He was done. The noise, the heat, the constant movement, despite living in the city, on the streets nonetheless, he was overwhelmed with the constant attention that was given in the Hermes cabin. He stuffed an extra t-shirt, a change of shorts, and some food he smuggled from breakfast into a backpack he had stolen from Ryan. Well, actually it was not stolen for once in Geoff’s life. Ryan actually sat on the bunk above him, his feet swinging in Geoff’s face while he packed.
“Don’t go, these kids will drive me up a wall without you.”
“I’ve been here a week,” Geoff shot back, zipping the bag shut. “You can survive without me.”
“How do you know I won’t strangle one of them? You won’t be there to stop me.” The whiny tone did not fit Ryan’s deep voice.
“You would never do it. Ryan the Strangler is an embarrassing enough nickname to keep you from it.”
“That’s true,” He paused for a moment, trying to think of a better excuse. “Just don’t leave me dude, this has been the best week ever.”
Ryan crossed his arms like an angry child. “Just be back before Capture the Flag.” He called to Geoff’s retreating back as he slipped out the door.
He was headed straight for the beach. It was a long stretch of sand beyond the mess hall and the climbing wall. A majority of the campers were taken either to the lake at the center of camp, and if they were going to be in the ocean, it was directly off the path. A group of kids were already splashing around in the shallows as Geoff passed. He got a couple waves from the older campers that stood in ankle-deep waters, only sparing him a glance from their younger charges. It was about another half-mile hike over the rocky beach before the campers became spots in the distance. At first, Geoff flopped down in the sand, enjoying the quiet of only the waves crashing on the shore. It was probably the first moment of peace he had since arriving at Camp Half Blood. It was definitely the first time he was alone.
Hermes cabin was a constant blur of noise and movement, kids coming in and out. Since his arrival, about five kids had moved out after being claimed by their lazy parents. Apparently, years before this would have been considered a miracle, but some boy, Percy, had fixed this with the Gods. That kid must have been a badass. Despite the now five empty beds, the noise level had hardly gone down.
Some nights Geoff did hide out in Poseidon cabin, and Ray was more than happy to have a cabinmate every once in a while. The kid was a riot and a complete mystery to Geoff. Sometimes he seemed so naïve and nothing seemed to faze him. Then Geoff watched him impale a straw dummy with a trident and decapitate another with a sword, and decided never to piss Ray off ever.
However, as much peace Poseidon cabin offered him, it did not compare to this. Geoff sat back up, pulling his shirt off and throwing it aside in the sand. He slid for a moment on the shifting ground, but was quick to the water, letting his scorched toes cool in the water. Each day seemed to get stuffier and hotter than the previous one, but his tolerance to the weather increased dramatically in that short week.
He stretched his arms above his head, enjoying the breeze that drifted off the water and rustled in the trees over his shoulders. In the sun, Geoff could clearly see the scars that stretched across his arm. He had shown them to Burnie only a few days before, who scratched his chin at the sight, muttering how they should have been healed by now. Geoff had only shrugged. He didn’t mind a few extra scars.
Wading deeper into the water, the water was about waist deep before the rocks completely disappeared underfoot, and nearly dragging Geoff down with it. Not expecting the sudden drop, he came up spluttering salt water and wiping it from his stinging eyes.
Geoff turned toward the shore just in time to witness something spectacular and absolutely horrifying. There was an echoing explosion and a cloud of smoke rose from the forest. Even in the water, Geoff swore he felt a wave of heat hit him.
He rushed out onto shore, sand sticking to his calves as he kicked it up behind him. However, as he reached the line of trees, someone burst out of the shadows and dashed past him, stumbling face first into the water.
“Holy shit, are you okay?” Geoff called, sliding through the sand as he tried to run to the fallen camper. Smoke rose from the water where the boy had faceplanted, and for a moment panic rose in Geoff’s throat as the figure didn’t move.
Then there was an explosion of movement as the boy raised his head with a splash, patting down the remnants of a scraggly beard that had once been on his chin. “Damn it, that took months to grow!” The front of his t-shirt was riddled with burn holes, exposing surprisingly undamaged skin.
Geoff waded into the water, standing about calf-deep in front of the still-smoking camper. He was solid with wide-set shoulders and a round face framed by holed ginger stubble. Also, he had a noticeable lack of eyebrows. He narrowed his eyes in Geoff’s direction, setting his jaw. “Hello,” He said, squinting. “I would give a proper greeting if I could actually tell who you are.”
He reached into the water and Geoff quickly joined him, searching the rocky bottom for glasses. Up close, this camper was easy enough to recognize. Jack Pattillo of Hephaestus cabin, he was easy to pick out of a crowd with hair as red as the bonfire.
Geoff’s fingers skimmed against something, and grabbed it before the waves pulled them away. “Are these your glasses?” He asked, pulling out a pair of thick frames. One of the lenses was cracked right down the middle. “They might be a bit broken.” He warned when Jack reached for them.
“They were already cracked, don’t worry about it.” Jack pushed the glasses onto his face and his eyes refocused on Geoff. “Oh, you’re the new camper that Ryan goes on and on about.”
Nodding, feeling a slight blush creep across his face, Geoff offered a hand to Jack, which he took. “Ryan’s a good guy,”
“I don’t know what he would do without you.” Jack grinned, squeezing out the hem of his shirt. “That’s another destroyed shirt, I should start a collection.”
“What the fuck were you doing anyway? That was a pretty big explosion.”
“I was working on a smoke bomb that my team was going to use during Capture the Flag, but as you can see, it doesn’t work like it’s supposed to.”
They waded out onto shore, Jack shaking his head to get the water out of his ears. All of a sudden, he paused midstep and whirled around to face Geoff. “Don’t tell Ryan about the bomb, our teams play against each other.” Then realization spread across his face. “Which means you’re on Ryan’s team and, ugh I’m an idiot.” He buried his face in a callused hand.
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I won’t tell him.” Geoff laughed and smiled. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Jack lifted his head, a grin breaking out across his face. “Ryan’s right, you are a cool dude.” He slung a still dripping arm across Geoff’s shoulders. “We’ll be good friends. Maybe you will get claimed and we can share a cabin.”
“I heard it’s like a thousand degrees in there.” Geoff protested, and Jack laughed harder.
“You will get used to it., I promise.”
Geoff tried to laugh along, but the topic had snagged something in his stomach. What if he did get claimed? He would have to leave Hermes cabin. Yeah, the noise level would probably go down drastically, but to abandon Ryan? Maybe he would just get claimed by Hermes, that would be the best news he received, possibly ever, or never get claimed. That would work too. Then again, he was apparently the failed son. He had never forgotten what the harpy had said as it tried to murder his sorry ass.
Maybe his father held even littler interest in him than most gods had for their children.
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