorry about before. I'm Brandon." I did an awkward wave. Dang it. You're screwing it up. Keep it together.
Her jaw dropped. "How fast are you? That was, like, you disappeared for thirty seconds, and then you came back. How fast can you go?"
I thought about it for a minute. "I actually don't know. I never really carry a speed tracker."
Connor elbowed Travis and said, "Hey, buddy. How about we time you while you pick up a souvenir from China or something?"
I shrugged. "Ok." Ten minutes later, I was back with four bowls of chow mein and a lucky cat.
"Sorry that took so long. The guy behind the counter was slow and I didn't know which lucky cat to choose." They all laughed and we walked around camp while eating and listening to Connor tell the girl about it. I was looking at the strawberry fields when she suddenly turned to me and fired a weird white light beam. I yelped and got out of the way.
"Hey. What was that for?" I snapped. Woah, man. Don't be mean to the lady.
She laughed. "I wanted to see if you could dodge light." And she kept walking.
I dusted myself off and sighed. "Okay. Testing my abilities, that's fine. But knocking over my food? That is a whole new level of disgust."
She doubled over, laughing her head off. I had to slap her on the back and keep moving.
That night, at dinner, I sat next to her. She didn't know her godly parent, although I had a hunch, so she was with the Hermes kids.
I cleared my throat, making her jump. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Brandon."
She smiled. "Right. Dim Sum Boy. I'm Ashley. Ashley Stone."
I glared at her. "No one calls me Dim Sum Boy. Unless I get paid to deliver."
She dropped her head on the table and started snorting. I laughed a little too. "Oh, come on. It's not that funny."
"I know. But you act so serious, yet you can crack people up. Have you considered stand up?"
"Have I? I did a show back in Queens. Everyone was laughing so hard at the end. I guess a nerdy, short, preteen at the mic has its comedic touches."
We spent the rest of the night laughing together. And at the campfire, I was there to teach her all the songs. And that night, after Chiron introduced her, a little bow and quiver appeared above her head. And I was the first to kneel.
The new daughter of Apollo went with her cabin mates and waved goodbye to me. I smiled back. Hey, man, I thought, a couple years in the friend zone and maybe you can escape. Let's see how you play this.