ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ : ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋ ɪᴛ ᴏꜰꜰ, ᴄʟᴀʀɪꜱꜱᴇ

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

I doubt anyone wanted to be one, but here we are. My name is Serena Lee. I'm 12 and extremely dyslexic. I can't read shit. I had awful grades in school, especially in English. I used to attend East Spring Valley Middle School in East Hampton. I was at a volleyball game for the championships. It was right before half time when I was about to hit the ball. I did and I saw something unexplainable. My friend, Grover, looked really nervous in the crowd. The thing was creeping towards me, taking the volleyball from one of the players. It ran quickly to me and I ran to the emergency exit.

Grover and my dad ended up running after, trying to see what happened to me. I took my phone out to try to call someone and my camera popped up. I was on the ground, crawling back. I dropped my phone face up, the creature looking at itself in the reflection. After, the creature disintegrated. I looked around, breathing heavily. Grover and my dad ran to me, checking to see if I was okay.

Shortly after, my dad drove Grover and I to this place called Camp Half Blood. Grover had to explain that I'm a demigod and we need to get to camp fast. My dad gave me a tiny mirror, saying that it was from my mom.

"So, you're telling me that my mom is a goddess? Why didn't I get her genes?"

"Serena, this is serious. Also, take this dove pin as a sign of me," my dad had said as he stopped at the side of the road.

"I'll be back, right?" I asked Grover, pointing to my dad in the front. He looked over at my dad, who sighed.

"I'm sorry, but no. It will take awhile but hopefully." I widened my eyes at Grover. I didn't want to leave my dad. He was the one that cheered at my volleyball games, not my mom! I climbed to the front seat and gave him a huge hug. My dad hugged back, crying into my volleyball uniform. I took off my bracelet I made and put it on his dashboard. He kissed my cheek, saying I love you in Vietmenese. I smiled and climbed out of the seat. At least I'll be back soon, right?

Hell no.

Now, I'm sitting in the Ares cabin, talking to Clarisse La Rue.

"You know there is supposed to be a new kid coming?" Clarisse asks me.

"Really? Probably won't be anyone important though," I assume, biting my nails. Clarisse nods and we chuckle.

"Let's go find this new kid." So, I grab my tiny cookie and walk out of Clarisse's cabin.
"She's probably with Luke, to be honest," I say while eating the chocolate chip cookie. Clarisse nods in agreement. A few minutes later, we find Luke with a group of kids. One is someone I haven't seen before. He looks scrawny and has blond curls. He's listening to Luke as Clarisse and I have an idea ready in our minds. Clarisse pretends to be walking the opposite direction of them and gets close to the new kid. She bumps into him, making me snicker quietly.

"Hey!" The blondie exclaims, annoyed. Clarisse faces him and pushes him to the ground, grunting.

"Hey, knock it off Clarisse. It's just his first day, c'mon," Luke says.

"Wait, this is the kid who killed the Minotaur? Is that right?" I say to the new boy. He looks at me in my eyes.

"Yeah?" I chuckle, looking at his concerned face.

"I'll bet. You want attention around here dummy, you better be ready for it when it comes," Clarisse explains. She jolts forward, scaring him. Everyone laughs. I give Clarisse a I'm gonna see what this kid is about look, and she nods.

"So, what's your name, kid?" I ask, crossing my arms. He rolls his eyes.

"Percy Jackson. I can assume you're some clone of Clarisse?" Percy says sarcastically.

"Don't be sassy. And no, it's Serena Lee. Daughter of Aphrodite," I explain. He laughs.

"Can you even fight?" Percy jokes. Great, another guy who thinks I'm obsessed with just my looks. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pick me or anything, but I know that beauty isn't my only trait. I can definitely fight and I wish I could show it to him by punching him.

"Hey, don't diss Serena. She's more powerful then you think," Luke defends. I smile at him.

"Don't get bitchy with me, seaweed brain. You'll see me tomorrow in capture the flag." I shove Percy and wave to Luke.

~

It's the middle of the night and I need to wash my hair. Some girls from my cabin took nail polish and dyed my hair. The hot pink strands are really splotchy and awful. If they did it well, I would have loved it. So now, I have to go to the bathroom and clean it. I take my hand sanitizer and squirt it on Izzy, the one who messed up my hair. Then, I sneak out of the cabin. I'm casually walking to the bathroom when I see 3 kids standing in front of the entrance. I can hear a familiar voice shouting. I quietly sneak around to see what is happening.

"Every new kid shows up here and they think they're special. Do you think you're special?" Someone asks. I try to get closer to the bathroom.

"I didn't make anything up," another voice calls. It's Percy. I hear movement and shuffling. I stay outside and hear grunting. Then, silence. I take a deep breath and start to walk away. Water splashes outside of the bathroom. I stand in shock. 3 people run out of the bathroom and into the night. I hide as they run back to their cabin. Then, I walk into the bathroom to see Percy looking around. He sees me and freezes.

"I can explain," he starts, looking terrified.

"Mhm, sure," I reply. I can tell something is happening. No kid has ever blown up a toilet before. There has to be something special about him.

"Wait, you're Serena? The girl from earlier?" He questions.

"Yeah, and you're the guy who blew up a bathroom stall. Dumbass," I mutter. He crosses his arms at me.

"Why didn't you help Clarisse? Did you want to save me?" He says, smirking. I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, in your dreams kid." His eyes wander to my nail polish hair.

"So I'm not the only one that gets bullied around here?" He says, glaring at me. I don't look at him and walk to the sinks, taking a handful of soap. I turn the cold water on and let it rinse out. I take a paper towel and let it dry.

"You know Percy, with that smart mouth of yours, you're gonna get beaten some day," I state, turning back around to face him. He glares at me.

"Sleep tight and don't let the faucets bite," he says and walks away.

"Oh yeah, I don't give a fuck about you anyways!" I groan and stare at my reflection. This is the life I have to live? Bullying a blond boy and getting terrible hair dye treatments? I always wonder where my mom is and why she can't take me with her back to wherever she is.

𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔨𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 🫶